| 20 APR 2006 at 3:12am |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | Basically I've come to the following conclusions from reading the reviews:
1) Ragnar has not lost his talent for storytelling and crafting memorable, endearing characters.
2) The game has very good graphics, and great audio, including excellent voice acting.
3) The gameplay has been seriously dumbed down and the game nearly plays itself. The game is very light on traditional adventure game puzzles, and the action is sort of inoffensive and easy.
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| 20 APR 2006 at 3:15am |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | I just read the review at 1up.com which pans the game pretty badly. It basically says there isn't any gameplay. You just ferry your character from place to place and watch the plot unfold.
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| 20 APR 2006 at 4:01pm |
nytimesguyPrivate Detective
Posts : 684
Joined: 14 OCT 2002
Status : Online | My own review will come out in a week so I'm not going to make any observations about the game beyond saying that I a basically agree with IGN..
Charles - Game Theorist
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| 20 APR 2006 at 5:08pm |
Randy-JAJourneyman
Posts : 1351
Joined: 11 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | crapstorm
I do not in the least find your remark humorous that - Sure, they could get an easy A+ review if they sent Randy a copy, but is that really worth the cost of postage?
It is one thing to be opinionated, but quite another to attempt to impugn someone's reputation for no other reason other than to be a smart ass. If you feel the need to make personal attacks against me, then go somewhere else other than the JA Forum to do so. I've put up with a lot of crap over the years, but I will not have someone question my integrity when it comes to reviewing games for JA.
It is strongly suggested that you either remove or rewrite your remark.
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| 20 APR 2006 at 7:59pm |
CrapstormJourneyman
Posts : 829
Joined: 18 FEB 2004
Status : Online | Wow! That's quite a scolding. I'm touched that you take my comments so gravely, Randy, but with all due respect, I see no reason to alter my remarks. I truly believe that you publish extremely generous reviews of the big new releases. No need to get all bent out of shape about it.
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| 20 APR 2006 at 8:07pm |
AyaGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 7277
Joined: 16 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | first of all, randy does not put the grades you don't like there, the reviewers do... is he supposed to reject reviews with high grades just cause your highness disagrees? or is any site supposed to have a quota of As and Bs etc, and when that's met to forbid more reviews with such grades? your post was not voicing your opinion... you have made yourself clear in other posts in the past that only 5 games in the universe should get an A and the rest should be around the D area, so everyone knows how you feel... this particular post was written as a direct attack towards ja and randy... probably cause no one is following your "recommendations"? why don't you start and run your own site and do what you want there, huh?
You have gotten the attention of the mysterious lady. She turns to face you. Her face is devoid of any flesh. You are frozen with horror as she begins ripping your body into a bloody mess.
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| 20 APR 2006 at 8:42pm |
Randy-JAJourneyman
Posts : 1351
Joined: 11 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | As you've violated the terms of your YABB agreement
You agree, through your use of this YaBB forum, that you will not post any material which is false, defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually-oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise in violation of ANY law
I'm revoking your account, I've put up with enough jerks like you. Please feel free to complain about me as much as you wish at other sites forums.
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| 20 APR 2006 at 8:47pm |
KsandraSchattenjger
Posts : 2459
Joined: 2 APR 2003
Status : Online | Originally Posted By nytimesguy (20 APR 2006 4:00pm)
My own review will come out in a week so I'm not going to make any observations about the game beyond saying that I a basically agree with IGN..
Somehow I thought you might. It's seems clear that the reviewers who place most emphasis on story and dialogue think the game is wonderful, whereas those who are more concerned with gameplay think it's... not so wonderful. I guess you just have to go with the reviewers whose preferences match your own.
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| 20 APR 2006 at 9:01pm |
ShanyGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 19 JUN 2003
Status : Online | Something I was wondering about the game is, is the language the same as in TLJ? Is it better/worse? I only read the IGN review so far so I don't know if they mention it elsewhere.
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| 20 APR 2006 at 9:45pm |
BazzaLBPrivate Detective
Posts : 512
Joined: 27 AUG 2005
Location: AU
Status : Offline | I think Tomb Raider: Legends will be a better adventure game!
Puzzles make the adventure for me.
As for Randy's reviews, well, I remember when "Escape from monkey Island" first came out. I didn't bother finishing it because as far as I was concerned it was absolute CRAP! I was extremely dissapointed as I was a genuine Monkey Island FAN. Searching around on the 'net I happened upon the first reviewer who actually agreed with most of my sentiments whilst every other site was praising this rubbish to the hilt. This was Randy's review and its what brought me to JA in the first place (many years ago now). No A+ rubber stamp that I saw.
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| 20 APR 2006 at 11:49pm |
ElfstoneGuild Master
Posts : 5892
Joined: 4 NOV 2002
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Bazza (20 APR 2006 9:45pm)
I think Tomb Raider: Legends will be a better adventure game!
Will be? Isn't it out, already?
As for Randy's reviews, well, I remember when "Escape from monkey Island" first came out. I didn't bother finishing it because as far as I was concerned it was absolute CRAP! I was extremely dissapointed as I was a genuine Monkey Island FAN. Searching around on the 'net I happened upon the first reviewer who actually agreed with most of my sentiments whilst every other site was praising this rubbish to the hilt. This was Randy's review and its what brought me to JA in the first place (many years ago now). No A+ rubber stamp that I saw.
I beg to differ. EFMI was the worst Monkey Island game, but it was far from being crap. There were some nice puzzles, the humor was ok and the controls were not that bad in my opinion. I believe this game has been unfairly dissed, because expectations were too high. I didn't love it, but I liked it. And I had no problems with Monkey Kombat and can't understand all the fuss about it.
Shany:
The Gamespot review mentions the M rating, because there is yet again cussing in the game when it is appropriate, as Gamespot puts it. I don't know about lesbians, though.
[b]playing[/b]: Destination Treasure Island (done in two sittings, but it's nice), Syberia (ho-hum), Dracula: Last Sanctuary (on hold)&&[b]reading[/b]: even more study papers&&[b]listening to[/b]: [url=http://www.last.fm/user/Brax82/]this and that[/url], plus [url=http://www.musicovery.com/]Musicovery[/url]&&[b]TV favorites[/b]: (currently) Pushing Daisies, Chuck, Journeyman (cancelled! grrr...), Heroes&& all-time) 24, Stargate SG1, X-Files, Lost, House
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| 21 APR 2006 at 2:40am |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | I agree with Crapstorm that there is a bit of a "grade inflation" problem at JA. That said, singling out Randy in such an inflammatory manner was fairly uncool.
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| 21 APR 2006 at 2:57am |
MarkSAIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 76
Joined: 11 OCT 2003
Status : Online | Reviews are just another persons opinion. If we were to believe everything we read, no one would play any game.
Games like Devastation and Second Sight got poor reviews and didn't sell well. I played both and enjoyed them.
I think we should play the game for ourselves and then make a decision.
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| 21 APR 2006 at 3:07am |
jujigatameSchattenjger
Posts : 1976
Joined: 14 FEB 2003
Status : Online | I think we should play the game for ourselves and then make a decision.
The problem with that is that it requires us to play every single game that comes out. We need reviews to assist our purchasing decisions.
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| 21 APR 2006 at 3:08am |
kuddlesPrivate Detective
Posts : 702
Joined: 22 OCT 2004
Status : Online | Originally Posted By MarkSA (21 APR 2006 2:57am)
Reviews are just another persons opinion. If we were to believe everything we read, no one would play any game.
Games like Devastation and Second Sight got poor reviews and didn't sell well. I played both and enjoyed them.
I think we should play the game for ourselves and then make a decision.
True, but since it's a matter of taste, a review works best when it points out why the person writing has that kind of bias attached to it. To me, a good game review is one that gives it an A+ and convinces me that I won't enjoy it, or one that gives it a C and convinces me to give it a try, if you know what I mean.
[size=10][b]Games:[/b] Europa Universalis III&&[b]Music:[/b] [i]Awoo[/i] - Hidden Cameras&&[b]Series:[/b] Dexter (S1)&&[b]Movies:[/b] The Prestige (8/10) Little Miss Sunshine (5/10)&&[/size]
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| 21 APR 2006 at 3:43am |
BazzaLBPrivate Detective
Posts : 512
Joined: 27 AUG 2005
Location: AU
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Elfstone (20 APR 2006 11:49pm)
Originally Posted By Bazza (20 APR 2006 9:45pm)
I think Tomb Raider: Legends will be a better adventure game!
Will be? Isn't it out, already?
As for Randy's reviews, well, I remember when "Escape from monkey Island" first came out. I didn't bother finishing it because as far as I was concerned it was absolute CRAP! I was extremely dissapointed as I was a genuine Monkey Island FAN. Searching around on the 'net I happened upon the first reviewer who actually agreed with most of my sentiments whilst every other site was praising this rubbish to the hilt. This was Randy's review and its what brought me to JA in the first place (many years ago now). No A+ rubber stamp that I saw.
I beg to differ. EFMI was the worst Monkey Island game, but it was far from being crap. There were some nice puzzles, the humor was ok and the controls were not that bad in my opinion. I believe this game has been unfairly dissed, because expectations were too high. I didn't love it, but I liked it. And I had no problems with Monkey Kombat and can't understand all the fuss about it.
Shany:
The Gamespot review mentions the M rating, because there is yet again cussing in the game when it is appropriate, as Gamespot puts it. I don't know about lesbians, though.
TR isnt out for the PC in Australia!!!
EFMI was crap.. pure and simple!!!! but that wasnt the point of my statement.
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| 21 APR 2006 at 9:21am |
CulturaJourneyman
Posts : 1337
Joined: 1 SEP 2004
Location: NL, Amersfoort
Status : Offline | That is the right way to proceed Randy. No one should be so hateful in this forum, let's keep it joyful.
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| 22 APR 2006 at 3:41am |
KingRyanSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 281
Joined: 25 JAN 2004
Status : Online | Originally Posted By jujigatame (21 APR 2006 2:40am)
I agree with Crapstorm that there is a bit of a "grade inflation" problem at JA. That said, singling out Randy in such an inflammatory manner was fairly uncool.
In my opinion, this was due to the fact that some of us had different ideas of what qualified a game to be an A, a B, etc. Now that the JA+ Grading System has been enforced, I use that, but I used my own rubric before.
[size=14][b]Currently Playing:[/b]&&Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis[/size]
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| 22 APR 2006 at 6:02am |
nytimesguyPrivate Detective
Posts : 684
Joined: 14 OCT 2002
Status : Online | It's seems clear that the reviewers who place most emphasis on story and dialogue think the game is wonderful, whereas those who are more concerned with gameplay think it's... not so wonderful. I guess you just have to go with the reviewers whose preferences match your own.
Well, I think most of those who has reviewed it agrees the only reason to play the game is for the story. But not everyone who olikes the story loves the game; IGN's 7 rating is a like, not love thing. And the story is not as satisfying as TLJ's.
I think Tomb Raider: Legends will be a better adventure game!
I played Legends immediately before I played Dreamfall, it's the other game I'm reviwing in my next column. Some very good puzzles, though nothing as difficult as the puzzles in TR 4.
Something I was wondering about the game is, is the language the same as in TLJ? Is it better/worse? I only read the IGN review so far so I don't know if they mention it elsewhere.
If you mean, is there profanity, yes. Every word you heard in TLJ you'll hear in this one. Sadly though, there are no characters who string those words together as enthusiastically as Flipper Burns did.
Charles - Game Theorist
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| 22 APR 2006 at 11:11am |
ShanyGuild Master
Posts : 3313
Joined: 19 JUN 2003
Status : Online | nytimesguySomething I was wondering about the game is, is the language the same as in TLJ? Is it better/worse? I only read the IGN review so far so I don't know if they mention it elsewhere.
If you mean, is there profanity, yes. Every word you heard in TLJ you'll hear in this one. Sadly though, there are no characters who string those words together as enthusiastically as Flipper Burns did.
I was afraid of that. It's not that the language bothered me that much in the first game, it's that the developers think this type of language is a measure for maturity in their game.
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| 22 APR 2006 at 1:08pm |
Agustín CordesGuild Master
Posts : 5696
Joined: 23 OCT 2002
Location: AR, Buenos Aires
Status : Offline | Flipper Burns is perhaps the most overdone character I've met in a game. I loved TLJ, but the language was a big drawback for me. Using dirty words to enhance the atmosphere is one thing - glorifying them is a completely different matter.
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| 22 APR 2006 at 4:18pm |
nytimesguyPrivate Detective
Posts : 684
Joined: 14 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Agustin (22 APR 2006 1:08pm)
Flipper Burns is perhaps the most overdone character I've met in a game. I loved TLJ, but the language was a big drawback for me. Using dirty words to enhance the atmosphere is one thing - glorifying them is a completely different matter.
I don't think they glorified the words, they simply put them in the mouths of the sort of people who would use them. There are people who curse like a sailor, after all (sailors, for example). Anyway, they're just words. I get far more offfended by movies edited for TV that replace the original language with words like gosh and motherfudder, because it just sounds so ludicrous. But perhaps games should offer a bleeping option.
Charles - Game Theorist
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| 22 APR 2006 at 4:53pm |
Terry PenrodGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 6693
Joined: 16 OCT 2004
Location: US, Texas
Status : Offline | .
Originally Posted By nytimesguy (22 APR 2006 4:18pm)
Originally Posted By Agustin (22 APR 2006 1:08pm)
Flipper Burns is perhaps the most overdone character I've met in a game. I loved TLJ, but the language was a big drawback for me. Using dirty words to enhance the atmosphere is one thing - glorifying them is a completely different matter.
I don't think they glorified the words, they simply put them in the mouths of the sort of people who would use them. There are people who curse like a sailor, after all (sailors, for example). Anyway, they're just words. I get far more offfended by movies edited for TV that replace the original language with words like gosh and motherfudder, because it just sounds so ludicrous. But perhaps games should offer a bleeping option.
I agree 100% that the profanity in TLJ was completely believeable in terms of actually depicting how real people in those particular walks of life talk. Nightclubs, bars and inexpensive bordering houses catering to art school students and other young adults in urban areas are teeming with people who use the F-word as often as they blink.
If someone is actually unaware of this fact, then they have led a very sheltered life and if they are offended by it, then they are offended by real life itself.
IMO, The Longest Journey's story, setting and characters begged for the liberal use of profanity and guttural slang in many scenes, and the language felt both fitting and natural in every single case throughout the game. It was a very well written title intended for a more mature audience - not an educational tool for kindergarten-age children or for socially retarded adults who cover their own ears in horror at the mere utterance of a dirty word.
The fact is that mature adults the world over do use that kind of language in exactly those situtations exactly that way. Pretending they don't for the sake of political correctness or as an excuse to complain about literature, music, art, movies or games is just plain pathetic.
Cheers, Terry
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| 22 APR 2006 at 6:07pm |
eGoateeSpace Cadet
Posts : 157
Joined: 4 NOV 2002
Status : Online | The 3D aspect has piqued my interest, does anyone know if there is all-around mouselook while moving foward in the game? Or is it just horizontal panning while moving? There are a few adventures that have full mouselook up and down and in all directions while moving such as Sentinel which is the 2nd Mysterious Journey sequel. And it's also in Uru, in one of the Gabriel Knight series and one in the King's Quest series. I've looked at the reviews and see that Dreamfall is 3D as mentioned but didn't really notice if the movement is like in Sentinel or the others I listed.
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