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Old 04-23-2011, 09:24 AM   #1501
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Portal 1 & 2.

Really enjoyed it. Not much to say , good games with fun puzzles.
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Old 04-26-2011, 06:50 PM   #1502
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Guyra View Post
Finished Memento Mori yesterday. I was very disappointed...2 / 5
Yeah I too found this game a major disappointed. In fact I found it to be
really boring.... Non of the characters interested me. There voice where....
well crap and I just couldn't get into the story.
I am afraid I will never finish this. I'm moving on
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Old 04-27-2011, 01:11 PM   #1503
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Portal 2

Perfect lenght, new puzzle elements, fantastic voice work and new open environments to break up the white rooms.

Superb with a mad ending.

10/10
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Old 05-01-2011, 05:16 PM   #1504
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Weare6 View Post
Yeah I too found this game a major disappointed. In fact I found it to be
really boring.... Non of the characters interested me. There voice where....
well crap and I just couldn't get into the story.
I am afraid I will never finish this. I'm moving on
Yeah, personally, I'd say it's not worth finishing the game. If you don't have a problem quitting a game in the middle of it, then trust me, I would suggest doing so and pick up another title instead. Game did get slightly more interesting at the end, but, well... it seriously didn't help any.

Might get better once the sequel comes out, if it's a direct sequel. There is a small, tiny, teensy weensy chance. But until then, Memento Mori is garbage can material.
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Old 05-05-2011, 10:53 PM   #1505
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Portal 2

I've finally finished it yesterday. I'm saying finally, because I've deliberately played it at rather slow pace for the enjoyment to last longer. But regardless to that cheap trick, everyone who played the original game will feel the difference in the game length.

At not only that. Portal 2 outshines the excellent original in every sense. The deliciously simple yet brilliant concept is expanded thanks to the numerous new features. This opened a whole new world for the puzzle design, and brought even more frustration to the player (and I mean that in a positive sense). Even though I agree that anyone who decides to play Portal, should promise to himself / herself to refrain from using the walkthroughs, I must admit that there were times when I couldn't figure out the solution fast enough, which can be frustrating when playing such addictive game. Still, everything in Portal is logical, in it's trademark wacky way.

Speaking of which, another thing that is characteristic for Portal games is great humor which can IMO challenge the best games in that respect, both inside as well as the outside the genre. This is the spice that gives that extra punch to Portal; despite the great concept and the adictiveness of the gameplay, it would still be rather sterile experience without this.

Another thing in which Portal games shines is fantastic voice-acting. This is even more emphasized by the fact that there are only one or two speaking characters. They are flawlessly portrayed by their actors, which makes both the characters and some of their lines, unforgettable.

I have no objections on the other aspects of Portal 2. Although the graphic engine itself doesn't seem much more advanced comparing to the original game, the design made Portal 2 much more visually appealing, with adding much needed diversity to the game locations. But the trademark sterile testing environments are still present, which is a good thing, because it's certainly one of the landmarks of the game.

The sound is equally good to the visuals. Sound effects are fantastic and the music provides an excellent decor to the setting with it's rich analog tone. This also playes nicely with the "fact" (I'm not totally sure on this) that the game surroundings "date" from 70's and 80's of the last century. If it's really true (at least, I think it is), that this is another nice spice to the game.

To conclude the obvious: I'm delighted with Portal 2. Even though I was somewhat sceptical, both after reading the reviews and after playing the excellent original, now I can say with certainty, that these games are among the best I've ever played, regardless of the genre. And if Valve decides to make another sequel, I won't complain.

Verdict: 4,9 / 5.
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Old 05-08-2011, 08:16 AM   #1506
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Am many years behind the rest of the gaming public as I finished Half Life 1 today!

Although I've owned it for a while, I only really focused on it this year, just dipping in and out of it previously.

I loved it, all except the final couple of 'chapters' as they are REALLY annoying. Good twist at the end though!

Now on to Half Life 2. I think I've timed itright though as by the time I'm through Half Life 2 and it's episodes, HL3 should be ready! Yes, I'm that slow!
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Old 05-13-2011, 12:15 PM   #1507
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Broken sword 2 remastered
I brought back memories....
I liked replaying it at better quality!
Being one of the first games I played I remember being stuck in that forest for days, and it felt weird that in the remake you just follow the only right hand cursor on screen and you are out. Also the sound effects at the end where a bit exaggerated but, I got used a little with the character portrets in the end...they didn't seem so annoying anymore.
Loved that little comic book bonus at the end!
I still want my director's cut of it!
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Old 05-15-2011, 06:25 AM   #1508
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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
My verdict on the popular lawyer game that have been released on numerous platforms (most recently the iPhone). I ended up playing the NDS version with it's fifth trial which I am going to speak about in this mini-review.

Story
Due to major twists early in the game I will keep this as spoiler-free as possible. Phoenix Wright tells the tale of uh... Phoenix Wright, a new defense attorney. The game is set in a futuristic fictional universe within a court that have some specific rules on how cases must be carried out, such as all cases being solved within 3 days or else... In this world it's up to Phoenix Wright to believe in his clients and make sure they end up Not Guilty by making sure that holes in the prosecutors witnessaccounts are exposed and evidence is presented that proves that his clients did not do it.

There are five cases in the game that usually begins with a murder, followed by sessions of evidence collecting and finally in court. The fifth case was added to the NDS remake. It's almost as long as the rest of the game and quite epic.

Beyond Wright there are plenty of reoccuring characters such as Wrights young coworker and spirit-medium Maya Fey, the principled but tormented prosecuter Miles Edgeworth and the dimwitted but warmhearted cop Dick Gumshoe. The game is filled with humor and the characters you meet are often odd or eccentric in some way or another. The cases can often get very personal, where not winning means loosing more than the case. Some of the cases are also connected, providing some story progression and build up the main characters and reveal more about their backgrounds.

Since we are dealing with fictional cases, where evidence pops up once in awhile that completely change the situation, there are loads and loads of twists and the stories are unusually advanced for just being a game.

Engine: Graphics & Sound
Almost the entire game uses static character portraits layered on top of static backgrounds, then a dialogue window on top of that. The characters are well drawn, but it's obvious they were handpainted and scanned into the game. If a portrait is ever animated it's animated with just a few frames. While the characters are nicely drawn, some of it's features have been lost due to the lowres pixels on the GBA which the game was originally made for. The portraits used in the fifth case of the game is of somewhat higher quality.

Sometimes the portraits are a bit odd, because the portrait carry features that doesn't fit with the situation. For example there's a kid that was drawn with a camera that is obviously evidence, and a sword on his back which he draws when he gets angry. It happens though that the game explain these contradictions out loud with some humerous remark.

The music cycle through a few tunes depending on mood (rushed tune, happy tune, danger tune, celebration tune etc). There are some sound effects too, but nothing spectacular. There are no voice acting beyond screams of "Objection!" and "Hold It!" during trial.

Gameplay
The core gameplay in Phoenix Wright is to spot contradictions in witness accounts. You get the witness story, then scroll to where you see a contradiction, then either press or present an evidence to expose lies or freshen up their memories. Between trials you go around and search for evidence, often by talking to people or examining scenes for items that the police might have forgotten. To do this you as a player need to have a good memory, since you need to keep all the evidence in your head if you aren't just going to do trial & error (which might lead to game over).

The fifth case was added to the NDS remake. The fifth case takes advantage of the NDS with crime scene investigation, namely rotating items around to find hidden stuff and taking fingerprints which requires you to pour dust on the bottom screen, then blow into the mic to remove it.

And the Verdict
Beyond being good at perception to spot contradictions and hidden items, there isn't much in terms of gameplay to be had here. It is an adventuregame after all. Usually you just go around and exhaust dialogue options. The story and fun characters is the strong point in this game. The complexity of the storylines, many laugh-out-loud sequences and characters that you remember is what Phoenix Wright have to offer. It took me a few days to finish the game. It's much longer than I had anticipated, at least if you include the 5th trial that almost double the length of the game. Most of the game is text, text, text so be sure you enjoy reading.
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Old 05-17-2011, 10:00 PM   #1509
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Phoenix Wright 2: Ace Attorney: Justice for All
The direct sequel to the first game.

Story
I will not go too deep into the storyline of the second game in order to not spoil the first. It is a direct sequel. It shouldn't be surprising that plenty of the characters return from the first game, including people who were in past trials.

Phoenix Wright 1-3 was originally developed for Gameboy Advance. When the NDS version of PW1 was released it was extended with a fifth trial that is supposed to take place between PW1 and PW2, however, PW2 ties very strongly into the events of the first four trials and is especially a direct sequel to the fourth. As a such, playing PW2 after playing the now added fifth PW1 trial adds some inconsistencies even if they tried to wedge in the fifth trial so it still fits the story.

That said, I found the story in PW2 to be much stronger than PW1, probably thanks to now knowing the main characters and being emotionally invested in their peculiar personalities. In fact, this is one of those games that I just couldn't put aside and pushed on just to find out what happens at the end and it's also one of those stories that made my eyes wet in the ending.

Let's just say that Phoenix Wright 2 isn't just about Phoenix Wright himself, there is at least one other character who play a such vital role that I kept pushing forward just to uncover the mystery regarding another character.

Engine: Graphics & Sound
Please read my comments on Phoenix Wright above on engine as it haven't really changed. Like Phoenix Wright, PW2 was originally made for GBA and there's no NDS bonuslevel this time around. This means no forensics.

Gameplay
Most of the gameplay in PW1 is the same as in the first one. Read my comments on Phoenix Wright above.

There's no forensics in PW2 but there have been at least two enhancements. First I do not remember ever having to show a profile during a trial in the first game. Now you get a character portrait for everyone involved and once in awhile you are asked to present a name and you can do this by using these profiles. An essential addon if you ask me. The second addition is something called as "Psyche-Lock", while having a somewhat supernatural theme it could simply be renamed "interrogation". You push a person with evidence in order to make them cough up their secrets. This also feels like an addition that makes sense. Finally you have a healthbar now, where doing screwups might cause you to loose different amount of health. In the first game you always had five chances.

Final Verdict
Adventuregames usually stand and fall on their characters and the story and this is one that stands but probably not stand-alone. Having played PW and gotten familiar with the characters allow you to appreciate the continuation of their individual storylines even more.
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Old 05-18-2011, 09:05 AM   #1510
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Last finished game: Art of Muder - FBI Confidential.

I'm now 3/4 through Hunt for the Puppeteer and laboring on this puzzle:



Because all the parts look nearly the same, it's somehow much harder than the sliding parts puzzle in Still Life 1. Urgh!
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Old 05-18-2011, 02:54 PM   #1511
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Last Finished: Portal 2
Currently playing (Half Way): Batman; Arkham Asylum
Both great games!
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Old 05-18-2011, 10:29 PM   #1512
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Just finished Kings's Bounty: The Legend.

Easily one of the best non-adventure games I've played, along with others (for me) like "Fable" and "The Sims 2". I much prefer turn-based strategy to real time, since I feel like all I do is point and do none of the work in real-time. In turn-based strategy, I make each move count, try to strategize so I don't loose too many of my troops, etc. And King's Bounty is turn based.

It took awhile to get used to some things. I wasn't used to loosing troops so easily, so I struggled to keep at least some of the original troop alive. I really loved using the royal snakes, the thorns that can spit from a distance and itch like a dog, and the dragons were awesome, especially the black dragon. I had never dealed with running out of suppliers of my favorite troops before, so when I couldn't find anymore Black Dragons, I made sure I never lost one.

This game was amazing. So freaking long, I was happy to see it end, and yet I wanted to battle some more. The complex stories and backstories were amazing. I loved that they got almost all mythical beings that I love in there. Elves, dwarfs, humans, vampires, orcs, demons, anything you can think of. And not only was there so much story in each race of beings that you could visit, the characters were hilarious and memorable. Some of their lines made me laugh out loud at the jokes, and I just loved them.

I just loved this game...period. Yeah, there were downsides, like having to run to different continents just o get more of my favorite troop, and then going back to the continent I was originally on to battle some more. Sometimes the wording was a bit off, but still...it was a gem of a game. <3
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Old 05-20-2011, 05:57 AM   #1513
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Portal 2. Amazing!
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Old 05-22-2011, 12:24 AM   #1514
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Phoenix Wright 3: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations
The third and final episode with Phoenix Wright as the main character. Like the former two games it was originally made for GBA and was later ported to other platforms. I played the NDS version.

Story
Not as a direct sequel as PW2 was, PW3 does focus on a single question that left unanswered in the first two titles. I won't spoil the whole thing by revealing that question here, but in order to do so the backgrounds of some reoccuring characters will be heavily expanded on. There's also the addition of a new prosecutor with as great personality as the former ones.

Engine
No change from the former two. No added NDS level either. Read the former reviews I written on the engine itself.

Gameplay
The gameplay from the first two games returns in this sequel, there are only two minor things that is still a breath of fresh air. First the defense can be called as a witness, so you will have to spot contradictions in the testimony of someone you should defend. The second is that there are several occasions you will play as a character different than Phoenix Wright.

Verdict
Adventuregames stand and fall on their storylines. The fact that I was moved to tears a couple of times and dumbstruck from all the twists that was hailed at me like tropical rain should be enough for me to recommend PW3 once you played the first two of course.
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Old 05-28-2011, 10:51 PM   #1515
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The Next BIG Thing

From what I've read, it seems that I'm one of rare posters on these boards who thinks rather highly of "Runaway" series, especially of the first game. While many fellow adventurers seems to loathe the key ingredients of the game, especially the geeky main protagonist and somewhat cheesy story, I find those elements charming. But the strong points of the games from Pendulo Studios are certainly graphic style, music and voice-acting. Yes, even though many of the characters sound irritable, they're convincingly portrayed.

The Next BIG Thing continues the tradition of "Runaway" series in many ways. The world is cheesy and colorful yet stylish, the characters are wacky and memorable, the story is "cheap" yet intriguing enough. Humor ranges from Seinfeld to Police Academy, but this is also trademark of Pendulo, which I appreciate. Music is diverse and adds to the setting and atmosphere of the game. The puzzles are also somewhat standard: they range from obvious to illogical.

As a "Runaway" fan, I was very excited when I've first heard of Pendulo's new project, but this excitement dropped slightly when I've learned that this game will feature monsters and creatures. Although this is the main reason why I don't like this game as much as "Runaway", I was pleasently suprised how well they've profiled the characters.

Speaking of characters, the game features a colorful cast, as well as "Runaway" series, but the main star is IMO Liz Allaire. I think she is one of the better portrayed female characters I've encountered in adventure games and I suspect that the players who loathed Brian and Gina might find Liz much more amiable and funny.

I would also like to mention the narration element of the game which I've found great, both in the terms of voice-acting and the narration style. I've particulary liked how the actor accented some phrases, most notably "-said Dan, -said Liz, -said Fly". This adds up to the story, which IMO isn't that good as in "Runaway", let alone comparing to some other games.

The biggest flaw of the game, in comparison to "Runaway" series, is IMO the lack of diversity. Although the designers captured the setting very well, the entire game takes place on a limited space. "Runaway" games are much richer in that respect.

To conclude, I would definitely reccomend this game to the fans of "Runaway" series as they share many elements that one can associate with the games from Pendulo Studios. And for those who hate "Runaway" this might be even pleasent suprise.

Verdict: 4,2 / 5
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Old 05-28-2011, 11:46 PM   #1516
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RE: The Next Big Thing

Spoiler:

I'm assuming Liz knowing what people where going to say was 'audience participation' during Dan's retelling, but I never worked out what the 20, 12, 1, 4 is all about
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Old 05-29-2011, 08:14 AM   #1517
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crunchy in milk View Post
RE: The Next Big Thing

Spoiler:

I'm assuming Liz knowing what people where going to say was 'audience participation' during Dan's retelling, but I never worked out what the 20, 12, 1, 4 is all about
Me neither. But I don't think there is any particular mystery to this. I'm guessing that they're alluding to some people who begin to "count to 5" before they calm down in a tense situation, and they decided to make this wacky enough to go with Liz's character.
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Old 05-30-2011, 07:25 AM   #1518
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Gray Matter - 9/10.

The Witcher 2 - 9/10.
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Old 06-02-2011, 01:44 PM   #1519
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Just finished Dark Fall: Lights Out.
Its very good. Some solid challenges.
Now I just have to play the others
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Old 06-05-2011, 02:21 PM   #1520
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just finished phoenix wright: trials and tribulations. It definitely was another whacky entertaining entry in the series. I think this may be my least favorite of the 3 phoenix wright games however. Alot of the past plot stuff that was added made the timeline feel really crowded and the last case takes the cake out of ridiculously improbable cases. Still, a pretty fun and solid game. Id give it a 7.5/10
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