[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by Gabe

Overrated @
http://pc.ign.com/articles/865/865809p1.html

The review makes it seem like the game is only about solving the main mystery, which is not true.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Ascovel

The review makes it seem like the game is only about solving the main mystery, which is not true.

Agreed. It's like the review missed the point of Overclocked. I played the game in German many months ago and I don't want to repeat myself, so I'll just say I loved it. I find it interesting that the German reviews were generally positive, whereas the three English reviews I've just finished reading are much more negative. And since when is a B- (at JA) a just-don't-expect-too-much adventure? Talking of inflation of rating systems...!

[jonnyboy162]

It is true, this game is certainly not for everyone. It has a very depressing mood about it, but if you enjoyed the moment of silence (which is easily one of my top adv. games) you have to give this game a try. The story unfolds at a good pace i thought, and the graphics were very smooth, especially if you turn up the resolution. Some of the characters felt thrown in at times, but it never diverted me from the main story. One gripe i do have with this game though, is there isnt that many locations to explore, and it does feel pretty linear even though you play as separate characters, also the puzzles weren't that hard to figure out. Many of them are simple inventory based. All in all though, if you want a game with a good story, and a different approach to adventure games, get a copy ASAP.

[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by Fienepien

And since when is a B- (at JA) a just-don't-expect-too-much adventure? Talking of inflation of rating systems...!

I often have the impression that JA is too forgiving to give a grade below B to a highly expected title. From only reading the text portion of the review I would guess the final grade for the game is not higher than C.

Personally, I think the letter grades rating system may be not the most fortunate one. It makes rating a game seem like giving a grade to a student - the reviewer wonders how to encourage the specific game designer - and for some students even B can be a bad grade.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Ascovel

I often have an impression that JA is too forgiving to give a grade below B to a highly expected title.

That may be true, yes. I'm not sure that's a good thing though.

On the other hand, JA often gives an A or even an A+ to games that, according to the reviewers themselves, are definitely not flawless. Voiceacting is important and if the voiceacting sucks, the game does not deserve an A+. Imo, imo. A recent example being the JA review of The Lost Crown. That's what I meant by inflating the grading system.

[Kazmajik]

I think I'll wait for the review here at this site. The reception so far is rather lukewarm, which is a shame since I was looking forward to this title. Comparisons to Moment of Silence don't really convince me that this will be that great of a game, but we'll see.

[CoyoteAG]

Originally Posted by Gabe

Overrated @
http://pc.ign.com/articles/865/865809p1.html

That review does absolutely nothing to temper my enthusiasm for the game.

[mgeorge]

I thought IGN gave a more postive review of the game than JA which I find a bit strange. I for one am going to pick it up because it sounds like it's right up my alley. Someone said pretty puzzles but good story. I'm there!

I've almost finished Tunguska, and while I like the game, it's mostly because of the story. Some of the puzzles are ridiculous and I've found in the few AG's I've played this is often the case. I really enjoyed Culpa Innata, but again, seems like some of the puzzles had little bearing on the story and were put there merely to prolong gameplay.

I guess that's what AG's are about though. Most people here seem to enjoy really difficult puzzles. The harder the better. But for someone like myself coming from more of an FPS/RPG background, it's kind of dissapointing to be playing a game with a very good story, and then find out

Spoiler:

I have to place a cell phone on a cat to record someones conversation.

It takes away from the immersion for me.

So in the case of Overclocked, I'm really hoping it's a story driven game as it's been said it is, with logical puzzles.

[Ascovel]

I think Overclocked is not for everyone and the very varied opinions about it reflect that.

Regarding the general notion of puzzles undermining story progression, I hate nothing more than being stuck in a game with (supposedly) easy puzzles, and somehow that happens a lot for all kinds of reasons. In games with more difficult puzzles I have a completely different approach to trying to solve problems around me.

[Sik]

I haven't had much time for games lately, but a little further into Overclocked, one thing is bothering me to the point where I'm tempted to just play through the game with a walkthrough to be done with it. The game is incredibly linear. I'm fine with that in itself. It's a story driven game, and telling a good story in a non-linear fashion is tricky. The problem is that progression is based on triggers, and missing out on one such event means you are fumbling blindly unable to progress at all until you stumble upon it.

One example (full puzzle solution included):

Spoiler:

I got a hint about a patient having a favorite radio channel. I talked to the patient, and got told that I needed something to help him remember. Very well, there's one in Dr. Young's office, but he won't let me take it so I'll lure him out somehow. I have an alarm pager, so I'll try to set it off. "I shouldn't use that unless I have to" ...oh well, must be something else. After looking for something to do for a while, I went into a cell with an aggressive patient, used the alarm pager, and Dr. Young came running. Hmm, maybe that triggered something.

I tried to fake an alarm again, but... "I shouldn't use that unless I have to". I was certain that was the solution, so I tried the pager in every location, but no luck. Frustrated, I talked to the patient who needed a radio show again, but it gave the same feedback as last time. Walked around some looking for clues, but I could only talk to that one patient, and there aren't exactly an abundance of hotspots to interact with in the game. At some point, completely at random, I tried the alarm pager again, and got "Good idea, but I should go outside so he won't see me." I went outside, used the pager, and hey, the doctor went out so I could get the radio and continue.

Turns out, what I was expected to do was:
1. Enter cell 5, get attacked, use alarm pager.
2. Talk to patient in cell 3
3. Try to take radio
4. Go outside the office and use alarm pager
5. Go outside the building and use alarm pager.

I had done all of this, but failed to repeat 2 and 3 after 1, so I spent more than an hour on a very obvious puzzle.

If this was a one time thing, I would be fine with it, but every time I get stuck it's because I failed to do something in the exact order the developers intended. I've done all the steps, just not in the right order, and there's no feedback to indicate what I'm doing wrong. I don't mind getting stuck, but trying the same things over and over in case it triggers something new this time gets old fast.

[ssa]

Press avarage rating is descent.
I want to see for my self how this investigating peoples memories plays out.
Comparisons to Moment of Silence sounds good to me.

3 good enough reasons for me to get the game, but I'm not in a hurry. I'll get it eventually regardless what else any reviews say.

[Aurebesh]

Was the English version of this game released on 1 dual-layer DVD or 2 single-layer DVDs?

[buddi]

I agree with some of the frustrations people have with this game, having played through a fair bit of it. I really like the flashback sequences and the way the story unfold in backwards order from different viewpoints. Unfortunately, the frame story is very limited and poorly executed. Often there doesn't seem to be a lot of motivation for what David is to do next, I find myself wasting a lot of time going over and over things trying to find the right trigger or right order of triggers. The animations that go with every character interaction make this especially tedious and detract from the immersion in the story, it really takes me out of it to have a big argument with someone and then just nod and say "see ya" or be told to "have a nice day."

I can't help comparing this game to Next Life. Next Life also had a frame story with limited environments and inventory items and most of the game play consisted of talking to people and gathering information, but despite poor voice acting and mediocre graphics, they managed to keep the locations and characters varied and interesting over several days of game time. So far I think the story of Overclocked is great, but I wish the developers had paid a little more attention to creating a mood to enhance it, rather than just repeating the same old generic sound bites.

[Thello]

I think the most worrisome part of the JA review is this:

"If you liked this game, then
Play: Indigo Prophecy"

Indigo Prophecy had one of the single worst-written plots I've ever experienced in any medium. This isn't the comparison they're trying to draw, is it?

[bingusdreggs]

I didn't see it like that... I kept thinking it was a bit more like the movie "Memento".

[NikolasFigaro]

First of all, I have to admit one minor thing: I generally despise european made adventure games (except for the ones coming from the UK), mainly because the production values (graphics, voice-overs, and therefore the whole atmosphere/experience) are utterly crap. Sometimes the story/plot is bearable, the puzzles are ok, but in general we are talking about games that we wouldn't even touch (let alone play) 10-15 years ago.

That said, when I first played Overclocked I was pleasintly suprised because of the above average production values. Nothing too fancy, but nevertheless better than the majority of adventures released in the recent past. I really insist that an adventure should have decent production values, since they can complete the whole "package". The atmosphere and the immersion of an adventure depend on these, throw in a good and addictive plot, and you are on the way to glory.

But the first good impression gave in to boredom, repetition and a lot of plot holes. I finished the game last night and my conclusions are:

1. Way too short. Most of the game you watch cutscenes.
2.The plot is -eventually- nothing to go crazy about, and there are a lot of holes.
3. From a certain point the game is very repetitive and extremely boring. I couldn't wait till the game was over so I could go on to something better.

Anyway, imho, production values+ intriguing story = success. In this case the nice wrapping could not cover up the generally weak plot. Another big disappointment in a looong streak of disappointments this year.

[Gabe]

Originally Posted by bingusdreggs

I didn't see it like that... I kept thinking it was a bit more like the movie "Memento".

Exactly,why i remarked before as been there done that experience,compare to MOS this time quite unimaginative outcome even pushing hard on graphics aspect (unnecessarly repeating zoom in sequences trying to give a hopeless 3d feel,myst games used to do that and wondered coz of that game 2 dvds)doesnt hide actually not much going on out there and there's a lot less here than meets the eye.

[LGH]

Well, I actually liked the game.

Finding the right trigger when working with the patients may have been sometimes unnerving, the main plot may have had some minor holes and the final story outcome is nothing too world shaking.

BUT...

The game had A LOT of atmosphere. I liked the general mood, I loved the hotel and bar scenes. Music and cutscenes were once again gorgeous.

Martin once told that his ambition was to write a game that has a soul. And I think he succeeded...

When comparing Overclocked and The Moment of Silence, I must admit that I prefer TMOS. Overclocked's interface is much better (I just mention "hot spots" and "pathfinding"), but I loved the long and immersive dialogues in TMOS.

But when comparing both games, my recommendation would definitely be: play both

[Snatcher42]

Agree with ya 100%, LGH!

[buddi]

I finished it this evening and I am really disappointed. There wasn't really much to the story, I pretty much anticipated everything from the very beginning. I'm surprised people credit it for having mood, I thought the voice acting was pretty deadpan and, as I said before, the repetitive and generic dialog animations totally ruined any sense of atmosphere for me. Furthermore, I didn't feel like I could identify with the main character at all. To compare it to Indigo Prophecy, In Indigo Prophecy I wanted Lucas to be a good guy, even though he did things that were irrational and violent, it just made me more determined to uncover the reasons behind it all. In Macnamara's case, he seemed to feel no remorse or inner conflict over his behaviour, I couldn't sympathize with him at all. I was really yawning by the end of this game, i had to sit on my hands to keep myself from skipping the final cut scenes, I was that ready for it to be over.