'Runaway' features amazing character and background artwork that will captivate you almost right away. The art is colourful, detailed, and visually appealing. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much my favourite part of the game. To be fair, 'Runaway' is not a bad game -- it's just mediocre compared to its contemporaries. It's hard not to compare the game to 'Broken Sword', which came out five years prior. Whiel 'Broken Sword' is an intriguing globe-trotting adventure with fun puzzles and exciting story, 'Runaway' feels like a mid-budget road movie with a generic, uncharismatic male lead, a good looking female co-star who is there as the eye candy, and some stereotypical villains and supporting cast. The developers did try to do something different with 'Runaway', but failed in execution. Namely, the playable character, Brian Basco, would not pick up objects that he deemed unnecessary at the moment. It may seem good in theory, but it's frustrating for players. Oftentimes, we the players will be a few steps ahead of Brian in solving a puzzle. But, we are unable to pick up some objects until Brian is ready to. This means having Brian make mistakes that we as players would not make until he comes to the same conclusion as we did many steps ago. This alone makes playing 'Runaway' irritating, boring, and infuriating. Plus, the voice acting for Brian is quite flat. So, it's quite grating to have the character comment on almost every action he makes, including walking through a door, as well as be the narrator of his adventure. I much prefer an adventure game (let alone a movie), in which the action is shown and not narrated. Overall, 'Runaway' is a pleasant adventure game for its time. It's not great, but it's fun as a weekend game (much like a 2.5-star TV movie makes for good entertainment on a Saturday afternoon). It's not very memorable, but leaves good enough of an impression for you to considering playing 'Runaway 2'. But, that's another review...
For those who have played the 'Quest for Glory' games, you'll find many familiar elements in 'Quest for Infamy'. In 'Infamy', you get to play one of three playable classes: Brigand, Sorcerer, and Rogue. Also similar is the random enemy encounter when the protagonist ventures out of a town in a valley that acts as his home base. I chose to play as a Rogue. I figured that if my character, a pre-named and voiced one called Roehm, is on a quest for infamy, I might as well play a class that isn't that honourable. It turns out that Roehm isn't seeking infamy, but just doing whatever it takes for him to get out of the Valley of Krasna. Roehm is a selfish rascal at best. Overall, 'Infamy' is an uneven game. There are some notable strengths: the forest backdrops were beautifully illustrated; histories of places were well fleshed out; each character class has its own unique set of sidequests; a large locale that is fun to explore. In these regards, 'Infamy' bests 'QFG1, to which it most resembles. These strengths only make it a pity that other aspects of 'Infamy' weren't just as well done. There is an inconsistency in the style in which the backgrounds (i.e. non-forest ones) and character portraits were drawn. It took me out of the game when I saw characters, whose portraits clearly resembled Toby Jones and Rowan Atkinson. While 'QFG' is witty, 'Infamy' is cheeky at best. Cheeky isn't bad if the lines of dialogue are delivered in the right way. However, many of the voice acting is horrible, let alone terribly recorded. I wish the developers had spent more effort into refining the script, seeking better voice actors, and recording. At the end of the day, 'Infamy' is overly ambitious. It tries emulating the 'QFG' series, but also pays homage to other genres that doesn't fit well with the core concept. Still, I still appreciate it for its ambition, some parts of which actually turned out really well. In spite of its flaws, I'll still recommend 'Infamy' to all 'QFG' fans.
(Below is a slightly modified version of my original review of 'Hacknet: Labyrinths' on Steam. I love the game so much that I purchased another copy on GOG just for the DRM-free version.) @54.188.232.231> addNote Note: Dear Diary, It has been a couple of weeks since I last booted up my computer. The last time I used it, I was introduced to a hacker named Bit. Somehow, he had installed HacknetOS into my computer. Before I could figure out what had happened, I found myself in the company of other hackers in Entropy and CSEC. The adventures that I subsequently had are still vividly etched in my mind. I tried to fight the urge to further get involved in the affairs of Entropy and CSEC. The "work" that they do was dangerous, yet exciting; illegal, yet morally justifiable in some cases. I'll be honest: I like how HacknetOS gives me the power to snoop inside other people's computers and phones. The allure of HacknetOS, specifically the PortHack tool, is just too strong for me to resist. Before I knew it, I found myself once again logged into CSEC's contract server. Some guy named Kaguya is recruiting. Little did I know my curiosity about Kaguya's trials quickly pulled me into deep labyrinths of computer networks one again. Soon after that, I found myself in a trio of hackers, and started taking missions from Kaguya. The missions, technically, were very similar to what I took on with CSEC earlier. Thankfully, the purposes of the missions and the scenarios were different enough to keep things interesting for me. I needed to think, type and react faster than before. The missions required me to dig deep to find hidden (i.e. deleted) secrets. The best was that I got some new tools to help me navigate these "labyrinths", such as FTPSprint, which is WAY faster than FTPBounce. If only I had these wonderful toys at my disposal when I was part of CSEC! It was a nice change to work alongside teammates, but I wish I had the ability or time to really chat with them. Even though we were a team, it still felt like I was working alone. They did help me out a couple of times, and I do wish I could learn what tricks they had up their sleeves. Still, in spite of our communicating via Kaguya's IRC channel, working for Kaguya was still a lonely, insulated experience as before. In the end, working for Kaguya was thrilling, albeit it being a brief experience. I did not feel my time was wasted, and it felt great put my hacking skills to good use once more. Somehow, I feel like I'd hear from Kaguya again, for better or worse. It's just a matter of when... @54.188.232.231> cd /log @54.188.232.231/log/> rm * Deleting @265_Connection:_from_82.237.35.60....Done Deleting @265_82.237.35.60_Disconnected....Done Deleting @265_82.237.35.60_Became_Admin....Done Deleting @257_82.237.35.60 Opened_Port#6881....Done Deleting @242_Connection:_from_82.237.35.60...Done @54.188.232.231/log/> dc
(Below is a reprint of my original review of 'Hacknet' on Steam. I love the game so much that I purchased another copy on GOG, just for the DRM-free version.) In 'Hacknet', you play as a computer user who has just been bestowed a unique operating system (OS) with tools that can hack different computers. As the game progresses, you will discover new hacking tools, join other factions of hackers, fulfill hacking job contracts to build your reputation, and solve the game’s central mystery. What I love about 'Hacknet' is the high level of immersion and engaging pacing. With my headphones on, listening to the adrenaline-pumping soundtrack, I voraciously took on one hacking contract after another. Before long, two to three hours have flown by. The game's missions, though all require hacking, vary in objects and pacing. Because of that, I did not find gameplay repetitive, and I used every opportunity to familiarize myself with the tools I had at my disposal. All of this prepared me for the climatic final mission, which totally did not disappoint. 'Hacknet' is novice-friendly, but some players may find it having a slightly steep learning curve. Players will be at an advantage if they can type fast, has used *nix (e.g. Linux) shell commands, and/or are familiar with text-based OSes. This is because the user interface of Hacknet is austere, with typing as your primary form of input. Still, there are simple graphics to depict hacking progress, network of computers, and directory trees. You can use your mouse from time to time as means of in-game navigation as I did. 'Hacknet''s appeal aside from immersion and pacing is really its simplicity. The players will always be given all the tools they would need to complete missions. So, the real challenge is to figure out which tool(s) to use to hack the computers and phones, and to do it quickly and efficiently. So, think fast! Type fast and furious! Once the dust has settled, snooping around the hacked machines and reaping your rewards are gratifying. At the time of this review, 'Hacknet' is my favourite hacking-themed game. It’s fast, it’s empowering, and it’s extremely gratifying -- especially after a challenging mission. I highly recommend this game to those who wish an adrenaline-pumping, brain-teasing, text-based adventure game.
Dave Gilbert's first game under the Wadjet Eye Games banner might have been 'The Shivah', but his claim to fame was definitely the renowned 'Blackwell' series. The 'Blackwell' games were so good that they had become part of the standard, against which modern point-and-click adventure games are measured. Needless to say, after the fantastic 'Blackwell' series ended, there are high expectations for Gilbert's follow-up game, 'Unavowed'. I purposefully did not follow Gilbert's development of 'Unavowed' because I fear I might develop unrealistic expectations for it. Gilbert had set himself such a high bar for his writing, and combining the supernatural into his mysteries, that I expected similar level of quality in 'Unavowed'. He did not disappoint at all, especially with the twist he dropped with aplomb during the game's climax! In 'Unavowed', players assume the role of a character of their creation: male or female, who had a career in acting, law enforcement, or bartending. This would affect how the story of 'Unavowed' begin, what the player character might say, as well as how some mid-game events unfold. The player character is silent, with supporting protagonists respond to the players' chosen dialogues. In that sense, 'Unavowed' is a point-and-click adventure game with some role-playing game elements. Players of the 'Blackwell' series had got to know Rosa Blackwell and her spirit guide, Joey Mallone, very well after five fantastic adventures. With 'Unavowed', Gilbert had the daunting task of making players care about the supporting protagonists in one game. He deftly did this by having these characters banter amongst themselves mid-mission, as we “eavesdrop” on their conversations. I particularly enjoyed hearing the backstories of Logan (a spirit medium, or Bestower of Eternity), Eli (a Fire Mage), and Mandana (a Jinn of mixed Jinn and human heritage). The backstory of Vicki (a former police officer) unfortunately fell just a bit short. The focus of 'Unavowed' is the conversations. Conversations with characters unearth new clues, which in turn open up new set of dialogue choices. That plus investigating items of interest would help you understand the nature of the demonic phenomena that had been plaguing New York City. Each case or mission would culminate with a moral conundrum. Your moral decision would have an impact on the outcome of the story, though not dramatically. It is these moral conundrums and facing the consequences of your decisions that make 'Unavowed' a gem, not necessarily the individual puzzles that preceded it. Given that, 'Unavowed' allows for replayability. Aside from your choice of your character's previous profession affecting the story's prologue, your choice of two of four supporting protagonists, who would join you on missions, would affect how puzzles could be solved. For example, Logan and his spirit guide could get clues from ghosts, but other team members could not. Your moral choices would also affect how you would solve the last few puzzles. I replayed 'Unavowed' twice to explore the impact of different team configurations and the moral decisions I make. At the time of this review, 'Unavowed' has some graphical glitches that are a bit distracting, but not game-breaking. The GOG version of the game does not have achievements, too. While this may annoy achievement seekers, I personally prefer it. I do not want the quest for achievements affect how I make in-game decisions and dictate how I should play the game, especially given the way it is designed. As a huge fan of Gilbert's 'Blackwell' games, I highly recommend 'Unavowed' even though it plays quite differently from them or other gems produced by Wadjet Eye Games. It is the differences in 'Unavowed' that make it a unique title in Wadjet Eye Games' catalogue.
'Samorost', seemingly the flagship game series for Amanita Design, is one of the most beautiful looking video game series in history. The realistic, detailed textures and backgrounds are juxtaposed by cute looking, whimsical characters. These elements, though contrary on paper, had complemented each other perfectly in the 'Samorost' games through great design. 'Samorost 3' is the best looking 'Samorost' game to date, with high-definition graphics that put the spotlight the beautiful textures in the carefully crafted environment. 'Samorost 3' also has some catchy tunes and interesting sound effects, which play integral parts in the game. In short, this game is a feast for your sense. However, some weaknesses from the previous games also got brought over to 'Samorost 3'. Like in 'Samorost 2', some puzzles can be cryptic, and may require some trial and error to figure out their objectives, let alone solutions. Interestingly, other puzzles are easier to approach the objects were made clear by NPCs. There is an in-game clue book that you can consult, which while helpful, made me wonder why the developers didn't just design all puzzles to be inherently more informative. 'Samorost 3' is a great adventure game. While the puzzles can be frustrating, the game has a leisurely pace that balances out the annoyance you may experience. The music and sound effects are enjoyable, made the more entertainment when your character and NPCs dance to them. 'Samorost 3', for what it is and for its age, is still pretty pricey. However, it is definitely worth checking out when it goes on sale.
(This is a reprint of my original review of the game on Steam.) 'Orwell' is a fascinating first-person adventure game that explores the implications of online surveillance -- by having the player act as Big Brother! You play an investigator tasked with capturing perpetrators responsible for a lethal bombing. With the help of an investigative advisor, you collect Datachunks to build profiles of suspects. However, profile building is not a rote task because you'll need to pore through online documents, phone and chat transcripts, resolve conflicting information, and be judicious and definitive about which Datachunk to add to the profiles. Given that, your decisions in building a suspect's profile will have both short-term and long-term consequences, affecting how the story unfolds. 'Orwell' makes players reflect on, or perhaps even reconsider the value of and impact of surveillance on public safety. It's both entertaining and thought-provoking, and I was compelled to replay it twice more so that I can see how different decisions will yield different outcomes. With such high value in entertainment, intellectual stimulation and replayability for its price, 'Orwell' gets my enthusiastic recommendation.
(This is a reprint of my original review of the game on Steam.) 'Broken Age' is a delightful, whimsical and funny adventure game from LucasArts alumnus, Tim Schafer. It features some of the most beautifully animated and visually unique graphics in adventure games I have seen to date. The puzzles are not particularly challenging, but creative enough to keep you entertained. This is particularly so for Act 1, and it's unfortunate that Act 2 fails to realize the game's full potential. The game was released in two parts, sadly almost a year apart. Act 1 features one of the more creative stories in PC adventure games. It is full of surprises and intrigue as we do not quite know how our two playable protagonists' storylines relate to each other -- if at all! The similarities and differences between the protagonists, in their upbringing and relationships with those around them, told through parallel gameplay make the introductions to these characters all the more enjoyable. Act 1 plays like a game about adolesence, rebellion, empowerment and curiosity that ends with a great cliffhanger, making you yearning for more of this "something (thematically) different". Now, in the time that it took for Double Fine Productions to churn out Act 2, one would expect them to produce something worthy to follow the (doubly?) fine first chapter. Sadly, no. Unlike Act 1, Act 2 feels like an average classic adventure game, in which you solve a long series of isolated puzzles to achieve a single objective -- and you get to do it for two characters! This may be more acceptable if it weren't for us visiting the same locations and interacting with the same characters again. Plus, the protagonists do not seem to be at a disadvantage despite being in wholly unfamiliar settings relative to their prior experience. Such wasted opportunities for adding a new layer of challenge to the gameplay! Act 2 does bring a few new twists. While these twists are interesting, they fail to enlighten or completely surprise me. In fact, these twists confuse me more, making me ask questions that I surprisingly find the characters not asking throughout Act 2. If questions are asked, they are asked by the wrong protagonist, as if the protagonists share a psychic connection through the player. The inconsistency in characterization and storytelling perspective make the gaming experience slightly jarring. Perhaps Act 2 will be more enjoyable if 'Broken Age' were not released in two parts. If so, perhaps the wonder, magic and intrigue of Act 1 would have spilled over to the second act, and I would not have felt the "been-there-done-that" effect as greatly. (Hmm, maybe that's why Tim Schafer recommended replaying Act 1 before playing Act 2?) Despite my criticism of Act 2, 'Broken Age' as a whole is a good game. It is one of the better adventure games out there; it is easy to pick up and enjoy, and I recommend this feel-good game. As long as you keep your expectations in check, you are unlikely to be disappointed by it.
'Kathy Rain: A Detective is Born' immediately captured my attention when I saw its beautiful pixel art and its mystery premise. But, is it any good? If 'Kathy Rain' is the first of a series of adventure games starring the eponymous protagonist, then it is certainly a fun, promising start. 'Kathy Rain' is quite a linear adventure game, with one set of puzzle opening up another. While this may frustrate more seasoned adventure gamers, this design guarantees players not finding themselves in a dead end or no-win situation. For the most part, sufficient clues are provided (sometimes quite explicitly) to solve the puzzles. Many are easy, but a couple of puzzles are a bit too obtuse for my liking. Coming off of adventure games like 'Resonance' and 'Technobabylon', I find the variety of puzzles in 'Kathy Rain' to be a bit lacking, too. Still, the story is slow, but well paced. I was never quite sure where the story would take me. Just when I thought I got the mystery figured out, the game threw me a slight twist that added a new layer of intrigue to the story. I liked that, especially when the protagonist is a headstrong, cynical and seemingly uncaring character. These unexpected turn of events allow Kathy to develop as a character by having her confront her vulnerabilities. Still, I wish there is more to 'Kathy Rain' than when was adequately delivered. The game is well made, but it feels like a well packaged introduction to a bigger story, much like 'The Blackwell Legacy' -- it's good, and I want more of it. Unfortunately at the time of this review, Clifftop Games has not announced plans to make a 'Kathy Rain' sequel. It's a shame because there is much potential to the Kathy Rain character and her developing skill set as a detective and journalist. Hopefully, somewhere down the line, we will see more of Kathy Rain in her sleuthing adventures.
A great PC point-and-click adventure game needs a solid narrative as well as fun, challenging puzzles. My list of great adventure games, therefore, includes classics like 'Day of the Tentacle' and 'The Secret of Monkey Island', plus contemporary gems like the 'Blackwell' series and 'Resonance'. After playing 'Technobabylon', I am happy to add it to this said list. 'Technobabylon' has an intriguing, cyberpunk mystery story. It takes its time to flesh out its characters through dialogues, and reveal the greater machinations at a steady pace. There is a nice variety of puzzles that don't overstay their welcome and become tiresome as the game goes on. In fact, with three playable characters in the game, each with his/her unique skill set, personality, attitude and life experience, even familiar scenarios will feel unique because you will approach them differently depending on which character(s) is/are playable at the moment. Other aspects of 'Technobabylon' that stand out are the fully realized locales, beautifully drawn backgrounds and character portraits (as expected from Wadjet Eye's Ben Chandler), and the atmospheric synthesized music. All these strengths definitely make 'Technobabylon' one of the strongest titles in Wadjet Eye's catalogue. If you are a fan of adventure games with strong narratives and well-conceived puzzles, this just definitely a game you must play.
