CMI ist game you find in 10-Ten Rankings for Adventures quite reglarly. It is fun and witty, has an amazing soundtrack, complex characters, beautiful challenging and complex puzzles but with enoug hints to necer feel lost for too long. No dead ends, no regrets but s lot of good vibes and hilarious jokes (most of them aged quite well).
You can actually have a lot of fun with this game if you set your expectations correctly. Stasis is more of a horror sci-fi discovery tour than a point-and-click adventure. The main attraction is in revealing new horrors and perverse deviations and reconstructing the history of the research ship Groomlake based on the exciting diarys of former crew members. There are some puzzles in between, but they are strictly linear, which can lead to misunderstandings (e.g. if you can only interact with objects after they have been activated). The atmosphere is dense and gripping, although - similar to Lovecraft - the horror is never shown directly. In the meantime, the feeling creeps in that the Brotherhood could no longer decide between all the disgust and horror and then simply packed a good handful of everything into the game (mutants, killermushrooms, monster insects, genetic manipulation, child experiments, gas chambers, Frankenstein, blood, mucus, intestines), so that you sometimes lose a bit of an overview of what the real issue is and what you actually do here - well, if in doubt, explore further, because the next horror is only an airlock away.
I didn´t expect to fall so madly for Larry after all this years! This little fella conquered my heart by storm....and left me a little oversexed. I was way too young when the game was released but I guess I now have the age und humor to appreciate this gem of adventure. The story is simple as always: Get the girl (naked). The main puzzle lines are non-linear so you always got something to do somewhere until you come up with a new idea. Artwork and sound are entertaining and sympatic and the humor ist very … unique - but I’m sure you know all about that. The controlling might be a bit overwhelming in the first scene (the whole room is on fire - but hey, no pressure) but as soon as you realize that you can’t die and that the commentator keeps an eye on you and lends you a hand when you are in need…you´re doing fine :) There is a lot of talking but it simply needs to be done to finde a possibility to drop all this crappy funny innuendos and puns. I highly recommend to play the game in English if you dare - you can learn a lot. One word for the critics: Yapp, Larry is crazy for girls and sex but he never treats women disrespectful and his poor attempts to get laid are just a sign of desperation. In the end most of the time the girls have a laugh. [If you are playing LSL anti-chronological I have to add that the humor in Larry 7 ist VERY different from Larry WDDD. The Sextalk is slightly more subtle and therefor funny and also embarrassing (veeeery poor pick-up lines) but never brutal or tasteless, like it´s said to be in LDDD.] (Entschuldigt die schlechte Übersexung).
Everybody is crazy for this game, it´s in every Top Whatever Adventure Games of all Time- Ranking and - as many said before - a „must have". Sorry, I don´t get the point. Yes, it´s a nice adventure with some really good and many mediocre puzzles. The story is full of plot holes (especially the DC version) und as soon as it becomes a little thrilling the scene is over. The point that annoyed me the most and really frustrated me was the endless talking and the long and many dialogues. Yes, there are some jokes but in the end it´s all about „talk with person X about everything so you can talk with person Y about a thing more“. You never had to care for proper/right answers or even listen carefully, it just didn´t matter. Just click through all the blabla, go to the next person and start all over again. After ten persons you might get a puzzle. Ahrg! Sorry - yes, I like the main characters and sides, I like the setting, I like the idea of the main plot - but: I little less conversation, a little more action!
As said before Hand of Fate is the best LoK of the Trilogy: Nice scenery, handsome and smart main character, many many references and jokes on other adventures and even though the world is going to end (again) the atmosphere is more like Armageddon? Piece of cake! So while dimwit Brandon was stumbling through the woods and you had to save the game every 2 minutes, bad ass Zanthia kicks some butts e.g. frog monsters in the swamp and isn´t afraid of anything. Yes, you CAN die … but its really hard. But don’t get a wrong impressions - the appearance is deceptive: even though the atmosphere is easy peasy many of the puzzles are really really hard. Hard to find and hard to solve. BUT - and I cannot praise that enough: They are all logical! So don’t give up when it comes to potions, color combination and mazes: It´s not LoK 1.
I love this game because it is a childhood memory. It has a nice soundtrack, beautiful drawn and a little cheesy sceneries, a lot of magic and some well placed jokes. But most of the puzzles are a disapointing and frustrating. Actually its all about trial and error (save early, save often) when you have to find out random stone combinations or ingredients for potions - even after all this years I´m unable to find any logic behind it. The second frustrating thing are the gigantic mazes and labyrinths you have to overcome - so keep pen and paper ready to draw some maps.
Even though the main character is an adorable humble robot surrounded by sweet and funny little creatures the world of Machinarium embraces you with an oppressive and hopeless atmosphere created by a fascinating artwork and the mute characters supporter by a well arranged soundtrack. Every screen seems to be taken from a picture book of a post apocalyptical world with childlike but somehow cruel inhabitants. Most puzzles can be solved in just one screen (surprisingly that doesn’t make it easier). There are only few puzzle chains although all your struggles lead to a main quest.
