[AprilLives]

Just finished Tunguska and have some thoughts:

Very, very nicely done artistically. But it sometimes felt like I was jumping from one picture perfect frame to another picture perfect frame, rather than exploring a big world of possibilities.

Puzzles ranged from ridiculously easy to deceptively clever. I liked that.

Voice volume and tone were inconsistent at times, as if they changed mics mid-paragraph.

Accents for authenticity would have benefited this game … and the acting fell flat from time to time.

Nina’s voice needed serious getting used to. She sounds more like a 12 year old girl saying lines that a 12 year old boy might say. However, her terrific acting skills somewhat overcame the fact that the voice should have been mature enough to match the body.

Interaction with people, places and things were exceptionally well done … an important facet to any game and one that was sorely missed in Paradise.

Music lends credibility, mood and a sense of adventure to a game and was too often missing in Tunguska, which would have been more mysterious without the Willy Beamish factor.

Although I liked some of her sarcastic humor, Nina’s comments bordered on being devoid of the emotion that creates a likeable, believable character. Also, humor translated from another language sometimes misses its mark.

It was wise of the Tunguska creators to add a fuller and more appropriate ending to Tunguska. I applaude them for the change and for the very cute cut scenes at the end. All in all it is a good game that is sure to improve next time around.