Venetica - Gold Edition

It could have been a master piece. Unfortunately many small glitches and bugs can spoil a bit the experience, but if you save often you should be ok. Also, of course it's an old game, so the gameplay can be dated, but the graphic have aged very nicely. Fights and puzzles can also appear a bit repetitive. Still if you like good stories, and RPG with a soul, it's a very good old game that I found very addictive. Beside of the story, the music is awesome. Specially the song in the Arsenal tavern. For all these reasons Venetica has become one of my favourite games. Thank you GOG and Deck13. Note pour les francophones : allez faire un tour sur le forum du jeu, damien_ y a posté un lien pour avoir les dialogues en français.

Well, this is a tough one. I love the old comic style, the german dialogue is decent, but kept so simple a 10 year old will easily understand, however the voice over is good. Tho, the dialogue only ever offers so much, some instances were pretty good. This seems to be made for 10 to 18 year olds. The story is ok, nothing grande and it will keep you playing. Dont expect a deep story or very deep RPG elements. You have some choice between weapons, armor, skills and magic, but it is limited - on the short side. I did run into some minor crashes, had to reaload - so save often. The gameplay itself is decent. I played with a controller which was ok. The lock-on function just barely works: zoom out, roll and side-step and hit fast enough for combos. I would recommend checking it out if the trailer interests you. It is fun, but has rough edges.

I'll admit I was driven away from this game because of the bad reviews at the time, but they were unjust. It's rough around the edges but nothing damaging here, in fact the ambition shines through the limitations admirably! A day-night cycle that changes the lighting and effects NPC behavior, fully voiced characters and cutscenes, lush and picturesque locales in an unusual Italian meets fantasy style, responsive and challenging but flashy combat, enjoyable characters...it's all here. The actors/writing is clearly at times the product of a shaky translation but again nothing detrimental: just amusing like actors struggling with a few awkward lines. It feels a lot like Fable, but I like this more than Fable because of a focus on a handful of sweeping detailed vistas and places to explore as opposed to a gigantic empty world of copy and pasted encounters. The story an it's many offshoots are fun to follow up. I haven't been frustrated with the controls, and if you suck at combat just finish some other quests and gather the money to improve your skills and equipment. It's not as punishing as Gothic (although I LOVE Gothic) and not as rudimentary as Fable. It set's an intriguing halfway point between action and roleplaying: an unjustly besmirched and equally unjustly forgotten gem.

Such a compelling story. I wasn't turned off at all by the slightly aged graphics, I could see enough detail to immerse myself. The game tells an interesting story that quickly pulled me in. It does have some problems with the camera at points, and some nasty glitches and bugs that one must be aware of. Talking to your half-brother crashes the game? Ignore the lad. Talking to the innkeep causes him to sink into the ground and halt the game forever? Don't trigger the event. It was all forgivable, I just wanted to see the story develop further. But then came the second boss fight. The camera starts rotating at sickening speeds so you a) don't see anything but a swirling mess, b) can't fight properly since the character keeps turning on her heels to cope with the camera, and c) you get killed again and again because you keep dodging into the attacks instead of away from them because of the crazy camera. After two hours I gave up, and I won't try again. There are too many games in my backlog waiting to be played - I don't have the time to put up with this kind of brokenness. It's sad, though - I really would wish to see how the story goes on.

Good story, smooth controls, about the right length for what it has to offer. In my opinion, this is by far the best game Deck 13 ever released, and genreally one of the best more modern German games.