The first three hours are a bit slow, but once the game gathers speed it shatters every expectation. Well crafted humor, brilliant plot and a fascinating setting mesh well with the JRPG style gameplay. One of my personal favorite games, despite its slow start.
It's hard to say what makes LBA2 such a wonderful gem. At first you feel like you could never get over the awkward controls, weird camera angles, confusing isometric perspective and your curious abilities. An hour later, they become a second nature to you. Two hours in and you're on your way to become a master of ricocheting the ball. Same for the plot which at fist seem silly and banal, but has you in it's grip in no time. This is a game that rewards, no, demands exploration and innovation. You find yourself trying to break the rules only to find that's exactly what the designers expected you to do. And you fall madly in love with the world of Twinsen. Especially with it's weird disjointed songs. A must.
Replaying Baldur's Gate a decade after its release reminded me what made it one of the best games of the nineties, and why I had so much trouble playing it then. Baldur's Gate has retained it's graphical charm. And with the help of a high-resolution patch, the game is even lovelier then when it came out. The interface remains very serviceable and the light tactical combat that is the staple of the series is still an enjoyable gameplay experience. The opening of Baldur's Gate quite the hurdle. You are thrust into the world and while you are given enough hints as to where you should go, you are quite fragile. Even after you recruit more characters to your party, you'll learn that you must carefully choose where to go and what to fight. It can be a frustrating trial and error affair, as your first major task can be down right brutal if attempted without quality gear or one or two levels under your belt. But after that difficulty threshold, the game really opens up. The World of Baldur's gate is big, and there are challenges, and quests around every corner. Finding a hidden cave, meeting colorful characters, finding new weapons, spells and items are just a few of the rewards of exploration. The dialog, of which there is a fare bit is well written. And almost every character has a distinct feel, even if she gets just a line before attacking you. And here's my main problem with Baldur's Gate raises it's head. The illusion of choice is flimsy. The linear plot has few constrains, but design decisions are the real culprit. You would often get three lines of dialog all leading to the same result and almost all quests have only one possible solution. There are very few opportunities for your character to be sophisticated or resolve conflicts without violence. And although most assailants will engage you in conversation before attacking, there is usually no way to avoid combat. The game gives you dialog options that seem to offer a diplomatic route, but all to often your choice is inconsequential. The plot itself is very much on the light side, but the setting is deep and there are history books and legends wherever you go. Baldur's Gate is fun. Personally, I prefer Fallout which offers a much less streamlined experience but offers much more meaningful choices and plenty of opportunities to solve tasks via dialog and sophistication rather then combat. But there's no denying Baldur's Gate's charm and how well it stood the test of time.
Despite the occasional frustration hurdle, Gabriel Knight is engaging and riveting from beginning to end. The puzzles are reasonable if not always completely logical and nothing feels unnecessary or tacked on. The plot is spot on, keeping both theme and mood constant throughout. The voice acting is some of the best with the talents of Curry, Hamil, Dorn and Cummings taking center stage. It's a game that refuses to hold you by the hand, and occasionally a leap of logic will be required. Consult the manual if your stuck and try to think logically.
Presentation-wise, Runaway is gorgeous. But everything else is terribly average. The plot is a confused effort that swings between a campy murder mystery to an "Indiana Jones" style mystic adventure. Add a few odd turns towards science fiction and you get a story that has trouble deciding where it is headed. Some fun can be had from the colorful characters along the way, but their silliness is at odds with the serious atmosphere the game tries to convey. It's a game that simply has trouble deciding what kind of story is it telling. Is it a serious crime drama? A light-hearted mystery? An odd-couple journey story? And all of these are simply at odds with each other. The puzzles start smart but quickly become contrived and forced. Runaway is by no means bad, but it is very average.
