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Retro review: secret files tunguska
Been awhile since i have done one of these, picked this game up for 1.99 on gog. Never played it before. Here are some of my initial thoughts after 2 hrs. The graphics and animation are not bad for a lower tier game. The story is interesting enough, but the voice acting is so bad. The main girl im guessing is supposed to be between 21 and 25, yet she sounds like a 13 yr old valley girl robot lol. The rest are no better in their roles. The puzzles are moon logic to the max, i just put a cell phone on a cat for a puzzle, I will leave it at that. But So far im interested enough to continue.
I once bought all the Secret Files games in a bundle, it was like 2 bucks from all of them. They are unbearably bad games, made in the dark ages of adventure games in the 00s.
I don’t know if they suffer from translation, they were developed by a German (no surprise there) company after all, but I always got the impression from them that they intended to be serious, but either the writing was too naive to work as a serious story or that the translator just messed it all up.
I once bought all the Secret Files games in a bundle, it was like 2 bucks from all of them. They are unbearably bad games, made in the dark ages of adventure games in the 00s.
I don’t know if they suffer from translation, they were developed by a German (no surprise there) company after all, but I always got the impression from them that they intended to be serious, but either the writing was too naive to work as a serious story or that the translator just messed it all up.
You nailed my thoughts exactly, which is sad because there is an interesting story at the core of the game but it’s so poorly translated and acted that some of it’s hard to make heads or tails of. I can’t tell if the dialogue was really written that bad or the localization is that putrid, plus the voice actors help none. they put pauses where there shouldn’t be and randomly start and stop sentences at weird times. Sometimes I feel like I’m listening to an incredibly long run-on sentence.
Now to the puzzles like I said there are some crazy Moon logical ones, including talking to a train conductor while he’s taking a crap. You can’t make this up.
I did however find two interesting logic puzzles, one with coins and one involving lights. I have put another 2 hours into the game so far.
Secret files is really not good, but it’s almost so bad that I’m enjoying myself, like I am watching the room. And like I said the CGI cutscenes are actually not that bad for the time. I got to see where this goes… God help us all.
I really like this game. I guess different strokes for different folks. I had no problem with the voices or really anything with the game. I have probably replayed it 5 times already. I think it is a really good game.
It’s NOT that bad Tomimt, yea, it’s 100% inventory adventure with 3-5 scenes at one time, but its good for newcomers or when needing a less intense game
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i found the 2nd installment to be the best one, its quite above average
I really like this game. I guess different strokes for different folks. I had no problem with the voices or really anything with the game. I have probably replayed it 5 times already. I think it is a really good game.
Did you play the game in English? Nothing about how the characters speak is natural and half the time there were really bad echoes from a poorly designed vocal booth. Listening to the main character try to flirt with a soldier was the funniest thing I’ve ever heard nothing about it worked in any way from a vocal delivery standpoint. It was second hand embarrassment on my part.
Also you found the puzzles logical? The game is not hard because there is only 3 to 5 scenes per location. So even though they make no sense it is easy to brute force your way through quickly. So far i have used tape on a cell phone and put it on a cat’s back to listen to a conversation, talked to a train conductor while he is on a toilet and Fished his key out the sewer filled with crap, and then in the next scene gave a scientists massive amounts of diarrhea. Like I did say though I did enjoy the coin puzzle in your father’s office and a light puzzle to open a safe on a train.
yes, I played this game in English. they voices were great! I really don’t know what your beef is, as it is a great game with logical puzzles. As I said, I have replayed this game like 5 - maybe more- times and it has been fun every time. Not in my top 10 games, but, a solid game.
I played only the first two games and thought they were pretty weak, but, like Advie, found the second to be an improvement over the first one. But I grew to appreciate them more with years. They were fairly long, storylines were badass enough for a B-game (B like in B-movies), there were many beautifully drawn and nicely detailed locations scattered over countries and continents, while puzzles were actually puzzles, not mere obstacles (their quality is another question). Today most adventures have much lower production values (and 2.5D games are practically extinct), they are short, horribly written even by Tunguska’s standards and don’t require any sort of brainwork. Don’t remember whether I was bothered by the voices or not tbh.
PC means personal computer
I played only the first two games and thought they were pretty weak, but, like Advie, found the second to be an improvement over the first one. But I grew to appreciate them more with years. They were fairly long, storylines were badass enough for a B-game (B like in B-movies), there were many beautifully drawn and nicely detailed locations scattered over countries and continents, while puzzles were actually puzzles, not mere obstacles (their quality is another question). Today most adventures have much lower production values (and 2.5D games are practically extinct), they are short, horribly written even by Tunguska’s standards and don’t require any sort of brainwork. Don’t remember whether I was bothered by the voices or not tbh.
I half agree with you, the backgrounds are indeed pretty nice and like I said even the character models don’t bother me at all, but I can’t get with you on most of the puzzles. there’s nothing logical about putting a cell phone on a cat. And past that it’s the tried-and-true method of pick up 30 objects in a room and then slowly use them until your inventory is basically empty, then rinse and repeat for every scene. I’m not saying the game design choices is inherently bad, but it does get a little tiresome and formulaic very quickly. Fill up inventory with 20 items then combine and get rid of them on “puzzles” rinse and repeat; with one or two real puzzles thrown in to break up the monotony and those are the puzzles I like. AKA The Coin puzzle, figuring out your dad’s password, and a light puzzle.
yes, I played this game in English. they voices were great! I really don’t know what your beef is, as it is a great game with logical puzzles. As I said, I have replayed this game like 5 - maybe more- times and it has been fun every time. Not in my top 10 games, but, a solid game.
You can’t be serious you really thought the voice acting was quote great. I have to ask then what is a game you think that has terrible voice acting? You also think taping a cell phone to a cats back is logical? I actually don’t have a beef, I just think your taste is crazy, or you are a developer on this game lol.
I’ve played this series. The first game was middle of the road for me, not special but not terrible. The 2nd followed suit, but did it better. I didn’t like the 3rd or the spinoff.
Something may have swayed my opinion is that I played Secret Files just after having played Journey to the Center of the Earth, which I found to be so bad it was funny. Tunguska was a definite step up from that game.
I Am the Knight of the Order of the Sun!
I’ve played this series. The first game was middle of the road for me, not special but not terrible. The 2nd followed suit, but did it better. I didn’t like the 3rd or the spinoff.
Something may have swayed my opinion is that I played Secret Files just after having played Journey to the Center of the Earth, which I found to be so bad it was funny. Tunguska was a definite step up from that game.
I will say it is a competent made game, no bugs or glitches so far and a story that could have been good in better hands. but from game play down to characters and voice acting it is meh to terrible to me. The visuals are pretty good and everything else is straight downhill to varying degrees.
I half agree with you, the backgrounds are indeed pretty nice and like I said even the character models don’t bother me at all, but I can’t get with you on most of the puzzles. there’s nothing logical about putting a cell phone on a cat. And past that it’s the tried-and-true method of pick up 30 objects in a room and then slowly use them until your inventory is basically empty, then rinse and repeat for every scene. I’m not saying the game design choices is inherently bad, but it does get a little tiresome and formulaic very quickly. Fill up inventory with 20 items then combine and get rid of them on “puzzles” rinse and repeat; with one or two real puzzles thrown in to break up the monotony and those are the puzzles I like. AKA The Coin puzzle, figuring out your dad’s password, and a light puzzle.
Puzzles were my main criticism as well. I can hardly remember any of them today and might actually replay the game to check out this cat-phone puzzle and the rest. One puzzle I DO remember required you to organize a nearly lethal crash in order to get ahold of some small and ordinary item (I tried to avoid spoilers), so yeah, the design was pretty crazy. But then the game never took itself too seriously, and I actually managed to finish it and its sequel unlike Black Mirror, for example, where I gave up at one point.
PC means personal computer
I half agree with you, the backgrounds are indeed pretty nice and like I said even the character models don’t bother me at all, but I can’t get with you on most of the puzzles. there’s nothing logical about putting a cell phone on a cat. And past that it’s the tried-and-true method of pick up 30 objects in a room and then slowly use them until your inventory is basically empty, then rinse and repeat for every scene. I’m not saying the game design choices is inherently bad, but it does get a little tiresome and formulaic very quickly. Fill up inventory with 20 items then combine and get rid of them on “puzzles” rinse and repeat; with one or two real puzzles thrown in to break up the monotony and those are the puzzles I like. AKA The Coin puzzle, figuring out your dad’s password, and a light puzzle.
Puzzles were my main criticism as well. I can hardly remember any of them today and might actually replay the game to check out this cat-phone puzzle and the rest. One puzzle I DO remember required you to organize a nearly lethal crash in order to get ahold of some small and ordinary item (I tried to avoid spoilers), so yeah, the design was pretty crazy. But then the game never took itself too seriously, and I actually managed to finish it and its sequel unlike Black Mirror, for example, where I gave up at one point.
Was it Black Mirror or still life where you had to solve a murder case and also bake a cake for your father bc I stopped playing when I had to bake a cake for my dad.
Baking cake or assembling a bomb follows the same logic and pattern when it comes to adventure gaming
Baking cake or assembling a bomb follows the same logic and pattern when it comes to adventure gaming
To Go from hunting a serial killer puzzle to baking a cake puzzle the next scene is dumb and not dumb in a fun way, just dumb.
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