I bought this game on GOG based on it's reviews, and I most certainly do not regret it. Have a look on the internet, as I did, and most likely you will find that this game is very well spoken off, but sold poorly. It's odd but it happens, and you will do well in believing the good word about it. I for one am a guy who's been playing games ever since I was 5, being 23 now, and I like to know about games of different genres, and what goes around on the market in general. I say this, because there are games I've heard about, but not played, and this is the opposite: It's unknown but great.
Utter personal qualification aside, here's something to know about it if you're deciding. The gameplay is similar to the Zelda games, a comparison often made because the games are dated nearly in the timeframe. For the most part you control Jade as she is on foot, but there are distinctive elements depending on where you are. On some places, you can fight straight up, with a simple but fun combat system; on others, you have to stealth around, using line of sight mechanics to pass by. In some cases, you don't have to stealth all the way, you can defeat the sentries while they're not looking. There are also race tracks, where you use a hovercraft as a vehicle, and a part later on where you use a spaceship. The game allows itself to continue fresh throughout by changing the gameplay sightly like that. There are no difficulty levels, and overall it is easy, though there are parts where one may be stuck a bit. However, not too much, and there is not much grief in trying over again. The learning curve is smooth, as the gameplay is rather simple. There are also some mini-games!
There are elements of scavening hunting, that you can go after if you want full completion of the game, but are not entirely necessary for the development of the plot. That gives some room for exploration, although for the most part the game is linear. That, in the end, is not at all bad because the plot is well constructed, and it was seen as a necessity to develop it, being pretty much one of the best allures of this title. The characters matter, the songs make you feel involved with the feelings at hand, and it there is a nice twist in the story. Proof of that: One of the cutscenes made me cry. Damnable damnsels in distress! The graphics here if compared to nowadays would make it even easier to convey the emotion, but even with what you see in the pictures, their faces move enough to make you understand. It's the little things, like Jade laughing after beating another player at a mini-game, or your companions becoming ecstatic about winning a race.
One detail that could be seen as a drawback is that the game is relatively short, especially for when it was launched. There are at about 15 hours of play, which can vary, of course, if you want to find all the itens, likes to explore, etc.
All can't ever be roses, so to be fair, there are some issues I had. Mainly with the controls and the camera, that oftentimes turned to its whim, especially in narrow crawling spaces, and made me be seen by the sentries, or go back to the room I just came. Also, it was sometimes hard to steer the hovercraft. Maybe it's me though and lack of practice, but the camera sometimes didn't help. If you buy it on GOG, be sure to read the readme that comes, because even tough your computer is probably more advanced than the needed to run the game, the screen may tear and become all unstable with some o the functions on. Should that happen, unmark the fancy graphic settings and try again.
End result: A game that costs little here in GOG, that has a great plot, a neat universe to check out, different gameplay modes that work, and a sense you played a masterpiece.
"Carlsooooon and Peteeeeeeers!!!!" - Buy it, play it, understand it!
