Majestic

The Good
The concept is great. The amount of time and effort put into creating it are noteworthy. The background story is VERY interesting and engaging.

The Bad
EA's tech support is shit. The game is way way way too easy. Besides those things, there are times when standby (mentioned earlier by JPaterson) seems to be there simply to piss you off and make the game last longer. I just began episode two and one day's worth of "gaming" consisted of me receiving an email, visiting one web site and watching a video. There were NO puzzles, no interaction, squat. I'm very disappointed in this game thus far.

The Bottom Line
If you don't have a lot of time, then get it. But for those of you with a half hour a day, you'll blow through this game in no time. That is, unless you're one of those people who thought Myst was "so hard" and spent 40 hours on. Then you might find it interesting. But honestly, the game is a great idea but the puzzles and whatnot are so easy a five year old could practically figure them out.

The Good
Everything. Without any engine or special effects, the game is playable on any computer as long as you have an Internet connection, e-mail address and AOL Instant Messenger.

Acting - very good and professional, considering the actor's are the people who worked on the game and their friends. It is very real and will draw you into the story, unlike a lot of games that have bad acting talent.

Story - amazing! It's been well thought out, and everything fits seamlessly. Each episode follows the previous, resulting in a continuing story over however long EA decides to keep it running.

The realism - you will receive phone calls, faxes, e-mails and instant messages, all from the game. These people aren't real; they are simply prerecorded messages that phone you at the correct time and play for you. It's quite amazing to have a contact phone you at 3:00 in the morning to give you important information before he dies at 3:05 (note: this is not an actual scenario; just an example).

Since this is an online game and there isn't much, let me just say every single aspect (almost) of Majestic is wonderful.

The Bad
"Irritating, thy name is Standby." Quite frankly, the "Standby" mode of the game is very annoying. If someone says they'll contact you tomorrow, then the game will put you in Standby until tomorrow, meaning you can't play 'till then. You can still access the website, search for clues, listen to or view all the items you've collected, but playing for twenty minutes than waiting for twenty hours isn't very entertaining, but it does add to the "realism" of the game.

The fee - the pilot episode is free. The other's aren't. I don't see the justification of charging a $9.95 monthly fee for something that doesn't have flashly graphics or advanced multiplayer. Although I have paid and will continue to pay for such a good product, the price should be lowered or waived alltogether.

The phone calls - as I stated above, the realism of the game phoning you at any hour is great, but it has it's flaw. When you listen to the message, you will also see an icon in your Majestic window pop up. To advance the game, you MUST listen to the message, AGAIN, via your program, or the story won't continue. It kind of beats the purpose of phoning you if you have to listen to it again.

The Bottom Line
All in all, an entertaining title that will result in hours of fun and paranoia. Get it; get it now!