The game is from the crazy mind of Sam Lake, the team at Remedy delivered a crazy yet entertaining game with a way out there story / plot but it combines the world of Federal Bureau Of Control and Alan Wake, I had the most fun playing the AWE expansion actually, as it tied up some loose ends in the Alan Wake game. The game play is rinse and repeat but is fun, responsive and quite fun once you get more of your powers. The visuals for this game are breath taking, having them maxed out they are quite remarkable for sure. Make sure you read all of the documents you collect as it really dives VERY DEEP into the games story, and mystery, not doing this will leave you in some cases scratching your head. From what I have seen, this is a franchise of sorts with Alan Wake being the starting point and Control to explore the Bureau behind the cover up in AW game and any and all other Paranatural happenings. I have not played Quantum Break, but I have a feeling it also ties into this story line one way or another I'm guessing the FBC. So all in all it is a fun and stunning game visually, just keep in mind the story might be a little odd for some. Remedy is one of my favorite dev studios because they always tell a rich and enggrossing story in all of their titles. Whats next I wonder, what ever it is, I will be picking it up as I have a feeling it will tie into this. If you have not got it, go pick it up, you will not regret it. *BUG FIX Sidenote: There is one mission where you fight a boss with a bunch of clocks, where you are meant to toss the clocks into the creatures void / eye. However it crashes everytime you do this, the best work around is the options cheat where you enable one hit kills, then just shoot it in the eye to beat it, then disable that cheat after to get the most out of the game as no other fix I tried out there worked, other than that the game is pretty solid and bug free.
I decided to buy this (again) as many rave that this is one of the gems of the old sierra days, and I have to disagree I'm afraid. First of all lets talk about the good. The story is fantastic, the settings are also really good and you get a sense and feeling that you are in New Orleans. Also the voice acting is pretty decent. But I'm afraid that's where it ends for me. Now the not so good. The games main protagonist is a sex starved, slimy creep and some of the dialogue between him and the female characters in the game make me shudder at how much of a slime ball this guy really is, in short he is one of the most unlikable characters I have played in a point & click adventure game. You can still be a playah with out the slime bag motif. I said something similar in respects to the protagonist for the 20th Anniversary edition. To me playing a likable character in a point & click game is very important, or at least a tolerable one, Gabriel is just not likable at all. I unfortunately could not force myself to play beyond day 3, as day 4 started I found myself more and more going through the motions, rather than enjoying the game and being engrossed in it's superb story, which this game does have. I tried playing this back in the day when it was a new title many moons ago, and I guess over time your brain forgets the real reason why you did not finish it back then either. If you can get past the protagonist and some of the odd ball and out of left field puzzles it might be an enjoyable game. Just not my cup of tea I guess.
Ok there are rave reviews all around on this game. Firstly this game is a classic and the remake tries to improve on this. But getting past all of that I find the main protagonist un-likable . . . . He comes across as a sleezy sex starved creep, to the point that I want his dream to come true (the intro nightmare). I feel a game especially a point and click adventure game needs to have a likable main character that one can connect with or at least like to some degree. The protagonists voice over is short of horrible in respects to my above mentioned comments, maybe the voice artist is actually really goo to the point of conveying his slimeball-ness. I am struggling to get past this and for that reason alone I give it 2 stars. I have read that others recommend to play the original, which I am installing at this moment. However for this remake I give this a thumbs down. Sorry I can not force myself to like the game beyond the main character. I will play the original and see if my tune changes and will write a review there based on my findings. For now this game is uninstalled. This is only my opinion as I am sure if you can get past Gabriel you will enjoy the game.
Massive being the key word, the levels for the most part are HUGE, and gives you the sense that you are in the bowels of a once thriving city. The puzzles are really well designed, smart and challenging enough to make you explore, think and act in order to successfully make your way to the end of each level. Although there is a TON of back tracking in this game, which in my honest opinion does gets a little old at times. The characters interesting enough to keep my attention through out the game, even though a little stereotypical in the way they act, especially the leader of the team. The story is some what cool, the setting is fantastic, however I found the ending to be a little welllll . . . . you can check it out and judge for yourself, I personally though it was really anti climatic and weak. All in all it was a fantastic trip down memory lane. It is well worth the purchase to enjoy this well rounded and fun game, even with its few minor flaws.
When Thief first hit store shelves, I remember picking up my copy from the local store and installing this game for the first time in anticipation of what looked like a great game. Playing this game again years after it's original un-installation, brings back many fond memories of this stealthy classic. The game still plays fantastic and the atmospheric setting is steeped in a deep and dark story with a foreboding sense of mystery, with the urge of exploration that drives you forward to uncover the dark secrets of the Hammer. Skulking around the dark streets and hallways, I found myself physically leaning around corners on my chair, before I snapped back into reality that I actually need to press a keyboard button to execute that action. The atmosphere does pull you in and even makes you whisper just in case the hammer guards hear you. I would recommend this to anyone that is looking for a great classic, stealthy FPS, that brings back the meaning of what it is to be a well developed game.
