Toren is one of those games where I'm not really sure how I feel about it. It clearly loves ICO and tries to channel it, it's pretty, the music is good and the concept is good. Despite that, I feels like less then the sum of it's parts. The concept is simple. There is a girl in a tower, who must climb to the very top and kill the dragon. This has happened before and will again in an endless cycle. Also, as the girl climbs the tower, she grows visibly older, from baby to old lady. It's all very fairy tale/folk tale like and fairly abstract. There's also a fair bit of symbolism in here which....well, some of it works and some of it doesn't really do anything. There's also a fair bit of narration, in an attempt to explain what's going on, but it's so obtuse it almost feels like it would have been better if they'd gone further in emulating ICO and just left the narration to a minimum. It's also really short. I finished it in under 3 hours and I was exploring a little bit(what little is possible due to the linearity). Not that it's really a bad thing. Considering the entire game consists of climbing the tower, drawing it out more probably would have exacerbated the problems it does have. The fact it's fairly inexpensive helps. It's not a bad game. It just feels like it could have been so much more. I kind of enjoyed it, but have no urge to play again.
Let me get the bad stuff out of the way. First of all, this game is ugly. Much of it looks like it was made in the mid 1990's and the game occasionally glitches upon loading saves. Also, the interface is a bit clunky and there are a few small plot holes. That being said, Gemini Rue is a engaging, well done adventure game. It draws a lot from Blade runner, while clearly being influenced by Cowboy Bebop and Momento. The story itself follows two characters, one in a prison and one in a very noirish city(which may mean that the ugly graphics were intentional). The puzzles are varied and mostly feel organic, and while you can die, the game autosaves at key moments to allow you to try again. An unusual feature of this type of game is the gun battles, which I haven't seen in an adventure game since Mean Streets. While this may sound daunting, you are trained how to shoot early in the game as part of the plot, the difficulty of the fights is adjustable and the battles turn out to be more about rhythm then anything else. Gemini Rue, despite some flaws, is worth checking out for fans of adventure games.
Consortium is a game that has a lot going for it. It's quite ambitious in scope, with a intriguing mystery/thriller on a flying command center in the not too distant future. It clearly was made in the image of Deus Ex, down to the clunky interface/combat system. The creators put a lot of thought into the universe, which is as much a hindrance as a help, since you have to learn a lot of what's going on on the fly. There is a lot of back story and lore accessible through the in-game database, but the database isn't easy to use and you can get massive amounts of information for a given topic. So much that you might end up forgoing looking through the backstory in favor of just playing the game. That aside, the plot is interesting, even if occasionally slowed down by lots of dialogue and the tension is nicely held throughout the game. The characters are varied and generally interesting(though the use of Pawn/Rook/Knight-# designator can make it difficult at first to remember who is being talked about). Overall, a worthy attempt, even if a bit unpolished and clunky. If you enjoyed Deus Ex, particularly the original, it's worth a try. Hopefully the next two games in the series will improve and polish the experience. To sum up: Pro: -Interesting Plot. -Good characters. -The airplane that serves as the setting is nicely realized and works well for the episode. -Feels like the original Deus Ex. -A good springboard for later episodes -Lots of backstory. Con: -Occasionally clunky interface and combat. -Way too much backstory and the in-game database is clunky. -A few bugs.
One of the best horror games, particularly the lovecraftian kind, I've run across in a while. The only real downside the game has is that as of the end of season 1, we haven't gotten any real answers about what's going on. A lot of wierd and creepy things happen but it's unclear the meaning behind it. OTOH, not knowing does a lot to enhance the atmosphere.
