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Lacrima · 03-12-2007, 09:19 AM

I loved the Silver Earring, because it felt like an elaborate Holmes novel and was done quite well, in my opinion. The Awakened? I don't know. The first thing you encounter are the dark art design and disturbing imagery (during the installation/autostart), which already felt kind of inappropriate. I also think the game feels very empty, with but a few people in those huge streets and no animation whatsoever. Of course, Silver Earring made a "stiff" impression, too, but it didn't present that fact so freely. Also, although I have only played for a little bit (I'm currently at the docks, about to "seek" entry into the warehouse), I - albeit not really a fan of first person games generally, anyways - found the navigation quite tedious. There is no interaction with the environment available whatsoever, except for mandatory tasks, and the ambiguity and lack of direction actually left me hanging several times already, despite the short playtime. For instance, Holmes inquires which part of London a person could come from, judging from certain evidence, and although I had the right idea, I did not know if I had to write down the profession or direction or whatever (really, I had no idea about London boroughs, being a native German, and had to guess from a variety of names a book provided me) or I had to work at the lab table and always got the same response, not knowing what the game wanted me to do. Did I mention the navigation is killing me? Long, senseless paths to go, a complete lack of immersion and no response from the game world?
I do not mind the graphics (while I must admit that I got a headache from searching the bookshelves in the story; seriously), and I like the sound, but I think the Awakened has so far not one bit of the charm Silver Earring had, everything feels too detached. The only plus was how I was reminded of the novels when I searched the manor's backyard for various clues, was allowed to tape measure on my own and use the magnifying glass to find suspicious objects. I will probably keep playing it, but it feels frustrating so quickly and fails to immerse any way Silver Earring could (aw, I love third-person).

Would anyone be so kind as to enlighten me how far the story is appropriate for the Holmes universe? Is it a mystery after all as we know it from Doyle (or Silver Earring), or is it more about the Cthulhu mythos and basically just borrows from a famous franchise or rather two to gather attention?

[been a long time since I posted]

03-12-2007, 09:19 AM	#18
Lacrima Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 78	I loved the Silver Earring, because it felt like an elaborate Holmes novel and was done quite well, in my opinion. The Awakened? I don't know. The first thing you encounter are the dark art design and disturbing imagery (during the installation/autostart), which already felt kind of inappropriate. I also think the game feels very empty, with but a few people in those huge streets and no animation whatsoever. Of course, Silver Earring made a "stiff" impression, too, but it didn't present that fact so freely. Also, although I have only played for a little bit (I'm currently at the docks, about to "seek" entry into the warehouse), I - albeit not really a fan of first person games generally, anyways - found the navigation quite tedious. There is no interaction with the environment available whatsoever, except for mandatory tasks, and the ambiguity and lack of direction actually left me hanging several times already, despite the short playtime. For instance, Holmes inquires which part of London a person could come from, judging from certain evidence, and although I had the right idea, I did not know if I had to write down the profession or direction or whatever (really, I had no idea about London boroughs, being a native German, and had to guess from a variety of names a book provided me) or I had to work at the lab table and always got the same response, not knowing what the game wanted me to do. Did I mention the navigation is killing me? Long, senseless paths to go, a complete lack of immersion and no response from the game world? I do not mind the graphics (while I must admit that I got a headache from searching the bookshelves in the story; seriously), and I like the sound, but I think the Awakened has so far not one bit of the charm Silver Earring had, everything feels too detached. The only plus was how I was reminded of the novels when I searched the manor's backyard for various clues, was allowed to tape measure on my own and use the magnifying glass to find suspicious objects. I will probably keep playing it, but it feels frustrating so quickly and fails to immerse any way Silver Earring could (aw, I love third-person). Would anyone be so kind as to enlighten me how far the story is appropriate for the Holmes universe? Is it a mystery after all as we know it from Doyle (or Silver Earring), or is it more about the Cthulhu mythos and basically just borrows from a famous franchise or rather two to gather attention? [been a long time since I posted]