Adventure games. Remember them? They were grand ol? affairs with cracking stories and challenging gameplay that required brain over twitchy trigger fingers. They transported us to fantastic worlds that sometime delighted with colour, intrigued with darkness. Yet, I speak now out of nostalgia that is more than tinged with melancholy, for adventure games are on critical life support, lying in a coma. Maybe, just maybe games like this can bring them back.
I didn?t think any game could rival The Sims for a place in my heart, but by God this game gives it a fair old shake.
It captured my imagination with some great storytelling, drew me in with well-drawn characters with depth and amazed me with fantastic art direction. Enough about me gushing about the game though, what?s it all about?
This is where it gets fuzzy, so just stick with me as we travel to Arcadia from the world of Stark.
Our chief protagonist here is Zoe Castillo, a young woman who has moved back home and has a case of ennui. She can?t decide what she wants to do, and she can?t be bothered.
Cue the international intrigue set off with the disappearance of her ex-boyfriend reporter, Reza. From there, things go from intriguing to downright fascinating as you learn about the characters, their motivations and alternate realities.
Oh great, it?s going to get all philosophical and shit isn?t it? Whenever ?alternate realities? is mentioned, it?s usually the death knell for any game as it delves into pretentious sci-fi territory, but this game is anything but usual.
Instead, a superb story is woven through both, as the connections that tie the both together is threatened by a sinister corporation seeking the next great leap in entertainment (irony very much intended methinks).
All the characters are intriguing in their own way, from Zoe and her need for purpose to her Arcadia alternate in April and her need to lead a normal life separate from existential crises.
When things happen to them, you care. You share their pain and triumph, their motivations even.
There?s always something to drive the story forward from both a plot perspective and a character perspective. It?s a rare feat to be able to do this in a video game, but Dreamfall is a very rare gem indeed.
As themes range from grand notions of reality, dreams, faith, science and magic weave their web through the adventure, you as the player always want to drive the story forward because there?s always something just in front of your nose, and set up some intriguing plotlines setting up things nicely for a sequel.
Enough about narrative and character excellence though, I don?t want to spoil the journey for you.
The voice acting is for the most part great. In some areas it feels flat, but when it counts, the cast shine through with nuanced emotion, comedic delivery and pitch-perfect tone making interaction between the characters quite enjoyable. This is all punctuated by some fantastic music which captures the essence of the game to perfection.
I discovered this game on the XBOX360 Live service as an XBOX original, and such the graphics don?t quite compare to the experience I?m used to, but some superb art direction makes up for it and then some.
From the bright colours of Casablanca to the medieval word of Macuria, punctuated by modern technology amaze and still occupy my dreams (irony intended again). It really is a world you want to explore and lose yourself in.
If there?s a shortcoming to this game, it?s the gameplay itself. Not to say that it?s necessarily bad, it?s average.
If you?re a serious gamer, you?ll find all the challenges and puzzles presented quite easy, be frustrated with some fetch quests and laugh at the ?stealth? gameplay which could be completed by a ham-fisted frogman with no hands. However, this isn?t necessarily a bad thing as at no point do you feel frustrated at the game, leaving you to focus on the many, many pluses of the game.
In short, this is the type of game that restores hope and faith in the power and potential of gaming. It?s refreshing when you play a game which takes you on such an incredible journey, and one that all that are serious about gaming should travel.
Buy it. Buy it now!
I didn?t think any game could rival The Sims for a place in my heart, but by God this game gives it a fair old shake.
It captured my imagination with some great storytelling, drew me in with well-drawn characters with depth and amazed me with fantastic art direction. Enough about me gushing about the game though, what?s it all about?
This is where it gets fuzzy, so just stick with me as we travel to Arcadia from the world of Stark.
Our chief protagonist here is Zoe Castillo, a young woman who has moved back home and has a case of ennui. She can?t decide what she wants to do, and she can?t be bothered.
Cue the international intrigue set off with the disappearance of her ex-boyfriend reporter, Reza. From there, things go from intriguing to downright fascinating as you learn about the characters, their motivations and alternate realities.
Oh great, it?s going to get all philosophical and shit isn?t it? Whenever ?alternate realities? is mentioned, it?s usually the death knell for any game as it delves into pretentious sci-fi territory, but this game is anything but usual.
Instead, a superb story is woven through both, as the connections that tie the both together is threatened by a sinister corporation seeking the next great leap in entertainment (irony very much intended methinks).
All the characters are intriguing in their own way, from Zoe and her need for purpose to her Arcadia alternate in April and her need to lead a normal life separate from existential crises.
When things happen to them, you care. You share their pain and triumph, their motivations even.
There?s always something to drive the story forward from both a plot perspective and a character perspective. It?s a rare feat to be able to do this in a video game, but Dreamfall is a very rare gem indeed.
As themes range from grand notions of reality, dreams, faith, science and magic weave their web through the adventure, you as the player always want to drive the story forward because there?s always something just in front of your nose, and set up some intriguing plotlines setting up things nicely for a sequel.
Enough about narrative and character excellence though, I don?t want to spoil the journey for you.
The voice acting is for the most part great. In some areas it feels flat, but when it counts, the cast shine through with nuanced emotion, comedic delivery and pitch-perfect tone making interaction between the characters quite enjoyable. This is all punctuated by some fantastic music which captures the essence of the game to perfection.
I discovered this game on the XBOX360 Live service as an XBOX original, and such the graphics don?t quite compare to the experience I?m used to, but some superb art direction makes up for it and then some.
From the bright colours of Casablanca to the medieval word of Macuria, punctuated by modern technology amaze and still occupy my dreams (irony intended again). It really is a world you want to explore and lose yourself in.
If there?s a shortcoming to this game, it?s the gameplay itself. Not to say that it?s necessarily bad, it?s average.
If you?re a serious gamer, you?ll find all the challenges and puzzles presented quite easy, be frustrated with some fetch quests and laugh at the ?stealth? gameplay which could be completed by a ham-fisted frogman with no hands. However, this isn?t necessarily a bad thing as at no point do you feel frustrated at the game, leaving you to focus on the many, many pluses of the game.
In short, this is the type of game that restores hope and faith in the power and potential of gaming. It?s refreshing when you play a game which takes you on such an incredible journey, and one that all that are serious about gaming should travel.
Buy it. Buy it now!
