Hello again, this is another joint review by Prator and mysterweb (hereafter referred to as "Web" because I'm lazy and for no other reason). This week, we played through Dark Fall 2, a sequel to Dark Fall: The Journal. We thought DF1 was cool, so after I pulled Web out from under the bed, where she'd been squeaking about monsters, we gave this game a shot. Pay no attention to her, she jumps at rainbow sparkles. Web: You're never gonna let me live that down, are you? Prator: No. Web: Okay, going in with the rainbow sparkles thing (I did NOT jump!), this game includes time travel, dark matter, and Victorian lighthouses. Strangely enough, it seems to work, most of the time. Prator: Expect to be confused and have only a partial understanding of what's going on even by the time you reach the endgame. This is normal, and it's in character since you're playing some hapless cartographer from 1912 who doesn't understand the sci-fi-ish stuff that appears in this game. Web: This is also to be expected because of Dark Fall 1. Expect to be even MORE confused, if that is possible. This game is good, but kind of Crazy. Prator: To start out with, I should probably mention that the reason why I gave this game three stars was because you need to be exceptionally attentive when it comes to observing what you can click on and where you're permitted to walk. Web: In order words, you need to be Superman. And have phase-walk attached. Prator: The puzzles themselves aren't so tough (usually... that one with the generator at the beginning was odd...), once you find all the pieces that go to them, but the pieces can be scattered very widely, and some are easy to miss. Web: Camera angles can work against you, so always check to see how many different places you can look. Small things blend in, large things blend in, and rocks look like they've melted. Prator: Also, I advise you to ignore any ghostly voices telling you to come "over here!", especially if they start laughing at you. Web: Double death. I'll find a way to kill that ghost again... The sound quality was good, but not enough to let you turn in the right direction. Prator: Ambient noises are even better than they were in Dark Fall 1, with the addition of more noises and ambient music that adds a little to the creepy feel. Web: While the noises are good, the ghost voices tend to reverberate a lot, and are not always intelligible. Still really good. I was hiding under my knitting. Prator: ...You were frightened of the door-opening noise. Web: It was not the noise! The white door turned to a black portal of death! It opened really fast! Prator:.... Moving on. Prator: Visuals are pretty good. You can see your own character's face, for once, and Benjamin Parker feels like an actual character in the story, rather than a simple avatar of your whims as the player. Besides that, Everything is suitably dark and unpleasant-looking when it's supposed to be, and brightly lit when it isn't. Web: A nice touch with some objects is that the texture looks pretty realistic, so it doesn't seem odd that you can pick them up. Prator: On that note, I should also probably warn you that this game consists largely of redundant items that you might be able to move, but cannot carry. Web: I think they were put in there for ambiance and extra realism, but they can still get annoying. Prator: It does serve to reinforce the idea that you must look at EVERYTHING, though... Prator: As in Dark Fall 1, your ultimate objective is to gather together a bunch of symbols together as a code to defeat some vaguely evil thing. Web: Ummm... Vaguely evil? Wasn't everyone pretty much dead or glowy? I felt bad for the villain, a little bit but... GLOWY PEOPLE! Prator: I say "vaguely evil" because after finishing the game, I still have no idea what it was doing or why. Web: Good point. You never actually see anything of the villain on screen. He'll talk to you a lot, but it's all in your head. Suitably creepy, but still... Prator: This dude did not inspire terror like the thing from Dark Fall: The Journal. Even though I only saw the titular Dark Fall once in that game, it was the most frightening thing in the game by far. DF2, on the other hand, manages a villain who is more prevalent and creepy, but also very annoying. Web: Hmm.... True, although I will admit that the overlay with his voice was creepy, there were such gems of literature as the case when he said "You are my pawn!" and you thought he said "Where is my porn?" Prator:.....*snicker* Prator: In short, it's a good game if you're really detail-oriented, as was the case with DF1. Web: Also, really good ambiance. Even if you're a diehard, there's still the possibility that you will be wigged out. I am not a diehard, so I cannot stand behind my comment, but still the thought is there. Prator: On a personal note, I must add that this game shares a common "flaw" with Dark Fall 1, in that you are NEVER actually in danger of death or injury, and so long as you remain conscious of that, the scare factor goes down. Then again, I know from experience that dying and reloading over and over in a horror game also drops the scare factor, so maybe this "flaw" will be a positive thing for you. Web: So yeah... Second verse, same as the first, a little bit louder, a little bit worse, but not bad!
This third-person shooter/strategy game makes for a short, but fun and memorable play. It has its problems, but they didn't stop me from playing until 2:00 AM. GRAPHICS 4/5: Not bad. Insofar as the terrain is not very detailed, all the bright colors and variations thereof make the game visually very spiffy. My biggest and only problem with the game's appearances is actually with the targeting reticule; oddly enough, the point where you actually fire seems to be a little below and to the right of where the reticule is centered. That's not usually noticeable, but it can be frustrating when you think your aim is dead-on and your last round still misses, or when it hits the hill you're hiding behind instead of the target. SOUNDS 4/5: Nice weapon noises, great recorded dialogue. Music is limited to a few tracks, but it's generally decent. GAMEPLAY 3/5: If you like running around and blowing stuff up, you'll love this game. That said, there are some flaws that mar an otherwise enjoyable experience. First, ally AI stinks. The Meccaryns who back you up when you're playing Baz have an annoying tendency to fly into walls, and you can't give them complicated commands of any kind. You also cannot split them up; you must command all of them to do the same thing. The offspring of Kabuto have it worst, though; it's unusual for them to actually attack enemies in the area they are in. Instead, they tend to just sit there and get shot at, which is about all they are good for. Second, faction balancing leaves a fair bit to be desired. Ironically, the Meccs, the faction you begin play with, are the most easily killed and have the most difficulty destroying enemy bases. Sea Reaper Delphi, on the other hand, has some difficulty healing without a body of water nearby and tends to get swarmed because she cannot travel with any allies. Her spells, for the most part, are less useful than her weapons. Kabuto is the easiest to play with, since he's basically impervious to small arms and can heal himself by eating all enemies. Third and last, YOU CANNOT SAVE YOUR GAME. I cannot stress this enough; whenever you die, you are returned to the start of the mission. Given how often you die while playing the Meccs and/or Delphi, I cannot emphasize strongly enough how bothersome this is. STORY 5/5: It's nonsensical and hilarious. What's not to like? In short, it's not a bad deal for six bucks.
Okay, for this review, I'm going through a dialogue with gog user myster_web about our experiences as we played through the game together in real life. Prator: So, I thought it was kind of short. It took us, what, five hours to finish all of it? Web: We started it at 11:00 and finished it at 4:30. So, definitely yeah, short. I thought it was gonna be a lot a more complex. Prator: Puzzle difficulty wasn't much, most of the time. The biggest trouble was spotting all the things you needed to pick up. This game has taught me a few things about looking down. Web: It was kinda like Syberia in that all the puzzles were "find an object and a place to put it", only some of the puzzles were a little counter-intuitive. Could have had more variety, but it's not bad for a shorter game. Web: One thing that bugged me was the way that you looked around. It may cause motion sickness if you're staring over someone's shoulder. Prator: Or just if you've got a weak stomach. Web:..... Are you trying to suggest something? Prator: It's not a suggestion. Web: Touche'. Let's continue. Web: The plot feels kinda like a dream sequence; don't take it too seriously or it will make no sense. If you think of it more as a waking dream, it'll come across much easier. Prator: Your character's actions are pretty damn inexplicable, but that might be because you're playing a mime. Web: ...who can carry a huge egg in his pants. Prator:...With telekinesis. Web: And don't forget he tried to headbutt a rhinoceros-hippo. What was up with that, anyway? Prator: On that note, this game has more than its share of memorable moments. Given it's length, there are a lot of bizarre or interesting things that you'll probably have fond memories of later. Web: The visuals are absolutely gorgeous. It does feel like you're exploring a real world, and the sound changes depending on where you look. For the time period, it definitely feels real. I still really like the end sequence; not telling you what it is, but be prepared to have a "What the frell!?" moment. :) Prator: My assessment is that it's a good game, but I wouldn't pay ten bucks for it. I recommend waiting for a sale. If you feel you MUST drown yourself in prettiness, I'd go for Syberia first. Web: This game is more for fans of the creator. It's really cool to see where Syberia came from, and it explains those dang winding machines. Try splitting the cost with someone else. Prator: Incidentally, you still owe me five bucks. Web: It's coming! I'm getting there!
