Back when it came out (around 1999), I was completely blown away by the absolutely unique interactive fiction game "Aisle", which was also made by Sam Barlow. So it was a no-brainer for me to buy "Her Story" the second I heard about it. And what can I say? Sam just doesn't disappoint. "Her Story" really gives you the feeling of browsing through police files on an old computer from way back when. The reflection of the CRT monitor looks authentic, as well as the desktop and the interface, of course. The story that's being told might not be the most elaborate one, but the way it is presented and the way you're hunting for all of the clips makes it a unique experience. It took me about 3½ hours to complete the game with 12 of the 13 achievements and right now I feel like I got to know 'Her' quite well and yet there's still stuff that leaves me puzzled. Great game! Give it a shot, it's WELL worth the asking price!
Seriously... the GAME Loom is just the second half of the story! The first half consists of the audio drama that was included in the original box back in the day (either as a cassette tape or later as an audio CD). I love Loom with all my heart – played it first when I was 13 years old (I'm 35 now). But who wants to buy HALF of a story? Seriously... utterly disappointed by you, GOG.
The original Shadowgate, published in 1987 for the Amiga, Atari ST and Macintosh, in 1988 for MS-DOS-PCs and in 1989 for the Nintendo Entertainment System still is an absolute classic among first person point & click adventures. This new version is actually the second remake - there was a Windows 3.1 version in 1993 containing better graphics. That said, this new one can safely be described as the first REAL remake as everything's been recreated from scratch. However, there's one big problem with it. When you see the screenshots, the amazingly beautiful surroundings, creatures, characters, ... all boasting with atmosphere, it seems just perfect and like the thing the fans have been waiting for for so many years. But there's one major flaw in it all: the "flash" animations. Even if you have played only ONE of those typical run-of-the-mill casual hidden object "adventures", you'll recognize exactly what I mean when I say the animations are absolutely awful. Every movement, every animation, eveything really happening on screen feels like there are cardboard cutouts being moved from the background towards the screen. Even mighty dragons seem like paper mache. When there's effects put on top of it all, like lightning, bloom or sparkles, it's just the same as with mentioned hidden object games: you see what they tried to make it look like – but it all falls flat because it simply looks cheap. Which is sad because the interface is a definite improvement over the originals, the soundtrack is absolutely breathtaking and the atmosphere and story... well... see for yourself, you won't be disappointed. To sum it up: the only reason why you should purchase this game for the initial asking price is the truckload of bonus material. If cheap animations bother you, better wait for a reasonable discount.
