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.
Monday, November 19, 2018
Monday, October 8, 2018
"Dragon Age: Origins Witch Hunt" DLC Review
Publisher: Bioware
Genre: RPG
Summary: The Warden decides to hunt down their former companion Morrigan.
Gameplay: Gameplay is the same as in the main game or the expansion Awakenings if you have it. There is one major unique enemy.
Style: All of the environments are from the main game or the expansion or previous DLCs, albeit in a wide-ranging and unexpected mix.
Story: As the last of the Origins DLC, Witch Hunt was once hoped to offer Dragon Age II clues; instead it's now known it points more towards Dragon Age: Inquisition. Rather, the impact of the DLC will understandably depend upon the strength of your character's feelings towards Morrigan (I don't often play it because many of my Wardens wouldn't feel strongly enough to try to find her.)
The ending is abrupt and the DLC before that short. The reuse of the environments is obvious, but the use of lore to connect them is interesting, and it's nice that your character has the chance to comment if they've been there before, or haven't, for that matter.
The two new NPCs are richly realized and memorable (especially in such a short amount of time) and have plenty of conversations with each other and your dog.
Conclusion: Witch Hunt is brief and doesn't offer much, but little bits of lore and fun characters mean I never regret playing it.
Genre: RPG
Summary: The Warden decides to hunt down their former companion Morrigan.
Gameplay: Gameplay is the same as in the main game or the expansion Awakenings if you have it. There is one major unique enemy.
Style: All of the environments are from the main game or the expansion or previous DLCs, albeit in a wide-ranging and unexpected mix.
Story: As the last of the Origins DLC, Witch Hunt was once hoped to offer Dragon Age II clues; instead it's now known it points more towards Dragon Age: Inquisition. Rather, the impact of the DLC will understandably depend upon the strength of your character's feelings towards Morrigan (I don't often play it because many of my Wardens wouldn't feel strongly enough to try to find her.)
The ending is abrupt and the DLC before that short. The reuse of the environments is obvious, but the use of lore to connect them is interesting, and it's nice that your character has the chance to comment if they've been there before, or haven't, for that matter.
The two new NPCs are richly realized and memorable (especially in such a short amount of time) and have plenty of conversations with each other and your dog.
Conclusion: Witch Hunt is brief and doesn't offer much, but little bits of lore and fun characters mean I never regret playing it.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
"Ishara: Bane of the Seas" Review
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: Years after her disgrace, Ishara returns to her family to steal her boat and becomes entangled in her sister's wedding.
Gameplay: An early decisions influences whether the story will follow Ishara's journey with her sister or her sister's fiance. There is a sole later decision. There is also an optional turn-based combat system with multiple battle abilities for different characters.
Style: The art aids the story and characterization, as does the good music. There are also nice sound effects and quips during combat, although the latter seem a bit strange when there is no other spoken dialogue.
Story: Given the lack of decisions, there's not a lot of variety in the story, but the story that is there is very engaging with empathetic characters and exciting action. Not a lot of backstory is given upfront, and certain details can only be learned in one path or the other. This is a bit intriguing, but also somewhat frustrating.
Conclusion: Although lacking in options, Ishara offers fun combat and an entertaining story.
Summary: Years after her disgrace, Ishara returns to her family to steal her boat and becomes entangled in her sister's wedding.
Gameplay: An early decisions influences whether the story will follow Ishara's journey with her sister or her sister's fiance. There is a sole later decision. There is also an optional turn-based combat system with multiple battle abilities for different characters.
Style: The art aids the story and characterization, as does the good music. There are also nice sound effects and quips during combat, although the latter seem a bit strange when there is no other spoken dialogue.
Story: Given the lack of decisions, there's not a lot of variety in the story, but the story that is there is very engaging with empathetic characters and exciting action. Not a lot of backstory is given upfront, and certain details can only be learned in one path or the other. This is a bit intriguing, but also somewhat frustrating.
Conclusion: Although lacking in options, Ishara offers fun combat and an entertaining story.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
"The Bottom of the Well" Review
Publisher: Red Nettle Studios
Website: https://wolfrug.itch.io/the-bottom-of-the-well-dev-version
Genre: Visual Novel/RPG
Summary: Alice recounts a strange dream of apocalyptic survival and doom.
Gameplay: After selecting Alice's traits, which will influence Alice's abilities and options in the game to come, you also make decisions that do likewise.
Style: The style of the game is extremely evocative, with all text being back-and-forth conversation between Alice and her friend online. This works well to convey the action and eerie atmosphere, as do the black-and-white blurry backgrounds. In fact, the only colors are red, black, white, making the game both stylized and dramatic while allowing the focus to remain on the text.
Story: Alice's story manages to feel creepy with its vision-dream of nuclear destruction yet utterly realistic in its details (which of course is creepiest of all, with the implication this is all preparation for a true future to come.) The combination of Alice's variety of traits with choices in the game offers plenty of story opportunities while still making for a difficult game.
Conclusion: "The Bottom of the Well" is a lovely and dark visual novel with some roleplaying elements that all combine nicely into a fun and fascinating game experience.
Website: https://wolfrug.itch.io/the-bottom-of-the-well-dev-version
Genre: Visual Novel/RPG
Summary: Alice recounts a strange dream of apocalyptic survival and doom.
Gameplay: After selecting Alice's traits, which will influence Alice's abilities and options in the game to come, you also make decisions that do likewise.
Style: The style of the game is extremely evocative, with all text being back-and-forth conversation between Alice and her friend online. This works well to convey the action and eerie atmosphere, as do the black-and-white blurry backgrounds. In fact, the only colors are red, black, white, making the game both stylized and dramatic while allowing the focus to remain on the text.
Story: Alice's story manages to feel creepy with its vision-dream of nuclear destruction yet utterly realistic in its details (which of course is creepiest of all, with the implication this is all preparation for a true future to come.) The combination of Alice's variety of traits with choices in the game offers plenty of story opportunities while still making for a difficult game.
Conclusion: "The Bottom of the Well" is a lovely and dark visual novel with some roleplaying elements that all combine nicely into a fun and fascinating game experience.
Friday, July 6, 2018
"Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords" Review
Publisher: Obsidian Entertainment
Genre: RPG
Summary: Returning to the Republic after war and exile, you must hunt down the remaining Jedi masters and discover the threat of the mysterious Sith Lords.
Gameplay: Much of the gameplay resembles its predecessor, but there are some additions. For example, there is a welcome button that allows you to switch between two weapon options, meaning you don't have to go to the equipment page to switch between melee and ranged.
Tactical options are more complex as well, as your companions have a range of combat behaviors to choose from. There are also new lightsaber forms and new force abilities.
Crafting is also more complex. There are more types of weapons and armor and most can now be upgraded. Everything can be broken down into components from which many things can be crafted (if your skill is high enough, of course.) Chemicals work similarly for medical supplies and demolitions.
While all of this seems neat, honestly I find it a bit overwhelming and too much of a hassle compared to the previous game. While having some more armor choices is nice, there's just too much to deal with.
Your influence with your party members is another element that is intriguing but struggles in the implementation. It's great to be able to influence some party members to become Jedi or Sith (and there are various other mechanical rewards), to say nothing of the roleplaying of gradually learning their hearts and secrets.
However, influence is so haphazardly scattered that it is possible to max it out in a first conversation or unknowingly miss one of the few opportunities and then suffer a monosyllabic companion for the rest of the game.
Style: As before, it's enjoyable to see the dramatic sights of the Star Wars universe (given the graphics of the time), but headgear is, as ever, unfortunate. The music is excellent.
Story: The Sith Lords has a great story but struggles to tell it. There's some wonderful characterization and dialogue, but there are still sometimes issues when obvious questions aren't asked.
And don't expect anybody to explain your character's background, which is pretty annoying on a first playthrough, given it's a large part of the game (I'm of the opinion things that are not a mystery to the character should not be a mystery to the player.)
This causes difficulties in roleplaying, as do the problems with the influence system described above. When one snarky comment might make the difference between a character being able to be a Jedi later, it's hard to find a good middle ground between roleplay and gameplay.
Plus, the stops and starts of the influence system mean party information is doled out awkwardly. The characters are all great, but it's difficult to work the influence system to find out why. I also wish the characters had more chances to interact with each other.
Speaking of stops and starts, the game is awful about pacing. There are far too many long drawn-out sections where you're stuck with only one character or forced to go from one dungeon to another with no choices or meaningful dialogue.
Of course, a lot of this is because the game was absurdly rushed, and not even the Restored Content mod can solve some of the subsequent lacks. This is clearest in the ending, which even with Restored Content is a slog and a disappointment (especially given it leans heavily towards the never-existent Knights of the Old Republic III) that lacks coherency.
Conclusion: The Sith Lords was always going to have a tough time following up the excellent (and my sometimes-favorite game) Knights of the Old Republic. Add to that its rushed delivery and it's no wonder it suffers from pacing and plot issues. Yet it still offers some memorable moments and characters.
Genre: RPG
Summary: Returning to the Republic after war and exile, you must hunt down the remaining Jedi masters and discover the threat of the mysterious Sith Lords.
Gameplay: Much of the gameplay resembles its predecessor, but there are some additions. For example, there is a welcome button that allows you to switch between two weapon options, meaning you don't have to go to the equipment page to switch between melee and ranged.
Tactical options are more complex as well, as your companions have a range of combat behaviors to choose from. There are also new lightsaber forms and new force abilities.
Crafting is also more complex. There are more types of weapons and armor and most can now be upgraded. Everything can be broken down into components from which many things can be crafted (if your skill is high enough, of course.) Chemicals work similarly for medical supplies and demolitions.
While all of this seems neat, honestly I find it a bit overwhelming and too much of a hassle compared to the previous game. While having some more armor choices is nice, there's just too much to deal with.
Your influence with your party members is another element that is intriguing but struggles in the implementation. It's great to be able to influence some party members to become Jedi or Sith (and there are various other mechanical rewards), to say nothing of the roleplaying of gradually learning their hearts and secrets.
However, influence is so haphazardly scattered that it is possible to max it out in a first conversation or unknowingly miss one of the few opportunities and then suffer a monosyllabic companion for the rest of the game.
Style: As before, it's enjoyable to see the dramatic sights of the Star Wars universe (given the graphics of the time), but headgear is, as ever, unfortunate. The music is excellent.
Story: The Sith Lords has a great story but struggles to tell it. There's some wonderful characterization and dialogue, but there are still sometimes issues when obvious questions aren't asked.
And don't expect anybody to explain your character's background, which is pretty annoying on a first playthrough, given it's a large part of the game (I'm of the opinion things that are not a mystery to the character should not be a mystery to the player.)
This causes difficulties in roleplaying, as do the problems with the influence system described above. When one snarky comment might make the difference between a character being able to be a Jedi later, it's hard to find a good middle ground between roleplay and gameplay.
Plus, the stops and starts of the influence system mean party information is doled out awkwardly. The characters are all great, but it's difficult to work the influence system to find out why. I also wish the characters had more chances to interact with each other.
Speaking of stops and starts, the game is awful about pacing. There are far too many long drawn-out sections where you're stuck with only one character or forced to go from one dungeon to another with no choices or meaningful dialogue.
Of course, a lot of this is because the game was absurdly rushed, and not even the Restored Content mod can solve some of the subsequent lacks. This is clearest in the ending, which even with Restored Content is a slog and a disappointment (especially given it leans heavily towards the never-existent Knights of the Old Republic III) that lacks coherency.
Conclusion: The Sith Lords was always going to have a tough time following up the excellent (and my sometimes-favorite game) Knights of the Old Republic. Add to that its rushed delivery and it's no wonder it suffers from pacing and plot issues. Yet it still offers some memorable moments and characters.
Friday, June 29, 2018
"Glitchhikers" Review
Publisher: Silverstring Media Inc.
Website: http://glitchhikers.com/
Genre: Simulation
Summary: A late-night drive prompts some philosophical pondering.
Gameplay: You can change the speed of the car and change lanes as well as look to your right and left. You can also choose responses in dialogue. Fortunately the driving itself is automatic.
Style: The sleek angular style and garish colors helps with the otherworldly atmosphere. Naturally, the music evokes (as it must) "Echoes" or "Hearts of Space."
Story: Elements are mixed and added a bit so the story is a bit different each time, which also helps capture the strange feeling of driving alone at night under the weight of strange thoughts. Is this hitchhiker a stoner, an alien, or a figment of the driver's imagination? Up to you to decide, as is your takeaway from any philosophical discussion. It might just be a relaxing drive.
Conclusion: More of an experience, "Glitchhikers" intriguingly recalls dark nights musing to New Age music.
Website: http://glitchhikers.com/
Genre: Simulation
Summary: A late-night drive prompts some philosophical pondering.
Gameplay: You can change the speed of the car and change lanes as well as look to your right and left. You can also choose responses in dialogue. Fortunately the driving itself is automatic.
Style: The sleek angular style and garish colors helps with the otherworldly atmosphere. Naturally, the music evokes (as it must) "Echoes" or "Hearts of Space."
Story: Elements are mixed and added a bit so the story is a bit different each time, which also helps capture the strange feeling of driving alone at night under the weight of strange thoughts. Is this hitchhiker a stoner, an alien, or a figment of the driver's imagination? Up to you to decide, as is your takeaway from any philosophical discussion. It might just be a relaxing drive.
Conclusion: More of an experience, "Glitchhikers" intriguingly recalls dark nights musing to New Age music.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
"The Monster in Me" Review
Website: https://alicerendell.itch.io/the-monster-in-me
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: You and two friends try to survive in the aftermath of the apocalypse.
Gameplay: Gameplay consists of choosing responses, which influence companion actions and morale and therefore the story.
Style: The graphics are a bit overly stylized and lack detail I'd prefer, especially as there's only one background and not much motion. Still, a downcast look can get across a lot of emotion, especially when combined with the ever-crackling fire and nice music.
Story: The difficult decisions of morality and survival make for a tense and often dark story. Personally, I wish there was a bit more detail or background on the cause of this apocalypse just because that helps me make my choices, but others may like the in media res style.
Conclusion: "The Monster in Me" is an interesting game about the harsh possibilities of survival in tough situations.
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: You and two friends try to survive in the aftermath of the apocalypse.
Gameplay: Gameplay consists of choosing responses, which influence companion actions and morale and therefore the story.
Style: The graphics are a bit overly stylized and lack detail I'd prefer, especially as there's only one background and not much motion. Still, a downcast look can get across a lot of emotion, especially when combined with the ever-crackling fire and nice music.
Story: The difficult decisions of morality and survival make for a tense and often dark story. Personally, I wish there was a bit more detail or background on the cause of this apocalypse just because that helps me make my choices, but others may like the in media res style.
Conclusion: "The Monster in Me" is an interesting game about the harsh possibilities of survival in tough situations.
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