[fov]

Nice review, Rob. It was great to see the opinion of someone who's a fan of the comics (I'd never even heard of them before the game was announced), but you also let the game stand on its own merits. I agree with you about the puzzles... they're some of the most organic puzzles that I can remember in an adventure game, and I love that. The gameplay really lets the story sit in the spotlight.

[eriq]

I may have to pay and play!

[The Seed]

Good review, and a fair score imo. I found the game very enjoyable, despite it's now well documented shortcomings.
Pun intended.

[gillyruless]

Originally Posted by The Seed

Good review, and a fair score imo. I found the game very enjoyable, despite it's now well documented shortcomings.
Pun intended.

I second that. I will be buying the next episode as well. I have faith in Telltale to learn from their first game and deliver an even better game the next time. I do think that though they might want to address the game length-price imbalance. They need to to attract more buyers.

[Kolzig]

Yeah, a very good review. Even though I haven't yet bought the full game (I've only experienced the demo), reviews such as this make me want to buy it even more.

[Hiro Protagonist]

Glad you guys liked it. Luckily Jackal was around to help me tighten it up, as I hadn't stopped to think that most people haven't read the comics yet.

I'm really looking forward to the next chapter, and really hope that people give this game a shot, despite the pricing issue. I'm just going to go ahead and assume that it's because they're needing to fill the coffers a bit before proceeding...

And for anyone who hasn't read the comics yet, Amazon has the first book Out from Boneville for around 5 bucks right now, and has just released the full nine book set in one trade paperback as well...give them a shot. You definately won't be disappointed.

(rob)

[eriq]

Ok I'm confused how BONE works...

If I pay the $20, what exactly am I getting? 3-4 hours of play? Or is that just in the demo? Am I buying the FULL GAME? or just one chapter? is the FULL game out? ???

[fov]

Their intention is to make games based on the entire series (which spans 9 books). This first game, which has 3-4 hours of gameplay, covers the first book. It has a self-contained story arc but sets up a bit for things that will happen down the road. This game (Out from Boneville) is what you get for your $20.

As soon as this game was released, the team got to work on the second installment, which will be released in about five months. They have said that there won't necessarily be 9 games altogether (some games may cover more than one book, depending on how the content fits in a game).

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Very good, sensible review, Rob!

[simpson_yellow]

Nice review, Rob - very informative . I've been interested in this for a while but I have to admit it's now slipped a couple of places in my list of priority purchases - the short play time being a bit of a turn off.

However, the innovations you mention, particularly with regard to the puzzle types, mean that I'll probably be forking out my $20 in the not too distant future.

[Kolzig]

Originally Posted by fov

As soon as this game was released, the team got to work on the second installment, which will be released in about five months. They have said that there won't necessarily be 9 games altogether (some games may cover more than one book, depending on how the content fits in a game).

I'm still willing to bet that the Bone game series will end up having 5 episodes.

[Erwin_Br]

Originally Posted by Kolzig

I'm still willing to bet that the Bone game series will end up having 5 episodes.

Based on the $20 pricetag, I assume?

--Erwin

[Kolzig]

Yeah, and also because I think Telltale will put two books in one episode in the future, so that would make about 8 hours of gameplay time.

[bigjko]

Originally Posted by review

..the wonderful musical score running in the background. Never intrusive, it blends in perfectly with the game world, and adds a very folksy charm to the game.

While I agree with this to a degree, it's a really great score, I'd have to say it's really badly implemented. The game would benefit greatly from an iMuse-type system where the music changes a bit according to player interactions, or dialogue. The music gets more than distracting when you're trying to listen to a dramatic story (from life-less character Thorn) and the music playing in the background sounds like the Teletubbies theme (but a good version of it )

I also think the inclusion of the action sequences is making the game worse. It's the fact that these action sequences are just dead-boring, and ugly, that makes the game worse. It's just weird having a beautifully choreographed game suddenly turn into a top-view, fixed angle mini-game. It would be a whole lot better if it was more like an interactive cut-scene. (And personally, I'd love it more if you couldn't actually make a mistake. Repeating the same thing over and over doesn't actually heighten my excitement)

[Hiro Protagonist]

Originally Posted by bigjko

I also think the inclusion of the action sequences is making the game worse. It's the fact that these action sequences are just dead-boring, and ugly, that makes the game worse. It's just weird having a beautifully choreographed game suddenly turn into a top-view, fixed angle mini-game. It would be a whole lot better if it was more like an interactive cut-scene. (And personally, I'd love it more if you couldn't actually make a mistake. Repeating the same thing over and over doesn't actually heighten my excitement)

This was frankly my biggest problem with the game. It really took me out of the game, especially the second time. Because of mouse problems, I think I repeated that one section for close to 30 minutes.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by bigjko

While I agree with this to a degree, it's a really great score, I'd have to say it's really badly implemented. The game would benefit greatly from an iMuse-type system where the music changes a bit according to player interactions, or dialogue. The music gets more than distracting when you're trying to listen to a dramatic story (from life-less character Thorn) and the music playing in the background sounds like the Teletubbies theme (but a good version of it )

I also think the inclusion of the action sequences is making the game worse. It's the fact that these action sequences are just dead-boring, and ugly, that makes the game worse. It's just weird having a beautifully choreographed game suddenly turn into a top-view, fixed angle mini-game. It would be a whole lot better if it was more like an interactive cut-scene. (And personally, I'd love it more if you couldn't actually make a mistake. Repeating the same thing over and over doesn't actually heighten my excitement)

Very good point, bigsie. I've only played the demo thus far (want to buy the game, yes, but later because I'm playing two other games atm) and the action sequences feel gratuitous to me, as if they're either being fashionable (these mini-games are very trendy right now in games) or couldn't think of a more clever way to infuse suspense. I dunno if the locust chase scene is indicative of all the action bits in the full game, but it was too easy for me (only 'cause I'm used to that kind of stuff). Still, I wanna get the game, I like the art direction.

[Udvarnoky]

Originally Posted by Kolzig

Yeah, and also because I think Telltale will put two books in one episode in the future, so that would make about 8 hours of gameplay time.

I don't think doubling up on the books will necessarily double the game's length (though that would be nice). It'll probably be easier for them to make a longer chunk of the story into something playable than to try to pad a single book more than is reasonable.

Despite the fact that length has probably been the single biggest complaint about Out from Boneville I don't see future episodes being all that much longer than this one. Telltale seems pretty adamant about their tight game schedule (probably a good thing), so I don't see how they can really make a game in five months that is significantly longer than this one without sacrificing quality. I'm guessing they'll make future episodes cover more than one book in part to address the "$180 for the whole series is ridiculous" issue.

[Cellardoor]

Hey Rob,

Nice review! As a 'professional' banjo player, I'm curious about Smiley's instrument. You mention it's a banjo, yet judging from the shape and material it appears to be a mandolin... And why does it have but one string?

[bigjko]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

Very good point, bigsie. I've only played the demo thus far (want to buy the game, yes, but later because I'm playing two other games atm) and the action sequences feel gratuitous to me, as if they're either being fashionable (these mini-games are very trendy right now in games) or couldn't think of a more clever way to infuse suspense. I dunno if the locust chase scene is indicative of all the action bits in the full game, but it was too easy for me (only 'cause I'm used to that kind of stuff). Still, I wanna get the game, I like the art direction.

Minor spoiler...

Spoiler:

There are two action sequences total, including the locust chase. And it's basically the same.

It's not really the difficulty that's bothering. It wouldn't be any more thrilling if it were any harder, and I'd have to restart the thing over and over again.

It's just that it's boring. It's so boring visually, that I feel no excitement what-so-ever. It would be tons more exciting, having exactly the same game but from a perspective where I can clearly see Fone Bone's face and the impending doom of the locusts behind him. And thus, I couldn't actually see the obstacles coming, but would rather get a hint of them coming.

(Similar to the stampede chase in Lion King: The Game, if anyone remembers that..)

[Jackal]

Originally Posted by Cellardoor

I'm curious about Smiley's instrument. You mention it's a banjo, yet judging from the shape and material it appears to be a mandolin... And why does it have but one string?

Since one of Smiley's song options is "Strummin' on the ol' Banjo" (let's pretend the subtitle isn't wrong), my vote's for banjo. The one-stringer must be a Bone version.

As for the game, I'm glad to see most of the feedback here is fairly positive. I agree wholeheartedly that it was way too short, but what was offered was cute, fun, and totally "playable". Not once did I think that Telltale actually hated the player, as I often think about developers when playing adventures (kidding... sort of). And as the review pointed out, I'm absolutely stunned by the amount of content they fit into such a small download.

I actually thought the first action sequence was a hoot. But yeah, having another one almost identical was a real letdown. Novelty only works once.

Originally Posted by Udvarnoky

Despite the fact that length has probably been the single biggest complaint about Out from Boneville I don't see future episodes being all that much longer than this one. Telltale seems pretty adamant about their tight game schedule (probably a good thing), so I don't see how they can really make a game in five months that is significantly longer than this one without sacrificing quality.

We really don't know how much development time went into specific content, and how much went into creating and refining the tools and other re-usable assets. Five months of focusing almost exclusively on new content could prove to be pretty beneficial. I wouldn't look for "significantly longer", but they should aim for longer.