Thread: Azrael's Tear
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Old 11-10-2011, 01:53 PM   #4
Banter
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Join Date: Nov 2011
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Hey Ozzie, thanks for the personal insight!

The marketing campaign and box art/description of the game sucked, but if you read the manual back to back you know the premise is actually quite more complex then that. The backstory is that a plague has left the world in dire straits, humanity is on the brink of extinction and as a fruit of desperation, old religious myths are back in vogue... enter the raptors, futuristic high-tech tomb raiders that specialize in selling ancient artifacts to the gullible and desperate. The character you play is not exactly one of the good guys...

Also, a few notes!

* You can't kill most characters because of the effects of grailstone, remember? They won't die permanently unless decapitated or maimed, and even then their spirit will remain trapped in Aeternis as a ghost, forever trying to re-enter their body. I do wish the game gave you the option to permanently disable some foes after you shot then, though... wouldn't be hard cutting their head off with a blade or using a stone to crush their skulls. I guess that would complicate the design of the game though(which is already complex).

* That puzzle where you had to jump to your death was probably one of the most brilliant ever. Funny that probably most people who played it couldn't figure it out without a walkthrough, even though it was quite obvious considering the game lore!

* I love it how every single character in the game turns out to be a son of a b***h. Everyone has an angle and ulterior motives. I know no other game that created such a fear inducing and desperate atmosphere. It is full blown paranoia from begginning to end.

* Most complex and well thought of setting ever. Every character has a rich and complex backstory and you don't get all loose ends tied up unless you play the game more than once. Even that water monster has a great and tragedy backstory, one that few people that played the game found out!

I hate that this game flopped back in the day. The ending left you yearning for a sequel, and in many ways it was a cliffhanger of sorts. Guess we will never find out what happens to evil Malick and the "New Jerusalem". Just of what would have happened if this game had done well... there must be an alternate dimension somewhere where every adventure game is a piece of literary quality like this one.
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