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Back when the Earth was young and dinosaurs roamed the tropics, I played Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993), probably on my doughty 486DX machine. Games came in boxes, back then - cardboard things, with printed manuals and comics and maps and the like. It was a different time.

I was curious about what it would be like to play it now. I've bought a lot of old Sierra games here - damn you, GOG sales! - but I haven't played any of them yet. Big crude pixels, parse-y controls: I wasn't sure it would be any fun.

It is! It is super fun. Gabriel Knight has aged exceptionally well. It's a bit crude and clunky, sure, but the story is great and the gameplay is largely satisfying. Kicking around a restricted New Orleans (which seemed very large way back when) and checking for clues is engrossing, and trying to figure out the Sierra puzzle logic is still good for some quiet victories in front of the monitor. The voice acting is spectacular, and the game walks a fine clever line between goofy and grown-up.

The game is voiced by Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, Michael Dorn, Leah Rimini, and more: the characters are distinct and interesting (and the atmospheric and sometimes hilarious narration by Virginia Capers deserves mention). The plot is ludicrous enough, but it keeps the gameplay moving, and it's generally easy to pick up after a break of a few days. There are only a few screens to most locations, and only a few objects are active in any given screen, but the rest of the screen spots will return snappy messages when you click on them. The puzzles range from minor moments of moving inventory from place to place, to more involved problems which require figuring out how to relocate characters so you can tinker with their stuff while they're gone, or how to survive through a few action sequences (these tend to be the weaker moments, I thought). Most of these are responsive to a little bit of consideration, and a couple are admittedly obscure. But, hey, Sierra. That's how it is.

I did hit a walkthrough a couple of times, on the grounds that I just don't have a schedule that lets me devote weeks to figuring out what on earth the devs were thinking. Gabriel Knight is a game that plays well with hints, I find - once I'm pointed in the right general direction, I'm able to work the rest on my own. But sometimes the right general direction is unclear. Still, none of the puzzles stand out as being ludicrous or unfair.

I had a fair amount of spotty audio on my system - lots of clicks, and wildly varied volume levels. Sometimes it was impossible to hear a few lines, though nothing critical was lost. Audio lagged very badly starting after Gabriel's trip to the airport, which did get a bit frustrating - I'd click on something, and nothing would happen, and I'd click on something else, and then the recording from the first click would start to play and cut off when the game realized there had been another click. Not the end of the world, but it was irritating.

The endgame action sequence was also fairly hard to play, both because there were lags in the action sequences and very short intervals in which the game would accept input, and because the final big move in the closing sequence is not an obvious choice, to me at least. In some point and click games, the protagonist is immortal; Gabriel can die, starting somewhere around Day Five or Day Six, so this is a save-often game (the first time he died, I was caught off-guard and had to play through a couple of days to get back).

It turns out that I did not finish the game when I played it the first time; I don't think I made it past the airport, and may not even have gotten to the first of the voodoo ceremonies. My clearest memories were from Jackson Square, with the musicians and vendors - I remember getting stuck there several times, the first time I played.

Overall: this game is a treat, though it does require a little adjustment on the sound and graphics front. I was given a copy of the new remake in an IAmSinistar giveaway, and I'll be playing that soon to compare. I finished with 339 of 342 possible points, and have no idea what three points I might have missed - nothing serious, I trust.

My list of finished games
Most likely final update to my list for the year:

12. AI WAR - Great space strategy game. I don't like the twitchy nature of RTS, but AI WAR has the ability to issue commands while paused, making this more a strategy game than most real-time games. I love that even the skirmish tutorial took me a good 7 hours to clear. I started a real game and cleared a scenario in just about 10 hours. Can't wait to do it all again!
13. Shadowgate (2014) - I remember playing the original, as it was one of the most unique NES games. Similarly, as Shadowgate 2014 attempts to be a semi-modern homage, it ends up being very unique among PC point and clicks today. It maintains a slightly cumbersome UI, but having said that, it does allow you a bit of freedom. If you want to stab yourself to death with a sword, it lets you. Other than UI, though, I love how the game is a mix of adventure puzzles and puzzle-puzzles. I appreciate the game even more having completed it in Apprentice mode. I've started up the game in Journeyman difficulty, and there are new items, new enemies, access to rooms I couldn't go before and remixed puzzles. It's got a lot to offer.
14. Hatoful Boyfriend - Find romance with a funky premise... until you keep playing and things get real, real fast. It's totally unrepresentative of visual novels. It's totally representative of visual novels. An unexpected surprise.
15. Outlast - Very well made survival horror game. It's gory and unsettling. I've never been as tense playing a game before.
16. Hostile Waters - Antaeus Rising - Really neat RTS/3PS vehicle hybrid! I never really liked RTS because of the micromanagement, but this game gives you only ~5 - 8 units to work with, and you can take control of any of them at any given time. Great for control freaks like me!
17. Kings Bounty The Legend - Similar to HoMM, but also different. Can be addictive and a timesink. Ultimately though, it was too long for its own good. I got bored about 1/3 - 1/2 through the game, and even though I pushed through the 100+ hours to play it, I wasn't really enjoying it.

Full List
I played through Star Wars Knights of the old Republic for a second time, making sure to explore all areas and side quests, (except for the swoop races and associated quests). I even managed to get all of the companion missions, plus the side mission for the friendly Rodian out in his lonely Yavin space station workshop (the place where to sell all your loot for top dollar, and buy some nifty stuff like special crystals for your light sabers).

This time, I made sure to fly back and forth between the planets, which you can travel freely until the last planet before the final battle. Once you get past the initial dialogs for the companions, they get more interesting, and most have quite a bit to say, so it is worth it to keep talking to them. All in all, about 56 hours of gameplay to finish... Though I did do some extra searching, and testing of returning to planets and places, just to see if anything new popped up. :)

I mentioned before that the writing was a bit juvenile, and I mean that in a good way, as it has the innocence and humor of the writing in the first movie trilogy (episodes IV, V, VI) whilst portraying desperate situations, in the confrontation between good and evil.
Murdered: Soul Suspect has been finished, not too long ago tonight.

Added it to My Finished in 2014 Club:
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/games_finished_in_2014/post79
Completed Thief 2.

A very good game, even better than #1 in my opinion. It would have been even better if it ended after mission 12. The 3 last missions seemed very rushed, bad design and buggy. Not to mention annoying especially the Mechanist cathedral.

I'll probably complete another game or two for my 2014 list.
Post edited December 15, 2014 by Daliz
I've completed a number of games since my last post, but most recently I finished Planescape: Torment. The game was incredible, and it definitely lived up to all the hype I've been hearing about it all this time. Anyways, since I tend to stalk this thread all the time without posting, here's a little gift to all of you for your great posts.

Witcher 2 - XA752DBE610A1CB0G

Age of Wonders - FA32B-C2D78-7DB21-94C3C

Dungeon Keeper - XRC8-2KTD-F77F-U84M
They never learn.
Finally finished a game of XCOM: Enemy Unknown from each of the 5 starting continents.

Full list here.
Post edited December 16, 2014 by Syme
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Syme: Finally finished a game of XCOM: Enemy Unknown from each of teh 5 starting continents.

Full list here.
Wow.
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lukaszthegreat: Half Life 2 had been released 10 years ago. As a celebration of that fact today I had beaten Half Life 2. Also I got few achievements as when I beat it last time achievements were not part of steam.

still fun game but I believe this was the last time I had played it.
I started this game again seriously this year as well. Haven't finished it. Oh, well.
Post edited December 16, 2014 by misteryo
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Syme: Finally finished a game of XCOM: Enemy Unknown from each of teh 5 starting continents.

Full list here.
Impressive full list :D



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Syme: Finally finished a game of XCOM: Enemy Unknown from each of teh 5 starting continents.

Full list here.
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misteryo: Wow.
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lukaszthegreat: Half Life 2 had been released 10 years ago. As a celebration of that fact today I had beaten Half Life 2. Also I got few achievements as when I beat it last time achievements were not part of steam.

still fun game but I believe this was the last time I had played it.
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misteryo: I started this game again seriously this year as well. Haven't finished it. Oh, well.
The game is less than 10 hours long. But i did not explore everything and did not get every achievement.
Post edited December 16, 2014 by lukaszthegreat
Commandos Ammo Pack (Behind Enemy Lines + Beyond the Call of Duty)

I won this game during Ragnarblackmane's September photo contest (thanks again, mighty Dwarf!) and completed it more than a month ago, but until now I didn't have time to review it. Let me rectifiy that with some good advertising!

Just like my recently discovered all-time-favourite-in-the-genere title Desperados (a direct heir of the game I'm reviewing), Commandos is a Real-Time-"Stealthy"-Stategy, a masterfully crafted experience that will put to the test both your skill in timing and cleverness in tactics.

Unlike in other RTSs, in this game you will not have to create buildings and make armies clash; you only have the resources you start each mission with, you cannot replenish them and each frendly casualty will result in a "mission failed" screen -hence why you have to remain invisible.
The story and setting are quite straight-forward: you take control of a British elite commando unit composed by the six best soldiers the Crown could deploy and send them to silently sabotage the Fuhrer's plans.
The six chosen are:
-the Green Beret, an insanely strong and fast fighter that can climb wall, lift heavy objects, conceal himself under snow or sand and distract enemies with decoys;
-the Sniper, armed with a silenced rifle to eliminate targets on long range;
-the Marine, a slow but reliable soldier equipped with a harpoon, scuba gear and an inflatable boat;
-the Sapper, almost useless in direct combat but fitted with grenades, timed and remote controlled explosives, bear traps and pincers;
-the Driver, trained in the use many kinds of ranged weapons and vehicles;
-and the Spy, who can wear Nazi uniforms to distract and silently assassinate troubesome targets while walking unnoticed in their bases.

Even if lacking the details that made Desperados so awesome (like the sound awareness, the environmental interaction and the group quick action key) the game is fairly long and complex, divided in 28 missions (20 from the main game and 8 from the expansion) and excellently developed both in mechanics and design, allowing the player to exploit a wide amount of different but equally effective strategies without ever lowering the hard challenge it presents or privileging a certain approach over another -exception made for careless shooting action, the best recipe for a shameful failure. Under this point of view, it leaves imo much more freedom to the player than its "western" successor.
Playing through the relatively brief but numerous and difficult missions and watching your acute plan going to fruition is a real joy, and each time you complete a scenario you feel proud to have accomplished yet another victory against the overwhelmingly powerful Nazist military machine.
A note about the AI is due: under this aspect, I could compare Commandos to Gothic, even if the two games could not be more different. The enemy pathfinding and reaction are really awful, but this dire fault is almost always abundantly compensated by the clever scripting and the wise placement of hostile elements on the field, so the margin for exploitation is not wide.

A choice I did not understand is the complete lack of music in the main game; a part from the caharacters' voices, when nobody is driving or shooting there is complete silence. I would have understood this if somehow enemies could manage to hear the noises of your steps, but since speed and ground composition make no difference it seems a bit weird.

Another important note: unlike Desperados, despite using the same engine this game worked perfectly on my Windows 7 64bit machine from start to finish. THIS is how you properly treat a good old game!

During this year, I played a lot of excellent games, and this one is not less worthy than the others, so -like all the titles I consider to be "must-buy"- I have to award it with the Original Enebias' Seal of Approval™, too! XD
I hope you bought it during the Winter promo: for 0,99€, it was a real steal! It is compeltely worth the full price, and more!
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Syme: Finally finished a game of XCOM: Enemy Unknown from each of teh 5 starting continents.

Full list here.
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lukaszthegreat: Impressive full list :D
Yeah, heh. I console myself with the fact that I'm rotating Skyrim, Amalur, Might & Magic X, and New Vegas on a monthly basis. But... yeah. :D
Jazzpunk

A really original little distraction loaded with bad puns, funny references and silly nonsense.
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realkman666: Jazzpunk

A really original little distraction loaded with bad puns, funny references and silly nonsense.
About how long was it? Any replay value at all?

I'm interested in it, but I'm on a tight budget and want to make sure it is worth the price.
Post edited December 16, 2014 by AgentBirdnest
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realkman666: Jazzpunk

A really original little distraction loaded with bad puns, funny references and silly nonsense.
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AgentBirdnest: About how long was it? Any replay value at all?

I'm interested in it, but I'm on a tight budget and want to make sure it is worth the price.
Two to three hours max, no replay value, unless you count watching a friend play it. That would be fun. You can safely wait for a sale, but it's worth playing.