I'm sure this is a good game, from what other reviewers have said. However, I find the character and item control scheme truly bizzare and eccentric. Why so complex? What is wrong with standard click and point or even WASD. Probably me, but I just couldn't master using the top row icons quickly enough to get into the cafe safely: gets a drag being arrested again and again. No spoilers, but I left everything as is in the toilet, collected coins, had a meal/drink and went back to the apartment: doesn't get you far as the cops turn up!! So, I have given up. I conclude I'm too old for this type of control scheme. I guess it would be better with xbox (for which I feel it has been designed), but don't have one of those (have never needed one for true adventure games). My scoring relates purely to the control scheme, which is dumbass!
Enjoyed it. Some good puzzles. Had some navigation problems: perhaps my computer! A relief when Nico turns up. Love the dialogue and the send up of institutions such as the church. The pice of salami in my inventory went rotten. Somehow the end fell a bit flat for me.
This is a very good game with an interesting storyline (I have played the first game, but never finished due to a bug). The challenge I found was not so much the puzzles in this game but getting around. The idea was straightforward enough with the L, R, U, D arrows. However, it is very easy to get lost and have problems finding one's way back to where you were (Reminded me of the same problem in Rama). Linked to this issue is the obscurity of the items one needs to solve a puzzle: their location was obscur and the logic behind some items was dubious. One can die and I certainly did. So, save often using a file name that uniquely identifies where you were (the ability to generate meaningfull save names is good). If you want to get the highest score, don't use Arthur's Hints (you'll lose points and frankly his hints weren't useful, nor were his comments: he rabbits on and on at times, and as a downunder bloke I had problems with his accent). I accept that as Gage, one is peering through a helmet visor, but the attrempt at realism went too far for me in that the viewing area was dramatically limited. I have Journey Man III on order thru ebay and hope that this annoyingv feature has been eliminated.
This is a great game with an interesting plot and sub themes. The graphics are great but at times the music was scratchy (maybe my machine!). Good acting on the part of the characters. Asylum was rather gruesome. Some puzzles were very challengng and sometimes because the environment added to the problem (Eg, could hardly hear the flute notes over the background music when tackling the flute-water spigots puzzle to get access to Sophia's lair). Some good death traps: I got caught in everone. I liked the non-linearity in that one can do the four worlds in any order. Nice ending, but no spoilers.
While the animation seems a bit crude by comparison with modern 3D graphics, this is a great game with some challenging puzzles. Gabe was much more understandable than in 2 & 3 (where he mumbles). However, I found the West Indian accent of the narrator difficult at times, so missed some of what she was saying. Escaping the cave zombies and getting into the inner wheel was one of the more challenging puzzles I've encountered. Jane Jensen is a very clever and scholarly woman (as a break from her games read her novel Dante's Equation which is a good sci-fi story). She does her research and creates a story-realism one doesn't find in many games. I have just finished playing Gray Matter (her final game) where, again, Jensen's scholarship shines through.
Not a patch on GK2. Though the storyline is interesting and well researched. The animation is poor (I mean a Harley with hexagonal wheels!) The faces were good, but Grace didn't look anything like the actress in GK2. Although Gabe's accent was even worse than in GK2, at least due to good sound I could understand him. Some navigation is weird. The final Temple sequence is riddiculous: where does one get the clues for some of the puzzles? All too religious for my tastes with Gabe as a Roman soldier begging the forgiveness of Jesus. Clearly set up for a sequel with Gabe's discovery of Grace's note (let's hope it is better).
An amazing game. Well researched by Jensen, with great attention to detail (I've travelled in Bavaria and have seen Neuschwanstein: but Schloss Ritter is a myth). Good acting: far better than some A grade movies (eg, Eyes Wide Shut). I struggled with Gabriel's mumblings and strong accent, me being a downunder bloke, so missed some critical dialogue. The story line was gripping, and had my adrenaline going at times, especially in the forest scene where Gabriel is chasing Zell, and at the very end in the furnace room. Trapping von Glower in the furnace room tested my logic ability to the limit (and I'd thought the tile maze in Broken Sword: Hidden Dragon was difficult). My romantic side hoped that Grace would declare her (obvious) love for Gabriel at the final scene, but she never did (and I now know there's a GK3. Well done GOG.
The graphics are beautiful, with lovely scenery and amazing cutscenes. George and Nico are as attractive and witty as in BS I & II. The story line follows on from the previous two games with Templars etc... The disappointment for me was the lack of the logical-style puzzles of BS I & II, replaced by endless (not another!) crate puzzle. Perhaps the designer was running out of puzzle ideas. I found the interface weird at first (point and click with no mouse!!), but got used to it:. However, it is a pain in a couple of timed puzzles (eg, locking up the guard in Montfoucon) where one has to run with ecentric camera angle changes. There was a well done and even moving part with Bruno's sacrifice and George's grief. Looks as though it has been set up for a sequel (Good news!?) because where did Petra go?
This is more like a psychological thriller flick with some sci-fi thrown in; than a computer game. There are few computer game-type puzzles, mainly going from location to location and exhausting coversations to death. Unlike some reviewers, I feel the acting was OK (as good as anything that currently comes out of Hollywood). The story line was interesting and got one quessing in a who-dunnit fashion. The game designer produces some weird situations (OK Curtis can't leave without his wallet, but a snack bar and his rat to get it??) The puzzles at the end (SPOILER AHEAD) seem a bit silly and only vaguely relate to what Curtis is doing: combining aliens and glop and slime?, and the circuit board puzzle was weird. But overall I enjoyed.
I played the original (CD) Myst when it came out (My first ever computer game) and fell in love with the whole concept, then read the Myst Trilogy, and got into the story even more deeply (then played Riven then URU - on and offline). So when I saw this on GOG, as I cannot play the old CD version on this machine (HP Notebook with Vista), I couldn't wait to see it in 360 degrees with improved graphics: Yeah, right! I won't blame the game or its software, but I barely get off the dock and up toward the Library when it crashes. GOG say it plays on Vista, but not on my machine. So, a great disappointment. I suspect there some interaction problem between my machine and the game software. But a friend of mine has had the same problem using W7 (admittedly, GOG doesn't claim the game will play on W7 and my friend knew this before purchase: I'd told her), but it should as W7 is fully backward compatible with Vista (if not Gates should be shot).
