Safecracker

Safecracker is a game that will be treasured by the devotees of Jewels of the Oracle and Myst. It is not for everyone, but I guarantee that if you are enamored of puzzle/adventure games, then Safecracker will not disappoint.

If you have already studied the screen shots of this game and you are now saying to yourself, "What the hey, this is nothing but a bunch of pictures of dumb safes!" then do us both a favor and go read one of my other numerous reviews on Just Adventure. If, on the other hand, you are intrigued by what these safes might represent, if you are the type of person who needs to have his/her "ducks all lined up in a row" or need to have your underwear neatly folded in your dresser drawer, then stick around, 'cause I got something special for you.

For people interested in a story-driven game, this is not the one you are seeking, but if you are looking for that change of pace or are just in a puzzling mood, then give this one a try. I think you'll find it fills that craving for logical fun.

Detta är utan tvekan ett av de bästa spel jag spelat i år. Med sina intressanta och snygga miljöer, hjärngympande pussel och mäktiga ljud har jag svårt att slita mig från spelet. Att spelet är på svenska gillar jag också. Det gör att en hel familj, oavsett kunskaper i engelska, kan hjälpa varandra med pusslen.

"Puzzle mania" is the best phrase to describe Safecracker. If you are looking for a change of pace from regular story-driven adventures and really want to see how smooth your puzzling skills are, then this just might be your cup of tea.

I started playing SafeCracker with much anticipation, since I am a fan of many other Dreamcatcher games. And I was not disappointed. Dreamcatcher seems to have focused on a genre that has been overlooked for some time -- the "adventure puzzle" game.

Durch die auffällige Ähnlichkeit mit 7th Guest und 11th Hour dürfte die Zielgruppe auf solche Leute beschränkt sein, die Spaß am Knacken von Kopfnüssen haben. Auch das schöne Aussehen der gerenderten Räume ändert nichts daran, daß sich der typische Adventure-Spieler nach zwei bis drei Stunden schließlich doch langweilt. Wer Logik-Rätsel liebt, findet zur Zeit keine ernstzunehmende Alternative zu Safecracker.

Σε γενικές γραμμές, το safecracker είναι ένας τίτλος που παρόλο δεν αποτελεί κάτι το εξαιρετικά εντυπωσιακό, η ενασχόληση μαζί του είναι πολύ ευχάριστη και σίγουρα δεν μπορείς να το παρατήσεις αν πρώτα δεν το τελειώσεις. Επίσης σημειώστε πως κατά την γνώμη μου δεν πρόκειται για adventure αλλά για puzzle game το οποίο διαθέτει και ένα υποτυπώδες σενάριο. Τελικά, από ότι φαίνεται η Kheops ειδικεύεται στην κατασκευή easy going adventures τα οποία ενώ είναι λίγο απλοϊκά στον σχεδιασμό και την δράση τους καταφέρνουν να τραβήξουν τον παίκτη προσφέροντας του αυτό ακριβώς που επιθυμεί: ΓΡΙΦΟΥΣ. Αυτό σίγουρα αποτελεί ένα πρώτης τάξεως μάθημα προς άλλους κατασκευαστές adventure τίτλων, σίγουρα έχετε καταλάβει σε ποιους αναφέρομαι, που φαίνεται να έχουν ξεχάσει την ουσία των adventure games και αναλώνονται μόνο στο περιτύλιγμα και καθόλου στην ουσία.

The soundtrack and music in the game was about average, but nothing terribly impressive. Safecracker was very easy to use, so everyone can use this game. At the end, I'd say it's a pretty average puzzle game. Is it worth a look? Sure. But don't use game this to test your skills if you plan to become a professional thief (ED- we do not endorse this idea!).

De vez en cuando viene bien una buena colección de puzzles que haga recordar las sensaciones que causaban 7th Guest, Castle of Dr Brain o Fool's Errand, y la inventiva de algunos de ellos realmente sorprende.

Schade, daß aus der eigentlich ganz witzigen Idee um das leere Haus mit den vollen Safes nicht mehr gemacht wurde. Die Optik ist zwar recht ordentlich ausgefallen und die Begleitmusik passend, aber Stimmung kommt in den ohnehin schon kühl wirkenden Rendergrafiken nicht so richtig auf. Wen wundert es: Kein menschlicher Interaktionspartner hat sich ins Gemäuer verirrt. Nicht mal ein drohender Nachtwächterrundgang beschehrt mir ein paar Adrenalinstöße zwischendurch. Die Puzzles sind vom Prinzip her meistens ziemlich ausgelutscht und sorgen auch nicht unbedingt für Schrecksekunden.

Oh no! Another game that isn't exactly a new release. It's been out for a while now, but it's yet another game that seems to have suffered in the realms of distribution. We've just managed to get our hands on it by mere chance, hence this belated review. SafeCracker is a tricky title to categorize as it fits somewhere in between the adventure and puzzle categories. Though at first glance it might seem to be purely based on solving logic puzzles to open safes, this is not strictly the case as there's a lot of diligent searching to be done to find many safe keys and combinations as well.

Taking into the account the frequency with which this title commits crimes against both the brain and the family jewels, a more apt title might have been 'Nutcracker.' One of the hardest adventure titles I've ever seen, Nut, er...Safecracker is a challenge worthy of the most demanding gamer. To the rest of us, it's just another outdated budget title that's more trouble than it's worth. In the immortal words of my girlfriend, "can't you tell them to stop sending you this sh*t and get something like Myst instead?" Amen, baby, amen.

I consider myself a person of intermediate talent when it comes to solving puzzles, and so only novices would remotely enjoy the puzzles of Safecracker. However, with the mediocre puzzles and dull gameplay, I don't recommend Safecracker to anyone except the extreme puzzle-hungry. There are plenty of other games for novices to practice on and experienced puzzle solvers to improve their skills.