ggfournar

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon (Windows)

An excellent job from Revolution Software to try to awake the long lost adventure game spirit!!!

The Good
I personally liked the HUGE ENTHUSIASM before the release of the game! Adventure Gamers from all over the world were expecting this game from the day it was announced that "BROKEN SWORD 3" is in the making. Previews and interviews with the game designers and creators started taking place long before a release date was even announced!!! An so it landed in stores, on a November day in 2003. Even if it was very clearly stated in interviews and previews, that the game wouldn't follow its CLASSIC predecessors in interface, graphics and gameplay, I was anxious to see what did REVOLUTION SOFTWARE create. I had pre-ordered my copy from the "ADVENTURE COMPANY" website and I received the game 2-3 days after the official release date in the US, which was November 17, 2003. When I first got the game, I noticed the nice artwork on the front and inside cover of the game box, not the screenshots, just the artwork. The game is rich in storyline and dialogues, which is always a big plus for any adventure game. Action sequences are spreaded here and there in the game, a very nice touch. The puzzles were rich and reminded me a lot of the puzzles in "GABRIEL KNIGHT 3", but I will talk about the puzzles later. Excellent characters were created by the REVOLUTION SOFTWARE'S team and you get to control two(2) of them, which I think is always a plus to a game, too. And not to mention the graphics! Sometimes stunning and very very graphical presentation of places like the Castle in Prague and the airplane hanging from the edge of the cliff in Congo at the beginning of the game. It was a game full of suspense and overall REVOLUTION STUDIOS presented a UNIQUE, NEW approach to ADVENTURE GAMING and I liked that.

The Bad
Overall, it was a well designed game, with the only blemish I' ll say being the MOVING BOXES PUZZLES!?! In the beginning it was OK, but by the end of the game I think there were at least ten(10) if not more puzzles based on moving boxes/items!!! It looks like the designers run out of ideas and trying to stretch the game by just inserting these puzzles all over the place. It was a considerably irritating experience, especially because it was to EASY!!! And I continue from where I left above, the game in general was very EASY to complete. It took me around 25-30 hours total to finish the game. That is nothing compared to CLASSIC adventure games like "BLACK DAHLIA" (it took me days) "INDIANA JONES AND THE FATE OF ATLANTIS" (it took me weeks) and "GABRIEL KNIGHT 3". Other than that I don't think I found anything else that is bad.

The Bottom Line
It is definitely a MUST HAVE for ADVENTURE GAMERS. I think that with this release REVOLUTION SOFTWARE established itself as a benchmark company for this Game Genre, for the beginning at least of the new millennium!!!

By ggfournar on February 5, 2004

The Secret of Monkey Island (DOS)

The one that started it all!!!

The Good
Where should I start? Soundtrack? Graphics? Puzzles? Everything was great!!! Imagine that this adventure game was released in 1990 and competes with adventure games of the 2000 era!!! The music is great. The reggae-type tunes are difficult to forget. I was whistling that theme song (outstanding) for weeks!!! The world-known SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) game engine works perfect. The graphics are fast and screen scrolling is smooth.(and that was 13 years ago!!!) The familiar Lucasarts interface is easy to adopt and well designed. One of the greatest things in the game is you can complete The Three Trials in any order you want. If you get stuck on one of them, you can always try another. The puzzles are brilliant. They are so well written that when you finally find the solution to them, you have to hit your head against the wall thinking "How come didn't I figure that out in the first place?" Guybrush talks a lot and always has something to comment on about everything. (It looks like the game makers had fun writing the dialogues) One of the greatest moments in adventure game history is the sword fighting sequences, where you have to verbally insult your opponents in order to beat them. The highlight in the game is definitely humor. The Secret of Monkey Island has basically invented the concept of humor in computer games. There is a previously used boats salesman, vegetarian cannibals, hermites, etc.... What a great adventure game!!!

The Bad
Personally, nothing!!!

The Bottom Line
A must have for all adventure game lovers and LUCASARTS lovers!!!

By ggfournar on November 11, 2003

The Black Mirror (Windows)

Nice Graphics, Good Story Line, Extremely Easy to Finish. Thumbs Up!!!

The Good
The Black Mirror is a traditional third-person adventure. The game places real-time 3D characters onto pre-rendered backgrounds. The game's weather effects are with one word: "UNBELIEVABLE"!!! Almost very scene features details, such as tree branches waving gently in the wind or birds flying in the distance. Reminded me of "Syberia" and "The Longest Journey". Smart dialogues and an unexpected ending!!!

The Bad
I think that the only disadvantage of the game is that it is very easy to conclude. Also there are a couple puzzles in the game that you can't find clues in the game to solve them, but you have to have knowledge of those things. For example in Chapter One, the puzzle with the Globe in the Mansion's Library, where you have to place the planets of our solar system in order, starting with the one closer to the sun.

The Bottom Line
A must have for adventure lovers!!!

By ggfournar on November 10, 2003