Adventure Gamers - Forums

I forgot to mention I also had some slight troubles with the hook puzzles, luckily there weren’t many variations so the whole timing issue wasn’t that bad. Still those puzzles were definitely on the harder side. I also forgot to check my situation with the badges and achievements and such, might do that later.

I am a bit shocked that the bonus content indeed is not included in the regular game, it’s such an essential part.

I will be writing a bit later more about my thoughts of it. Like I said, I didn’t know it, and I wouldn’t really say that I guessed it either, but I felt something was off, more and more towards the end, so it didn’t come as such a surprise when it finally was revealed.

Finished the game. The ending came rather abrupt, imo, and the revelation of who the killer was kinda came out of left field.
In fact, the plot jumped all over the place near the end, imo. It felt like it was ultimately not as important as the various puzzles.

A lot of the quirks of the time-travel/vision aspect I’ll chalk down to just being game-logic, like Iznogood says. In fact, I mostly agree with his theories.

The hook puzzle gave me some trouble - timing things right isn’t exactly my forte, so it took me several attempts.

I did manage to ultimately get the “complete a HOG in less than one minute” achievement, though. And I got the achievement for not using any hints.

There’s a few achievements I didn’t get but should have gotten (as I completed the coin puzzle in one attempt, found 52 dreamcatchers (or did you need 53 hints to get 52 dreamcatchers in which case I did miss a single one?), and didn’t use Angelica’s special sense during any of the HOGs - I feel cheated ). And there’s one I didn’t get because I missed ONE MISERABLE police badge.

Best part of the game was the car junkyard, and hunting for 30 pieces of fabric. Basically, the previous section.

furgotten - 02 September 2014 10:59 AM

I regret not buying the CE, based on what people are saying.

I agree…

I’ll be hard-pressed for time these next couple of days, but I will definitely check out a Youtube playthrough of the CE chapter.

rtrooney - 02 September 2014 06:27 PM

Yes, but more correctly it’s a far south side suburb of Chicago. It and neighboring Berwyn were two locations where Al Capone set up headquarters.

And he did so because they were just outside of the Chicago police’s jurisdiction, so Angelica shouldn’t have jurisdiction there either.

I think if there is one thing that can generally be said about casual games it is that the endings are very often abrupt. Although to be fair, the endings in many AGs are equivalently abrupt, but well disguised. Consider the current AG CPT. The ending of Syberia was very abrupt. But is was disguised by a nice cut scene of Kate Walker running for the train.

Since you started with one active hint, yes you needed to end with 53. I didn’t come close if it’s any consolation. And I missed a few badges along the way as well.

The bonus chapter was a shocker. I hope this is a good link to the video I watched. For me, it certainly raised more questions than it answered. And I agree with Millenia that information that is so essential to the discussion of the game should not have been bonus material.

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed your time playing THE FIRST CASUAL GAME PLAYTHROUGH EVER! with everyone. And, more importantly, I know you were turned off on the casual concept when you played the games your wife bought for your as a (loving/thoughtful) gift.  Hopefully this shows that there are better options.

I replayed the game last night, including the bonus section, looking for clues regarding Angelica’s revealed state of being.  One thing I noticed is that she doesn’t interact with anyone living except through the computer’s email, and she never calls for backup.  A regular officer would have a partner.  Also, when the car seems to hit her, she is not hurt at all.  She also moves around in time both in Chicago and London. 

In the bonus section, her last name is on the killer’s list, but since there was another Weaver involved (her brother), it’s logical that she would protect him, so the bonus ending does make sense.

By the way, Samantha is from another Mumbo Jumbo game called Samantha Swift and the Fountains of Fate which I played about 4 years ago.  I seem to remember that she was an archeologist, but that’s all I remember about the game.

I took some screenshots from the bonus section, including the ending revelation, if anyone wants to see them.

I was thinking about another replay but even without it I remember tons of hints towards the reveal. The final nail in the coffin was just seconds before the actual moment, when you see Angela’s brother in the police car. That’s when all the pieces locked in together. I always felt that the police car didn’t seem like Angela’s, and at least at the point when Weaver was revealed to be one of the victim names I think I really started to suspect something.

Other hints:
Conversations with Samantha, the weird interaction with Mann, the way Angelica keeps mentioning a few times something like she’s “not going to die like this here”. How she indeed works completely alone wandering through the night.

So like I said, I didn’t really guess it, but I slowly felt it coming, like in Resonance. Mild spoiler about Resonance, but trying not to reveal exact names or events: I never paid a lot of attention to the suspicious markings and other hints in the beginning but when it came to the moment you are supposed to give up your gun, I so totally did not want to do it, I smelled something fishy kilometres away, so the following events didn’t really surprise me..

In both stories I liked the plot twists though, even if they weren’t such a huge shockers to me.

rtrooney - 03 September 2014 07:00 PM

I think if there is one thing that can generally be said about casual games it is that the endings are very often abrupt. Although to be fair, the endings in many AGs are equivalently abrupt, but well disguised. Consider the current AG CPT. The ending of Syberia was very abrupt. But is was disguised by a nice cut scene of Kate Walker running for the train.

Well I don’t know anything about the endings of other casuals, but I don’t think it is quite fair comparing it to the ending of Syberia. Syberia ends when it reaches its natural conclusion and there is nothing more left to tell, whereas the SE ending in this game never reached any natural or real conclusion, but the bonus chapter ending actually does reach this natural conclusion. So I would say that the ending felt abrupt because it wasn’t the real ending, and they had saved the real ending for the CE version.

The twist at the bonus chapter also changes everything!

Suddenly (almost) everything makes sense, and there is no longer any need for the “vision theory” to explain things because the [spoiler]Angelica is a Ghost[/spoiler] explains the same things equally well. The way the door is slammed open like by a poltergeist, reaching right into Mann’s body coat, the different location when returning form London, the trips back to 19 century London themselves and her interactions with the killed women. Only her conversation with Mann no longer makes any sense, unless he is already dead at this time and a ghost himself, we do find his body later, or is it earlier? I kind of lost track of the time-line.

What however doesn’t make any sense any more, at least at first glance, is the whole modern Chicago part of the game and the “game” that the killer is playing with Angelica. But if the police officer at the end is her brother, which I didn’t notice myself, then that suddenly also makes sense. The game the killer is playing is not with Angelica but instead with her brother Nick, and Angelica just happens to step in and solve it using her abilities as a ghost, giving her an advantage her brother didn’t have and something the killer didn’t anticipate.

I however didn’t like the several generations of killers and a hundred victims part of the bonus ending, that was simply over the top as I see it.

(Without the bonus ending, I however still fell the the vision theory would be the best explanation for what happened in the game)

I do have a couple of questions though.
1) Was Angelica killed by the killer?
And if so had she actually planned to also kill her brother, going for two victims with the same name doesn’t seem to fit the MO.
And was the gloved hand Angelica remembering her own death?
2) Does this also mean that I, as in the player in the context of the game, is also a ghost because of my name in the mirror?

Anyway I have really enjoyed this playthrough, and the game was actually much better than I had expected. I will never be a fan of HOGs but I quite liked the other puzzles, and I really liked the story told in this game. If other casuals are equally good then I might just buy a few more and give them a try.

I would also like to thank Tim for leading this playthrough, I know that it is not a small task and that it takes some work, especially when it is the first time you are leading a playthrough.

Becky - 04 September 2014 04:51 PM

Izno – you are very good at guessing before all is revealed.

Just a lucky guess

Becky - 04 September 2014 04:51 PM

The question about when Mann is killed – it’s late – that happens in the bonus chapter, as I recall.

But is it also late in the chronology of the story?

Becky - 04 September 2014 04:51 PM

Furgotten asked if the notes from the killer are ever specifically to Angelica. The answer is yes.

That does change things regarding everything that happened in modern time, as it can’t have been meant for her brother then. Perhaps it was all arranged before Angelica died? Or perhaps the Killer can see ghosts? I must confess I am now more confused than ever.

I do however think, that Angelica is fully aware she is dead. Otherwise why would she just leave the evidence in the car at the end, and why else would she be so casual about a car coming straight at her.

Iznogood - 04 September 2014 05:36 PM

Becky - 04 September 2014 04:51 PM

The question about when Mann is killed – it’s late – that happens in the bonus chapter, as I recall.

But is it also late in the chronology of the story?

Yeah, I am leaning towards him being dead already earlier in the story, his body is just not in the coffin.

About the note and whether the whole game was meant for Angelica, I don’t think it is revealed completely. It is left unclear how Angelica died (as is if the player is dead) and how much the killer understands Angelica’s existence. The killer already believes in some weird sumerian sacrifice ritual so she definitely is open minded enough to believe in Angelica’s spirit. But why would she keep taunting the spirit when she doesn’t really have anything to gain from it? Angelica also seems quite modern so it wouldn’t suit that she was the victim from the previous generation.

I think a lot of things - essential ones - are revealed in the bonus chapter, both from Angelica and the killer, but then a again a lot is not. And I’m actually okay with it, it doesn’t need to be spelled out entirely. And this is certainly something that adds to another playthrough. A great experience and definitely a casual game that can be recommended to people that aren’t casual fans. Thanks for organizing this.

I think the thing that troubles me most is physicality of events.

Someone has to move ladders and unscrew bulbs. Someone has to balance tables, chairs and barrels. Someone has to find a metal pipe, carry it down a flight of stairs and smash glass with it.

I don’t believe these physical acts can be performed by ghosts or via some type of telekinetic vision. But, other than an equally preposterous time-travel theory, I am at a loss for another alternative.

As far as the “Druitt + FT” signifying love, I highly doubt it. After all the current-day FT was at the riverfront to kill current-day Druitt. More than likely it was a sarcastic commentary on what happened or what is likely to happen. That is “I loved killing Druitt” or “I love the thought of killing Druitt.” I’m going to go with it being the modern-day murderer if only because the subway tunnels didn’t exist when the London murders were committed. (Not that the game purports to historical accuracy! Among major oversights is the fact that the El train does not run to Cicero.)

In the SE portion of the game, you, the player, are #19 and Angelica is #20. She comments that some others must die before her. So she doesn’t think she is dead. And I, the player, don’t remember dying. Only the Chicago Police think Angelica is dead, and not all of them apparently. Samantha was “surprised”. If I got an email from a dead person, I would have been more than “surprised”. It would have been a major WTF moment.

I’m with Iz regarding the ten generations of killers thing. That’s 300 years of the same family murdering twenty or so people with the same last name. It didn’t add to the story, and, on the surface, it seems preposterous that it could happen.

chrissie - 04 September 2014 06:48 PM

I’m still catching up!

No rush. The other Tim hasn’t unpinned the thread. And there’s still an active post-mortem discussion going on.

I’m surprised Karlok and Crabapple didn’t join us. They were both active in the nominating and voting.

Maybe her first name has something to do with her state of being.