I_Am_Turok

A very enjoyable point-and-click game, and recommended for any fan of that genre. In gameplay and style, it's like a quality Nancy Drew or Midnight Mysteries game. The makers knew what they wanted, and gave us a good UI (not perfect, has its flaws so -1, but still good), clean graphics, nice music and ambiance, nice environments, very well integrated puzzles, and a story that moves along at a great pace. At the end, you think, that was fun. Not perfect, and the story goes down a path I wasn't so fond of (-1). But the rest more than makes up for it, and the dual ending is good to have too (there's a useful auto-save). Add it to your collection.

Super Mario platforming meets arty environment. Unfortunately, all the positives that others spoke of, mood, emotion, exploration etc. I simply could not find nor feel. The levels are big, but it's still essentially quite linear. Some parts really are nice to look at, as it the music to listen to. But the large map size means lots of sameness. I started to groan once I had to jump moving platforms. And it's not an exploration of anything, you're just running to the end, and the end is, well, a relief but not much else. To be a good platformer, it needs a lot more detail throughout, and inventiveness. To be a good exploration game, it needs more story background also. But where it is now, it's basically running, jumping, lights, platforms and lots of corridors and edges. It just about holds the attention, just barely, plus the sometimes nice areas, a 4 for good effort but could have been more.

A solid 7 for an enjoyable game, with flaws. If you are good with side scrolling games, basic graphics, then I would say give this a look. Music is nice, some of the backgrounds are really nice, it's easy enough and a nice diversion. Unfortunately, the UI can be clunky at times, and the story, a mix between serious adult themes and supernatural, tries to straddle both and not entirely successfully. To keep the story moving along and within the environment given, the story takes shortcuts or leaves subplots dangling. The story has some nice elements to it to stay interesting. All in all, I would say anyone who takes their gaming more seriously and likes something different, add this to your collection.

A very enjoyable point-and-click game. In terms of style, it is very similar to Nancy Drew and the Midnight Mysteries series. Were it one of those two series, I would include it within their top games. The music is good, the story is silly but fun, clean graphics and interface, puzzles are quite easy and no blockers, but that makes things move along at a good pace. A few hours and you're done. I'd definitely recommend it if you like either of the two series mentioned, and for p-and-c fans in general, there's a lot of fun gaming to be had here too. It's not deep, does not try to be, just clean fun.

For LOTR fans, a 7/10 score for a solid, enjoyable game. Hacking at Orcs, single or with friends, will never lose its appeal. The story is nice, simple. Its also nice moving around the world. And the game being rather short is fine with me, as its fairly light anyways. For everyone else, its probably a 5/10 score. As stated, the story is light and none too involving. The graphics are clean but lack any real imagination, which is probably its biggest downfall. I barely remember the nondescript music. The levels are extremely linear, offering no discovery. It lacks any deep RPG elements, I auto-levelled-up without even needing to think about which traits are better. And there's no real replay value. Overall though, there's enough enjoyment to be had here from a bit of orc hack-and-slash for a few hours, diverting easy fun. Don't expect anything deep or involving.

While this is a solid point-and-click game, as of 2014 it is more advisable for fans of that genre only, not holding enough extras for newcomers. I would recommend this game with some of the positives such as: The graphics are basic "Secret Files" style (but I like that style and some parts are well done, but not all). The music in places can be nice (but too seldom). The story is overall a nice idea, and worth giving a go to see what happens. The mediocre score reflects the cons: Gameplay mechanics are frustrating (only being able to do something that is so obvious but needing to ask someone somewhere else about it first happens a lot. Makes the game quite plodding). More could have been done on the graphics and music. But most importantly, it simply not thought through enough, leaving many story lines hanging and unanswered, and not enough back story also. It leaves a slightly frustrated taste in the mouth. Overall, if you like this genre, give it a go. Keep a WT handy to avoid making the game longer than it should be. It is still quite a pleasant diversion, calm, easy, pleasant, simple even, it doesn't work overall, but it tries to get there. I still enjoyed it despite its flaws.

Unfortunately, it's one flaw - a lack of any real story - is a major one. On the Pros, it looks nice, simple even. Good ambience. And things do make you jump (as much because they just appear). But the link between chapters is so tenuous and light that there is no story or journey at all, merely a collection of images. It's nice to see games like this, but they need to be a journey (like Year Walk), a story (like Midnight Mysteries) or far more interactive (like The Path). This one alas gets 7/10 for nice effect but 2/10 for story, thus 5/10 overall. I recommend to point-and-click fans if you can get it for cheap, it's quite quick to complete, an hour or two. It passes the time nicely enough and enjoy (somewhat) a genre that we don't see too often.

A good solid 6 is achieved for being free, and one hopes the next Act explains a bit more. But as a standalone game, it doesn't so much fail in one place, it just doesn't excel in any place too. The HL2 engine still does coasts good (like Esther), but like that Mod, there's a lot of very linear walking. It may look like a big map, but you can only go one way, always. Strategically placed blocking fences, boxes and cars abound. There's no story at all in Act I, no idea why your character started there or why as a player you should continue. And internal textures are basic and dull - all I can say is, the HL2 world is full of water works and sewers. The sounds are good still, but gunfights are definitely falling behind the times. It's an enjoyable 2 hours if you like to return to the HL2 world from time to time, as hopefully the next Act(s) will be. But if HL2 holds no nostalgia for you, this mod probably won't improve your opinion of it being dated and needing a major update.

2014, 5 years on when this game was released, is it worth playing still? It's a mixed bag unfortunately, but if you enjoyed the first game (and if you intend to play this, you _should_ play the first part or the story won't make as much sense), then there's enough here to enjoy. It's bigger, deeper in story, and keeps many of the nicer touches of the first one like the music. Playing as a monkey is a nice touch too. But for a 2009 game, I was surprised to see they kept the same 360 degree panning (not good), the same inventory system (which being a bigger game, becomes a mighty click-fest when combining items), and one or two puzzles that were far more frustrating that fun, even after you solve them. Cut scenes are cartoon style fixed pictures, a style I did not enjoy at all being mixed in with computer graphics, For point-and-click fans only, play the first one, and then have a WT handy to play this one to finish the story. Overall I enjoyed it though, just not sufficiently so.

At 2014, 10 years on, is this game worth your time if you get it free or very cheap like $2? Well, yes in many ways, a nice way to spend 3-4 hours (it's short). Cons first, you need to get used to bad inventory management, and fixed mouse in centre of screen makes for a lot of blurring during screen **** areas. Such was the way then. On the plus side, the music is nice, the story is silly but fun, they made the most of the colours and visuals, and some of the puzzles are good. I preferred the third person view of games from then like Siberia. But that's minor. For fans of point-and-click who like to revisit these more basic games from time to time, I'd recommend it and my score reflects that approach.

A very enjoyable game, and recommended for those who like a more artistic approach in some games. If you liked the Path, you will like this game also. A nice mix of lore, music/effects, visual imagery and esoteric puzzles. It's not perfect, I found the left/right/forward/back movement quite restrictive, making it more difficult to feel you are the character (perhaps a result of it also being a tablet/phone game). This made it difficult to enjoy initially on a PC. But stick with it and enjoy the visual flairs that appear as you work(walk) to the end. Solid and interesting (do read the journal ingame also).

Even by interactive novels standards, this is simplistic in both story, graphics and what little interaction there is apart from moving the story along. There's things to like here, the music is nice, the graphics are nice, and there is a good germ of a story here. That's probably enough for fans of interactive novels to buy it. The downside is that there simply isn't enough change to keep those visiting this genre interesting. Characters do actions in the story, but remain rooted in the same position on screen. The story is not deep (been done many times before and better). The characters can be viewed as real or annoying, depending on your view of them (the latter for me). There's only one choice really, and there's no speaking (in English anyways), it's all reading text. Get it cheap, cost out how much you'd spend for 2 hours of your time, and space-bar click through the story. Not the worst way to spend 2 hours. There's supposedly a Chapter 2 due out some time, but a repeat of these basics would be tedious. 2 hours is doable, 4+ or more, not so sure I'd go there.

It's hard to recommend this daft eco story that includes time travel and terrible dialogue. Clearly the makers think people 500 years into the future are whiney or rude, more often both. There are some plusses, the music is nice, the graphics are clean, and fans of comics will like the feel to it. The reason to play is to get to the end of the story. I'd recommend playing whilst watching TV beside you, so you can work through the story but without paying too much attention to much of the dialogue and character interactions. For diehard point-and-click fans only.

I echo the Devivre review. A nice little ditty that will pass the time quite nicely for p-and-c fans. It's short, but has nice music, clean graphics and a silly but diverting storyline. Unfortunately the main character acts solo all the time, so there's no real humour or fun dialogue. But it's enjoyable and recommended to those who like this style of game.

It's really not a bad p-and-c game at all. Pros: nice clean graphics, story-driven starts slow but better ending, all round quality in game execution. Decent length. Cons: Puzzles are easy. Music is repetitive and backgroundy only. There is just no humour in the game at all, it is all so serious. And the subtitles have some bad mis-spellings (how did someone miss that). The major con is that it really doesn't pull you along enough to want to keep on playing. After an hour each time, you get quite bored, but come back to finish it (which at least is a better aspect). A solid p-and-c game and recommended to anyone who likes that genre. For everyone else, it might all be a bit slow and linear.

I would be happy to recommend this game, but with a couple of caveats. It is beautiful to look at, really nice use of the Unreal engine, the story line is nice (not perhaps operatic or deep, but nice with some emotional tug), and once you start, you will wish to see it end. Just keep in mind that the controls can be fiddly from time to time, and the puzzles are easy and obvious. I think what stops me from giving it the 8-10 mark is that we're introduced to some beautiful ideas and lands in at least three chapters, but we pass through them and they're gone, with no note or interest in telling us more about these lands. This game could have been a much much bigger one if they had to budget to expand on each land, and then progress to the next. Take a note out of The Walking Dead series, and maybe do it as chapters if there's a Brothers 2. For me, the end felt rushed to, I wanted to find out much more about the earlier levels to complete the world story. And the make-up language limited them in giving the sons (plus parents) any decent backstory, I'm not sure it was a great idea, but I compliment them in trying. All that aside, it is a very fine game, worth playing, short enough, and once you get the keyboard mapping good for your two hands, you'll have an enjoyable experience.

If you have played Scratches, and liked it, you'll be at home here as well. A point-and-click horror story, nice sound effects, I liked the lead voice (old voice, similar in both games), nice details in the environment, and there are one or two nice frights. But for a 2010 game, it falls short. Like Scratches, you click from scene to scene, no natural forward/back movement. I'm surprised a 2010 game would do this. Similarly, it's a screen **** game, easy to miss things and you spend a lot of time going over the same route. And the UI for some puzzles is bad, could be a Windows 7 thing, but I had mouse trouble from time to time. Unfortunately, the occult story just doesn't hold you always, and like me, you may well yourself using a walkthrough to speed up the process. We've moved into fluid environments like Amnesia, so this has a somewhat retro feel already. There are people who will enjoy it, but for me, it's a nice idea, but you feel like giving up more often than wanting to continue. It's only the will power to finish a game that kept me going. Worth a visit for those with more patience, time and like these slower games.

If you're a fan of Amnesia/Penumbra, there's some things to enjoy here. The ambience sound effects are good, and chapter 2 is the best of the 2 (and intro). It's a bit repetitive and fairly basic puzzle solving, but short enough that it won't bore you too much. Even one or two nice graphic touches. But be warned, it may well annoy/bore you because: a) there's no sense to the story really, it's a mess. b) it has tomb-raider-esque puzzles of get 4 pieces to get X running, mmm, why would someone's mind have a need to turn on the power??? c) the scares are few and expected. d) picking up notes a la Alan Wake was annoying in that game, and is again here. e) finally, apparently psycho's minds all look like the last level of Doom 3 in hell, tedious then and tedious here. There is a nugget **** idea here, working through a person's mind to solve a crime, but this game is so far away from that idea that it's more a jumble of different ideas from other games meshed into a non-sensical story. It gets a 4 because it is short and I probably will play the next chapters, hey, I've paid for it.

If you liked Braid or Limbo, you'll like this game also, and should get it for that reason alone, it is of the same high quality. It has the engine/art ambience novelty value that makes it fun to play, and quite addictive once you start. Puzzles are easy bar about 3, which jump vastly in difficulty. It is short enough, and may have no replay value also, so keep to the $10 or less price range. It gets an 8 because though the sound is great, the music is almost indiscernible. And whilst I like obtuse story lines, I'm not sure this one needed it. For me, it would have worked better as a more realistic escape+rescue storyline, with each room to rescue a survivor. But those minor quibbles aside, recommended still.

A solid 7 for this game, with issues that prevent a higher score. Why buy this game? It is really nice to look at, for a city sim you get a feel of permanence of the needs of the city, has no bugs (for me), and is a relaxing pleasant way to spend an hour or two designing bus/tram/metro lanes and stops. But, it's worth noting why you shouldn't spend over $20 on it nor give it a higher score. 1) Metro & road building is painful. 2) The game is not difficult, the UI and how they implement stuff has made it so. 3) It's slightly sim-city lite by allowing building of roads to expand a city, I would prefer them to focus on fixing building better metro lines instead. 4) Music is pretty bland. 5) The campaign mode lacks AI competitors to push you along more. 6) The various graphs and general information provided is useless, pointless or just never touched. 7) Stop telling me ticket prices are too high/low, I choose based on what I want. And in the same vein 8) have an ability to turn off notifications, or at least the sound that goes with each. In summary, the core of the game is good, beautiful and nice to play. Most strategy fans should be able to get 50-100 hours enjoyment out of it. It's just a shame that it's the outlier issues off poor UI and poorly implemented elements that bring frustration in at each play, limiting the sit down value for me to about an hour each time before I have to quit.

A lazy output to this series of games. If you get this for less than $10, enjoy point-and-click games, and "may as well" do the 3rd game in this series, there's enough there for 5-6 hours of gameplay, not always fun gameplay, but gets there in the end. For everyone else (or if you paid more), beware of the major deficiencies in this game: 1) Story is ludicrously bad, and not funny bad, just bad. 2) game engine is old and dated for 2012, which would be OK if they used it nicely with interesting environments, but they don't, almost never. 3) Characters are bland, need a sidekick for better dialogue for the whole game. 4) Music is OK, background forgettable, but OK. 5) Dialogue audio is hugely inconsistent, speaking is all over the place in tonality in the same sentences. I would like to see point-and-click games continue, when done well they are good. This game is not helping the genre, confirming why it is dying out as a breed. Disappointing.

As of 2013, there's nothing in this game to entice playing on a well-spec'd computer. But, if you are still using an older pre-2010 model, this RPG will provide for a nice diversion. Plusses: The graphics are rendered nicely and colourful, making it pleasing to look at. The gameplay is different (pausing to choose next attack), but once you get used to it, it works well. The story (not reads the book) is not bad either, strange, but not bad. The music is quite nice too, that I liked the most. Minuses: I managed to get to the very end levelling up to 32, was able to beat level 40 baddies but not the very end boss who's 40+. The grind needed to level up to lvl 40 would be severe, so I left it. In summary, if you're PC is struggling with modern games, give this a go, it's quite pleasant. But otherwise there's no retro thing happening here to entice play.

Although f2p, I also bought the Premium pack plus the Voyager's Limited Edition pack from Steam, thinking to get started faster in the game. They don't, or if they do, poor f2p-ers. But after days of playing, I'm only getting close to being able to use the new boat in the Voyager's Limited Edition, and no where close to using the cheques (Ducats). I love the openness of the game, sailing, nice music (will even not complain too much of the basic graphics). But being able to only do one quest at a time is painful (one school quest took me 90 minutes to complete, and just within the local region, not going from Europe to Asia or anything, with meagre returns too). Reading up on crafting and trading is advised, again levelling is slow. School (tutorials I guess) quests are worth doing, but the slight story quests in the game seem like an afterthought and brings nothing to it. Also, unless you pay, you cannot use global chat a serious deterrent to finding help for anything unless you join a company (which in itself is hit and miss). School chat is free, so there's always the option of not finishing the school quests, a bit silly. In the end, it gets the 7/10 because it's a nice, sit back and relax style of play, at your own pace, but I REALLY wish in early game you could take 3 quests at a time, not just one. I will continue to play one quest at 1-2 hours each week, the sailing is great fun, some towns have fun music. I reckon in about 3 years time my XP/fame should be enough to use the cheques I bought in the packs!

Similar to birdman3 review, this game has many fine points, the nice open environment between levels, the music and lore from the films, and the humor added to the video clips. But for every inspired level, there are 3 more than are basically platformer jump/hit/smash and repeat 3 times. I struggled in places to get to the end, not because of any difficulty, just it was repetitive and simple and a bit boring. Overall enjoyable, but I would have liked to have seen the open environment used more, it really does look good and they put some nice touches in there, and a wider array of quests. But the actual gameplay was linear and dull for lots of it. Recommended still to play, but it's entertainment value goes up and down too much.

This game is competent (I found no bugs), but approach with caution and do not expect too much. As stated elsewhere, it's short (< 5 hours), and if like me you rate games of 1$ per hour of game-play to be the top range, then buy for only $5. The graphics are of the Monkey Island/The Next Big Thing style, which is fine for comedy games but not for more adult themes that this tries to be. It needs to be a lot darker in visual tone and music. The story is a mix between Broken Sword and something from an Irvine Welsh novel, with even some curse words in there (probably best to know if buying for someone less than 10 year olds). The music is forgettable and does not add anything to the game. Overall, buy cheap, enjoy one or two solving screens, and (probably) like me, Google the other 3 alternate endings, as the last save-point is ridiculously far back in the game.

This game is a very competent game, and ends nicely too. Get it for cheap though. Unfortunately, some decisions made at the development time reduces it's fun value substantially, and may mean that it will not stand up as well as other point-and-click games over time (Syberia, Longest Journey etc.). The music brings nothing to it (to the extent that I found listening to Ambient channel from **** a good substitute). They put dev effort into NPC's walking in circles, a better choice would have been to stretch the graphics and bring in weather effects (smog/fog??), wind, moving windows etc. The walking NPC's bring nothing to the game. The puzzles are decent and easy enough (apart from one slight buggy ellipse one, google a solution), all in general work within the storyline too. Dev effort went into supplying both first and third person views, fail, because neither are done especially well. In fact, the third person view is often unusable. And without any toon or HUD on display, the first person view makes you feel like a box walking around. Finally, if all good and imaginative games are journeys, this alas isn't one until the last hour of play, where it picks up speed nicely to it's conclusion. There is no sense of urgency (even in the game, weeks go by between actions). That may have been so then, but for a game, it makes things lag quite a bit. For me, each session play lasted about 45 minutes until I got bored and left it for the next day. Worth getting for less than $9, enjoy it for it's ending, and use your own music. But I do not see myself picking up another SH game any time soon.

Enjoy this game for what it is, an interactive comic. Taking the series as a whole, zombie fans should definitely not miss this, and more general point-and-click fans will enjoy the storyline also. As a "game" it lacks in interactivity (walk here, click this, hit that mostly), very simple to non-existent puzzles, linear and very little roaming/discovery, and a story-line dialogue-choice system that doesn't make a huge difference to the overall course of the game. If you are a p-and-c fan of say Syberia, Broken Sword, Lost Horizon etc., and looking for good puzzles to work through, this game will disappoint. There's none of that here, with more focus on the story and dialogue. Gets a 6 for the 10 hour gameplay/story in general, plus 1 for being nice to look at and a better than usual ending (imho anyway). Just as well really, as this last episode is the slowest and weakest of them, and a reason why it is probably not strong enough for a replay for me. An enjoyable experience nonetheless.

The main gripe is fairly accurate, $5 for 10 minutes of entertainment is pushing it. But, if you are a fan of Dear Esther, Home, The Path, Fatale and similar, this one is up there in newness and difference. A narrative that has some lovely moments, but alas requiring little interaction by you except to push things along. Enjoy the 10 minutes and think, odd but amusing.

Home is an interesting diversion for 1 hour and a $2 price tag. Play it the same way you would watch a pilot TV show for one hour, hopefully it'll keep you interested to the end. It lacks a high score because: * The storyline really isn't that deep, requiring your imagination to make it so and fill the gaps. * I'm not a huge fan of these retro basic graphics that are going around. * If you take the recommendation of playing in the dark, reduce screen gamma, it is not so easy on the eye. * And finally, the storyline simply isn't strange enough to really ignite your imagination (e.g. as in The Path). It gets the 6/10 for the hour of entertainment it was, for $2, with nice sound effects, a nice concept that could be built upon, and you mildly wonder what it was all about. I like games that try new things. This one is in the right direction, but needs more strangeness, real interaction with consequences, scary moments, and a decent voiceover might be good. If you're looking for a game with a big story (e.g. Gemini Rue), you will be disappointed.

Many other reviews will have more detail on the maps (huge), lack of goals (none), mouse sensitivity (need a gamepad or game-mouse, standard mouse will be too sensitive), graphics (high settings for me, looks fine, the grey-blue hue planet is not great, I much prefer the green/desert one, but not bad either way, would prefer forests and lakes myself for a smaller map size). And it has to get a 6 simply because it is free to play, and is fun for an hour or 2 at a time. Although it is free, in actuality you will need to spend money to do well at it, or be prepared to grind for days and days to get upgrades. The question is, I've paid for items in other MMOs, so would I pay for anything here? No, not at this time. If a future version came out that had the following, I would, but for now, it's the lack of these the make the game passive only: 1) Goal setting on a map scale. For example, an omnipresent general says I need 10 teams of 10 players to take this goal now, hit X to join. Once you start, the opposite omnipresent general tells his side, I need all players in sector N to close up and defend this point. This goal quest is every 15 minutes or so per sector. If I want a war feel, that means including generals making and delivering orders. 2) A fixed price that gets me everything, even if I have to build up XP in a reasonable time to unlock it all. 3) Smaller but more beautiful scenery. 4) Better MMO guild and team management, perhaps outside of the battle. 5) Better backstory. Whilst logging in, show the overall faction stats, what can be done next to increase faction reputation, how many are doing it, and how to join. (for example, if we take sector X, we get a 5% bonus to blah). 6) lastly, Item upgrades for XP and for how many specific quests (points 1 & 5) you join. With all these, I think we'd have a great game that I would pay for, but for now, I'll enjoy my f2p hour a day.

The graphics (of basic Zelda Link to the Past) style are fine, though moving around is not great, not clear what you can walk through and what not. The music is nice, in a background music whilst reading a book type way, similar to the quieter piano pieces from the movie Spirited Away et al (nice touch on 50% of music sales to charity). The story is fine overall, but after hour 2 you begin to wonder when it will actually end. Some parts are tedious and an editor would probably have dropped them. And the lack of a back story of the 2 main scientist protagonists dialogue means we care little about them. Unfortunately the sum if its parts does not add up to anything extra for me. Each element is weak to a degree, and combined does nothing to suggest otherwise. In particular, with such poor basic graphics, we need to focus on the story (substance some may call it), but when the story weakens from halfway, the poor graphics begin to irritate and you wonder why they didn't choose a better engine (and looking at the credits, what they all worked on anyway!). Fortunately, I got for for something like $2 on sale, so at least it was a cheap four hours. It's a fine game to pick up and if you have really nothing else to do. I wouldn't go as far to say as I was annoyed to give this game 4 hours, that's harsh, but it's borderline.

My original review on LOTRO ended up as a 7 for those playing up to level 50 (top is 85). This was mainly because for every good region (Evendim, Eregion), there was a tedious one (Forochel, Trollshaws). Moria I was not a great fan of (ditto a 7, I just prefer rivers, mountains etc.), but overall enjoyed. And Isengard expansion is well laid out and interesting to play (an 8 for that region for its nice environment and story-lead quests). But RoR is worth all the time and effort in getting there (from 70+ level). The Pros: * Superb music, some of it is top quality indeed. * Huge land area, lovely to be in. * Horse combat (particularly group horse combat, great great fun). * Again, well laid out story-quests that move you nicely through the area. * The concept of warbands (roving bosses) provides short but fun combat in groups at any time. * End game content is interesting for me (I'm level 84, so just started playing endgame in Hytbold, rebuilding a town - I like the idea of 5 quests a day thing, nice to pick up for a short time, but others are less fond of this, as it can get a bit repetitive). In my previous review, another problem was getting fellowships together for specific quests. That's pretty much all gone now, with quest choices of solo and fellowship where required. You can get to the end pretty much as a solo player, without ever needing help (though if you do need help, the community is helpful and friendly). Solo play does seem to go against the concept of an MMO, but hey, you can play the whole thing solo or in groups, and I like it that way. Are there cons? For me probably just one gameplay one. In horse combat, one-on-one combat you will always come out best, even against higher levels, it's not difficult to do so. But that quibble is minor compared to all the other plusses. Is it worth playing LOTRO up to lvl 70 to start RoR? Yes, yes it is. I cannot wait for the next expansion if it continues on in the same quality.

Caveat, I have not played this online multiplayer since I disliked the single campaign so much, so I may well be missing the main reason for the high scores elsewhere. It fails as a single player campaign or skirmish game for me. Storyline, WWII, so nothing original there at all to keep the interest. So lazy. The tutorials are built into the campaign, which I really dislike. As the campaign progresses, you get more options. Seriously, why 5 levels down the road am I now only getting a new unit to use. Why not all options from the outset - if you were serious about keeping it realistic, then give me units that existed at that time? The maps may look 3D with mountains and all, but they are flat in gameplay terms, you can't go over anything, not even into towns. And your units increase in viewing size as you zoom out (until draught type icons for top zoom), so you feel like your moving monsters around, not real size units. Viewing close then far is smooth, but on far your units become draught pieces. Supreme Commander had the same type idea. The problem with that? Well, who are you suppose to be in the game, the unit on the ground fighting, or the commander in HQ looking at a map and moving around pieces of wood for tanks. I just don't like that at all, be one character or the other, and when you choose one, your control over what the other character can do is minimal. And finally, the Ruses, e.g. how is seeing the enemy units a ruse - isn't that what spotter planes do? I just could not get into this game at all, it made me think of Sudden Strike, how good that was and that was 2001. or Panzsers (2004 release) where you cared about the main single unit (usually the captain). Alas, RUSE just didn't have a storyline character to care about, and a look and feel that was smooth but lacking grit.

2012 and the game plays quite nicely. I have Windows 7, and so far no bugs like the many forums have reported. The missions are repetitive, the storyline, well hardly engrossing, but get it for cheap, play it for 30 minutes at a time, and it is quite nice. It's Xwing/Elite style fighting. Personally I prefer the better cleaner environment of X3, this is too colourful for my liking, but it's easy on the eye. And easy to play, mostly. Oddly you often need to take your hand off the joystick, press space plus action the mouse to do something, then return to the joystick. Bizarre UI, who thought that would be good. (For a 2006, I'm quite tolerant of it, but I see XBox had a 2010 version. I hope it is vastly improved and deeper for Xbox, if this game were to be released in 2010 I'd be far more harsh on it).

My third ND game, and by far the best of the so far, and top mark within this genre in general (others were Malloy Castle which was just OK and Haunted Carousel which was quite good but short and fairly easy). But this one easily beats both in terms of puzzles and having your mind being stretched. And for length of game play it is decent too, this will not be solved so quickly as the others. For a 2004 game, it stands up really well in 2012, which is impressive, kudos to the game makers. I'd highly recommend this to kids (9+), noting that they may need help with it, and to adults of all persuasions, a very good example of old-style point-and-click puzzle games when they were done well. I also liked that it tries to obey real time as well, very rare trait in games. The only (-1) was really the forgettable music, which the other games did better but this one falls flat. Ignoring that, a great and addictive game to the end.

Definitely one for Myst-heads, but for the rest of us, this "puzzle" genre of games has some nice points but equally some annoying ones. For the nice points, it is very Myst like, looks good for a 2004 game, and has a strong emphasis on puzzles. For the annoying points, you spend the first 2-3 hours of play trying to solve puzzles that simply cannot be because the order is wrong, and doing a lot of screen **** to make sure you find everything. I use "puzzle" in quotes as the definition of puzzles here is to find one obscure item, plug it into another that may or may not make sense, and then move along to start on the next obscure item. There is no real coherent reason why most puzzles are even there, which brings me to the last point, the story or lack of. It is such a light story that you never really feel part of anything at all. Again like Myst, I felt I glided through the game, separate to it, not acting as a character in the game. A fine game for for Myst heads, for the rest of us, well, there's a reason why this genre of puzzle/adventure games are niche (and probably extinct) at this stage.

A good 6 for being an interesting puzzler. Similar to Puzzle Dimension (PD), you move a ball or block around a maze, this time pushing it or some boundary attached to it. And it starts easy but gets tougher as levels increase. However, it's basic audio (that space-eerie music of Osmos comes to mind) doesn't hold the attention, and the abstract simple design looks good when new to the game, but after a while you yearn for something more visually interesting in colours and backgrounds. That would help spending time in the game. And the simple design could do with one or two improvements, for example, would it kill them to insert the word "Completed" when you've done a world to make it obvious when a world is completed. And the picking of Worlds, a la SpinDizzy (or again Osmos) style, is nice but takes up time, you simply want to enter a world quickly. After all, it is a game of 15-20 minutes bursts of play, so make it quick to get into each level, or the one after the most recently played. Overall, an interesting puzzler and fun to play, but struggles to hold the attention except in short bursts of play.

This review takes into account all three episodes, as it is essentially one story provided in episodic form. On the plus side, episode 3 begins to use the Unreal graphics engine more than the first two, making (finally) some nice environments to play in. Although you move around tomb raider style, the gameplay could as easily have been point-and-click, which perhaps would have worked better if more time was then spent on the graphics. The music is also nice, if forgettable, and there's some nice humour in it (often missing in these games). Though it's simply not a great game, it's nice/borderline good. A big problem is that each episode has one core puzzle which must be solved 3 or 4 times. In Episode 2 when Adam says "not another disc puzzle", you pretty much feel the same thing as the gamer. Ditto the maze puzzle in Episode 3, played 4 times. That gets tiresome (and it's lazy game design). Puzzles are often put in places because that place probably needs a puzzle, nothing more coherent than that you feel. Its also extremely linear even for this storyline genre, making you feel you are living in a corridor, and not a bigger environment. Each episode has about 2 hours gameplay, so 6 hours in total for all three at $15. OK, but not great when there is no replay value. Overall, a nice diversion for 6 hours that has some nice individuality in the two main characters, but not in the graphics or music. I will probably buy future episodes at $5 or less, and enjoy my two hours each time, but as things stand, they're not worth any more than that.

The Midnight Series is consistent in its high quality presentation, good music and audio, and good ambience. This game continues in that vein with some very nice settings. But, it is let down by a storyline that's light (even by the standards of this **** genre), and more importantly, way too easy puzzles. There is no challenge here at all. Also, these games (for me) have no replay value. Once completed, left behind. But, get it or $3-4, and it'll provide a nice diversion for about 4 hours of gameplay. If you have a younger kid (9-12) who likes the occult settings, it could be a nice game to give.

I've not played the other Myst games, but gave this a go out of curiousity for the series (it was cheap). And after 4 hours of play, decided I'm not that curious anymore, to the extent that I could not be bothered even to use a walkthrough to finish it. It is beautiful, though it's not exactly interactive beauty, as you seem to glide over everything, as opposed to feeling a part of it. Also, there's mysterious dialogue and then there's just plain annoying dialogue, and it was mostly the latter. For the puzzles I did do, they involved looking in some very specific places for clues, for no other reason seemingly than to look there. If you've not played Myst at all like me, I would buy this with caution. (At first I gave this a 4 for its beauty and feel mainly, but then thought afterwards, I didn't finish it, thought it was annoying what I did play, and it's 4 hours I'll never get back, so it gets a 1).

This game is a nice solid 6 for this point-and-click genre. When first started, has nice graphics, nice music, a nice main character, and gives a very pleasant feel to the game. It is unfortunate it is let down by having some odd and nonsensical dialogue to bring you along, the terrible ending (though that bothers me less if the journey to the ending is nice, which it is, but still, it is a very lazy ending), and that it is very short. If you get it for $5 or less it is worth it, and you will enjoy the experience for 4-5 hours, I know I did. You just also may wish afterwards that with such nice music and graphics, it could have been much more and much bigger. If you liked Syberia or Broken Sword, you will like the diversion this gives.

There's a lot to like about this point-and-click game. Excellent ambience, nice graphics, good audio (if laughable accents, but done with humour), good music (one piece is lovely and haunting). And it's puzzle after puzzle, which generally fits into the story nicely. And the story is good too, as you'd expect. So far all good, but unfortunately the old UI makes it more annoying than it should be for experiencing today (2012), somewhat showing it's age, which is a shame, since The Haunted Carousel is similar but manages things much better and scores well even a few years later. The biggest bug-bear is the inventory, and how to use it inside the game. It can be quite annoying and tedious, it is easier to write everything down on a notepad beside to keyboard. A dual-screen of inventory-puzzle would have been much better. Most puzzles are good, but from time to time, you look at one, know how to solve it, but also know it'll take a while getting it all from (again) the inventory, so I just looked for a walkthrough to get pass it. And finally, the viewpoint goes from 3rd person, to fixed screen, to pan screen, inconsistency is never good, make it one type and keep to it. Still an enjoyable game, worth playing even as an adult, and passes the time quite nicely. Played with someone who can write things down would make it an enjoyable experience.

On initial play, I gave this a 9/10 (having bought the Steam starter pack, which includes a horse and 3 quest packs). For $15 (on sale then), it was such great value for money. Loads of fun time played, hours and hours in fact, and made it to about level 40+ easy enough. At this stage, I've no problem with the need to buy new quest packs, nothing is entirely free, but it is also at this stage I begin to pull pack from the high rating. First, the pros, some areas are really great (Evendim especially, and I hear Lothlorien is but not been there yet), lovely music, lovely storyline, helpful community, and if you get into a good kin, that's very good. But cons do appear later on, some areas are not interesting at all but you need to play them to level up (-1), there gets a stage where it really turns into a grind (repetitive tasks) to level up so as to continue the story (-1), and Turbine could be more generous with swift-travel (instant A-to-B travel), without which you're less inclined to try new areas(-1). This is the only MMO I've played, so I cannot compare, but for me, so far worth the money, but will probably only ever be a casual game (10 hours a month play), and will probably buy quest packs to continue on in that casual sense. I'd recommend it for those also looking for the more casual, friendly, and storyline MMO's, not to be taken too seriously, but definitely fun. (as an aside, it would be interesting in seeing a single-player game that lives in the same world, can run through epic quests directly one after the other, can chat with others but no fellowships required, and is pure storyline based. I say this because at times I do really like spending time inside the world, but having to wait to get fellowship help from kins or friends can be annoying when playing at off/quiet server times).

If you do not like point-and-click games, avoid. And even if you do like them, but of the story and character style of Syberia, Broken Sword etc., again this may not be for you. It's a **** game for 50% and puzzles the other 50%, and "find X in this room" can get a bit tedious after the Nth time. However, that said, this game has a fun story, and is executed with panache in terms of visual style and supporting audio. I found myself curious to get to the end, and some levels like the train I particularly enjoyed. Of this genre, this is definitely up in the top category. So why the 7, mainly minuses for very easy puzzles all round, and some dodgy "combine this with that" inventory items also. But for 5 Midnight games for $15 from Steam at the time, making this one $3, I enjoyed my 3 dollars worth here, about 2-3 hours play. In a couple of months, will start another of the Mysteries, which I hope are of similar quality.

I agree with a lot of the AdamR review. It's interactive-computer-art (Esther, The Path, The Graveyard etc.). What a great idea to start with this one, but either rushed just to get something out, or ideas were deliberately held back and what we get is the 'lite' version (not sure which is true, or worst). Some parts are beautiful to look at and simply wallow in for a few minutes. For $7-$8 though, it needs to be a lot more, a lot bigger, and bring out more of the subject matter, hence the harsher rating. The Path does it better indeed. Developers deserve kudos for this stuff, but hopefully on a path to bigger and better output.

I wouldn't call it a computer game, it's interactive-computer-art (Esther, Fatale, The Path etc.). Looks very nice, and nice song, but way too short. You've basically bought a postcard that has some movement and sound, but not much more. If I paid $1 for it, I'd be quite happy to have this in my collection and give it a higher rating of 6 or so. But for $5 on steam, that's an expensive postcard that was only bought as part of a bundle. Hence the very poor rating mainly on cost, all for just 10-15 minutes of viewing.

In terms of the recent crop of interactive-computer-art (Esther, Fatale, The Graveyard), this certainly comes out best in better interactivity, better use of one's own imagination, less linearity (though still there), and interesting music. Think of it as going to see a modern art piece, liking it, and buying your own copy to interact with at home. It does fall slightly in terms of controls (what's with the running change of angle, or just walking through things), but overall, taken in small 10-15 minute doses, a different way to spend one's time and imagination. Quite good.

I really want to love this game. Having a decent 2012 PC, the graphics are so smooth and great, music great, open ended, huge universe, endless side-tasks, fun battles, and a trading system - so far, what's not to like - but **** that begin early on become more apparent after 80+ hours of play. With my 10+ freight and 15+ combat ships, I should be having all the fun in the world, but things are becoming a drag. Ships still crash into docks and get destroyed. Auto-trading is too slow that it takes hours to bring in cash. Manual trading is repetitive. With 15+ combat craft in a wing, you can win pretty much anything. And the UI feels like it was written by a Unix developer who hates UIs and likes lists of old. For example, look up who builds say a missile, and it'll give you a list of 30+ sectors alphabetised scrolled down - errr, how about simply pointing out on the universe map which are the closest sectors to me that sell the missiles, I'm not memorising every sector name!!???? At this stage, I am playing the main task/quest, if only to finish the game, which will probably take another 80+ hours of play! It's still very much worth the buy for $15 or less, either this or the generally cheaper X3 Albion Prelude which looks identical. You will enjoy the whole feel and really getting into the universe. I know I do and will probably pick it up for 2 hours of play a week for the next year. That's gotta make it good value for how much I spent on it. But for me, I'd struggle to give it more than a 6 because of how slow it is to get anything done. (to the developers, what if, for the next game, you start with a station, and resource collectors and your own sector, then build up stations and fleets, and either dominate trade by killing off competitors, or dominate the universe by conquering sectors - with those beautiful graphics and combat play, now that would be a fun game indeed).

If you can get both DS1 and DS2 as a bundle for $25 or so, then we are talking great value. The stories, whilst linear and tedious in middle sections, have enough fun elements to keep things moving along. Graphics are nice and clean, and nice overall ambiance. Paying more would however make any review more harsh, a) PC controls still crap, in the heat of battle especially, b) the single linear story offers no repeat value for me, c) there's not much difference between both games, it feels like one game, and d) in total over both games it gives you about 15-18 hours play, OK but not great. Still if you get a good value bundle, its good fun, has nice guns to shoot things, and at times, some very nice environments that you think, why can't they do more of this and less of corridors! A solid 8/10 for a $25 bundle for PC.

For me, although I got used to the controls (they are bad, I could not even change bindings), for me the more glaring problem is the tediousness in the middle section of the game as you go over the same route (or very very similar route) again and again after solving one plot objective, only to be told, oh no, now blah blah is broken so go back and fix that. It is redeemed by good graphics, nice feel, and I quite liked the end as well, so the story at the top level holds up well, just the detailed stories as objectives does not. Buy it for $10 or less, it's worth it for about 10 hours of play, similar to the first DOOM3 and RE games. Was enjoyable enough for me to want to play DS2 at any rate.