Boston Low
Reviews
Cruise for a Corpse (DOS)
Interwar mystery game, complete with its annoyances
The Good
Cruise for a Corpse (henceforth 'Cruise') is an obvious improvement over the earlier Delphine adventures such as Future Wars or Operation Stealth. It also owes much to Sierra's Laura Bow, following a classic AgathaChristesque mystery with a rich background story for you to uncover.
The most spectacular element of the game are perhaps the graphics, starting with the introduction which features well-drawn backgrounds with extremely smooth and detailed animations. These impressions continue into the game. The sprite of inspector Raoul Dusentier is composed of polygons much like the sprites of Another World. This allows him to be scaled according to the distance from the 'camera' and to perform freely some of the actions. The backgrounds and character portraits are detailed enough, drawn in a comic-like fashion.
Another thing which I would call an innovation, is the interface. There is no menu of commands in Cruise. You just select an object and a menu of relevant 'special' commands is shown. These vary from common ones such as 'Take' or 'Examine' to more complex ones like 'Look behind' or 'Make fall'. Each screen is full of objects recognized by the game, decorations, furniture or drawers to open and search, each one with its own set of commands. Although this seems overwhelming, most objects are red herrings and very few have something useful to show.
The vast majority of Cruise has to do with discovering backstories and motivations. Although this can be boring, the process is intellectually promising: the game is founded on a complex and intriguing backstory, revealed gradually to you with each new element or dialogue you uncover. From time to time new characters, elements and motivations emerge, complicating further the story. The final outcome is more elaborate than anything you might have imagined and is totally rewarding.
As you understand, Cruise belongs to an adventure genre which requires a lot of walking back and forth until you find new elements to advance the game. However unlike othe Laura Bow-like games, Cruise features a map which allows you to teleport to any place of the boat from the very beginning. It makes the whole exploring process much more bearable and it's a pity that such a helpful feature is absent from Cruise's 'siblings'.
Also, I must note that the language has been improved since Operation Stealth (being a French production) and you don't have to see mistyped words or awkward quasi-English sentences everywhere. But still, some of the English seem dodgy now and then.
The Bad
For me, the biggest problem in Cruise is the very genre it belongs. Cruise represents the adventure sub-sub-genre of which the Laura Bow series is perhaps the most representative, which requires a lot of exploration and investigation from the player to 'trigger' new events. By discovering new clues, the game's clock advances and new elements are 'triggered': a character, object or event appears in a place you might already have visited. You purpose is to investigate and trigger those tags that will advance the story, and then re-investigate to discover the new elements that have appeared and so on.
Drawbacks are inherent to its very philosophy, including a lot of time wasting. You are compulsed to obsessively explore and re-explore back and forth the same places: you will need hours to finish the game, even with a walkthrough. The map which allows you to teleport is generally helpful, but not in the cases when you move from room to room exploring.
While discovering and uncovering new clues and opening new dialogues can be compared to reading an elaborate storybook and be intellectually fun, no real progress of events occur in the whole story, resulting in a dull gaming experience. There are no actual gaming challenges which require reflexes or problem-solving.
In some cases you might be stuck because the 'trigger' tags are not obvious. you will find yourself in the frustrating position when the clock does not progress while you already have exhausted your dialogue options with all the available characters. In that case, you have to explore once more the whole boat more thoroughly, and this time you literally have to 'leave no stone unturned'. And this is not an easy task, since there are hundreds of items, drawers, lockers and closets to open and search. Even if you have searched a place before, new items can appear after a certain moment, so you must repeat your exploration. Since there are no clues about what might appear where and when, the whole exploration can be really overwhelming.
The situation got worse if you couple it with the speed and loading time that existed back then. I really wonder how much patience, or obsession an average player must have to investigate a series of rooms for several times, while waiting for the diskettes' loading time.
Add to this the overwhelming number of objects in each room. While at first Cruise appears to be a realistic, detailed world to explore, this is not the case: 99% of the objects are useless, the drawers are almost always empty, or Raoul will simply refuse to perform an action as unnecessary. Even his comments are uninteresting and state the obvious with no humor
Another problem with the interface is that new options are not very obvious either. The dialogue replies are listed in random order, not alphabetically, and the new options don't show up at the bottom of the list as they should. Later in the game, when the dialogue lists have grown larger, the new options are not esy to notice, and it's difficult to keep track of which have been selected before and which haven't.
As a final note I should mention that I believe the game cover to be unrelated to the game. It depicts a generic murder investigation scene on a boat. There is no elderly Poirot-like detective investigating the death of the steerman who has been stabbed on the wheel. And the characters seen on the background of the image do not appear in the game. While it is well illustrated and does not affect the game's quality, I though it was a generic, random choice.
The Bottom Line
Cruise for a Corpse is an elaborate mystery game featuring spectacular graphics and animations for its time. Although not entertaining in the traditional sense, it will unfold for you an interesting world to explore and uncover, complete with intrigues and complex relationships beween its characters.
In short, Cruise is part of the short-lived 'explore, trigger, and re-explore' genre of mystery adventure games, to which Laura Bow, Orion Conspiracy and The Last Express belong. The better part of the game is spent exploring the same screens, searching for clues and moving between the characters to open new dialogue trees and uncover more clues. The absence of challenge, progress, action and plot twists can be obvious after some time. Eventually the game might be boring or even bothering to some players who might expect more traditional puzzles for a challenge.
If you have no patience, have a walkthrough nearby. And no, I wouldn't consider this cheating!
By Boston Low on October 20, 2011
Space Ace (SNES)
So difficult and unfair it will drive you mad
The Good
It's an adequately nice attempt to transfer the spirit of the interactive movie in an arcade game where you can fully control your character.
Of course that doesn't mean that they made a different game! I believe it is very close to the original, both in scenery, spirit and gameplay. The scenario is not new, but follows closely the levels of the laserdisc game. Even if the process of the play is new and different, the locales, characters and monsters are there.
As for the gameplay, the original Space Ace concept is there: if it wasn't for trial-and-error and memorizing pre-defined movements and sequences it wouldn't be Space Ace, right? Well, this concept was nicely combined in the arcade freedom and was implemented as a 'rail arcade' (like 'rail shooter'): this means that you can walk and jump around, however you must also follow the camera and make timed moves to go on. There are also moments in which you can temporarily change into you adult self, Ace, in which case you will follow a different route, with some laser packed action.
The graphics and sounds are faithful to the original. The sceneries and sprites are cartoony and well-drawn, and as I said, with recognizable characters and creatures. The sound effects are taken from the original and same applies for the musical cues which compose the soundtrack, which however gets repetitive. All in all, you know you are playing Space Ace.
Dying, or ending a level, will show a short animation cue from the laserdisk, in extremely low resolution.
And there are some original elements and variety:
As you walk, you can get some bonuses which will make your laser shots stronger, and there is a new stage between levels in which you steer your shuttle (or skates) in a space maze. Some levels are designed like space shooters.
The Bad
Now, you just read about the nice concepts this remake was based on, but now let's see how awfully these were implemented resulting in a really bad game.
The biggest problem is that at first the game looks totally random. You must rely mostly on trial-and-error until you manage to pass a sequence, and not reflexes or reason. Deaths happen too frequently, and each time you have to see some the death animation cue before pressing the "Start" button and returning to the BEGINNING of the level.
Another problem is the flawed controls. When you reach an edge, you can't stop there and jump towards a certain direction, since this will be interpreted by the game as 'jump up', and will ignore your direction key. In order to jump towards a direction, you must be already moving.
Sprite collision is unrealistically unfair in the pseudo-3d environment of the game. For example, when an enemy shoots a laser beam, and the beam happens to pass in front of where your foot happens to stand, this will mean that your 'sprite' mass has been hit!!
My biggest challenge was the Space Maze levels. I really can't imagine what genius thought about a 'level between levels' in which you must steer your ship in an impossibly massive maze (I guess you HAVE to memorize the routes), avoiding the walls, in order to find the exit to the next level. It look more like a punishment for advancing the game more than a challenge. The ship will move forever forward and you have to avoid obstacles as you are looking for the exit. There is no way to stop or slow down, and there is no map or 'space compass' or anything that would give you a hint on where you are.
I must mention that I was looking online for some walkthrough or help or maps for the maze, and there was none. I guess the maze is unmappable and the gamers didn't bother creating a resource for such an infamous game.
And I must also comment on the short, uninteresting and totally unrewarding ending animation.
The Bottom Line
Space Ace for SNES is a mixture of a freeform arcade and an interactive movie. The elements which made 'Space Ace' what we all know and love, are there faithfully. However many gamers will angrily agree that the game is infamous for its unplayability. The designers didn't think too much about it and created a game which is not challenging, but hostile.
If you MUST see this game, do yourself a favor and don't play on a console, but on an emulator where you can save and restore your position indefinitely. It will be at least enjoyable this way.
By Boston Low on March 29, 2011
The Orion Conspiracy (DOS)
Promising but unsophisticated
The Good
The Orion Conspiracy (TOC) is a promising sci-fi adventure game which displays traits of its concurrent productions. There is a familiar futuristic scenery with a (somehow) rich background and story.
TOC actually begins as an investigating story concerning your son's death, and here you can see its originality and realism; I am not aware of other games in which you play a middle-aged tragic man. The themes that evolve are reminiscent of other 'detective mystery' works and gradually complicate matters; but then the game displays a richer plot with an (unrelated) alien threat which makes its appearance. Towards the end, the action becomes fast and thrilling, when the characters begin dying one after the other, leaving you with a handful of survivors trying to escape the doomed station.
The first thing that might impress you is the high-res graphics with the very well-illustrated scenery. Both the corridors, and the rocky formations of the asteroid are realistically drawn with nice shading. Some 3D objects and vessels make their appearance in the cutscenes, which were jaw-dropping back then. Keeping true to the realism, cutscenes have no sound-effects (there is no sound in vacuum); which actually shows why sci-fi movies actually choose NOT to be realistic!
You will meet about 20 characters who can give you their personal background, where the fictional world of the game unfolds. You will see that the world outside the space station you are currently in, is a cyberpunk corporatocratic universe, which just recovered from a recent Corporation War, and where people and locales are owned by Companies. Those who love reading lengthy dialogues in-game, and like discovering and living in such a fictional world, will feel like home here; although ultimately the background is not significant to the plot.
The interface is one of the simplest ever in adventure games. Each individual object has its own set of commands. Click on an object and you will see its related action icons. If you can not interact with the object, just a description will be given. This simplifies and even prevents much of fiddling, exploration and even experimentation. For example, only a couple of characters and a couple of objects display the 'give' icon, which simply gives away that you must give those characters something later in the game; and that you won't need to give anything to anyone else in the game.
Also you can not be killed in the game, and probably there are no deaths or dead ends either.
I should also hail the save game interface, which allows you to save in 34 slots, all in one screen; no need to scroll. This way you can easily bookmark the whole game, from beginning to end.
The Bad
TOCs is notorious for its dialogues containing direct references to intercourse and bovine excrement.
To be honest, the language is not much worse that the one that you may hear in a mainstream Hollywood action movie ('Scarface', anyone?). Still, at some points it was more annoying than useful and sometimes felt out of place; you really wonder why most people would use coarse language in dialogues to a guest, as if talking to their buddy; and why a woman (the Brooks character) would start narrating her sexual habits to a complete stranger, including the name of the male genitalia.
One explanation I can think of is perhaps a hope to make a breakthrough of sorts in the video game market, but I doubt if the coarse dialogues helped spread the game's popularity. It could also be an attempt to border with the movie-genre, an ambition common in the mid-90s games; the ambition is also apparent in the movie-like title screen, crediting the (completely unknown) voice actors.
Now for the REAL problems of the game: TOC actually belongs to the particular adventure sub-sub-genre which is based on exploration. Yes, you've got to visit and re-visit the rooms, going back and forth over and over again, in order to see if a character or any object has appeared, and talk to the same characters again and again, to see if new dialogue options have been made available.
And no, there is no zip-mode or a map interface that would facilitate your wanderings! Each time you don't know what to do next, you HAVE to re-explore the whole station to see what's new or what changed. As mentioned earlier, the interface is very simple, to the point that it sometimes gives the solutions away, so the main challenge of the game is actually the 'exploration' part, and guessing the correct time and place. In my opinion it is a cheap way to create a challenge. I resolved to walkthroughs not because the riddles were frustrating, but simply because I was bored of exploring the station and fiddle in each room again. The option to augment the game speed partially remedies this problem.
Another annoying part is some animations. As mentioned, the movements are smooth and well drawn, but sometimes the characters look standing in awkward positions, especially while talking, when they unrealistically change between 'talking' and 'about-to-walk' stances.
Some quite serious bugs are also there. For example a certain character dies but the interface responds as if he is alive. If you try to talk to him, the game simply freezes and you can only restore to a previous position. Also, there are times that the characters don't seem to be 'updated' to events that have happened, or they seem to know things that they shouldn't.
I should add that sometimes the voice acting is mediocre. Some times you can actually imagine the actors simply reading their lines to the microphone, without really acting. In some reviews the players have made fun of the protagonist's poor inflection. I didn't notice such thing and actually I liked his deep, low voice.
Finally, the ending is quite disappointing. Yeah, the last few survivors leave the station in a shuttle, and then the end credits fall.
As a final note I should add that many gamers complained about TOC's strange memory requirements and its inability to play both music and dialogues on those systems. Although this counts as a 'con', today you can play the game perfectly under DosBox.
The Bottom Line
The first thing that everyone might hear about TOC is its notorious dialogues, and themes, which remain uncanny for a sci-fi video game. The dialogues gave TOC a 18+ rating.
TOC is a promising game with technical traits above-the-average. While the first impression is good, with a rich roster of characters, rich and intriguing background and plot, the lack of sophistication, makes the game a hollow and lacking experience.
There is no room for exploration and experimentation, there are no 'secrets' such as missed dialogues or alternative solutions to discover. The interface is simple but also prevents much gameplay. The player's only challenge is ultimately to consume his time in the corridors, going back and forth between the rooms simply to see if something has changed to advance the plot.
There are games which you finish and then you plan to play again sometime in the future. TOC was not one such game. Although there were scenes I would like to see again, I don't feel the urge to waste more time crossing huge distances and switching elevators of a space station.
By Boston Low on February 13, 2011
The Journeyman Project: Turbo! (Windows 3.x)
Time-travel to the era of the first multimedia games!
The Good
TJP is an historical document of the first bold steps of game designers towards the field of multimedia and movie-making, thanks to the newly available CD medium. Jaw-dropping technologies are there: 3D rendered environment, FMV sequences and speech dialogues voiced by actors.
The game is brief compared to other adventures, and may seem outdated now, but has things to offer although it gives a promising scenario and an enjoyable experience, with an adequately rich backstory with some intrigue.
The controls are easy and pose no problem. Gameplay resembles the 'slide-show' of Myst but here you move with the cursor keys in invisible square positions and have a realistic sense of freedom.
The riddles and puzzles are quite straightforward and I guess they won't frustrate you much. Personally I solved the whole game without a walkthrough, which is generally a good thing. There is exploration and investigation for you to make, and several challenging trial-and-error points but nothing worse than that.
In the course of the game you obtain bio-chips which provide your gameplay with more features and help you solve some puzzles and pass some points, like retinal scanners. Some are optional, some are used only once. Furthermore, there are some arcade sequences, mind puzzles and mazes.
And there is more! When you finish the game you get your score. You will find out that there are two ways to defeat each of the big nasty androids. Can you find the way you did not follow? Did you explore all of the world? Did you find all the bio-chips? Did you try to complete the missions in a different order? In my opinion this scoring system encourages replayability and exploration.
Personally I liked the cheesy futuristic scenery, with a peaceful humanity, floating cities, androids, aliens, chip interfaces and A.I. bio-suits. The plot is centered around time travel and first contact with aliens, two sci-fi elements which are rarely combined.
The loneliness common in Myst games is also there. You will see no characters to interact with, excepting the three bad robots. The scenario is sophisticated enough to justify this unrealistic condition: your apartment is empty because everyone is out to meet the alien delegation. When you are back in time, you are obliged to be stealthy so that you won't interfere with history.
The Bad
The game suffers by the same flaws that plagued many early CD games of the 90s. One can see an over-enthusiasm for this new groundbreaking medium and TJP shows its cheesy ambition to be the forerunner of this glorious new era.
One of the consequences of that fad was the attempt to force the game into the movie genre. This silly notion urged the designers to have dialogues and cut-scenes with no text. "We now have enough medium to record whole lines of speech; so who needs typing and reading, right?" Well, couple this with the poor sample quality and you will have quite some trouble understanding what you hear. Especially if you are NOT a native English speaker.
The other problem is that the many adventure gamers won't be satiated by the short storyline, the simplistic interface and the less than challenging puzzles. Its philosophy is 'just find what you should do so that you can explore further our wonderful 3d world and story we made for you'. This lack of duration and depth is supposedly compensated by the sensual immersion in the (now outdated) multimedia experience. I just think that TJP uses ideas that other games have implemented in more sophisticated way.
And of course, not to forget the unavoidable animations. From the monologue video sequences to the slow-working inventory, especially the bio-chip slot, complete with this unfolding-folding animation. Can be a real pain when you are trying or repeating some moves.
The Bottom Line
Practically a Myst-clone, although it was released around the same time as Myst did. The main points that make a Myst game are there: slide-show first person interface, a nameless-speechless protagonist (although you can see your face in the mirror), a full 3D-pre-rendered environment, some FMVs, limited interactivity, moody loneliness and a backstory for you to uncover from clues here and there. The structure is also similar: you begin in the 'hub', you choose the 'world' you want to visit in an optional order, you return to the 'hub' etc etc
It won't impress you much; although groundbreaking back then, I guess it would be considered primitive by the next couple of years eg. compared to sequel Buried in Time. The story and the puzzles are not challenging or original and I was surprised when I realized how soon I completed my missions; by the time I had to find the bad guy, I thought that the missions I went to were too brief and few.
But hey, TJP is entertaining and replayable. Just try to visit eras in a different order and use bio-chips in places you haven't
All in all it is a must-see introduction to the Journeyman series. Novice adventure gamers will enjoy it as well as all enthusiasts of the early 90s multimedia games.
By Boston Low on January 12, 2011
Rama (Windows)
Space Myst-clone
The Good
Sierra tried to make use of the Myst success and make a Myst clone. However they also tried to take Myst a step further: we have a complex interface, a richer character interaction, and a more definite and consistent background. It's a shame it never stood next to Myst. If it was not 'yet another Myst clone', I think it could have been more famous.
Something that always impresses me whenever I play the game, is the characters: The actors are wonderful and act consistently to the character's position and mood. Nicole is always friendly, others, like the security officers are always grim etc.
Next to the actors I would add the quality of the videos. I don't know how they did it, but although we speak about VGA graphics, you won't believe that the actors are filmed in 256 only colours. The video quality is just very good!!!
The interface is original and complex which hypes it beyond Myst. A wrist computer with maps, navigation, compass and video messages which keeps you up to date concerning what happens elsewhere in Rama.
I would like to add the atmospheric and spacey music which hypes the game's mysterious atmosphere.
Generally I think the game was very well done. The scenery and RAMA in general are self-consistent, so much that comprehending what Rama is, will help your orientation. Same applies to the characters and their interrelations. All in all, it is of the games which the more you play the game, the more you will understand and find out things you missed at first. This for me is a sign for a Good Game.
The Bad
The main reason I was turned away many times was its initial and clueless open-ness with your only order being 'explore'. Some players I know stopped playing soon after starting the game.
I didn't resign that easily, however the large number of places you must visit, including the fact that plot advances only after you solve a puzzle or enter a room, will force you examining places again and again, and re-visiting them to see if this time will appear a thing or person that wasn't there last time you were.
The music was nice, however it was comprised of short pieces that are repeated, like a playlist. I would prefer some more typical adventure music as a 'carpet'.
Also, something more general. I don't know what's missing, but Rama is not Myst. The designers tried using the well-used recipe, and even went beyond Myst, however you will see that 'something' is missing, and yet you don't know what. Not actually something I don't like, but thought mentioning it here.
The Bottom Line
I think that Rama is a must-see game, which deserved to be more well known.
By Boston Low on May 24, 2010
HeroQuest (DOS)
Great board game, inadequate CRPG
The Good
I was a fan of the Hero Quest board game, especially how despite its simplicity, could still have been an exciting RPG-ish experience for the players. This computer implementation offers the opportunity to play the game anytime you like without having to find and arrange a session with friends. You greatest benefit was that you can also play it by yourself, without depending on a game master.
The gameplay is quite faithful to the original feeling, it has exactly the same rules and scenarios. For some reason, the maps are not the same as in the Quest Book of the board game, I guess because since the gamers who played as game masters before, would find them too easy.
The graphics were quite well-drawn for its age and the intro is quite impressive, with great animations. However the game itself has almost zero animations, but perhaps they are not needed.
The Bad
Now, The Bad unfortunately are way too many!
The first and major flaw is that there is no on-screen description for the items or the spells. So every time you want to use or buy something, you have to check on your Quest book to remember their properties, unless you are a seasoned player of the game.
And not only that, but the game will not prevent you from using an item/spell the wrong way. It's very easy to confuse some spell and think that it should be used on a character rather than a monster. If you use the spell wrongly, the game will just prompt you that ''the spell is wasted" without any warning, unlike what a human game master would certainly do.
So since there are no item/spell descriptions, it's easy to waste a spell or buy inappropriate items for your characters, but since you have no warnings, you MUST consult the manual every now and then.
Same thing whenever you search for treasures or traps. You can't remember which rooms you have already searched, and if you make the mistake to look twice for traps/treasures (while the human game master would have reminded you so) you just lose your turn, only to be told "This room has been searched before"
The second flaw (and the most annoying thing in gameplay, are the several prompts and clicks you have to do with the mouse. For example, instead of just providing you with a random dice number, each round you have to "click" so that you stop the coin on a random number and move your character. That's nice, but when you finish the mission and just want to more your characters ASAP to the exit, all you are doing is unnecessary click-click-click.
Then, you have to click on tiles, directions, on the tiny commands icons, the tiny character icons on the map etc. For each action, you have to click on the tiny "OK" to get rid of the prompt. And no, you can't control your characters with the keyboard, and the commands have no key shortcuts.
Last but not least, whenever a monster hits you, all the report you get is whether you survived the hit or died. You aren't told whether you blocked the hit and, if not, how many body points you lost. So that each time you have to keep track of your body points, and/or count the dice icons (the skulls and the shields). If you forget that, you will lose track of your body points and they will be reduced before you notice.
And finally, the awful character menu. Fist of all, in order to choose the characters for the next mission, you don't just click on their icons or some checkbox. No, you must click on each on one of them, and then click on another icon to mark them as IN GAME.
Furthermore, there is no autosave or at least a simple save system. Supposedly each character is to be saved in his own data disk. Each time you finish a mission, you have once more to click on each player, and then save each one's status independently. Oh and yes, you will be prompted with a tiny OK you have to click in order to "enter your data disk" and then choose a game slot. The funny part is that the prompt will be shown even if the game is installed on a hard disk and no data disk is needed, yet the annoying prompt with the tiny OK will be shown!!
So in order to save only one character you perform 4 clicks. In case you have two characters, you perform 8 clicks and so on. And if one dies, you must perform the same actions to restore them
The Bottom Line
Hero Quest is a very flawed and lacking adaptation of that lovely board game. Unnecessary prompts and clicks, tiny icons and lack of keyboard controls just strain your gameplay. The implementation fails to get rid of some elements for you as a CRPG is supposed to do and make playing more straightforward and quick.
That's not to say of course that you won't enjoy the game. I guess it's quite fun to play with some friend, although if you play it alone it will be very boring. Point is, that the gameplay will make you soon tired of it unless you are overly excited.
By Boston Low on November 19, 2009
Rise of the Dragon (DOS)
Not as good as it claims to be
The Good
I admit I am not very much impressed by this game, but I am addicted to it, more than my REALLY favourite games. From time to time I want to explore its micro-pseudo-virtual real-time world, watch the time as it passes, and the beautiful sceneries.
What I like is mainly its atmosphere. First of all I like Blade Hunter. He, as well as the story itself, are cliches, but it seems like he jumped out from a classical story... a futuristic detective archetype, as I would imagine him: trench coat, ponytail, scar on a cheek, and the replies he gives (most of them chosen by you) are really in accordance to his personality. Blade Hunter IS a well-developed character, no matter how small is the game, no matter that won't see him again in a future game.
Although I don't really enjoy, I appreciate that Dynamix attempted to create a self-efficient game world, as realistic as possible, with distances, time that passes, day night circles, characters with their own personalities and different ways to talk to them, alternative solutions and alternative endings. Although the designers didn't take fully advantage of its full potential, sometimes you have the feeling that you are actually visiting that micro-world: everyone has a vidphone device (note that there is a [useless] 'cellular vidphone in the hovercar. A red herring, but also a touch of realism.), everyone needs chocolate, everyone is lost in the dystopian future, and lost according to his own character.
The manual is something that everyone would like: an imaginary magazine featuring a comic with Blade, and except that, advertisements, articles, mail, that put you in Blade's world, with a lot, a lot of humor.
As I said, despite small, the game is quite deep. After 10 years, I just learned that the game doesn't end when you lock yourself out, forgetting your ID in your house. Actually you don't really need it! There is a way to enter your apartment without it and I just learned the way!!! I am sure there are some other 'secrets' that I haven't seen in any walkthrough... yet
There are also some touches of reality, like the name of the person you talk to, that appears in the dialogue box (if you know it), or not (if he hasn't introduced). However this isn't actually useful in the gameplay or the plot development.
I also like how arcade can interact with the rest of the game. Having used too many mini-bombs will prevent you from using them in the arcades. If you manage to claim some useful stuff, like the vest, will make the arcades easier. And no, I don't think that they are THAT frustrating as some think
The Bad
As I said, the game doesn't really takes advantage of a REAL virtual reality it claims to represent. Apart from some alternative solutions to puzzles, and various ways to approach persons or situations, there are no real plot branches.
For example offering Karyn flowers will trigger the date/dinner cutscene. But the plot won't evolve differently from the gamer who missed the opportunity.
The characters of the bar are an example. You can just play with them, try some alternate responses to see how they react. But all this is possible, during day one. After that, you can't 'explore' or play any more and it won't affect the plot (apart that you can be led to a dead-end with a wrong reply).
Also, in dialogues the game tries to be so realistic, that it manages to be unrealistic. Each dialogue is unique, a taken or lost opportunity. You can't retry a dialogue, even if in reality you wanted to ask a question you missed before. In the game, the question will be lost for ever
The manual tries to convince you how important a feat to make a 'virtual reality' game it was.
Some things will be used once, and they need their appropriate time and place. While some can be used to pass alternatively through some dead end (if you missed an opportunity earlier), others, like the Napent, won't help you pass through other difficult situations. The Napent can be used only once, or other times FOR FUN without changing the story. Not as versatile as I'd like.
Time passes realistically, indeed, but only to distress you. Almost nothing changes through day and night. Persons will be there always, except the City Hall. Quest for Glory was more realistic! There is no puzzle which you can/must do BECAUSE it's night and everyone would be absent.
Also, some scenery is ugly. The hand-drawn graphics are indeed comic-like, but sometimes they are poor. Blurry, unclear, the rough outlines are not what you'd expect to see in a comic book.
Finally, the arcades, although enjoyable, they are ridiculous. A VGA arcade game with early 80's gameplay: totally unrealistic walk, jump and movements, and slow, slow bullets. The bad guys can be shot once, while you need several shots to die.
The Bottom Line
I think it's worth looking, a classical game with many many good elements. Too bad it was not fully implemented, at least as much as the documentation wanted us to convince it is.
By Boston Low on June 24, 2006
Star Wars: Rebellion (Windows)
(NOT) everybody hates this game!
The Good
I tried this game because it had the title "Star Wars", although from the beginning a knew it had bad reviews. I admit that the first 3 times I tried, I could not cope with it and I quit. When the Star Wars virus stroke me again, I gave it a second chance and I was glued for hours!! Yes, the game is really hard, I haven't managed to do anything of notice no matter how many hours I tried but it challenged me... I WANT to beat it!
If you don't stuck on the bad things, you will love this game. It has no action but it's rich and deep. Characters, ships, fleets, missions, spies, technologies and evolution. The game really evolves in your hands and your empire becomes your own personal creation.
There is also plentiful information in the little embedded encyclopedia, about everything in the game, that will boost up your knowledge on Star Wars.
Many say that this is 'a card game with the name Star Wars on it to attract fans'. Maybe, I don't agree, but there is even Star Wars Monopoly. If you don't have a problem to play it, what's wrong with Rebellion?
Also, it's not really important, but I liked the cutscenes :)
The Bad
Yes, I know players dislike many elements of this game, so did I, but I want to justify some of them.
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The nature of the game itself isn't promising for graphics, sound and action. You can't accuse for example a platform arcade game for having poor dialogues. I agree however that (although it doen't affect much) the 'cards' could be drawn better
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Everyone says that the controls are hard and confusing. I am not going to say the opposite, but it can be mastered.
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I didn't like some inconsistencies to the Star Wars timeline. For example you are going to 'discover' and recruit characters that were in the Rebellion from the first movie! also, this is the same for the planets. I had to 'discover' Tatooine!
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Yes, COULD have some action and battles, even poorly done. Even the ancient Centurion had elementary battles.
The Bottom Line
I can tell that this game was maybe hastily done. It could be simpler, had better graphics, and maybe battles. But if you give it a second chance, and don't define 'strategy' as 'action RTS', and then try to find what is really good of it (believe me, there is), then Rebellion is worth the try!
By Boston Low on May 10, 2006
Star Wars: X-Wing - Collector Series (Windows)
Some improvements, many flaws
The Good
It's good that they thought updating the classic games. I wish many more games were updated.
In this case, the only improvements are the graphics and the ehm.. music, which is now cd audio.
By graphics we mean of course both the completely redrawn concourse screens and its cutscenes, introduction and of course the flight engine which now uses the XvT engine. The Death Star textures are really worth looking,
On a funny note, the droids of the concourse are somehow cartoony and remind me of Space Quest 6!!
The atmosphere is also changed. They environment is darker, more serious and 'techy'. To this contributes the absence of original music, replaced to an atmospheric humming (well, this isn't actually positive!).
And that's all I have to say about the good parts
The Bad
In one word: In these editions, all they did was improving the graphics. Everything else was left unchanged while some update would be needed, not to mention that some things were REMOVED.
What I mean?
- The great implementation of the imuse system of interactive music is replaced by cd tracks. The loss is compensated by the quality of cd music, but where is the old atmosphere?
Some cutscenes are briefer. Some are ommited, like the taking off, the landing etc.
Some screens were left unchanged, only with a cheap 'blur' effect to make them fit the high res.
The screen of choosing co-pilots in X-Wing from preexisting ones, as well as the whole feature, is also missing
The X-Wing tech room. You only see rotating holograms, not detailed and realistic schematics
It's a bit ironic to have really high detailed textures on an X-Wing flight while everything is silent. Some in-flight speech would be needed. I know it's not an easy feat but its absence is obvious.
Now you can't control your ship with mouse. Joystick is required. On the other hand, now you can't move the cursor with the joystick or the keyboard, only the mouse
The concourse as mentioned, is darker and more serious, while music is absent. Some might like it, but why make the remake poorer than the original?
Original TIE Fighter had two nice implementations that corrected some weaknesses of X-Wing: speeding up time for long and boring time-consuming missions and a simple and easy way of backing up your pilot in case he dies. Why these features weren't implemented in the remake of X-Wing now that they are availiable?
The Bottom Line
I think I have stated the whole situation in one word: graphics improved, the rest is poorer. This is pity that they lost a good opportunity
I really don't know what should i say if someone asked whether he would by it or not. It's a matter of preference. I am sure some people would like the changes, especially new players who havent experienced the originals. However some feats were not improved (eg. voice), keeping the games still outdated.
By Boston Low on November 6, 2005
Star Wars: Rebel Assault II - The Hidden Empire (DOS)
The only classic Star Wars flavour you' ll get after ROTJ
The Good
Games classified as 'interactive movies' are not always favoured or welcome, but this one can attract your attention.
First of all, this part of the series is infinitely better than R.A. I in every aspect.
The game follows the same recipe, shot everything you see, or avoid obstacles not to lose health. This is however interwoven with a nice plot and scenario. After the classic old Death Star, this one branches away the classic elements and establishes an original story: The Empire has devised a technology of invisible starships that can fly unseen and appear only to strike.
As a story, it is well developed and narrated, like a movie. At first you hear about a threat but you don't know what it is about. The missions will lead you to more elements which will make you know the existence of those ships until you proceed to the main plot of capturing one. The acting is not perfect but this is not bothering since we are talking about a movie-game hybrid.
The graphics are consisted of actors layered over a wonderfully done CGI environment (the blue screen trick if you haven't figured out yet). These two tie together smoothly and often you won't be able to tell the difference. I was surprised when I learnt that the cockpits are not actual props (I wondered how did they find them) but CGI matched to the pilots' movements. These techniques have been used in cinema only recently. The image quality of course is not impressive nowadays (low-res with high compression) but it was breathtaking back then.
I liked also some small tiny bits the director added, like zooming on the cockpit screens showing accurate diagrams of TIEs and other 3d rotating stuff surrounded by the Aurebesh letters.
Speaking of props, it's nice also to know that the costumes and other props that the actors carry, are actual props of the classic Star Wars trilogy! Who knows? Maybe the Stormtrooper armor your two protagonists are disguised with, are the very ones that Hamill and Ford wore on the Death Star!
Overall, I think this is a game (or tale, as you prefer) that catches well the old Star Wars feeling, better than its predecessor. Sometimes it's like watching a lost Star Wars episode.
The Bad
As a game, I think it is satisfying. The main reason not to like it, is hating Interactive Movies, although I still think the game is recommendable for Star Wars fans. But if you don't like I.M.s why bother anyway?
The only thing I didn't like in this generally excellent production were the ship explosions. You just see an explosion growing before the ship, which then fades out. No debris, no parts or wings thrown here and there...
Oh, and now that I think of it, what good is Star Wars without the Force and Jedi? Yes, this is a space flight shoot-em-up but if they wanted to, they cold fit it somewhere.
The Bottom Line
Definitely better than the first, and your only way to relive the classic Star Wars trilogy after ROTJ. I think it has some of that 'magic' and the general feeling of it. All in all, a very good production, with a nicely-told story, actors, effects and props.
By Boston Low on June 3, 2005
Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail (DOS)
One of the best Sierra games ever, makes you forget it's EGA
The Good
A review I read before buying, said the game was the best production of Sierra for 1990. I realised why.
The game can stand next to each other Sierra games and be judged as superior, almost for all its aspects. It's a real, serious, epic production, encompassing many elements that will satisfy the player. There is much travelling to many places, battles, choices to be made (affecting the course of the play), and much lore.
The graphics are really exceptional compared to the main corpus of Sierra. The sprites are richly animated, and there is much interaction with them (eg. you can kiss Gwynevere before leaving). The introductory scenes are well drawn, and resemble those that will be used in the cutscenes, much later in the Sierra VGA games.
The game is really atmospherical. Not only due to the graphics (I noted some anachronisms), but mainly because of the descriptions and dialogues. The messages are not the 'narrator's speech', but Merlin who communicates with you telepathically. All descriptions are supposedly personal views and knowledge of Merlin. Some scenes contain many objects and if you examine them, you will get immersive folkloric knowledge.
Interactivity is also rich. Almost everything you will try (like the F... word to people) will give you Merlin's appropriate reply. The designers have tried to predict as much of your thoughts as possible, often surprising you.
The game design also presents some differences. Here it's not easy to overlook something needed much later. Some choices you can make (Eg. not saving Lancelot, or giving the hag money instead of the artifact she wants) will affect something much later, but they are things that you know they are wrong, made only deliberately. In cases you will overlook or lose an artifact, its use would be only to make your life easier. The point where you will need it, you can also pass by trial and error
The soundtrack is one of the first I loved in games. I remember myself recording medieval melodies in my tape recorder!! So atmospheric that will put you in the position you should be. Medieval Britain, or the oriental Jerusalem, themusic is what you want to hear to put you in Arthur's shoes.
Last but not least, the package of the game is also one of the best I have seen. The box is beautifully drawn. It contains an also beautiful map of Europe (I am not not to decide it's historical accuracy), and an also beautiful manual, book of lore with information both educative, and useful (copy protection is based on it).
The Bad
People seem to dislike only one thing in this game: The riddles. Indeed the creator is overconcerned about piracy. Not only she gives a moral lecture on it in the manual, but there are also 3 points in the game where you will need to consult your manual for folk lore. Personally, after I grew up, I could solve them without help, because of my personal knowledge but the problem exists.
There is also a point where you must solve 'guess what' riddles, not with knowledge of the manual. This is indeed a hard part, and sometimes even today I get stuck. However you can exit and re-enter the screen to try for an easier random set of riddles.
There was another thing I didn't like. The game is called Conquests of Camelot. Not only Camelot is seen only in the start, but the game has nothing to do with the conquests, the reign, the history, enemies or victories of Camelot. After a point the game changes feel and atmosphere, and you forget the Arthurian concept altogether and start learning lore and explore catacombs. The game for the most part is not more Arthurian than any other medieval game is. It could be called 'Medieval Indiana Jones' and still be credible.
Well, a tiny part that I didn't like are some historical inaccuracies. AFAIK the labarum was never a symbol of Mithras.
The Bottom Line
This game is an ideal travel to the middle-ages, a taste of the spirit and folklore of those times, when the old and new world coexisted. Just 'look at' everything you see.. Travel many places, battle with foes, read about legends of medieval england, and you will experience a rich, full and satisfying adventure.
By Boston Low on May 22, 2005
The Secret of Monkey Island (DOS)
Yet another review for THE Adventure... someone has to do it
The Good
Back in the Old Years, an adventure game came and boosted up the genre, a bit closer to the qualities of the later games.
Monkey Island is a great game, almost in all aspects. The first thing you ever see it's graphics, and graphics is where it was breakthrough. The backgrounds for example, previously were flat, and now obtained depth and perspective. Sometimes they were immersive (like outside the Mansion, or the cannibal village). The sprites were not something impressive but they were adequately drawn as semi-cartoony. The dialogue close-up portraits were the first photographic quality images to enter an adventure (AFAIK).
Your sprite now instead of walking and opening doors, will contribute to impressive cutscenes, like the fight with Sheriff and at the end with LeChuck.
The gameplay is highly different from the other products. Here you don't use 'What is' and start pixel hunting. The name of the recognised object appears right when you point it. The scenario is open and you can do stuff no matter in what order. Go to the SCUMM bar, talk to the pirates, the leaders, learn for the trials, and return the evidence? Fine. Start solving the trials without talking to the leaders? When you present the evidence to them they will say 'Ah I see you have heard of the trials'. Do you want to save time and avoid the dialogue? Fine. Start with the trials, which you can, by the way, solve in whatever order.
The dialogues give also a sense of freedom. Introduced in Indiana Jones, here they are extremely better. Although the dialogues don't affect puzzles or distant future events, they are richly designed. Many ways to introduce yourself to strangers, which will affect their reply, or not. Then you can ask many thinks, in whatever order you like. Sometimes your questions will bring up other questions or you can avoid them and go back to the original questions. Sounds familiar? Well that's how it started.
Dialogues are also an indicator of humor. For example when you meet Elaine, your availiable lines you have to choose from vary between 'Ulp...' and 'Err...'. Or when you have to say 'I do' many times till you convince Smirk to train you.
Oh yes, humor. After Larry and Space Quest, Monkey Island is one of the funniest games. The plot is self-sarcastic and Guybrush is driven toward funny situations. Vegetarian Cannibals, anachronisms (grog slot machines), a hanged man who died while trying to set up a swing, a monster-parrot, gangs, punchlines, in-jokes. They won't impress you as the later games but they will at least make you laugh.
It was also the first game to use a full soundtrack so this must be noted. I was not a fan of reggae, but here you don't hear music only in the intro, but in many places you will visit. The first job of the famous Michael Land.
The Bad
When I was thinking of writing a review I found it hard to think of any flaws. A brief reading of other reviews proved the same. Is the game THAT good? Anyway, after thinking a bit I can tell the following:
The savegame system is poor, identical to LOOM. You can save up to a certain number of games (which is small), and cannot change your directory. If you want to keep your games you must backup them in another directory. If you want for some reasons to review them (eg. for screenshots, or test other replies) it's a real trouble, especially back when some used plain DOS.
Another minor flaw, in-game this time, is the distance you have to travel each time. In later games Lucasarts fixed this by jumping you to the next screen when double-clicking. However in those times, people did not conceive time as we do and wan't hurrying. Few games had such 'tricks'. Besides it's less slow than Syberia!
Also, some puzzles are a bit frustrating. For example how could you guess that you can switch monkey blood with a bottle of wine? I can forgive these since this is a comedy adventure, and after all you can always start 'USE'ing everything you have and find the solution.
The Bottom Line
The big Hitchhiker's Guide to the Adventure Games of the Galaxy, in the definition of the word 'classic' must have the box-cover of MI. I won't say that MI is my favourite game, or the best ever made, but it is indeed one of the most influential, at least to us of the 'newer generation' who are too young for other classics, like Zork. If you are an Adventure gamer and haven't still played it, well, did you miss something?
By Boston Low on May 21, 2005
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (DOS)
The fist adventure I ever played too!
The Good
I was very little when I played this game... all I knew about games was 'a little guy that jumps and shoots and gets the bonuses'. I was very impressed that here I could really 'communicate' with the PC.
It's really hard for me to say the 'pros' of the game. The graphics were not good however they were ok for that age. The women's portraits were extraordinary!!
There was not much sound but the classic music theme (known as 'For your thighs only') was also good and imaginative for that time.
There was also a bunch of humorous circumstances, like where you die and return to a Sierra lab to be re-assembled. I liked this point. The various comments of the text parser were humorous but not characteristic of Al Lowe, known from the later games. Compared to them, the text and humor is primitive or rather premature. Normal, since this was his first attempt. However there are still many things to 'look at'
Larry is also an open game. You have much to explore from the beginning. This might frustrate some, but gives an impression of freedom. The overall atmosphere (a 'developing' city at night) is always there
The Bad
Ok, I didn't like the poor story and zero character development. Larry is just no-man coming from nowhere. All known about him is in the manual. Same for everything else. But could I forgive this due to the game's oldness? Characters were not very developed back then
Other things also irritated me, like dying where in real life you couldn't (like, flushing a toilet), but could they also be forgiven due to the game's humor??
Irritating were also the card and slot games you HAD to play. Thank goodness you are allowed to save and restore as much as you want. But in that time, such methods were a trick to hold the player to the game as long as possible with as minimal programming as possible. Mazes and mono-games like slots were the most frequent solutions.
Oh, and that age test!! Even Al Lowe admitted the test could be solved only by an adult from the USA (thank the cheat code!)
The Bottom Line
A classic. A must see for all adventure-types, no matter how outdated. Many things someone won't like, like poor graphics etc but those can be overlooked in such an old game. If you can't, try the remake.
By Boston Low on May 17, 2005
Star Wars: Dark Forces (DOS)
Doom-clones hyped up... not because of Doom
The Good
I will be brief and simple...
Before:
- Find the exit and kill anything that threatens you.
After:
-Star Wars! Find the Death Star plans, fight with Boba Fett, kill Stormtroopers, feel the TIE flying over your head.
-3D objects: Holograms, mouse droids, TIEs etc.
-Jump, Crouch, Look up/down, get inventory items.
-Scenario: Briefings and missions that advance the general story.
-Realism: Where you are is a Rebel base, now a Star Destroyer, now Jabba's ship. 'Gain access to the control room, turn the power on and find the bridge controls to rotate it and move to the other part of the base'.
-Cutscenes. Hand drawn and 3D.
The Bad
Brief again:
-Maybe I'd like a normal save system? But ok, it was a deliberate challenge for the players.
-The Look Up/Down algorithms distort the view. Not very helpful.
-No multiplayer
The Bottom Line
Put Doom next to Pacman, now put Dark Forces next to Doom... the difference is even bigger! Lucasarts just found what the FPS of that time lacked: realism and plot, and set in a preexisting franchise.
What else to say? Yet another classic :)
By Boston Low on May 9, 2005
Wing Commander (DOS)
A game that won't appear ever again!
The Good
Back in the glorious year 1991 I saw an impressive review in a games magazine presenting the game... impressed because it gave out a glimpse of this game's richness, plus many impressive screenshots... but only recently, over 10 years later, I managed to get halfway through the game and experience what that magazine was trying to tell me...
The reason: I started playing simulators since Inca and then Xwing, which in fact, are Wing Commander clones! Then I tried to play some WC games but never managed to get a grip of its gameplay and controls, but my last attempt brought success!!
The game is impressive, unique, brilliant, even nowadays, and I am telling you, after having playing other, more recent simulators! It makes me wonder how much impressive that would have been back in those years...
It is maybe one of the first games that makes use of hand drawn comic-like 256 coloured graphics... the game menu appears in the form of your mothership's (Tiger's Claw) interior you explore... you can visit the Bar to collect gossips of the Kilrathi war (helps building a realistic sensation of the background while you play) and hints from other pilots, the barracks to save your game (each game appears as a sleeping pilot on the bed), and your locker to see your score and performance..
The astonishing fact, which is absent even from later WC's clones, is that the pilots you meet, interact wit in the bar, which later become your wingmen, are characters on their own and have separate personalities and behaviour in combat!! When they die while being your wingmen, you will see a sequence with their funeral and never appear again..
The game is non-linear... when you fail some missions, you won't replay them, but will maybe 'punishing' you by opening plot forks and have additional missions before returning to the original story... I imagine addicted WC fans experimenting by losing missions and try to live ALL the forks and missions availiable.
I loved the way the cutscenes are presented... combined with the appearance of the pilots you can interact, it creates a realistic 'being there' sensation.. the briefings for example, don't show only the officer saying 'your mission is blah blah', but the briefing of each mission is different: the pilots ask questions and the officer makes his comments... it will make you feel like watching a movie, although years before the Interactive Movie games!
Cutscenes also appear when you are transferred, in funerals or in promotions... some cutscenes also show 'meanwhiles' advancing the storyline background.
The manual is also exceptional, published in the manner of a magazine that supposedly circulates in the Tiger's Claw (the mothership) for the pilots... it gives you in a realistic fashion the background of the story, presentation of the pilots you are gonna meet in the game (in the manner of interviews!), ships presentations, the officer ranks and hints (in the manner of magazine articles!)
It's a game that introduces a whole new space saga from nowhere: i'ts not taking place in a Star Wars/Trek universe, nor is it based on them... it's totally a unique new mae universe with its own fictional timeline and philosophy and waits for you to explore.
The Bad
What I didn't like was the difficulty of some missions, and the cockpit design, which hides from you some part of the action... thus you are forced to maneuver all the time to bring the enemy on your visual field...
I didn't like the fact that you are always a wingleader, and all the pilots are always wingmen... I didn't find this realistic since this makes you commander even of pilots that are superior in rank... the good stuff would be if you started the story as a wingman, and then advance, but anyway...
The Bottom Line
Too bad that all those revolutionary elements haven't been copied by the various WC clones!
By Boston Low on June 17, 2004
Out of This World (DOS)
I don't understand how such simple games can be so impressive and addictive!
The Good
Oh my, you won't believe it until you experience it... a game of awful 16 color polygon graphics (and not even 3d!), without platforms without big mean guys, without inventory, and weapon variety, can impress you so much!!
The game is consisted by rich original puzzles which are solved not by commands or items but by your gun or combined moves!
The game 'narrative' is so brilliant that makes you believe you are exploring a whole new planet... the way of presentation, scenery etc is very atmospheric (notice the birds that fly in the scenery, or the buildings at the distance) and will make you believe that this otherwise simple game has a real depth..
I can't say why, but while playing you have the feeling that this Another World is a whole virtual world and you will be able to explore it.. but you won't because of the storyline limits!!
nothing more i can say.. the game is brilliantly designed!!
The Bad
look above!! the game managed to make pros out of its own cons!!
The Bottom Line
brilliant!
By Boston Low on June 17, 2004
Fade to Black (DOS)
a worthy FlashBack sequel and a TombRaider predecessor
The Good
F2B (note that the initials are same as of its prequel plus the number 2, indicating a sequel!) is a great game worthy of its original, Flash Back!! The story takes place right after our hero Conrad wakes from his cryo sleep and we help him to continue the war against the Morph aliens...
The sequel introduces other characters that are on your side, interact with you and can communicate with you during playing, giving you hints... this adds a whole 'meanwhile' feeling to the gameplay
F2B was very impressive for its time, because we weren't used to fully 3d polygon graphics... the graphics and details were fairly rich and impressive, forming a realistic environment... note the toilet seat in Conrad's cell, the PCs on the desks and other details! Anyway, Conrad might seem now rather like a squared dummy than a 3d human model... In any case the animations are smooth and lifelike...
The cutscenes are another astonishing part of the package... prerendered 3d graphics movies with incredible spaceship models, sceneries and animations! Something impressive I noticed: the cutscenes were very faithful to the in-game scenery... note the ship you embark at the end of the 1st level, although composed by polygons due to the game's engine, in the cutscene showing you escaping the prison (which is differently rendered by another engine), your ship is exactly similar to the in-game one... most games didn't pay attention to those details.
The Bad
The only think I didn't like in this very good sequel was maybe the unimpressive music, and maybe the slow movement of the hero... his slow (and sometimes not faithful) reactions to your keypressing will make the gameplay a bit more difficult than it should be.
In comparison to TR, both the graphics and the gameplay seem a bit poor: although FB was full of run, jump, crouch and climb, those elements are absent here (although TR prominently adopted them!)... The levels are quite flat, and the only reason you have to jump, is to avoid some elecrified squares. As for the rooms they are perfectly squared... the F2B world is almost totally lacking curves... but then again all these should be forgiven due to the game's oldness?
The Bottom Line
This great game can be defined as a predecessor to Tomb Raider because it was the first 3d polygon game that introduced the over-the-shoulder point of view and... However I never managed to learn if Tomb Raider actually was inspired form it, or if the similarities are not related at all...
Anyway, I was very sorry that this game never became as famous as its prequel, or TR, and it was not followed by a sequel!
By Boston Low on June 16, 2004
Flashback: The Quest for Identity (DOS)
a real hit!
The Good
I read that FB is an underestimated game but I don't think so... at least the magazine articles and reviews I read, exalted this game.. and I think justly, because it is a game that combines all: graphics, animation, action, realism, a fake in-depth of the FB universe and a great ever evolving plot...
At first I'd say it is a Prince of Persia-clone platform game with realistic rotoscoped movements climbing to platforms, jumping and ducking, set in the future... the plot is a great pro for the game, which was absent in Prince... The French producers have impressive and active stories coming with their games and as usually, they have 'stolen' some ideas from known movies, notable Total Recall..
Anyway I don't understand why people perceive it as a sequel to Another World... it is clearly another game in another universe... I expect someone who liked the first, will like the other as well, as long as he won't bother comparing them
The Bad
To be honest I can't think of anything negative!! Maybe the music was not one that you are going to remember, but it was not a vital part for such a package
The Bottom Line
if you see it around, be sure not to miss it!
By Boston Low on June 16, 2004