Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Genre: Adventure
Summary: Rosangela and her ghostly guide Joey investigate deaths that seem to be connected to a mysterious ghost.
Gameplay: As with the previous Blackwell game, puzzles often involve switching to Joey to make use of incorporeal ghostly skills. There is still much investigating and asking questions, plus email hacking via finding passwords. It can be a bit annoying trying to pick or type the exact right question.
Style: The style is much the same standard adventure-game graphics and blues-music. Some scanning backgrounds during the beginning and ending sequences and rain effects during parts add a little extra.
Story: I greatly enjoyed the story back in "Blackwell Unbound" so it was a pleasant surprise to see elements of it revisited here. The hints of the mysteries of the Blackwell setting are the game's greatest strength, but they are only touched on in this game. The other elements of the story provide some interesting New York City history, but suffer for randomness in connection and pacing.
Conclusion: "The Blackwell Convergence" works well as a continuation in the Blackwell series. Investment in the characters and setting helps cover the occasional irritating puzzle.
Showing posts with label wadjet eye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wadjet eye. Show all posts
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
"Blackwell Unbound" Review
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Genre: Adventure
Summary: Lauren Blackwell, a spirit medium helps ghosts move on with her ghostly guide Joey in 1970's New York City. They discover a strange connection between two spirits they must help.
Gameplay: There are a few confusing puzzles, but most are straightforward. I tripped up most remembering that I might have to keep asking about the same topic to get all the information I needed (there's no indication when a subject is exhausted.)
For the first time, you can switch between the incorporeal Joey and alive Lauren, and some puzzles require this. And, refreshingly appropriate for the time period, research involves a phone book (luckily everyone is open late.)
Style: The graphics and music combine nicely, although nothing is spectacular.
Story: I enjoyed this prequel more than "The Blackwell Legacy." Lauren Blackwell's chain-smoking character exudes an air of bitterness that is very intriguing and, frankly, endearing. Her well-worn relationship with Joey is an interesting comparison to the new partnership of "Legacy." The ghostly plots of the game are poignant and build up to an intense and satisfying conclusion.
Conclusion: "Blackwell Unbound" isn't a long game, but I found it a rich experience. The characters are memorable and the 1970s New York setting is put to good use.
Genre: Adventure
Summary: Lauren Blackwell, a spirit medium helps ghosts move on with her ghostly guide Joey in 1970's New York City. They discover a strange connection between two spirits they must help.
Gameplay: There are a few confusing puzzles, but most are straightforward. I tripped up most remembering that I might have to keep asking about the same topic to get all the information I needed (there's no indication when a subject is exhausted.)
For the first time, you can switch between the incorporeal Joey and alive Lauren, and some puzzles require this. And, refreshingly appropriate for the time period, research involves a phone book (luckily everyone is open late.)
Style: The graphics and music combine nicely, although nothing is spectacular.
Story: I enjoyed this prequel more than "The Blackwell Legacy." Lauren Blackwell's chain-smoking character exudes an air of bitterness that is very intriguing and, frankly, endearing. Her well-worn relationship with Joey is an interesting comparison to the new partnership of "Legacy." The ghostly plots of the game are poignant and build up to an intense and satisfying conclusion.
Conclusion: "Blackwell Unbound" isn't a long game, but I found it a rich experience. The characters are memorable and the 1970s New York setting is put to good use.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
"The Blackwell Legacy" Review
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Genre: Adventure
Summary: Rosangela Blackwell discovers she's a medium, and with the helpful of her ghostly companion, Joey, must help ghosts cross over.
Gameplay: The puzzles are mostly dialogue-based, which is a nice change of pace. Sometimes Rosa must combine notes to figure out a new fact, which feels organic. It can cause a problem, however, if you figure something out but forget to actually have the character combine the notes to do so. (This was more of a problem the second playthrough, since I already knew what was happening.)
Style: The old-school adventure game graphics aren't fancy, but the environments are nice. Voice acting is good, as is the music.
Story: I enjoyed the story of Rosangela dealing with the pain and confusion of Joey appearing and worrying about her sanity. The characters of the game are intriguing and set up a lot of possibilities for the series (and there is even a nice choice to make at the end.)
The only major problem, then, is length. The game just feels like it's starting and then it ends. Blackwell finishes her first "case" and that's it. It's but an introduction.
Conclusion: I like this game as an introduction to these characters and their game universe, but I think I would be upset if I'd gotten it by full price or not in a bundle, given its shortness.
Genre: Adventure
Summary: Rosangela Blackwell discovers she's a medium, and with the helpful of her ghostly companion, Joey, must help ghosts cross over.
Gameplay: The puzzles are mostly dialogue-based, which is a nice change of pace. Sometimes Rosa must combine notes to figure out a new fact, which feels organic. It can cause a problem, however, if you figure something out but forget to actually have the character combine the notes to do so. (This was more of a problem the second playthrough, since I already knew what was happening.)
Style: The old-school adventure game graphics aren't fancy, but the environments are nice. Voice acting is good, as is the music.
Story: I enjoyed the story of Rosangela dealing with the pain and confusion of Joey appearing and worrying about her sanity. The characters of the game are intriguing and set up a lot of possibilities for the series (and there is even a nice choice to make at the end.)
The only major problem, then, is length. The game just feels like it's starting and then it ends. Blackwell finishes her first "case" and that's it. It's but an introduction.
Conclusion: I like this game as an introduction to these characters and their game universe, but I think I would be upset if I'd gotten it by full price or not in a bundle, given its shortness.
Sunday, July 31, 2016
"Gemini Rue" Review
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Genre: Adventure
Summary: On a gang-run planet, a weary assassin-turned-cop searches for information. Elsewhere, an amnesiac prisoner tries to escape a mysterious facility where graduation means a new personality.
Gameplay: Pretty much all interaction uses right-clicking, which lets you look or touch or kick and also opens the inventory. I wish that had been split up a bit, maybe by setting looking aside as its own action or offering a separate way to open the inventory. Unless I missed something, there wasn't any way to look at an inventory item without interacting with something else, which was a little irritating.
The puzzles generally don't stand out as bad or good, although I did get a bit tired of combination puzzles. There were also several times in the game when it wasn't that obvious what to do next. The game also features actual action-sequence gunplay, which felt well-integrated and varied but not too complex. I liked it and felt like there was just enough of it.
Style: Graphically, the game looks fairly rough, which must be a stylistic choice, since it came out in 2011. I suppose it works to give the setting a run-down and serious air, but it can be jarring when coming from an adventure game with brighter and clearer graphics. It also makes some of the puzzle elements harder to spot.
Story: When it comes to "Blade Runner"-esque adventure games with action shooter elements, it's hard to top the amazing actual "Blade Runner" game by Westwood Studios. And this doesn't! But it does have an excellent story of its own with some good twists (as you might imagine with mindwiping in play as a plot element.)
I'm usually pretty good about picking up background understanding about a setting, but this was one of the few games where I wanted more establishing information. I still got the general gist of things, and that's all that's needed, but I would have liked a way to read up and clarify more.
Also, and I know this is a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, but a solar system is not a galaxy! It's just that the mistake is consistent throughout the game, so by the fourth or fifth mention I got twitchy about it.
There are several instances where the dialogue gets overly philosophical and tells what's already been more subtly shown, especially near the end. And while I was impressed in the beginning at having such a large area of city available to explore, at the end my suspension of disbelief was shattered as everybody on the planet possibly needing contact lived within a two-block radius.
Of the two plot threads, I preferred exploring the rainy streets of a downtrodden city to navigating the sterile facility, but I appreciate the ability to switch between the two (and they converge nicely in the end.) I do wish there were more options, though that's a purely personal preference. It just seemed like there were several moments in the game where a player choice could have been integrated.
Conclusion: Although it has its quirks and weaknesses, "Gemini Rue" is overall a good adventure game with an interesting story. I had fun!
Genre: Adventure
Summary: On a gang-run planet, a weary assassin-turned-cop searches for information. Elsewhere, an amnesiac prisoner tries to escape a mysterious facility where graduation means a new personality.
Gameplay: Pretty much all interaction uses right-clicking, which lets you look or touch or kick and also opens the inventory. I wish that had been split up a bit, maybe by setting looking aside as its own action or offering a separate way to open the inventory. Unless I missed something, there wasn't any way to look at an inventory item without interacting with something else, which was a little irritating.
The puzzles generally don't stand out as bad or good, although I did get a bit tired of combination puzzles. There were also several times in the game when it wasn't that obvious what to do next. The game also features actual action-sequence gunplay, which felt well-integrated and varied but not too complex. I liked it and felt like there was just enough of it.
Style: Graphically, the game looks fairly rough, which must be a stylistic choice, since it came out in 2011. I suppose it works to give the setting a run-down and serious air, but it can be jarring when coming from an adventure game with brighter and clearer graphics. It also makes some of the puzzle elements harder to spot.
Story: When it comes to "Blade Runner"-esque adventure games with action shooter elements, it's hard to top the amazing actual "Blade Runner" game by Westwood Studios. And this doesn't! But it does have an excellent story of its own with some good twists (as you might imagine with mindwiping in play as a plot element.)
I'm usually pretty good about picking up background understanding about a setting, but this was one of the few games where I wanted more establishing information. I still got the general gist of things, and that's all that's needed, but I would have liked a way to read up and clarify more.
Also, and I know this is a minor issue in the grand scheme of things, but a solar system is not a galaxy! It's just that the mistake is consistent throughout the game, so by the fourth or fifth mention I got twitchy about it.
There are several instances where the dialogue gets overly philosophical and tells what's already been more subtly shown, especially near the end. And while I was impressed in the beginning at having such a large area of city available to explore, at the end my suspension of disbelief was shattered as everybody on the planet possibly needing contact lived within a two-block radius.
Of the two plot threads, I preferred exploring the rainy streets of a downtrodden city to navigating the sterile facility, but I appreciate the ability to switch between the two (and they converge nicely in the end.) I do wish there were more options, though that's a purely personal preference. It just seemed like there were several moments in the game where a player choice could have been integrated.
Conclusion: Although it has its quirks and weaknesses, "Gemini Rue" is overall a good adventure game with an interesting story. I had fun!
Saturday, May 7, 2016
"Resonance" Review
Publisher: xii games/Wadjet Eye Games
Genre: Adventure
Summary: A mysterious new technology, Resonance, appears to have caused death and destruction at a research lab and brings together a mathematician, doctor, cop, and reporter as they investigate.
Gameplay: Puzzles of every sort abound in this game, some of which are pretty fun, but most are more mechanical than I prefer. Additionally, some items end up in characters' long term memory and can be used in discussion and puzzles, and anything can be added to short-term memory for the same purpose. Usually this meant I had to go back to someplace because I'd forgotten to add something to short-term memory. This is a neat concept, but it didn't really feel like it lived up to its potential for unique problems or conversations.
There were also several puzzles involving getting the correct characters in the correct places to perform the correct actions. There is also some variability in that multiple characters can perform multiple tasks, but this is another element that felt somewhat under-utilized.
Style: The graphics didn't really stand out to me, though there were some nice moody moments via lighting and music.
Story: I got this game expecting mysterious science hijinks. New particle physics could be an excuse for time travel or alternate universes or superpowers. Here it...causes explosions. The plot is a fine technothriller, but it's not what I was hoping for.
As is not uncommon when there are several characters and story threads, I was more interested in one than the others. Alas, this story wrapped up rather unsatisfactorily about two-thirds through the game in a twist I mostly saw coming. So that was a bit of a downer as well.
The twist itself is rather good, however, and the main characters of the game were likable and well-written. The villains, however, barely make an impression. There are several choices at the end leading to different endings, which is a nice opportunity to in essence give player input on events (plus add a bit more replay ability.)
Conclusion: Resonance is an interesting case where I largely disliked the game not because of poor quality but just personal preference. There are a few plot elements I think could have been handled better, but it was mostly the endless mechanical puzzles and the duller than expected technothriller theme that dragged the game down for me. Others might well enjoy the game more for these.
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