Windows

Seven Games of the Soul

This game is perhaps the best effort put forth by Cryo, which must be given kudos just for being so devoted to the adventure game genre, when it seems so unfairly fashionable for so many other producers and publishers to abandon us. Besides Cryo, credit must also be given to Arxel Tribe for the development of the theme and plot and the presentation of the story's fascinating episodes.

Dentro del subgenero de las aventuras de "arte y ensayo" (seguro que a más de uno no habrán podrido evitar comparaciones con I have No Mouth, por ejemplo... craso error) Fausto podía considerarse una de las joyas de la corona. Esta no es una aventura que vaya a gustar a todo el mundo. Seguro que muchos la dejarían al poco de empezar, tan seguro como que no decepcionó a los "aventurofagos" más curtidos.

There is so much going on in Seven Games, and at so many different levels, that playing the game feels a little like peeling an onion. If you like a gaming experience with layer after layer of depth and quirkiness; and if investigative persistence is part of your makeup, then this could be your game of games. Don't miss it.

Heb je, net als ik, af en toe last van ongeduld en word je er doodziek van om uren en urenlang te speuren naar een verstopte sleutel of drie levels terug te moeten voor een over het hoofd geziene aanwijzing, dan kan je je maar beter niet aan Faust wagen! Ben je een hardcore adventure gamer met zeeën van tijd, dan is dit een absolute must-have!

Seven Games of the Soul is definitely not a game for everyone. But for those of us who enjoy a good, solid adventure of the more morbid variety, Seven Games of the Soul is definitely not a bad choice at all.

Na pewno mocną stroną jest niepowtarzalny, pesymistyczny, czasami nawet mroczny klimat gry. Świetnie podłożone głosy (gra jest w pełni spolszczona), doskonałe animacje, dreszczyk emocji (ach, ta Jody z nożem kuchennym w ręku) i chwile podniecenia (Frank 'in flagranti'), no i do tego niezastąpiony Mefistofeles. Należałoby napisać coś jeszcze o muzyce, a jest ona inna niż w większości gier komputerowych. Tutaj możemy usłyszeć starego, dobrego bluesa, jazz i kawałki fortepianowe. Cudo.

But for all that it's a very good adventure. The story is compelling and unusual, and Arxel Tribe has made good use of cut-scenes to keep the plot rolling as well as giving you a break from those infernal puzzles. I particularly like the fact that most of the episodes had nasty and quite unexpected twists - after all, you don't bargain with the devil and get off lightly! If, like me, you've been bemoaning the lack of good adventures recently, you should definitely give Faust your consideration.

I must say that this game fascinated me. I enjoyed both the challenge and the way it allowed me to connect with the characters and their lives ... showing them not as freaks but as all too human. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners and certainly not for children, but it's well worth consideration by experienced players who are looking for something different and would appreciate a dose of dark humour packaged in a surreal dream world.

Let's play a quick round of word association: Obsession... Redemption... Torment... Compassion... Jealousy... Loneliness... Too tame? Well, while we're at it, how about: Child slavery... Suicide... Sexuality... Abuse...

Ich möchte aber auch Nicht-Germanisten zum Besuch in Fausts Vergnügungspark ermutigen. Das Spiel ist lang, schwer und atmosphärisch; jeder Berufsknobler kann zufrieden sein. Aber ohne Fantasie und Durchaltevernögen erlebt man das Ende dieses Spiels nicht! Darauf würde ich wetten!

Faust is not a masterpiece; it's a bit too flawed for that. But it's a compulsively playable, beautiful, sinister and complex game that is bursting at the seams with creativity. For me, the game's problems, while not inconsiderable, were very much overshadowed by its enormous strengths. I had a wonderful time playing it. It's a huge leap forward for Arxel Tribe, and makes them truly a studio to watch. Bring on Pompeii and Jerusalem!!

Den svenska översättningen är inte illa alls. Precis som i Atlantis II, så krystar skådespelarna en hel del på sina ställen, men jämför man Faust med teater så är agerandet på samma känslomässiga nivå (och nu får jag väl massa smörja kastad på mig för detta uttalande också). Dialogerna känns därmed väldigt konstruerade och inte så värst naturliga, men språket är fint och det är goda talanger som medverkar (bl.a. Pernilla August och Börje Ahlstedt). Med en översättning av Faust visar också distributören att svenska dataspel kan rikta sig till en helt vuxen publik, för temat och många av scenerna i spelet är inget för de små.

Interface issues aside, Faust is an absorbing puzzle game for adults that will provide many hours of frustration and entertainment. Much of it, however, is easily accomplished because the items you need are almost always near to hand - about the only exception being the matches that you absolutely must pick up in the second mission. Combination locks present the hardest challenge, with elliptic clues that probably made sense to the designer at the time, but I couldn't always see the link even after having done them. No worse than solving The Guardian's cryptic crossword, though�

Un ensemble satisfaisant pour Faust qui par son ambiance arrive à captiver le joueur. Musiques et graphismes renforcent encore la complexité de l'univers créé par Arxel Tribe. L'interface un peu défaillante ainsi que le manque d'interactivité inhérent à ce type de jeu le destinent aux amateurs du genre en priorité.

Arxel Tribe has bravely taken on a weighty set of topics in Faust instead of cautiously sticking to more conventional adventure themes. Everything in the story develops so that you become emotionally involved. While I cannot say playing through Faust had no effect on me, as indeed it did, I can say I did not enjoy the effect it had. The best way I can describe the overall impact is that it is the exact opposite of a feel-good experience, and leaves gamers disturbed and unsettled. The quality control issues need attention, as do a number of other key design aspects, but the progress made from the very disappointing Ring to Faust shows Arxel Tribe is definitely headed in the right direction.

Mijn besluit: laten liggen die handel. Tijdens het spel hoorde ik een personage vragen wie het meest medelijden verdient... ik kon niet nalaten erbij te denken: de recensent van dit spel of diegene die vroeg op een zondagmorgen moet opstaan?

Wie grausam ist zuweilen doch das Leben! / Die Firma Cryo trägt nun dazu bei / Ein himmlisches Konzept ward ihr gegeben / sie kochte daraus nur Einheitsbrei. / Faust sieht nett aus, das will ich wohl gestehen / Doch ist der Spielspaß oberstes Gebot / Was hilft’s, nur Panoramas anzusehen? / Die Welt von Faust wirkt viel zu leer und tot. / Ach, könnten doch die Rätsel Faust erretten! / Zu schal, zu einfallslos ist ihr Design / Drum könnt ich meine Seele drauf verwetten / dem Faust wird kein Erfolg beschieden sein.

Abstrus und absurd - diese beiden Worte beschreiben, was für eine Art von Spielerlebnis sich hinter Faust, der neuesten Adventure-Kreation von Cryo verbirgt. Sie bewegen sich in altbekannter Myst-Manier, allerdings inklusive 360-Grad-Rundblick, durch aufwendig gerenderte Kulissen und lernen dabei in sieben Kapiteln die gruseligen Lebensgeschichten einiger bizarrer Charaktere kennen. Die schwer nachvollziehbaren Rätsel werden durch kurze Filmsequenzen aufgelockert, die in den meisten Fällen aber noch kein Licht in die obskure, zusammenhanglose Geschichte bringen. Fazit: Faust ist weitgehend sinnfrei und wirr, immerhin aber schön anzusehen.

Minus a couple of satisfying puzzles and cool FMV sequences, this game has no redeeming values. Seven contains its share of low budget bugs and is not even worth its reduced price of twenty bucks. You can get through the whole game in a couple of hours if you figure out everything on the first try, which means the majority of your time is going to be spent wandering around frustrated, clicking every pixel and using all your inventory in every ludicrous combination possible.