I really like it... but i cant reccomend it to the majority. the game is Weird and thats the best thing it has going for it. the art and story are undeniably interesting and despite the minimalist style it pulled me in even though its hard to follow... infact because its hard to follow. That might be a little unfair- it thrusts you into a very different world and doesnt explain much. But it is very well reallised. But the game play isn't great and its very short. It wasn't worth the price on the original release especially because it doesnt get very far- and there are many other games that have a beggining middle and end for the equivalent price. Its hard to recommend an the basis of the lack of a second and third act. But i'll not deny i always wanted to see the other made. But if you want to play somthing unique, well its definatly got that going for it.
as a big fan of presto studios, (the journeyman series and myst 3 exile), and a massive star trek fan i thought this game would be right up my alley. Nope. But on the positive side i'd say that the game ties a bit into deeper star trek lore a bit. which shows a bit of love for the franchise. Team GOG did a great job getting this thing to work on modern systems although i did have one crash to desktop. Its voiced by the original actors. On the bad side, tank controls but the auto aim walks this back a bit. very little help in the way of controls, had to google to progress past the tutorial. very short story (mixed blessing tbh) uninspired plot, characters and motivations. Voice lines are purely fuctional. If this game were food, it'd be a large brick of unseasoned tofu. Its really boring. I played to the end but i really dont know why. At the end of the day this is a tie-in game and probably didn't get the budget or time the game deserved- like all tie in games.
minus one star for the art-style and music which wont be for everyone, but matches the game perfectly regardless. I hated it for the first 10 mins but it grew on me. There is very little voiced dialougue, stoy and exposition is mostly delivered through text, and what there is is mostly delivered through stings that dont always seem to gel with the subject discussed. However if you like a whodunnit, this is a must. Travel about the island via platforming find clues, nik-naks, currancy and suspects to interrogate before starting a trail. when and how you progress is up to you and you wont really be penalised for fingering the wrong person... they just go down. Your the investigator after all, you wont be told you got it right.
a little advice to those who bought this, SAVE OFTEN. A Magical zany adventure game of a calibre not seen today, and really brings to life the world of Zork to life. its Funny, lighthearted, magical and challanging. That should be reason enough to get this game. However there's a unique selling point i don't think anyone else has mentioned. There are so many intereactions catered for either with the inventory, NPCs and the enviroment it really does blur the line between the text adventures and and your graphics adventure. Also this game is Hard. don't think you can play through this in one go without saving (or cheating). Despite this though the game is worth persevering with once you understand the nature of the game.
Without jumping up and down and clapping my hands like a little girl, this is an extreamly difficult game to review. To get across why this game is still revelent to not only adventure game fans but to gamers as a whole. I think its difficult because any game thats tried emulate a part or parts of what this game is has failed dismaly which means when describing the core mechanics its easy to write off. That would be a grave Mistake. You've been warned, so heres the low down. It Also has a lot of these Mechanics so its a bit long. The first thing about ths game its that its essentially an interactive movie, and a damn good one at that. Its the plot that rules here above al else. Its charming, solid, funny but not ridculous and dosn't take its self to seriously. You can identify with the main character and really care about the predicuments he gets in. Often times there are film sequences, that forward the plot and these by the way are very well done, not the cheesy poorly acted spaff on many lesser games. Then there are converations (full motion video again), the outcome of which can be decided on by multiple choice responses. This actually works here!!! It gives a better feeling of being in control of where the games going and of playing it your way, getting it wrong can have dire consquences but thats all part of the game. These also break up the intense sessions hunting clues which i'll go onto now. Okay so your a detective, and what more do detectives do that hunt for clues, leads. The interface for this is pretty intuitive, your basicly in a large 3d enviroment, you could even call it open. you have 2 modes movment and interactive. press the movment toggle and you move about, look around etc. something catch your eye. press the toggle to go to interective mode and you can investigate everything in detail thats in your field of view. Pick stuff up, interact and use it with wother stuff you picked up, flick switches and solve puzzles. Yes the Puzzels! becasue this is an adventure game, people and adventure games are alll about the puzzles... um.. i mean uh adventure puzzles...yeah!. okay joking aside its not that daft, in many adventure games plot and puzzels dont seem to match, or the plots so thin its blatently a poor device to get you to the next one or the end. but not here, here they are key to the success of your character. and a good bit of fun to. to close in my opinion this game is second only to its sequel, but this is the one that changed gaming. sure the graphics are a little rusty and has some hammy budget moments (all part of the charm), buts its 15 years old. Its suitible for all ages and has a varible difficulty to offer a suitible level of challenge. Right. i've gushed my soul out, now find out why
