As a keen lover of classic, point and click adventure games, this one could of course not have escaped my attention. Everywhere it is hailed as one of the best of all time. But somehow, I had never played it until I recently discovered that it had been added to my library - for free! After playing it, I am disappointed. It is not without its qualities, but from all the hype, I was expecting a much more refined game, with the story told in a much more engaging and immersing way. The best things about the game is the overarching story, which is theoretically interesting, and the userinterface, which is perfectly simple: left click to look, right click to interact. For me, a good adventure game feels like you are reading a book or watching a movie, where the immersion and identification is boosted by being able to take the main character's hand as it were and lead him or her through the story, helping them solve the mysteries. One reviewer wrote that this game is like reading a book. I find that very far from my experience. My problem with the game is that it somehow fails fails to engage me in the characters and the story. Partly because the puzzles are often very counter-intuitive because you have happened to do things in a certain order. This breaks the immersion, because you are thinking not about the problems your character is having in his world, but the problems you are having with the game. Also, even when the puzzles do fit naturally into the story, they somehow fail to drive story forward in a coherent and meaningful way. Most actions that drive the story forward are only understood after you carried them out, because it was the only thing you could do. The midi-sounding music is really annoying. You can turn it down in the settings, but as soon as you walk into the next screen it's up again. Sure, for its time it was probably a pretty good game, and I guess in many ways a standard-setter, and it deserves credit for that. But comparing it with later stars of the genre (even leaving graphics and sound out of the comparison), it won't hit my top 10. Obviously, all hard-core fans of adventure games must try (and apparently also love) this one, but for casual players I think it can be skipped. From the hype it was getting I had expected a game that would give me a lasting impression, but I doubt it will.
