[Zack]

Last night, I started a game which I played a few years ago, but never finished it. It was "In Cold Blood", an action-adventure game by Revolution Studios. I've been keeping it with some of my other games in the bottom shelf. The Box Art looked very foreboding, like a First-Person Shooter, but I liked the marketing it had.

First Impressions: I am pleased to see that the game plays out like an adventure game, where you get to interact with the good guys, and solve puzzles. But, it also has action in it. I also like the fact that you have to use stealth as much as possible in the game, but the way that you knock people out with a karate chop seems a little silly. The graphics so far are pretty good because they're very detailed, and the cinematics are great and exciting so far. The best part about the game is that the plot is very intriguing. Im interested on what's going to happen later in the game.

Here's the part that concerns me. The interface is not very good, and I have to use the four arrows to move. It makes me feel like I'm playing a console game. I'm a little disappointed that I can't do a keyboard/mouse combination, but I'll get used to that.

So, I have to say that my first impressions about the game is that I am very intrigued about this game. I'll let you know when I've finished the game. Lastly, has anyone else played the game?. If you have, let me know, I'd like to hear what you thought about it.

[SamandMax]

I played the PS version. I liked it, and was surprised by how much adventure was in it. A level or 2 contain no action in them at all, just stealth and adventure. The game's not earth shattering, but it does what it does well, and it's fun to play. Plus, it's quite lengthy, which is a nice change from the short games that've been coming out recently.

[Stinger]

We are actually planning on reviewing this game soon. Having never played it myself, I'm relying on my reviewer's word that it's enough of an adventure to justify it. I know that, from what little I know of the story, I think it's a fascinating concept, and I still haven't played a poor game made by Revolution.

- Evan

[Henke]

In Cold Blood was rather good. There was one level that I thought was really great (the kappa level). But I have not until this day recovered from how bad the end was.

[Garyos]

The story was good, and it looked nice, but I never finished it - the interface was too horrible.

[Starflux]

Same story here, really. I played it, really liked the atmosphere, but at one point just quit playing. Even though I really liked the scenery and some of the things I'd seen. i'll play it again someday. So it's good, but not great because of the controls.

[DomStLeger]

I like In Cold Blood alot (and I hate action games). The action is fairly straightforward throughout so I would definately recommend it to adventure gamers. The plot was very good, refreshingly dark compared to Revs other stuff, with some very original situations (like the Land Train; which you play a small part of in the demo knocking about on the net). Also the voice acting and characters are interesting. I think it would have made a great adventure game, even if they left some of the action elements in because it is a fun game imo. Still, I bought it new, knowing it was an action/adventure and have no regrets but I doubt most adventurers would feel quite the same. Still if you can get your hands on it it's a worthy game andd satisfyingly long.

btw I also LOVED Kappa level; that was so well done. I agree the ending wasn't perfect but it wasn't bad either... what specifically didn't you like in the ending Henke? I thought the idea of the ending was very good but it wasn't quite executed as well as I'd have liked myself.

It's good to hear it's being reviewed at ags; as long as you go into it knowing not to expect a pure adventure nor a perfect game I imagine they'll enjoy the experience.

[Henke]

Originally Posted by DomStLeger

btw I also LOVED Kappa level; that was so well done. I agree the ending wasn't perfect but it wasn't bad either... what specifically didn't you like in the ending Henke? I thought the idea of the ending was very good but it wasn't quite executed as well as I'd have liked myself.

Well the thing is that the story was rather good. I haven't played it since it was new though.

Spoiler:

I remember there was something about breeding some mutants and going to "the ships graveyard". But in the end, all this stuff was just...left out. You just killed the bad guys in a submarine and that was it. I was very disapointed and especially since the rest of the game was rather good (but the last 2-3 levels weren't as great as the rest of the game).

[DFish]

I agree with what's been written. It's a pretty good game overall, though not spectacular. The story is good, and the action is fairly easy. The one thing it did that so many games fail to do (adventure or not) is that it kept me interested and wanting to play more.

[Zack]

Well, I finished the game "In Cold Blood", and it was very exciting. The plot was the best thing about the game. It was full of surprises, and twists. However, if I told you the whole story, the surprises would be ruined, and the plot is also complex.

The graphics were nicely detailed, and the action was simplified down to the point where an adventure gamer could get into it. There were about 9 levels, and they were suspenseful. The last level for example takes place in a submarine that is in danger of exploding, and it was very intense. It got so intense that you had to do two timed puzzles in order to finish the game. But, once I finished the game, I was rewarded with an end movie sequence that properly ended the game's story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this game. The only things I didn't like about the game was that the interface was very frustrating. As I said when I first started this topic, it felt like I was playing a console game. The second thing was that there was not much variety in the game. To be more exact, you went against soldiers and robots throughout the entire game. That was it. The only good guys you could talk to were the hero's two allies which are a chinese woman, and a hulking brute of a man who uses a big gun. Also, you could also talk to a little girl, a scientist, and technicians. But, if you can look past those two problems, then you will probably enjoy this game. I can't wait to play Broken Sword 3!.

One last thing, I used a Strategy Guide to help guide me through the toughest parts of the game.

[DomStLeger]

I must admit I didn't find any need for any walkthroughs in the game.

Btw the 9 levels are huge if anyones wondering. The Land Train is such a great idea and one of my favourite levels after Kappa Level. Perhaps the game would have been enriched by a few mores enemies, and a little more variety in terms of game play (though as it was I enjoyed it all the way through). Infact this topic is making me yearn to play it again; I think I'll bring it up from home

henke:

Spoiler:

I dunno, I liked the last level alot, it was quite satisfying and had a good level of suspense but it did feel a little abrupt considering the story? So in that way it wasn't executed as well as it could have been. And I agree it was disappointing the way we were given some tantalising ideas of furthur levels and they never seemed to happen

(Edited)

[zylo711]

I have played about an hour of the game and tend to agree with most of the professional reviews. The game is very good in all ways except that the story is not very exciting. The graphics are very good except for people - especially people's faces. I have an old graphics card but it has 32 megs. It's an ATI Rage. So maybe that is the problem.

As far as the interface goes, you can always buy a joystick and set the options to change it from using cursor keys to the joystick. Personally, I think once you get used to the cursor keys, there is little difference.

The only suggestion I would make is that it's best to usually run everywhere instead of walking to speed up the game. Also, once you've heard a conversation, pressing the left control key rapidly in succession tends to cut the whole conversation real short so you avoid getting bored. I sure wish they would have printed that in their instruction booklet.

[RLacey]

I've never managed to get very far in this. I just suck too much at the arcade stuff. And there are no cheats unless I use a hex editor :S...

[Eddy]

I never got past level 2.

[Jackal]

Thread resurrection!

This is the only Revolution game I truly didn't like. Correction - that I didn't have any fun playing. There was a lot to like about the game, but it was totally obscured by the poor action implementation. Between the dodgy keyboard controls (didn't recognize my gamepad), and basic things like the severe movement restrictions with a gun drawn, I just felt like I was fighting the game too often.

Heh. I see where AG was planning to review it, but decided not to. It certainly isn't a pure adventure by any stretch of the imagination.

[MDMaster]

Definitely the worst Revolution game I've played, I kept saying all the time 'what the hell were they thinking?!?!', and that's not gooooooooooood.

[zylo711]

Jackal, you are so right on the money when you talk about the restrictions to movement when the weapons is drawn. That bugs me more than anything else. Why the hell would they do that?


But I'm going to try it a bit more.

The booklet talks of "Recharge Points" (page 13). It would seem they are places where you can recharge something. It talks about how you can insert an "EMP mine" into a recharge point. But it never talks about either of these things again. Would anyone know what any of these are?

Also, I'm new to this forum and planning to buy a good video card (ATI 9800 PRO or 9800 XT). Can anyone tell me where the correct place in this forum would be to ask for some recommendations for some video games what would let me see the capabilities of those cards?

[MDMaster]

I sure hope you didn't PM all the people who wrote on this thread! Anyway, there's no need to ask, just pick whatever FPS came out these last months and you should be ok

[zylo711]

The box says the name of the company is Dream Catcher Games.

Does anyone know the relationship that Revolution has with Dream Catcher Games? Did they buy that company, perhaps?

[MDMaster]

Originally Posted by zylo711

Does anyone know the relationship that Revolution has with Dream Catcher Games? Did they buy that company, perhaps?

Huh?