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Old 04-07-2006, 08:42 AM   #1
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Has anyone bought this game and care to give some information on it?

I've just completed the demo and I have to say this is one of the worst demo's I've ever played. Not just one of the worst AGs, one of the worst games period.

The Voice acting is some of the worst ever. the guy teaching you the interface (which, unless you're 5 years or under, you could figure out even if you've never played an point and click before) has the most irratating voice I've ever heard.... HELL, all the voices are attrocious. The Wolf doesn't sound like he was once a great dragon at all. Nothing ambigious about his voice at all. The rest sound like they've just heard and read their script for the first time.

The graphics are unoriginal, bland and the demo almost completely still. I know the place is supposed to be deserted, but a little more movement here and there would be terrific (Myst 4 should be taken as an example). The locations have terrible, dull colour patterns and the drawings look like something from a mid-ninties game.

The FMVs are the worst too. I imagine that these guys had possibly the smallest budget ever. half of it is just still pictures again with the most minuete of movements. It would've been better just to have told the story in complete ingame gameplay than waste the money on these FMVs.

The story doesnt' seem very motivating too. What a shambles of a game. This is the ultimate evidence as to why no one takes any notice of AGs anymore.
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Old 04-07-2006, 09:13 AM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Terramax
Has anyone bought this game and care to give some information on it?
http://forums.adventuregamers.com/sh...ad.php?t=14056

(Although half of that thread consists of people asking does the game have Starforce, and what Starforce is, again and again and again, so it's perhaps better to start a new one...)
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Old 04-07-2006, 09:43 AM   #3
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The voice acting is pretty bad, which is why it was re-done for the North American version. That said, the awful Italian guy is barely in the game, and there's a reason the wolf sounds the way he does that isn't revealed in the demo.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Terramax
The graphics are unoriginal, bland and the demo almost completely still.
Unoriginal? Why, what other game do they remind you of? Bland, maybe a little in some locations. It is a castle, after all. There's bound to be a certain degree of sameness over time. I thought the background graphics were quite nice, though I didn't much like the character models. Being still is, as usual, a technological issue. It's certainly not more still than the majority of today's adventures.

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Myst 4 should be taken as an example.
Taken as an example of what? How a big budget game can trounce a small budget game for production values?

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The story doesnt' seem very motivating too. What a shambles of a game. This is the ultimate evidence as to why no one takes any notice of AGs anymore.
The demo is from the beginning of the game, yes? So you don't know much about the story. It's told pretty clumsily, but it actually shows more emotional maturity than 99% of other games out there.

Anyway, the game has plenty of flaws, but it's just not the travesty you're making it out to be whatsoever. It's certainly reflective of the niche state of the genre and the budget restrictions of developers, yes. There are still plenty of people taking notice, though. But yeah, if you believed Keepsake would be capable of taking the mainstream by storm on a small budget with a fairly traditional design, it's not really surprising you're disappointed.
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Old 04-07-2006, 09:59 AM   #4
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I hated the demo, really like the game (I don't like myst) so there's my answer..

I think the locations are quite beautiful.. Some of the most beautiful locations arn't shown in the demo, as the big fountain in the main hall and the upper part of the school.. The voice-overs are bad, but it doesn't ruin the game. The puzzles are quite hard and diverse..
Only negative about it (besides the voice-jobs) is that you have to do an awful lot of running..

But I still wish someone would answer me on my question about a bypass button.. I can't stand to do the observatory puzzle one more time (yes, I know what I'm supposed to do, but I've already put the coordinates in 8 times, and I don't want to do it again)
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Old 04-07-2006, 12:01 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Panthera
Only negative about it (besides the voice-jobs) is that you have to do an awful lot of running..
Yep, that became boring pretty soon.

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But I still wish someone would answer me on my question about a bypass button.. I can't stand to do the observatory puzzle one more time (yes, I know what I'm supposed to do, but I've already put the coordinates in 8 times, and I don't want to do it again)
I don't think I have seen your question, but you can skip puzzles. Just ask for a hint, and again and again, until the game solves the entire puzzle for you. Used it myself a couple of times. One of the most annoying aspects of the game which nobody has mentioned yet, is that you don't know if you should try your hand at a puzzle or not. I solved one puzzle (with cog wheels) as soon as I discovered it, but nothing happened when I pulled the handle and the puzzle reset itself when I moved away. I was so sure I'd solved it that I asked for a hint for the first time and to my surprise the game told me I didn't have "the prerequisites" to solve the puzzle yet. What the f...! My solution was correct, as I found out later, so why did the puzzle reset?
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Old 04-07-2006, 12:27 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP
(Although half of that thread consists of people asking does the game have Starforce, and what Starforce is, again and again and again,
I promise you that I will only ask what Starforce is once(in a thread of my own, but still...)! But there may come some other new gamer that will ask the same question in a couple of months. I find it condecending of you to make a statment like that. Shouldn´t an experienced gamer like yourself appreciate new gamers wanting to learn about games, computers and the genre.
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Old 04-07-2006, 12:48 PM   #7
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Unfortunately Lena all this Starforce stuff has been getting to me too so I can understand AFGNCAAP's 'annoyance.' Within that thread he linked to, it came up multiple times. If later posters had possibly read the whole thing, they may not have needed to ask some of the questions they did. It seems a lot of threads have been turning into 'OMG does this have Starforce' and 'Starforce is the devil reincarnate' and it's wearisome.
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Old 04-07-2006, 01:11 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Melanie68
Unfortunately Lena all this Starforce stuff has been getting to me too so I can understand AFGNCAAP's 'annoyance.' Within that thread he linked to, it came up multiple times. If later posters had possibly read the whole thing, they may not have needed to ask some of the questions they did. It seems a lot of threads have been turning into 'OMG does this have Starforce' and 'Starforce is the devil reincarnate' and it's wearisome.
I still think it´s condecending toward those who don´t know what it is. And I think it´s an important thing to know.
I´m sure you´ve been new to things as well and have had to ask "stupid" questions. That can be awkward enough without getting comments like that.
I don´t read threads through when the topic is very much technics. My english doesn´t include that vocabulary. Instead I skim through them trying to find the hotspots where I can get the info I need. That can be the case for more forumites than me.
I started a thread of my own: What is Starforce? and there are 74 replies right now. Apparently a lot of people like to discuss the topic.
I think a forum like this should include all kinds of questions. A topic isn´t dead because those of you who have been here many years have discussed it before. That´s the nature of an open forum isn´t it?
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Old 04-07-2006, 01:32 PM   #9
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None of us here even remotely mind a genuine inquiry about what StarForce is, assuming it hasn't already been answered in the same thread and doesn't purposely derail a topic that has nothing to do with StarForce. Newcomers aren't exempt from reading a thread they're posting in.

I'm not exactly sure I understand what it is you find condescending. You yourself knew enough not to do the very thing AFGNCAAP was complaining about. Your thread is fine; no one said otherwise. If another newcomer starts a similar thread when that one is long gone, that will be fine, too.
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Old 04-07-2006, 01:38 PM   #10
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Unoriginal? Why, what other game do they remind you of?
Take Harry Potter? The so far basic narrative on the demo sounds like something from a Potter book as well.
Also, I hope I don't have to mention how many point and click games we have based in old castles?

Quote:
I thought the background graphics were quite nice, though I didn't much like the character models. Being still is, as usual, a technological issue. It's certainly not more still than the majority of today's adventures.
half of it is just the walls of the castle, or at the start there was the trees which, if there was some actual movement from time to time, I wouldnt' have such a problem.

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Taken as an example of what? How a big budget game can trounce a small budget game for production values?
Point taken. However, why spend £20 on a half baked game?

Quote:
The demo is from the beginning of the game, yes? So you don't know much about the story. It's told pretty clumsily, but it actually shows more emotional maturity than 99% of other games out there.
The story could be the next Ben-Hur - but if it's told clumsily like in the demo, then it's still gonna end up like a pile of....

Quote:
Anyway, the game has plenty of flaws, but it's just not the travesty you're making it out to be whatsoever. It's certainly reflective of the niche state of the genre and the budget restrictions of developers, yes. There are still plenty of people taking notice, though. But yeah, if you believed Keepsake would be capable of taking the mainstream by storm on a small budget with a fairly traditional design, it's not really surprising you're disappointed.
Apart from 12 year old Harry Potter fans, or fans of countless other castle and sorcery material in the past, who will buy anything that's remotely like that, I can't see anyone spending £20 on a game like this.

If this game were a download for £10 then maybe I'd buy it. But personally, I don't think a game being low budget has got anything to do with the lack of quality. Take Bone for one. It may have been short, but I got more fun out of the first 2 minutes from that than the whole demo of Keepsake.

Even Grand Theft Auto was made on a rather minuete budget, but it's its originality that made it become a storm. Like many other games.
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Old 04-07-2006, 01:49 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jackal
I'm not exactly sure I understand what it is you find condescending.
I guess I snapped at him referring to: people asking What is Starforce again and again and again Although I had started a thread of my own which he can chose to read or not, I perfectly understand those who posted like they did.
Being one who asks questions where the answers are obvious to the majority here, I "heard" a condescending tone in those words of his. So I snapped! I´m sorry if I hurt anyones feelings.
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Old 04-07-2006, 02:20 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Terramax
Take Harry Potter? The so far basic narrative on the demo sounds like something from a Potter book as well.
Oh well, if we're doing crossover media, there's almost no originality anywhere.

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Also, I hope I don't have to mention how many point and click games we have based in old castles?
Actually, yes, please do. I don't remember the last time I played one.

Quote:
Point taken. However, why spend £20 on a half baked game?
I'm not trying to talk anyone who finds it half-baked into buying it. I wouldn't spend much on a half-baked game, myself. But I actually found a fair bit to like in the full game, which makes your question one I can't answer about Keepsake, because I just didn't find it half-baked. Only 3/4 baked, mind you. But not half.

Quote:
I don't think a game being low budget has got anything to do with the lack of quality.
Nor do I. But it does explain lesser production values, which is the only context I mentioned.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LenaJ
Being one who asks questions where the answers are obvious to the majority here, I "heard" a condescending tone in those words of his. So I snapped! I´m sorry if I hurt anyones feelings.
Nah, no feelings are being hurt here. But AF's comments only applied to a very particular context, and was not some all-encompassing attitudes towards newcomers or harmless questions in general. Absolutely everyone is welcome to ask questions freely, preferably after reading the thread it's going to appear in.
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Old 04-07-2006, 02:51 PM   #13
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Also, I hope I don't have to mention how many point and click games we have based in old castles?
I'm interested in this as well. It's not an environment that I remember seeing in a while; and I can say with some certainty that it is not common in the type of games I like to play.
Now you've got me trying to remember which games (of ~150).
Let's see - Connections, Pilgrim, Drowned God, GK2, Nancy Drew Treasure in the Royal Tower and Traitor's Gate. Of those, only the Nancy Drew one spent the whole game in a castle.
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Old 04-07-2006, 03:15 PM   #14
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I haven't played it, but didn't The Watchmaker take place in a castle? That's the only other adventure game I can think of with that setting that hasn't already been mentioned.

But we're hardly talking about a plethora of castles, are we? Castle settings are few and far between compared to Egypt and Atlantis.

One of the things I really like about Keepsake is Zak. When I first stumbled across him in the game, the encounter had a Zork Grand Inquisitor feel to it for me. ZGI was a game that also had sidekicks in what otherwise would have been a somewhat lonely experience, and I thought it improved the overall experience greatly. It's the same for me with Keepsake and Zak.
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Old 04-07-2006, 03:24 PM   #15
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The puzzles I've seen remind me of those in Shivers2. They aren't necessarily intuitive, but require a great deal of trial and error. (With multiple saves.) Not my choice in an Adventure, but for those who like this sort of thing, it's probably a great play.
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Old 04-08-2006, 05:00 AM   #16
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Just to say something in my case (though Jackal explained it well, I believe) and end the off-topic, I thought it was pretty clear that I was referring to that particular thread only. I'm sorry if I came across as condescending. Asking questions is welcome. Repeatedly asking off-topic question answer to which has already been provided, isn't.
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Old 04-08-2006, 08:14 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fienepien
I don't think I have seen your question, but you can skip puzzles. Just ask for a hint, and again and again, until the game solves the entire puzzle for you. Used it myself a couple of times. One of the most annoying aspects of the game which nobody has mentioned yet, is that you don't know if you should try your hand at a puzzle or not. I solved one puzzle (with cog wheels) as soon as I discovered it, but nothing happened when I pulled the handle and the puzzle reset itself when I moved away. I was so sure I'd solved it that I asked for a hint for the first time and to my surprise the game told me I didn't have "the prerequisites" to solve the puzzle yet. What the f...! My solution was correct, as I found out later, so why did the puzzle reset?
Thank you. I've asked in other Keepsake threads, not in this, so sorry for lashing out. Off course you couldn't have seen it.. I'll continue playing, now that I know I can bypass that stupid thing..

Quote:
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They aren't necessarily intuitive, but require a great deal of trial and error. (With multiple saves.) Not my choice in an Adventure, but for those who like this sort of thing, it's probably a great play.
I don't agree. All the puzzles I have encountered so far is pure logic puzzles, witch if you know how to solve them, or se the logic in them, don't require trial and error (I'm not saying this because I'm so logical that I'm able to solve all the puzzles.. Hah! I've been stumped with several puzzles, not understanding at all what I'm supposed to do, but having a very logical boyfriend, he solved many of the puzzles I understood what I was supposed to do, but didn't manage to do it.. Like the "lead the dragon to the cave" puzzle) Several of the puzzles in the game are IQ puzzles, puzzles I've encountred solving IQ tests or Logical games..
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Old 04-08-2006, 03:37 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Panthera
I don't agree.
Then, by all means purchase and play the game. You have a different impression of it than I do. It is not on my "Must Buy" list.
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Old 04-08-2006, 04:11 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by rtrooney
Then, by all means purchase and play the game.
...and that she did.

I didn't love the demo, but the one puzzle I remember from it, a Minotaur game reminiscent of DROD, by no means required trial and error (although it was probably easier to figure out a couple of first moves by trial and error).
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Old 04-08-2006, 06:09 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rtrooney
Then, by all means purchase and play the game. You have a different impression of it than I do. It is not on my "Must Buy" list.
If you read a bit better what I wrote, I based my opinion on playing the game.. I already have the game, and have played about half way through it, and as I said before, I hated the demo, so I had to consider it a fair bit before I finally desided to buy it..
But, off course not all ppl like the same games, I'm not questioning your motives, I'm just stating that I don't agree with you.. Please don't take it as an insult..

Quote:
Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP
...and that she did.

I didn't love the demo, but the one puzzle I remember from it, a Minotaur game reminiscent of DROD, by no means required trial and error (although it was probably easier to figure out a couple of first moves by trial and error).
For me it was completely opposite.. I saw at once (when I understood that the mintaur walked two steps) how my first moves should be. I was having a bit more trouble with the finish, but got it after about three tries..
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