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Point n Click Adventure GAF 2013 The pixel hunt continues.

Sloane

Banned
I feel like The Raven is one of the best adventure game in years. I'm honestly not sure I understand the complaint about "the direction".

The way I see it, the story is interesting, the voice acting is really goddamned good for a German game, the puzzles rarely frustrate, and the production values are better than I expect from modern adventure games. And the main character is objectively awesome.
It's not a complaint, it's criticism. Take the scene I mentioned before for example:
They are stuck in a tunnel after an explosion, everyone could die within the next seconds but there's never any feeling of urgency or panic. You calmly walk around the train, talk to another passenger for, like, two minutes, and the solution to get out of there is basically: Build a torch!

The direction is all over the place and for the most part it's because of the bad production values. This is another German adventure game created by, like, three people with a ridiculously low budget and it shows. They have to skip or work around important parts of the story because they just can't show them and they make almost no use of the 3D engine.
Take the scene in the museum for example, in which Zellner watches the video tape and instead of actually showing the damn thing he has to explain everything he's seeing because they probably couldn't afford it. Or the torch light in the cellar.
Or how empty and small everything feels in general.

The puzzles never frustrate because the number of locations and items is pretty small but some puzzles still make no sense whatsoever.
The huge metal door in the museum can be opened by a flagpole and some other piece of wood?
That's just lazy.

Don't get me wrong, this could be a good adventure game and I loved Agatha Christie's novels as a child, but its low production values and its general laziness bother me way too much to enjoy it.
 
Daedelic's new adventure Memoria is coming out on 30th of august in multiple languages. Daedelic sure does release adventures at a steady pace.

Not sure about this one, since the trailer RPS showed of this game was really really awful, with an awkward story premise told by a narrator that made it sound like a fantasy parody in Simpsons episode. :\
 

epmode

Member
It's not a complaint, it's criticism. Take the scene I mentioned before for example:
They are stuck in a tunnel after an explosion, everyone could die within the next seconds but there's never any feeling of urgency or panic. You calmly walk around the train, talk to another passenger for, like, two minutes, and the solution to get out of there is basically: Build a torch!

This is all true of course but I guess it just doesn't bother me in adventure games. Being able to play at your leisure regardless of what's happening in the story is something I love about the genre.

And honestly, adventure games that try to instill a sense of urgency often wind up with trial and error bullshit like Space Quest's timed puzzles, Gemini Rue's awful gun battles or Full Throttle's finale.
 
I just finished the 3rd Wallace and Gromit episode today, fairly charming game but it feels like it lacks something.

Too much trial and error with items for my tastes. Saying that, I do need to find more 3D adventure games in the same vein - big emphasis on exploring the world alongside fun puzzles.
 

Gbraga

Member
Finished the second episode of The Raven.

G6I7KBQ.gif


The first part was pretty good imo, but then meh. The first episode was way better :(

And if people thought the first one ended out of nowhere, they're in for a nice surprise
 
Finished all of the Wallace and Gromit games, overall I think they're fairly decent but have some issues.

I began to get fairly annoyed with the abstract nature of some of the puzzles. Often the solutions were found as a result of too much trial and error, and I relied on a walkthrough for some of them.

Now I think I'll try Back to the Future.
 
Can anyone recommend me some decent adventure titles that have native 360 controller support?

I have most Telltale games, but nothing much else. I'm open to both 2D and 3D games.
 
OMG time flies! The Raven is out and I didn't even notice! Hope they bring it to IOS.

Edit. Wow, Memoria looks great! Graphic-style reminds me of Shannara.
 

epmode

Member
Can anyone recommend me some decent adventure titles that have native 360 controller support?

I have most Telltale games, but nothing much else. I'm open to both 2D and 3D games.

I can think of a handful of good adventure games with pad support but I don't think any of them work with a 360 pad out of the box. Maybe Dreamfall?

If you want to play the best stuff in the genre, you're stuck with a mouse. Or Xpadder, I guess.
 
Can anyone recommend me some decent adventure titles that have native 360 controller support?

I have most Telltale games, but nothing much else. I'm open to both 2D and 3D games.

Puzzle Agent 1 and 2. I played through both of them again earlier this year and they worked well with a 360 controller.
 

jgkspsx

Member
Played Kentucky Route Zero Act I today and am just floored at how wonderful it is. I mean, there's not really much *game* to it, but as an experience with headphones in a dark room it's incredible.
 

Afro

Member
This is a cross-post. Thought this would be the more appropriate thread.

I just randomly stumbled upon these games on "Big Fish" and was wondering if you guys have heard of/played any of these before. Tried using the search and couldn't really find any mention of them. The artwork is stunning and the reviews seem to be great.

Haunted Halls: Green Hills Sanitarium


Another one:

 

epmode

Member
Those are hidden object games, aren't they? I've tried a few and found them to be pretty dull. The genre is so limiting.
 
This is a cross-post. Thought this would be the more appropriate thread.

I just randomly stumbled upon these "Big Fish" games and was wondering if you guys have heard of/played any of these before. Tried using the search and couldn't really find any mention of them. The artwork is stunning and the reviews seem to be great.

I haven't played those particular games but I have played a lot of hidden object games. I can recommend some on Steam if you're interested. Not sure if you're curious about the genre or just those games you mentioned. They are considered "casual" so there's not much challenge in a lot of them but the hunting for objects is oddly relaxing for me. Then again, I've always loved pixel hunting in adventure games.
 

vio

Member
This is a cross-post. Thought this would be the more appropriate thread.

I just randomly stumbled upon these "Big Fish" games and was wondering if you guys have heard of/played any of these before. Tried using the search and couldn't really find any mention of them. The artwork is stunning and the reviews seem to be great.

Haunted Halls: Green Hills Sanitarium



Another one:

Those hidden object games are really all same. There are few very good ones though and they are made by MysterCaseFiles.
 

Afro

Member
Thanks guys. Not sure if I've ever played a pixel hunting game. The main reason why I was attracted to those specific ones was the art style. Those highly detailed, vacant, dark, yet tranquil worlds are easily my favorite to explore (e.g. Machinarium, Myst, etc) and the "Lake House" one posted above is one of the most beautiful settings I've seen in a while. I'm also interested to see how good the environmental audio work is.

Not sure if you're curious about the genre or just those games you mentioned. They are considered "casual" so there's not much challenge in a lot of them but the hunting for objects is oddly relaxing for me.

Some of the reviews I've read have said these puzzles can get pretty tough. In other words, I don't think this these are just some "eye spy" kiddie games. Hoping it's about as challenging as Machinarium. Example:


Those hidden object games are really all same. There are few very good ones though and they are made by MysterCaseFiles.

Thanks so much. "Shadow Lake" looks right up my alley and I'll most likely be picking it up. Really appreciate the recommendations.

Anyway, just ordered the disc-based version of Haunted Halls: Green Hills Sanitarium so I'll post some impressions for you guys once I get my hands on it.

Bonus shot. I can't get enough of these.

 
Thanks guys. Not sure if I've ever played a pixel hunting game. The main reason why I was attracted to those specific ones was the art style. Those highly detailed, vacant, dark, yet tranquil worlds are easily my favorite to explore (e.g. Machinarium, Myst, etc) and the "Lake House" one posted above is one of the most beautiful settings I've seen in a while. I'm also interested to see how good the environmental audio work is.

Some of the reviews I've read have said these puzzles can get pretty tough. In other words, I don't think this these are just some "eye spy" kiddie games. Hoping it's about as challenging as Machinarium. Example:

Yeah, occasionally one will come along and have some very tough puzzles. Two in particular, The Tiny Bang Story and Season of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders, offered a pretty good challenge throughout the entire time playing. Some are mostly easy and will throw in a challenging puzzle here and there, but in my experience most of them are pretty easy throughout the entire game. But I wouldn't say any of them, even the tougher ones I mentioned above, have been as challenging as a traditional adventure game like Machinarium. But an opinion like that can differ from person to person.

It's certainly a fun genre at times and there's a lot of them to choose from. I've always meant to check out the ones Big Fish put out but I already have a lot of them in my backlog.
 
Those hidden object games are really all same. There are few very good ones though and they are made by MysterCaseFiles.

This. Dire Grove was cool.

Also check out the Drawn games, they're very cool for hidden object games.

I've only played a few HO games, but recently I've been checking them out more. They're good for a simple challenge. Rite of Passage: Children of the Forest is one that I've been enjoying.
 

mclem

Member
Those are hidden object games, aren't they? I've tried a few and found them to be pretty dull. The genre is so limiting.

For my Mum, Hidden Object games were the gateway drug that ultimately led to her playing full point-and-click adventures, so I can't begrudge them too much!
 

TripleSun

Member
I'm not too familiar with old school adventure games from the 90's and stuff so what's the deal with that game being so shocking for being out up on gog?

Besides that, the trailer looked amazing. Might want to buy it.
 
I'm not too familiar with old school adventure games from the 90's and stuff so what's the deal with that game being so shocking for being out up on gog?

Besides that, the trailer looked amazing. Might want to buy it.

The surprise isn't really anything to do with video games at all.

Harlan Ellison, who owns some or all of the rights through his Kilimanjaro Corporation is famous for both being a truly great author(one of the reasons this is such a great game) and for being fiercely protective of his rights as they pertain to his creations, for example, he sued cbs when trek books used the Guardian of Forever without giving him royalties - the guardian was originally from a trek episode he wrote, "City on the Edge of Forever".

So pretty surprising he'd let a drm-free distribution platform sell it. I'm going to get it quickly before he changes his mind!
 

Joe Molotov

Member
The surprise isn't really anything to do with video games at all.

Harlan Ellison, who owns some or all of the rights through his Kilimanjaro Corporation is famous for both being a truly great author(one of the reasons this is such a great game) and for being fiercely protective of his rights as they pertain to his creations, for example, he sued cbs when trek books used the Guardian of Forever without giving him royalties - the guardian was originally from a trek episode he wrote, "City on the Edge of Forever".

So pretty surprising he'd let a drm-free distribution platform sell it. I'm going to get it quickly before he changes his mind!

The only way to get it after it's fairly limited retail run was to order it directly though his website (which I guess still excepts orders, but it's hard to tell since it doesn't appear to have been updated since the mid 90's).

http://harlanellison.com/herc.htm#ihnm
 
The only way to get it after it's fairly limited retail run was to order it directly though his website (which I guess still excepts orders, but it's hard to tell since it doesn't appear to have been updated since the mid 90's).

http://harlanellison.com/herc.htm#ihnm

Yeah, I looked at that some years ago and got rather excited, then I saw you had to pay by cheque!

The site's always been active though, just updated glacially and haphazardly, you'll find sections created only a few years ago if you nose around, and the forum's still pretty active(Harlan posted today). It's just so archaic it's pretty hard to tell.

He actually posted about the night dive deal yesterday after someone serendipitously noted the game was being pirated because people thought the rights were in limbo:

Harlan Ellison said:
I, as President of The Kilimanjaro Corporation, and as "Author" employee of TKC, own all rights in the videogame I HAVE NO MOUTH & I MUST SCREAM. And only recently have TKC and myself, Harlan Ellison, licensed a reissue and update of the product to Stephen Kick of Night Dive Studios. My proprietorship is alive and roundhouse kicking. So if any of the gamesters you (gawd bless'ya, baby) ratted out think they can play fast'n'loose with the artifact of my Creativity, advise them that even though the original manufacturers, Cyberdreams, booked and ran off with the profits, I sued them, won, own all the remainder stock, and the copyright is in my and TKC's name, all rights reserved. Even a perfunctory, due-diligence, only-thieves-&-morons-won't-do-it search of public and/or Library of Congress records will attest to the foregoing. So pirates, no matter how young, how naive, how lamebrained, how arrogant, who pilfer from me, will be doing so knowing aforehand that I take no prisoners and I will pursue their effrontery to the grave. Not mine...theirs.

Thank you, ever so much, for spilling the beans to me.

I owe you one.

Yr. Pal, Harlan
 

Zaph

Member
Can't wait to chill out and play through Memoria this weekend. It's been a shit week and I could do with a solid new adventure game.

Hopefully the characters aren't as grating as Deponia.

Also, any idea on the release plan for The Raven (chapter count and dates)? Don't really want to sit down with it until I can play the whole thing.
 
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