Wow, I thought the Xbox 360 version would be release at the end of February, but I will already receive it tomorrow. I hope they did some fixing though.
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I am a lover for original well told stories. I am also an amateur magician and loved GK1.
If I found great enjoyment in Lost Horizon, with it's probable inferior story, will this game rock my socks?! Lol...I think I shouldn't hype myself up. |
Gray Matter: First Impressions disappointing
I am currently playing Gray Matter and just completed Chapter 3, so no spoilers please!
I just wanted to share my first impressions so far and would like to hear from people who are playing or have finished playing Gray Matter (again no spoilers . I had enormous high expectations for this game and I must say I have been let down. The story and the characters are fantastic and are fully meeting my expectations, staying true to Jane Jensen´s reputation, however the game is a disappointment. First of all it´s so easy it´s just a mild cut above an hidden object game, then there are not enough items to click on or locations to visit and finally each chapter is painfully short. Is this a lack of budget? Or are adventure gamers now being dumbed down in order to attract the Hidden Object players? I can not believe it would be a lack of budget as surely Jane Jensen must get a very high budget considering her status in the adventure community. She herself has admitted that she made the game more approachable, which I guess translates into "dummer game in order to increase sales". The adventure community might not be as successful as others but it has been thriving for a few years now, so I can´t see why Jane Jensen could not deliver a game worthy of her name. Hidden object players are supposed to move towards adventure gaming, not the other way around! What are your impressions? |
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And another question that comes to mind - are adventure games becoming casual, or is it vice versa? I don't really know the answer, but there are some things that are obvious. For example, full-fledged adventure games more and more incorporate in-game hints, or puzzles that are related only to one locations, more and more linear gameplay etc. However, casual games more and more tend to "distance" or disguise their origins of pure hidden object finding, and more and more incorporate things like inventory, though-out story, puzzles that require you to visit several locations or combine items, dialogs etc. So, the real answer might be somewhere in the middle. |
Diego: I certainly welcome a merging of adventure and casual gaming in order to appeal to a wider audience and thus helping adventure games to thrive, however we are talking about the most anticipated and probably most widely revered adventure games author. If she can not or will not deliver a challenging, engaging and extensive adventure game, who will? If the merging of the two genres will result in easier , less-challenging and shorter adventure games, we might as well have killed the genre and just go back to playing scrabble...I realize I sound quite bitter, but I must say the disappointment of Gray Matter stings quite deeply. Given the complex story and characters, this game could have had the scope of Gabriel Knight and more, but what I am playing now is a little more than a short interactive story...
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well, as this article on Hidden Object games which i recommend says:
"Trends do pass, but we’re only at the beginning of this one, and even when it finally subsides, I suspect the genre won’t ever be the same. Not dead… but not the same." So, if we're talking about merging of casual and traditional adventure games, then we're speaking also of merging the two markets, which means developers and publishers will try to please the both groups. That leads us to "easier" difficulty of course, when comparing it to the classics. About Jane Jensen, she actually did some casual games before the Gray Matter so it should not come as surprise. And you really can't blame her or publishers for their desire for their product to reach wider audience. I see "heroes" of adventure gaming in these "troubled times" in everyone who tries to keep the spark of golden adventure gaming in a way. Puzzles, creative puzzles are one of the things that lack the most today. Going blindly into the "Heavy Rain" territory seems like the "easy way" today for developers and publishers. It seems like it's easier to come up with the story than rich gameplay and puzzles. Another proof of that is that we see less and less Myst-like and traditional puzzle oriented games. On the other hand, "casual invasion" certainly shaked the mainstream gaming and accented the non-action gameplay in the tradition of adventure games. As for me, success of casual games is just another proof of how "immortal" basic adventure game elements are, or interactive storytelling. I'll quote Roberta Williams from this interview: "I believe that the 'true' adventure game genre will never die any more than any type of storytelling would ever die. Sometimes, I think that something 'new' may come along for awhile and take away attention from longer, story-oriented genres, like movies took attention away from books for awhile, and TV took attention away from movies for awhile. Things like that." and this "Adventure games "as we know it" are dead. What does that mean? Does that mean "text" adventure games with text input; story, puzzles, no art, no animation, no music, no sound, no spoken dialog? Does that mean "picture book" adventure games with more advanced text input; story, puzzles, no animation, no music, no sound, no spoken dialog? Does that mean "2D worlds with cut screen shots" with icon bar input; story, puzzles, limited animation, limited music, limited sound, no spoken dialog? Does that mean "2D worlds with cut screen shots and limited short 'cartoons' or 'movies' with icon bar input; story, puzzles, better animation, better music, better sound, limited spoken dialog? Does that mean "2D worlds with lots more cut screen shots and more short 'cartoons/movies' with 'point and click' input; better story, easier puzzles, great animation, great music, great sound, lots of spoken dialog? Do you see a trend here in all of this?" So, maybe that "something new" could be casual games and the merging of two is just another step in "evolution". |
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Well, i certainly agree about the need for better and more difficult puzzles.
Jane Jensen might be the game designer here, but it's one thing working with Sierra then, and another with a new team today. She also might not be responsible for all choices about the game or puzzle design. I think it comes to what the goals are of developer and publisher. That's why you can every day find a brand new traditional independent adventure game if you visit AGS site for example, because they are rid of commercial issues. Also, there're a lot of companies that emphasizes traditional gameplay even the adoption of some new trends are inevitable. |
Diego: Have you played Gray Matter to the end? Do things get better/harder after chapter 3 or what I am getting now is what I will be getting throughout the game?
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No, i put it aside for now. I hope puzzles are getting more difficult towards the end.
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Funny, I thought the first two chapters felt long. But around chapter 4 is where I thought the story started to get really interesting, so I wouldn't say that "what you're getting now is what you'll be getting throughout the game."
That said, if you're not enjoying it by now, I don't know that you'll suddenly start enjoying it. |
I found this game too much old school and if want to play old school ag i play the originals again,why bother with inconsistencies of second hand experiences.
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Is it me or does that post throw logic out of the window? |
If you mean, did it make sense, no. Not to me, anyway.
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I don't think Gray Matter gets much "harder" in the later chapters but it definitely gets better. And I think there is more to do, so it probably gives at least a tad more challenge than the first chapters.
Even though the game was on the easier side it didn't feel as easy as many other recent games (Memento Mori for example). And personally I enjoyed the puzzles, they were realistic, logical, interesting and fun. |
I, for one, although being a 'seasoned' adventure gamer, would certainly prefer a game with easier puzzles that are all the same logical (as in Gray Matter), than one with 'harder' puzzles that are there just so that they impede the story, thus making the game longer. Let's face it - having an inventory with 50 items, taking everything that 'isn't nailed down' and zany solutions are not the way forward. And it's no wonder such are not appealing to gamers nowadays.
That being said, I certainly had fun with Gray Matter, the puzzles weren't hard, but they were, more importantly, varied. I never felt bored during the 10-12 hours I played that game. And that's more than I can say for, say, Monkey Island 2. =) |
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Besides that the game is great! I love the atmosphere and the puzzles. One thing I disliked about a lot of third-person adventures (I'm more of a first-person adventure freak) is the fact that the puzzles are so illogical. Compared to that Gray Matter is really a breath of fresh air, which makes me love the game even more. No more cutting rubber chickens to pieces and then letting a monkey glue it together to create a helmet. :D |
where can I preorder the Xbox version in the US?
I couldnt find it anywhere :| |
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I have a French version though, which is totally in English. Wouldn't know if it's region free. Edit: Finished the game. It was fun, but not as great as it could have been. In my opinion the ending was quite bad. |
The ending was terrible.
The game, overall is good, not great but not dissappointing either. I found it fun at times, dull at others, but i did not regret getting it. But they should have done something better with the ending, they could. |
I have just begun playing this eagerly awaited game and I must admit that the magical tricks are as annoying as hell...and there are to many hints - the hotspots key?
Do not like it. I love Gabriel Knight - he is one of my fav characters, not to mention the games...love them. Dissapointed so far... :( |
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Why do people keep compare Gabriel Knight with Gray Matter? Sure, it's the same writer but what the hell? The story's are completely different and they are different games, they don't belong to each other at all, except that it is the same writer. It's like comparing a great novelist different books, like Haruk Murakami for example; they can differ a lot even though it's the same writer. :shifty: It's NOT THE SAME GAME! |
@Isak - there was no puzzle with magic tricks, so that is annoying to me- it's all written down. G.Knight & this game are from the same writer...so that's why people had very, very high expectations.
I am at Ch.2 now - it seems like a good story though, but I was expecting that from Jensen. |
I recently finished this and would like to post more detailed thoughts at a later time, but I absolutely loved the game. Great story, interesting characters, and wonderful atmosphere.
The negative comments aren't invalid, but people need to be grateful this game was even released. Some expected the Citizen Kane of adventure games. There are technical and gameplay-related shortcomings, but don't put that on Jensen or the team behind the game. Whatever they had money and resources to do, they did as well as they could. P.S. - I enjoyed the cutscenes. They both fit and set the mood very well in my opinion. |
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Maybe it's not like GK at all, but why do people think the game isn't enjoyable? By the way, sorry if sounding harsh in my first reply to you - it wasn't my intention, just a litte over-excited about the topic! :frusty: on me :) Quote:
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So I don't see the point in always, and I mean ALWAYS, comparing titles by the same author. Just because it's the same author, doesn't mean the books/games/movies/whatever are or need to be very alike. ;) I say Gray Matter is good, even though the game differs a lot from, at least the third GK game (the only one I played). Not at all like the GK game(s) but still a great game! |
Gamespot says 7/10. Given their consistent 4 or 5 out of 10 rating of virtually every adventure game, it's a good score.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/adventure...er/review.html |
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Finally got the box in my hand last night! I remember anticipating this game back in 2004 when it was first announced, and now I finally have it. I'm 90% of the way through Chapter One, and so far I like it. I'm intrigued and can't wait to see what happens next. The animation is a little off-putting, but I won't let it ruin the game for me.
What I really want to rant about is how I was robbed of the communal experience I was looking forward to with this game. By releasing it the way thay did, there was a long period of time when the game was available in many places, and lots of people were talking about it, but it wasn't available where I was. In searching for more information about its release, I had to be careful lest I stumble across any spoilers. I wasn't always successful in this, and that lessened the game right there. I hope for the next game it gets released simultaneously everywhere. Okay, end of rant. Back to the game! |
I picked it up on Monday, and I've only finished chapter one, but my first impressions are nothing short of glowing.
I do have some issues, such as the animations, but overall it's been a positive experience for me. |
Maybe I'm just dumb, but didn't the ending left a lot un-explained?
I played this game in two short bursts, but there was a gap of a week between them, so maybe I just forgot about something which happened in the first half of the game that explains the ending? I remember being very excited throughout the game, the story was developing very nicely, but right at the end, and I mean the very end, everything just falls appart. Little disappointed. Also, I didn't mind the cut scenes through the game, but the later half, specially in the deadalus club, and the last one, I feel it would be better served if they were fully animated. I didn't mind the magic tricks at all, I have no idea why they were there, but didn't mind it; It was just way too easy, correction, for something to be easy it still has to pose some kind of challenge, the magic tricks were actually no challenge at all! Everything was spelled out for you, even bolded, all you had to do was to point and click your way through, pointless, but fast enough that I didn't find it annoying. Is it to early still for spoilers? I really want to ask the questions about the end of the game... |
This is the best game I have played since Gabriel Knight 3. (Fitting, I suppose) I live in Spain so I had to play with Spanish text so some of the puzzles were weird...but still awesome.
I for one loved the ending... Spoiler: |
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Really? I thought the ending was just flat, and didn't really leave anything to the imagination, which I would be fine with me, but left huge plot holes. |
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Spoiler: The plot itself was cleared up pretty good and I didn't find it so disappointing. I wasn't amazed or in love with the ending but I really don't get all the hate either. |
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Spoiler: Even if those were explained, still is a rather flat/anti-cliamatic ending for a story which could have gone somewhere very interesting. |
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Spoiler: By the way, does anyone know who voiced Styles? He sounds awfully a lot like Lewton from Discworld Noir! |
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