Much deeper than you would think
Completed the game in 11 hours, 38% of accomplishments. Heck of a ride, definitely the best of the newer Wolfenstein, followed by the New Order. Played wonderfully on my Ryzen 5600x with an nVidia 1660 Ti. Honestly, one of the best PC games I have ever played.
I will go against the flow. While the first two Dracula games are awesome, it is the third one, Dracula 3 The Path of the Dragon, that - to me - is the most atmospheric adventure game I have ever played. While Dracula 3 will open in a window out of the box, it is possible to make it run full screen in Windows 10 if you follow the following steps: (1) Go to the game directory. (2) Open the config.ini file in a text editor. (3) Change the line bFullScreen=0 into bFullScreen=1. Save the file. (4) Go to the PC Gaming Wiki page for the game: https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Dracula_3:_The_Path_of_the_Dragon. (5) Scroll down to the section for the Blank screen on Windows 10 issue or follow the link https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Dracula_3:_The_Path_of_the_Dragon#Blank_screen_on_Windows_10. (6) Download WinD3D from the link shown there. (7) Unzip the downloaded WineD3DForWindows_2.6.zip file and copy all the contents of the zip (not just the DLLs for DirectX 9) to the game folder. (8) Right click on the dracula3.exe file in the game folder and set the compatibility to Windows XP (Service Pack 2). That's it. In my case (Windows 10 64-bit running on Ryzen 5 2600 with Geforce GTX 1660 ti) Dracula 3 runs full screen flawlessly. Again, this is an amazing package and I cannot thank GOG enough for making it available. I give it a full five stars wholeheartedly.
I have never really being able to get into isometric RPGs, but I found this game awesome. The graphics are crisp and well drawn (runs great on my nVidia GTX 950m); the turn-based combat is easy to wrap you head around; the dialog is well written, with big fonts (no need to squint, a big plus for me), interesting faces of the parties you talk to, and humor put in for good measure. Finally, despite what some reviews mention on the web, I am guessing the game has been updated and you can save (or quick save) at any point in the game (except when in a conversation). All in all, definitely worth the 3.39 euros I spent on purchasing it. Thank you GOG!
HERE IS MY STEAM REVIEW — I readily acknowledge that this is a rather WEAK review, of someone who has played the game for just over TWO HOURS and then uninstalled it, so kindly take it with a grain of salt. I was particularly happy about the graphics and the FPS: like Half Life 2, the game plays wonderfully on my Windows 10 laptop, equipped with a meager nVidia GTX 950m. The setting is very atmospheric, so I was getting in the mood to take my time to explore and solve puzzles as I walked from one meeting to another, and gathered clues as to the murders occurring. The map of the town was also very well drawn, helping me move around and adding to the atmosphere. The evening was nicely depicted in the changing colors of the sky and the darkness seeping in. But that was THE END OF THE GOOD THINGS about this game. Night came, I slept for six hours, and then a short confusing cut scene played, and the game switched to the initial menu options, not even announcing that I had died. Frankly, I was not even sure that I died. Died for what? The plague took over the town? You have got to be kidding me: I saw lots of people, including many kids, walking the streets in the previous (first) day, apparently in perfect health. They died overnight? Very poorly programmed. And this brought to mind other aspects of the game I did not like (but, obviously, overlooked as I tried to make sense of my first day in that very atmospheric town). The English is so and so, including the written text. And that exacerbates the already confusing (and not just complicated, that would have been OK) plot, bringing to mind the very first scene, where you try to decide whether an NPC is moving in slow motion intentionally or your computer is not playing the animation correctly. All in all, an ambitious but flawed endeavor.
I understand that Parkan 2 has received some great reviews, as being a quirky but uniquely awesome game. No matter, I will insist on this one point that is a total deal breaker: the user interface text is drawn in such small text that it is unreadable, certainly at 1920x1080 and even at 1280x720. Ridiculously enough, there is a "Display scale" setting that modifies … brightness! All in all, unless you enjoy squinting to read ridiculously small text or are under 16 years of age and enjoy perfect eyesight, avoid this game.
Right now SOMA is free, and I am loving GOG. Reminded me of Alien Isolation; game has great atmosphere and is genuinely scary. Plays wonderfully on a Toshiba laptop with Windows 10 x64 and nVidia GTX 950m. Has minimal user interface, few keys to remember (can be customized), overall awesome playing experience. Happy 2019 everybody, and thank you GOG!
I cannot believe I bought this awesome 3D game for 1.49 euros; it must be the spirit of Christmas! Incidentally, on my Toshiba laptop with a meager nVidia GTX 950m it plays wonderfully, and certainly much better than the other Alan Wake game. Strongly recommend for purchase!
I understand that Sea Dogs City of Abandoned Ships (i.e. Age of Pirates 2) is reported to be a better game than Sea Dogs Caribbean Tales (i.e. Age of Pirates), but I beg to differ, and here is why. First off, like any Akella games, you should not play Caribbean Tales unmodded: please find the Historical Immersion Supermod, download it, and install it over the game (the GOG release works fine with the Supermod, and the entire procedure is very easy, just copying files from one directory to another). Once you do this, most bugs and crashes are eliminated, and the game plays superbly (although it remains good advice to save often). Now, a modded Caribbean Tales game is awesome for those of us who enjoy free play, because, contrary to the City of Abandoned Ships, it does not force you to go through a land adventure before you get you own ship and start sailing in the Caribbean. And its graphics are on a par with the City of Abandoned Ships, much better than in the previous two games (Sea Dogs, and Sea Dogs 2 aka Pirates of the Caribbean). All in all, the Caribbean Tales game is awesome, and a great game to play if you enjoy free roaming. On the other hand, it is a very nice introduction to the City of Abandoned Ships, if you decide to also purchase that one. I did, and I love them both.
