Publisher: Sierra
Genre: Adventure
Summary: As Robin Hood, you must gather money for the king's ransom while avoiding the Sheriff of Nottingham's men.
Gameplay: Gameplay is a mix of arcade sequences involving things such as playing backgammon or (of course) archery and puzzles, which are a mix of item usage, wayfinding, and memory. Thankfully, there is a difficulty slider for the arcade sequences.
As for the puzzles, many of them depend upon the game's copy protection, which uses things such as coats of arms and arcane druid knowledge. It's interesting stuff, but it feels over-used. Other puzzles aren't bad, but there are some annoying instances where it takes a bit to realize how to implement what you want to do.
Style: The graphics have lovely VGA colors with plenty of inset portraits to convey characters. Sherwood Forest is vibrant and there are plenty of screens, but also lots of maps so you don't have to tromp about to get everywhere. The music is beautiful.
Story: The story takes place very sequentially, with certain events happening each day and the day ending when events are completed. Thus the game can go quite quickly if you know what to do and quite slowly if you do not. It's also possible to have something go awry early in the game and then play the rest of the game to go a horrible ending. Despite these issues, the game builds nicely and includes lots of Robin Hood touchstones.
As in the previous Conquest game, there are lots of pagan references, and they feel a bit odder here, perhaps because this game is set later in time. It doesn't help that Friar Tuck is the sole charitably portrayed priestly character, and he has to be included by tradition.
Conclusion: Conquests of the Longbow is a colorful and fun tale of Robin Hood with some annoyances in its puzzles.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Saturday, May 18, 2019
"Black" Review
Publisher: schivafrecce
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: You are confronted by a strange creature in a dark cave.
Gameplay: Gameplay consists of your choices of responses and actions.
Style: As reflected in the name, the palette is largely darkness and greys, with occasional white highlights. Color is rare. Even at the highest speed, the text appears slowly, and the menu options can get a bit confusing with their in-universe titles.
Story: There isn't much to go on in Black; it relies mostly on atmosphere rather than backstory or plot. Because the game is trying to be creepy, I felt it assumed I would be more scared and cruel I wanted in my options.
Conclusion: Black is a short little game with neat (lack of) lighting. It's a little blunt for my tastes, but it offers options and good atmosphere.
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: You are confronted by a strange creature in a dark cave.
Gameplay: Gameplay consists of your choices of responses and actions.
Style: As reflected in the name, the palette is largely darkness and greys, with occasional white highlights. Color is rare. Even at the highest speed, the text appears slowly, and the menu options can get a bit confusing with their in-universe titles.
Story: There isn't much to go on in Black; it relies mostly on atmosphere rather than backstory or plot. Because the game is trying to be creepy, I felt it assumed I would be more scared and cruel I wanted in my options.
Conclusion: Black is a short little game with neat (lack of) lighting. It's a little blunt for my tastes, but it offers options and good atmosphere.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
"April Was a Fool" Review
Publisher: Dragonfly Studios
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: Thanks to a resemblance to their recently deceased leader April, you have a chance to join a legendary team of adventurers.
Gameplay: Gameplay consists of a few choices.
Style: The artistic style is an exaggerated, colorful anime design, with some super-deformed instances in inserts. The music is good.
Story: "April Was a Fool" is really, depending on which option you choose near the beginning, five different stories, each exploring a different member of the team, but all showing these heroes' dysfunction. These various dysfunctions can be surprisingly dark.
Conclusion: While I enjoyed the complexity of the characters, which came across well despite the shortness of the game, I found the serious topics discussed clashed with the artistic style. I realize the contrast is probably intentional, but it just didn't work for me, especially given my general dislike of the style regardless. It was worth playing "April Was a Fool" but I couldn't help wishing for different visuals.
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: Thanks to a resemblance to their recently deceased leader April, you have a chance to join a legendary team of adventurers.
Gameplay: Gameplay consists of a few choices.
Style: The artistic style is an exaggerated, colorful anime design, with some super-deformed instances in inserts. The music is good.
Story: "April Was a Fool" is really, depending on which option you choose near the beginning, five different stories, each exploring a different member of the team, but all showing these heroes' dysfunction. These various dysfunctions can be surprisingly dark.
Conclusion: While I enjoyed the complexity of the characters, which came across well despite the shortness of the game, I found the serious topics discussed clashed with the artistic style. I realize the contrast is probably intentional, but it just didn't work for me, especially given my general dislike of the style regardless. It was worth playing "April Was a Fool" but I couldn't help wishing for different visuals.
Sunday, March 3, 2019
"The Blackwell Convergence" Review
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
"The Crossroads" Review
Publisher: Seriphinite Games
Website: https://seraphinite.itch.io/the-crossroads
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: While looking after a peaceful mansion, a woman gets to know the two handsome staff.
Gameplay: Gameplay consists of making decisions. There are a nice variety.
Style: The main character's name, hair, eyes, and skin tone are customizable. The backgrounds project the peaceful setting. Occasional inserts are used sparingly but well. The music is mostly peaceful as well, but there are a few awkward cues.
Story: The Crossroads is a very relaxed romance. There's not a lot of background to the characters and the information behind the supernatural element to the story is extremely thin and very shakily explained.
Conclusion: The Crossroads doesn't inspire strong feelings, but offers some choices and low-stress romance.
Website: https://seraphinite.itch.io/the-crossroads
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: While looking after a peaceful mansion, a woman gets to know the two handsome staff.
Gameplay: Gameplay consists of making decisions. There are a nice variety.
Style: The main character's name, hair, eyes, and skin tone are customizable. The backgrounds project the peaceful setting. Occasional inserts are used sparingly but well. The music is mostly peaceful as well, but there are a few awkward cues.
Story: The Crossroads is a very relaxed romance. There's not a lot of background to the characters and the information behind the supernatural element to the story is extremely thin and very shakily explained.
Conclusion: The Crossroads doesn't inspire strong feelings, but offers some choices and low-stress romance.
Sunday, December 30, 2018
"The Shadows That Run Alongside Our Car" Review
Publisher: Lox Rain
Website: https://loxrain.itch.io/shadows
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: After the zombie apocalypse, two strangers share a car ride and discuss things.
Gameplay: The main choice is which of the two characters to view the conversation from, but there are other options in responses.
Style: The view is mostly a singular shot of the car and its inhabitants with some inserts. The change in colors as night approaches is well done. The music is atmospheric as well.
Story: "Shadows" nicely covers the meandering and awkward nature of conversation and the differences in its two perspectives. Don't expect it touch upon any deep detail about this universe or these characters. Don't expect a resolution, either. There's only conversation here.
Conclusion: There's not much to "The Shadows That Run Alongside Our Car." Like the title, the game sometimes is too pretentious for its own good. But enjoyed as a quick, thoughtful conversation with a dark air it's not bad.
Website: https://loxrain.itch.io/shadows
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: After the zombie apocalypse, two strangers share a car ride and discuss things.
Gameplay: The main choice is which of the two characters to view the conversation from, but there are other options in responses.
Style: The view is mostly a singular shot of the car and its inhabitants with some inserts. The change in colors as night approaches is well done. The music is atmospheric as well.
Story: "Shadows" nicely covers the meandering and awkward nature of conversation and the differences in its two perspectives. Don't expect it touch upon any deep detail about this universe or these characters. Don't expect a resolution, either. There's only conversation here.
Conclusion: There's not much to "The Shadows That Run Alongside Our Car." Like the title, the game sometimes is too pretentious for its own good. But enjoyed as a quick, thoughtful conversation with a dark air it's not bad.
Monday, November 19, 2018
"Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail" Review
Publisher: Sierra
Genre: Adventure
Summary: To heal Camelot, King Arthur must find the Holy Grail.
Gameplay: The puzzles in the game are more often knowledge than inventory-based (although there are some of the latter as well.) They range from straightforward to frustratingly obscure. There are also various arcade sequences involving timing as King Arthur fights foes.
Style: These are EGA graphics at their finest. The scenery is colorful and varied. The screen is bordered, which besides offering a nice setting changes per scene to subtly set the tone. The music is memorable as well. Even the text-based parser has a nice touch (you as King Arthur are talking to Merlin.)
Story: The magical Britain of the game is not so unusual for Camelot stories, although the mix of myths perhaps is. I am, however, unable to remember any grail stories that actually go to Jerusalem, especially in the fifth century A.D. It all makes for a strange mishmash at times (most quests that start with a prayer to Christ don't end with a talk with Aphrodite) but it's interesting at the very least.
The story does excel at conveying the tone of knightly virtue needed for hunting the grail and, in its end, the melancholy of Camelot's ultimate fate.
Conclusion: Despite some iffy puzzles and old-school awkwardness, "Conquests of Camelot" offers a beautiful game and some truly emotional moments.
Genre: Adventure
Summary: To heal Camelot, King Arthur must find the Holy Grail.
Gameplay: The puzzles in the game are more often knowledge than inventory-based (although there are some of the latter as well.) They range from straightforward to frustratingly obscure. There are also various arcade sequences involving timing as King Arthur fights foes.
Style: These are EGA graphics at their finest. The scenery is colorful and varied. The screen is bordered, which besides offering a nice setting changes per scene to subtly set the tone. The music is memorable as well. Even the text-based parser has a nice touch (you as King Arthur are talking to Merlin.)
Story: The magical Britain of the game is not so unusual for Camelot stories, although the mix of myths perhaps is. I am, however, unable to remember any grail stories that actually go to Jerusalem, especially in the fifth century A.D. It all makes for a strange mishmash at times (most quests that start with a prayer to Christ don't end with a talk with Aphrodite) but it's interesting at the very least.
The story does excel at conveying the tone of knightly virtue needed for hunting the grail and, in its end, the melancholy of Camelot's ultimate fate.
Conclusion: Despite some iffy puzzles and old-school awkwardness, "Conquests of Camelot" offers a beautiful game and some truly emotional moments.
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