Windows

WorldSpiral: Liath

Een adventure dat speelt als een fraai sprookje, wat zeg ik Liath is een sprookje! Waarschijnlijk te weinig aktie en spanning voor de fans van adventures als Blade Runner of Dark Earth maar fantasy fans, RPG'ers en liefhebbers van magie en fabelachtige verhalen zullen zich met deze game prima vermaken.

Dieses Adventure läßt die Gefühle hin und her schwanken wie ein Taifun ein Schiff auf hoher See. Hat man sich erst einmal auf das ungewohnte Ambiente eingelassen, dann spielt man die ersten Stunden mit wachsender Neugier. Schließlich ist die Hintergrundgrafik stilvoll gestaltet und die Musik atmospährisch stark. Hinzu kommt eine einsteigerfreundliche Hilfefunktion, die fast schon zum Schummeln verführt. Bedauerlicherweise erreicht das Rätselniveau nicht ganz diese Güte.

Liaths hübsche Fantasy-Geschichte um die rätselhafte Stadt Azertus ist ganz reizvoll. Die Schauplätze sind zwar ziemlich leblos, aber ordentlich gezeichnet; die Sprachausgabe kommt halbwegs professionell rüber. Leider verderben mir das arg umständliche Interface oder kleingepixelte, aber wichtige Gegenstände, den Spielspaß. Zudem lösen gestandene Knobelisten das geradlinige Spielchen lässig an einem Wochenende.

Liath may be visually intriguing but great graphics alone do not make a great game.

Liath is very pretty, with fun gameplay involving magic spells. The translations are terrible, the puzzles and plot are arbitrary, and the dialogue is wooden. Liath is a game for adventure completists, those curious about a Russian game, and those who can't get enough of magic. Others beware!

For adventure completists, those curious about a Russian game, and those who can't get enough of magic. Others beware!

This is what you call one of those "nansy pansy" games. There are little fairies and ghosts that make you want to laugh. I would at least have expected a ghost to send a shiver down my spine, or put me on the edge of my seat. No, this game isn't fun at all. It's one of those games you wish you weren't playing, but you feel an urge to complete it anyway. I don't really like adventure games, but at least a game like Phantasmagoria has some hardcore violence and actually keeps you semi-interested. The puzzles in Liath are somewhat banal. They weren't challenging, they were ridiculously stupid or far to easy. The pace of the game is enough to make you fall into a coma. At least you have the hint section which allows you to pretty much do the whole thing without thinking, it’s probably the only way you will enjoy this one.

If you're looking for a serious challenge and don't mind shoddy presentation, Liath could be worth a look. It never quite grows on you, but it never quite goes away either - and once you're resigned to its quirks, it's taxing and frustrating in equal measure.

At a time when adventure games are so scarce and when it is seemingly unfashionable to tell magical fairytale stories, along comes Liath to fill the void. Liath is a cute fantasy game with delightfully evocative graphics and music that will transport you to a land of wonder, but it might also leave you wondering just what it is all about.