[millenia]

Is it out yet? Today was supposed to be the release date but I haven't found anything about it . I'm being impatient, I know, but this seemed like an interesting game and I don't mind it being easy or whatever that some people have been saying, I'm just in it for the story.

Is there a demo somewhere or something? I know there's French and Spanish demos at least but I'd like to understand it too . And those that have been/are playing: tell me how it is (the game in general and the English version in particular). But absolutely no spoilers about the plot, please.

[gray pierce]

I think I already told you though I'm not sure but you asked for it (literally)

I think it SUCKED ! The story's crap and pretty thin at that, the characters are very hard to like and the puzzles are useally rubish as well. The voiceover tries to make it interresting but fails on all accounts and just when you think it's getting interesting the whole thing takes a turn for the worst resulting in an absulutely ridiculous finale

So that's my opinion. Perhaps there are people who actually liked it.

[AndreaDraco83]

I've played and I've written a review for AG, so - without revealing the content of the review itself - I can tell you that I really liked the finale, so, given that gray pierce seems to have hated it, I guess that it's a matter of personal taste (mind you: about the very ending).

[Guitaraholic]

@AndreaDraco83: Has your review been released yet?

[AndreaDraco83]

No, not yet. To be utterly sincere, I don't even know if the game has indeed been officially released today.

[nonax]

Originally Posted by gray pierce
... the whole thing takes a turn for the worst resulting in an absulutely ridiculous finale

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83
... I really liked the finale, so, given that gray pierce seems to have hated it, I guess that it's a matter of personal taste (mind you: about the very ending) ...

According to the official website there are 8 possible different endings, depending on choices made during the game. Maybe gray hit a less interesting alteration?

[equallyAvant]

I've played the French version and the game looked extremely linear so i find it hard to believe that it has different endings.

[Fien]

I've played the German version and there are indeed 8 different endings. I've seen all of them (thanks to someone else's saved games) and they are simply minor variations of what grey called the ridiculous finale. IMO they are not worth the trouble of playing the game allover again.

I can certainly understand why grey didn't like the final twist, but for me it was both an emotional and a satisfying experience. I've posted my opinion of Memento Mori before, so I'll try not to repeat myself.

The 8 different endings are triggered by some obscure choices. The player has so many options which are totally irrelevant to the finale that it's hard to determine the correct triggers (You will be told in the final cut scenes, though. That is, if you pay close attention). Some triggers are more than just a bit obscure

Spoiler:

why would I want to use the rock to keep the door open when there's a button which works perfectly?

.
Looking forward to Andrea's review!

[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by Fien

Some triggers are more than just a bit obscure

Spoiler:

why would I want to use the rock to keep the door open when there's a button which works perfectly?

.

Completely, whole-heartily agree

[millenia]

I'm not scared away by unconventional ending, opposite infact. I often find weird endings that other people complain about very satisfying. Linear and easy is all good for me , doesn't necessarily have to be those though.

If someone knows where I can find it (a hard copy or a download, either way) let me know.

edit. Just checked Amazon.com and they have it on 29th. Guess I'll wait a couple of days and look around then.

[3rdFloor]

DANG!! Too many adventures coming out all at once and I already have a ton of catching up to do because I didn't play any games for a year and now it's nuts! I finished Dracula 3 and Art of Murder but I'm awfully late on so many! There's Chronicles of Mystery, Art of Murder 2, Secret Files 2, Still Life 2, Return to Mysterious Island 2, Mata Hari, Memento Mori, and this fall there's gonna be a new Art of Murder and a new Chronicles of Mystery and of course there's Tales of Monkey Island going on and maybe even Gray Matter and Syberia III and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO HAVE THE TIME TO PLAY ALL THAT?!?!?!

Er... okay, sorry. I... I'm cool. Wow, I love adventure games.

[Mieze]

I also played the German version and I liked it. Graphics, mood, music - really enjoyable. Okay, there might have been some holes in the storyline, but all in all I thought it one of the best games I had played this year.

Originally Posted by Fien

Spoiler:

why would I want to use the rock to keep the door open when there's a button which works perfectly?

.
Looking forward to Andrea's review!

Even bigger Spoiler ahead:

Spoiler:

The button only worked from the inside. So if Max was cautious, he took into account that something might happen to him down there. And in that case it might be hard for anybody to find him, since the door was very hard to detect from the outside if you didn't know it was there.

.

Well, at least that was my take on it, might be mistaken of course.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Mieze

Well, at least that was my take on it, might be mistaken of course.

Yep, that's my take on it too. With hindsight. Did you consider all that before your Max went exploring the area? Would you have figured out by yourself that

Spoiler:

one of the triggers was securing the ladder in the library if Andre hadn't told you, later in the asylum?

I think the game really screwed up in this regard.

By the way...

Spoiler:

keeping the door open with a rock might also warn the thieves that something was wrong, that someone was nosing around. If Max feared for his life, it was stupid to go in there without telling anybody.

PS: Andrea, how is the English voice of Andre, any good? The German Andre is apparently a well-known musician (rockband Oomph!), but the reviews generally considered his voiceacting flat and uninspired.

[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by Mieze

Even bigger Spoiler ahead:

Spoiler:

The button only worked from the inside. So if Max was cautious, he took into account that something might happen to him down there. And in that case it might be hard for anybody to find him, since the door was very hard to detect from the outside if you didn't know it was there.

.

Spoiler:

But why didn't he left it open in the first place? The thief was under him and nobody else was in the museum. Why did he felt compelled to close the damn secret door every time?

Originally Posted by Fien

PS: Andrea, how is the English voice of Andre, any good? The German Andre is apparently a well-known musician (rockband Oomph!), but the reviews generally considered his voiceacting flat and uninspired.

Quite good. Sarcastic and well done.

[Mieze]

Originally Posted by Fien

Yep, that's my take on it too. With hindsight.

Absolutely!

I did not think of some of these things the first time I played the game - and got one of the not-so-good endings. Had to replay in order to see the "happy one". Which, I suppose, was what the developers wanted ...

It didn't really bother me and I still liked the game very much. But I can understand that it might have irked some players more than me.

[Fien]

Mieze, you played the "happy" ending. How did you like the extra cut scene

Spoiler:

with those two... eh... guys in the park prologue. I must admit it almost ruined the emotional satisfaction of the game for me. Are we really supposed to believe you-know-who is a "good" guy after all? He came across as totally indifferent and, of course, inhuman.

[gray pierce]

Dang ! It appears I have a specific taste ! Glad there are so many people who enjoyed this game. I'll try and explain what I so disliked about the ending (without spoilers !)

I very much would've liked a more rational explanation in the end. Perhaps with a glimps of the unknown, like for instance with the Awakened wich I thought had a superb ending. I just thought this was far to much in your face. Wich for me took of all the power of the emotional effect

Anyways that's just for me. As I said before, I'm glad not many experienced it that way.

PS : I looked it up in a walkthrough and turns out I got the second best ending.

[Fien]

Gray, I haven't played the Awakened, so I can't compare the endings. But if you want a rational explanation

Spoiler:

how about: it's all in Max' crazy mind, hallucinations caused by guilt and bad memories? The game does leave that backdoor wide open.

PS: I got the third-best ending. Which was pretty bad.

EDIT: Oops, that's not right! I got the fifth-best ending.

[Mieze]

Originally Posted by Fien

Mieze, you played the "happy" ending. How did you like the extra cut scene

I have to admit that I was unsure what to make of it.

Spoiler:

And I did not buy him being a "good guy" - but I did not think him a bad guy either. More an amoral than an evil being. I think you nailed it with "inhuman". I mean, you'd have to be that if you do the job he does.

[Puzzler]

Just downloaded the game and finished the first act.


- excellent 3d graphics
- nice soundtrack
- so far I'm really digging the story and atmosphere of the game

There weren't too many puzzles in the first act. Nothing really difficult, so I can't say much about it yet. The only thing I'm not liking so far is the english translation. The acting is pretty bad.