Compared to the first game, Broken Sword 2 is a bit of a letdown. The first one definitely had goofy moments, but managed to keep a sense of excitement, urgency and danger while still being lighthearted. This one is a lot weaker- you can still die, but the villains are poorly developed and not very intimidating, and the stakes and setting feel a lot smaller in scope despite the focus being on a world-ending Mayan god. After a promising, adventurous start, it seems to become rather unfocused and mundane. The puzzles are decent, still just about the right difficulty, aside from a couple annoying pixel-hunting moments, but they make less sense and one wonders whether it's really that difficult to, say, grab a ball away from a cat. Many characters appear briefly and vanish again after showing just enough personality to entice you, and it always feels like part of the game is missing as a result. The plus side is that the remastered edition isn't a severely dumbed-down, blurry version of the original like the remastered Broken Sword 1 was. The only differences are a couple (literally only one or two) missing clickable points, journal entries by the main characters, characters portraits during speech, a few paths missing from the jungle maze, and a very slight graphics overhaul. I played them both one after the other and hardly noticed the difference. I think the character portraits are a little unnerving and prefer the original game, but this is all a matter of personal taste rather than one obviously being superior to the other. If you're looking for a fun, light adventure game with a few funny moments and some decent puzzles, it's worth a buy, but don't expect epic adventure and danger in the vein of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Gabriel Knight, or even the first Broken Sword.
Judgment Rites improves on its predecessor with an ongoing story arc, much longer, more interesting missions, and a lot more dialogue and reactions from characters, much of it completely optional but highly amusing. The voice acting is improved- Kirk sounds at least a little more engaged, Spock and McCoy sound more like their younger selves, and the computer is properly voiced by Majel Barrett this time. There's more variety in your landing parties- instead of being given a random redshirt every time, the plot dictates who you end up with, including a resentful officer with a grudge against Kirk, a superstitious biologist, or even Uhura, Sulu, Scotty or Chekov. The point system from the previous game returns, with more diplomatic solutions earning a higher score, though oddly, you aren't told how many points you've earned any more- you'll have to infer it, or check the captain's log during the next mission. You can also screw up some missions so badly that you get a game over without actually dying, and can do so poorly during the game that its ends with Kirk being fired, which adds some replay value. There's quite a bit less starship combat than the previous game, and an option has been added to adjust the difficulty or skip it altogether. The game's biggest problem is the dialogue- not the voice acting or writing, but the constant mix-ups. The wrong character's mouth will move, the text words will be different than those spoken (sometimes just slightly off, sometimes an entirely wrong line that obviously belongs somewhere else in the game), a character will speak with another character's voice, and, in one unbelievable example, DeForest Kelley flubs his line and dissolves into giggles... and they USED IT ANYWAY. These issues are especially bad in the next-to-last mission, which must have been extremely rushed, but you're guaranteed to run into a few on any playthrough. Aside from that annoyance, this is a great game, a big improvement, and highly recommended.
This game is wonderful- it feels like playing a season of the original series, if a rather short one with simpler episodes. The space combat is simple but challenging, however, the real meat of the game is the point-and-click adventure game antics of the away team as they work to resolve the problem at hand. Many problems have several solutions, and you get a score at the conclusion of the mission based on how closely your choices reflect the proper behavior of a Starfleet officer. Play it straight and things will work out much like an episode of the show, or make Kirk act like a psychopath and your score will plummet (hey, maybe it's secretly the evil mirror universe Kirk?), but it's fun either way, especially with voice acting from the original cast! DeForest Kelley and Leonard Nimoy show their age a bit and Shatner sounds bored, but it's still great to hear McCoy and Spock bicker, or Kirk getting exasperated with a certain mustachioed troublemaker. The library computer is impressively detailed, letting you look up entries on every aspect of the missions, as well as numerous references to the original episodes. There are a few minor problems- sometimes the voice acting doesn't match the text, the space combat can be a little too fast on modern systems, and the missions can be very picky about what you need to do to get the maximum score (one, for example, requires you not to enter a certain room more than once, and another requires you to do a risky beam-in to a hostage situation when a safer alternative exists), but they do little to flaw this gem of a game. However, you WILL need to use the star map originally contained in the manual, so make sure to print it out before you start. Consider this the lost fourth season of Star Trek, and explore some strange new worlds!
While the game has some creepy visuals and very atmospheric environments, that's about all there is. The gameplay is nothing special, almost entirely walking and climbing, with very limited and obvious use of items as keys. It's not very scary and seemed to quickly abandon the concept of playing a vulnerable two year old, making you do things like operate machinery, jump from high ledges, and weigh down a see-saw so you can use it as a ramp, things far beyond a toddler's abilities. Even if it's mostly taking place in an imaginary world, it broke suspension of disbelief a bit too much, and it just felt like you were playing a very short adult sometimes. The plot is serviceable, but rather predictable after only a couple levels, and the conclusion gives you the distinct feeling that the makers of the game thought they were delivering a huge, emotional, dramatic surprise when that's just not the case. The game has been criticized for being too short, but I feel that it's just the right length- any longer and it would have grown tiresome and repetitive. The best thing about the game are the atmospheric environments, which really are quite beautiful and disturbing, but there just isn't enough substance there to support a full-length game, so they were wise to quit while they were ahead. It's entertaining enough to play through once, but I would recommend waiting until it's on sale.
I had never played either before, so I started with the original, then the remake. The original is a nice blend of Sierra and Lucasarts styles- you can die like in Sierra games and the puzzles are typically on the more difficult side (though not as bad as the infamous reverse Rumplestiltskin puzzle), but you can't get permanently stuck by not picking up the right item, and the humor is very reminiscent of Lucasarts. The graphics hold up quite well, and the animated style of the characters is pleasant, if sometimes at odds with the more violent parts of the story. The attention to detail in the dialogue is far beyond what you'll find in other adventure games- show an item to a different character and you'll almost certainly get a unique (and often quite amusing) response, rather than the usual bland "nope" response from your protagonist. The characters themselves have loads of personality, and are very well voice-acted, making it a delight to chat with them, though they almost overshadow your main character, George, who is fairly bland, but enough of a likeable jerk that you want to see him succeed in his quest. The remake is disappointing on every level. The graphics are blurry and the colors seem dark and muddy compared to the original, the added journal system is boring and unnecessary, the character portraits are dead-eyed and ugly, and large optional chunks of the game have simply been removed, giving you less to explore and interact with- inexplicably, talking to characters about objects sometimes results in a "nope" from George instead of unique dialogue ALREADY PRESENT in the original game, and many clickable spots have been removed if they're not directly used in a puzzle. The game has been dumbed down severely, making the puzzles simpler, making clickable spots glow blue, and making it impossible to die. The puzzles that have been added are mostly busywork, though the door puzzle and the substitution ciphers in Nico's sections were fairly enjoyable.
Pros: Good graphics and some very atmospheric scenery. Nice that they didn't feel the need to make it 3D in any way- this really feels like it's right out of the golden age of adventure games. The story is interesting and keeps you moving along, and the contrast between the realistic 1980s setting and the fairy tale fantasy adds variety. The puzzles are exactly right, difficult enough that the solution isn't immediately obvious, but not hard enough to get you stuck or frustrated. The music is pleasant, if not particularly memorable. There is a side quest of sorts involving watering a plant that doesn't actually do anything gameplay-wise, but parallels the main character's own return to life and happiness, which is a nice bit of attention to detail. Cons: The voice acting leaves a lot to be desired. I don't think I heard any character pronounce someone's name the same way as another character (and sometimes they weren't even consistent in their own dialogue), and there are a few instances where they obviously messed up their lines but it was left in, as well as a line that was accidentally repeated, and many lines that didn't quite match the text. The acting talent is passable, but the dialogue is rather stilted and unnatural, as well as a bit bland, which makes it hard to connect emotionally with any of the characters. The ending, while pleasantly unexpected, is a bit jarring and seems to be a little rushed, as though a few minutes of the game are missing. The game is a bit shallow, and while several interesting themes are touched upon, they're not explored very well. It's definitely worth playing, and maybe even worth $10, but is rather short and leaves one feeling like there was some wasted potential. Still, it's great to see someone making decent old-school adventure games in the modern age.
Don't get me wrong, TIE Fighter is the perfect game, with a great plot, wonderful gameplay and challenge, awesome music and graphics (for the time) and best of all, the innovative experience of fighting for the Empire and seeing the Star Wars universe through their eyes. Unfortunately, the best version isn't included- the 1995 Collector's Edition CD-ROM version. Instead, we're left with a choice of poor, blurry graphics, no voice acting, and the awesome interactive iMuse system, one of the best features of the game, or better, cleaner graphics, voice acting, and generic Star Wars music that lacks the context or excitement of the iMuse version. I'm guessing emulation issues are why we have to pick and choose instead of enjoying the best of both, and it's a shame. However, don't let this near-miss dissuade you- despite those flaws, it still might be the best $10 you ever spend.
This game remains the best adventure game ever made, and one of the best games of all time, period. This GOG release finally gives us the best possible version for modern computers. Unlike the Steam version, which reduced much of the game's amazing soundtrack to clicks and blips, GOG's version runs on Scumm VM and allows for some customization of the way the sound is emulated- and even if you never bother messing with that, the default sound is much closer to the original than Steam's version. If you haven't ever played the game before, I envy you, because you are in for an amazing experience. Get it NOW. You will not be sorry.
Remake is (justifiably) a dirty word these days, so it's nice to see a remake made with care and passion. How does Gabriel Knight 20th Anniversary hold up against the original? It's mostly a mixed bag. Some areas don't carry the "proper" feel of the original quite as well, but some (in particular the hounfor) really benefit from the graphical makeover. The music feels much the same- some themes are as good or better, a few are inferior to the original, but only by a little. It would be hard to match the original voice cast, but the new actors do a great job, particularly Gabriel, and I had few complaints there. The new puzzles unfortunately are all laughably easy and don't add much to the game, but don't hurt it either. The special features, however, are very enjoyable, and a great way to appreciate and learn more about the original game while playing the new. The graphics are beautiful, and the game looks great overall- my only complaints would be the portraits during speech, which have an unnerving head-jiggle that just looks weird if they're not actively talking, and a few graphical glitches, such as a couple doorknobs jumping a foot higher on the door when characters interact with them- stuff that isn't a huge deal, but pulls you out of the story for a moment. I really hope they release a patch to fix issues like that. One glaring problem is that while items in some environments have been changed slightly, the descriptions of the items have not, which leads to things like a wagon wheel being referred to as a bicycle tire, a man's hat as a woman's hat, and, most egregiously, a landscape painting being referred to as a portrait of a woman- it's not even just the narrator in that case, Gabriel comments on it too! This seems like a colossal blunder that I'm amazed is in the game, and while it doesn't ruin it, it shows that perhaps the game wasn't given as much care and time as it needed. The original is still better, but the remake is certainly worth a play.
I'd never even heard of this game until it popped up on sale, but this is some real quality. The learning curve is a little steep, but by the beginning of the Old Kingdom, you'll have a good idea of what you're doing and be eager for the challenge of constructing eternal monuments and fending off enemy armies while staying out of debt, keeping your citizens healthy, and avoiding the wrath of the gods. I can't comment on the expansion, as I'm still only halfway through the original game, but what I've played so far is well worth the price.
