I'm just getting into the game, an so far I appreciate the dynamics of the gameplay and interactions. The disjointed relationship to the real world is handled well. I am a fan of the 3rd person, 3/4 view, though part of me wishes for a little more flexibility in being able to rotate around the enivironment, but that's merely a quibble. The painted look is well executed. The story itself has me feeling uneasy - which is what the designers were going for. This is an interesting experience so far.
Rarely do games leave me both emotionally moved and intellectually curious. The combination of a pulp noir story with an overview of contemporary cosmology works far better than I would have imagined. This one that will stay with me for quite some time. The gameplay mechanics are simple point-and-click for the most part. The puzzles are engaging and captivating, without being overly difficult. And when stuck, the soundtrack helps keep the mood calm. (The silky jazz soundtrack is superb, fitting the aesthetic of the animation and tone of the story.) For the most part the story is linear and there's limited ability to roam about a given environment. But that's the intent here - to tell an interactive story that keeps the player/audience focused and engaged. Due to the themes and content, this game is geared toward mature players. There isn't a great deal of action, this is more about exploration, and internalizing the story. All in all, exceedingly well done.
This is a an enjoyable deck based city builder in an art-deco style with an excellent ambient soundtrack. The interface and controls are smooth. It's not particularly complex or challenging, but it's well done and highly enjoyable.
In some ways I am finding this game disturbing. It is easy to envision how such an oppressive, totalitarian society could develop and how the members of that society are pitted against each other. It starts off easy enough, report bad people to the police, send innocuous reports profiling your tenants. This, however the proverbial slippery slope. How far will you got to preserve the peace? What is the price for betraying the neighbors you serve? As far as the mechanics of the game; there's a shallow learning curve to understanding the controls. All interactions and navigation are mouse driven. The stylized, simplistic graphics emphasize the bleak world in which you are playing. The audio is akin to the mumbling gibberish used in The Sims, although it does get repetitive after a while. The background music fits well. The plot itself is straightforward, with clearly defined tasks to be completed in order to progress through the narrative. If you are someone who likes being nosey and prying into your neighbors' lives, this game might be right up your alley - provided you can also stomach destroying their lives. I've found it captivating, and keep expecting the other shoe to drop in this surveillance state.
A New Beginning: Final Cut is a solid point-and-click adventure that is highly polished with smooth graphics and a compelling story. The only critcism I have is that the voice acting is, at times a bit on the flat side. Despite that, for fans of adventure games this is enjoyable and satisfying.
Overall, the remastered Tomb Raider trilogy preserves the look and feel with updated graphics. Using an X-Box controller on the PC works well for the most part. It's easy to toggle between the classic gaphics and the polished, updated graphics. The "modern control" option is easier to use and works well for about 90% of the actions. The modern controls though don't readily allow hopping backwards a step, or side-flipping. This is particularly frustrating when you want to hop back and hang off a ledge. I am hopeful this will be addressed in future updates. Overall, it's been fun revisiting this game and would recommend it for a nostalgic look back at a fun action/adventure classic.
I'm really enjoying this point-and-click adventure. It's a little silly, a bit dark, filled with spoken dialogue that's well performed, and and excellent background music. Of course this reminds me of the film Ted which also featured a sarcastic living teddy bear, but this game stands on its own as a spoof of film noir tropes packed with cultural easter eggs. All in all, this is a relaxing, fun game that I highly recommend.
