[mgeorge]

Thanks again. You know what? I kind of like the game now that I've gotten a bit more used to it. Other than Call of Cthulhu all I've been playing are AG's and this is different than the usual point and click. And the graphics are killer for this genre. I'm used to using the shift key to walk in some FPS games and when I hit the shift key low and behold, it defaulted to walk. At least I'm not running into walls the way I was earlier.

Of course the wonky controls may still get to me. Have to wait and see.

Either way thanks for all the advice.

[Sar]

No problem Mgeorge, enjoy the game, save often you can get your guy killed and there is no reset. You have to restart from the last save.

[Haohmaru]

I actually really enjoyed the cat puzzle in Tunguska. That was part of the demo I played of it and the whole situation was so hilarious (particularly when the cat runs up the tree) that I decided I really wanted to buy the game.

[mgeorge]

I've muddled through Dead Reefs for quite a while now and don't think I can take it anymore.

The controls are so touchy that it makes it very frustrating to play the game. Sometimes when I want my char to go foward, he will just go a few feet as he should, and sometimes he will go on auto pilot and sprint 10 or 15 feet on his own! And many times when I try and turn him to face a different direction, he will spin around like a top 2 or 3 times before I'm able to get control again. He has several bruises on the whole front part of his body from the thrasing he's taking running into walls, and he's in a constant state of vertigo from spinning around so much!

It's to bad because the game is gorgeous, has good atmosphere and the story seems engagaging to this point as well. If the mouse could be used to control the camera that could help, but that's obviously not an option. I dunno. As much as I want to like it and continue, I'm afraid I'm going to have to hurt Finvinero's feelings and delete him from my HD.

Oh the pain! BTW; Finvinero looks a bit like Johny Depp to me haha. I wonder if that was intentional?

[Sar]

Originally Posted by mgeorge

I've muddled through Dead Reefs for quite a while now and don't think I can take it anymore.

The controls are so touchy that it makes it very frustrating to play the game. Sometimes when I want my char to go foward, he will just go a few feet as he should, and sometimes he will go on auto pilot and sprint 10 or 15 feet on his own! And many times when I try and turn him to face a different direction, he will spin around like a top 2 or 3 times before I'm able to get control again. He has several bruises on the whole front part of his body from the thrasing he's taking running into walls, and he's in a constant state of vertigo from spinning around so much!

It's to bad because the game is gorgeous, has good atmosphere and the story seems engagaging to this point as well. If the mouse could be used to control the camera that could help, but that's obviously not an option. I dunno. As much as I want to like it and continue, I'm afraid I'm going to have to hurt Finvinero's feelings and delete him from my HD.

Oh the pain! BTW; Finvinero looks a bit like Johny Depp to me haha. I wonder if that was intentional?

Can't blame you for that. I must admit I struggled to the end, call it hard headed or whatever. A great game reduced to below average because of the terrible controls. Make it point and click it's an A game.

[sue3737]

I really liked Dead Reefs, sure the controls take a bit of getting used to but I had no problem after about 30 minutes in. Its worth a play

[PhoenixWrong]

I was thinking of picking up the collection too. Did they fix most of the bugs in the latest Keepsake patch?

[greypatch3]

Oddly enough, I have had absolutely no problems with controls in Dead Reefs. That was the one I bought the Adventure Game pack for in the first place, and though the controls are a bit odd, so far I haven't had a problem.

Thing is, the controls are the absolute least of my problems. Everything else in the game doesn't work: graphics disappear, the game freezes up, save games won't load, touching certain objects causes the controls to permanently lock out from doing everything else. Basically, the game becomes an absolute mess of bugs from the moment I enter the mansion, so maybe the reason I can't find problems with the controls is because I can't progress further than seven minutes into the game.

Haven't played Tunguska or Nibiru yet, but liked Mysterious Island (if a bit short, and getting 400 points is elusive), and I really, really liked Keepsake (though I thought the second half was absolutely maddening; with one exception it was not the puzzle solution itself that eluded me, but the fact that the contraption used to solve it was just too convoluted and time-wasting to make it worth the effort:

Spoiler:

I must have spent over 45 minutes on that lousy Dragon's Den puzzle, going in circles, and even though I knew the answer for the observatory, I just couldn't bring myself to spin that wheel any longer. The plant one I just ended up skipping; still don't quite know the answer, but I was damned if I was going to run all the way back across the building to change the seasons any longer.

I think, though, that the 'nudge' hint system in that is one of the greatest additions in AG history; though you would never guess from the above, my biggest problem in these things is missing stuff via 'pixel hunt.' Having the thing point out something I happened to overlook by simple click instead of running around the building for the umpteenth time was an absolute godsend, and didn't ruin the immersion for me).

BTW, anyone notice Zak's voice in that is Nolan North, aka Nathan Drake from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, among others? Talented guy; I didn't even notice it was the same person until I looked it up, and the voices aren't radically different. Amazing what a little subtlety can bring to a personality. Every other voice in the project should've taken some notes.

[cwapitm]

I'm playing through this collection myself. I thought it looked like a pretty mediocre collection to be honest, but I got it anyway. I played Return to Mysterious Island. I thought it was decent, but I didn't really care for the puzzles (way too many inventory items). Now I'm playing Secret Files: Tunguska. I'm really enjoying it except I kind of find Nina irritating.

As for Dead Reefs, I'm saving that for last because of the terrible controls. Keepsake is filled with the kind of puzzles I don't like, but I'll play it anyway even if I have to use a walkthrough through most of it. Nibiru, I already have. I never finished it because I didn't like it at all.

[FlightlessWings]

Out of those, I've only ever played Keepsake and Tunguska. Both are pretty good games. Tunguska is more, go around find objects, combine them to achieve a specific goal whereas Keepsake is more puzzle oriented. I preferred Tunguska over the two, and forget what people say, you have to make your own opinion.

[Puzzler]

I just bought this recently. Great deal! The only one I had previously bought and played was DEAD REEFS. Yeah, the game sucks. So far I've beaten Keepsake and Nibiru.

Keepsake is good for the puzzles. The story, however, needed work. Too slow paced and you don't figure out what's going on until the very end of the game. A lot of walking around too because the place is so big, I don't see how I would have managed without the hint system to tell me where to go next.

Niabru is awesome! I loved that game. I don't see how some of you didn't like it. I played it nearly a full day straight. I beat it within two days. Could have used more puzzles, but the story was good enough to keep me going through. The price was worth it just for this game alone.

Now I'll probably play Tunguska next.

Can't wait until the Adventure company releases the second volume.

[Puzzler]

Originally Posted by mgeorge

What is it with animals and these AG games?

Odd thing is, I don't really mind. It's such a bizzare thing I found myself laughing my ass off at the absurdity of it. Not sure if it's intentional humor or not, but pretty damn funny nonetheless. Martin is pretty comical as well. No matter what happens to the guy, the inflection in his voice never seems to change. If someone cut his arm off with a machete, he would exclaim; "Someone just cut my arm off with a machete. Now how can I get my tasks done? Perhaps I should construct a makeshift bandage out of the splattered innards of the rat." Sadly I don't think this is intentional.

ROFL!

Yes, I laughed a lot while playing the game. Whether it was intentional or not, I found it hilarous! What about the detective? Man was he an idiot! The game was good though, maybe not great, but it was good.

[mart]

Originally Posted by mgeorge

Is there some trick to gaining more control, because if not I'll just un-install. Or let me put it this way. Does it get better with practice?

Appreciate the help.

I thought Dead Reefs was a very nice surprise, that is after you get used to the controls. At first I gave up playing, for the character kept running and was bumping to every object. Then I discovered that by tapping the right shift key once I could change running to walking. That was a big relief (don't understand why they made running the default).

[Puzzler]

After beating Secret Files, I can't say it's better than Nibiru. It's better in some aspects but worse in others.

For one, the puzzles (which is a big reason I play adventure games) were way better in Nibiru. Secret Files rarely had any (and I don't count putting items together and using them as puzzles) and the very few (like two or three) the game did have were very unoriginal and simple.

Sure, Nibiru had some absurd, illogical parts but Secret Files had them constantly. Most of the game is spent trying every single possibilty with every single item because anything is possible. Almost every single time I figured something out it was due to trial and error and not by thinking logically about what I should try to do next.

The only thing that was really better about Secret Files was the graphics and acting.

Hopefully the sequel will have better (and more plentiful) puzzles and hopefully it'll be a little more logical too.