Last
time I reviewed a Spanish piece of software, it turned out to
be one of the most satisfying adventures I had played in ages.
Just like in Runaway, you can tell right away from
the beginning that the people behind The Westerner are
genuine fans of classic adventures. It’s even more evident here
for a number of reasons you’ll learn in a few moments. The whole
adventure scene from Spain has, in general, a very old-school
feel, which, to hopelessly nostalgic people like me, is extremely
appealing. With Runaway, The Westerner and
a few other games, which I will hopefully review in the future,
Spain is, from my point of view, carrying the torch of adventures
right now.

Now,
let’s get on with business: perhaps you remember Fenimore Fillmore
from his previous adventure (or perhaps not as it was seemingly
unknown outside Europe), 3 Skulls Of The Toltecs (http://www.justadventure.com/reviews/3_Skulls/3_Skulls_Review.shtm).  Well,
that game left a bit to be desired, but now Fenimore is back
with a vengeance!

Just
Like In The Movies

Very
much like the most iconic western movie, you get to ride a horse,
rob a bank, exchange a few bullets with the villains in turn and
drink up to the point of cirrhosis at the local saloon bar. So
is the tough life of a cowboy!

It
soon becomes apparent that plot isn’t the focus of The
Westerner. The whole story can be told in a few lines:
Fenimore arrives in town, just in time to witness some intimidating
looking men harassing a farmer. Being the hero he intends to
be, he intercedes and somehow manages to scare them away. As
a gesture of gratitude, the farmer, Bannister, invites Fenimore
to have dinner with his family and puts him in the know of the
town happenings: the bad guy in turn, Starek, who literally runs
this place, is obsessed in getting rid of every single farmer,
either by incriminating them with made-up felonies or just shooting
them. Obviously, he’s also pulling the strings of the local sheriff.
As you’re probably assuming, Fenimore accepts to help the farmers
because if he didn’t, to put it bluntly, there wouldn’t be a
game.

Now,
I have no idea how they’re going to translate this, but there’s
this common plant in Spain, which is widely used in foods. Fenimore
has some kind of allergy of it and, by his own words; he could
die if he ate one! Well, according to my handy dictionary it’s
the “artichoke”. I’ve never
tasted one and with such a name I’m not intending to. There are
a couple of funny jokes with the artichokes during the introduction,
which, if I may say, was very nicely done. There’s a whole cinematic
feeling to The Westerner and every single cut scene
is fantastic.

Back
to the plot: Fenimore learns that he must solve three tasks (sound
familiar?) to help the farmers stand up to Starek: get one more
man to help defend the farms, weapons to have something to defend
themselves with and somehow stop more Starek’s henchmen from
arriving to town. Of course, the story isn’t complete without
a damsel in distress and, in this case, she’s (surprise!) Starek’s
nephew Rhiannon. Too bad Fenimore falls in love with her before
knowing this. Not only does she have a mean uncle, you can’t
imagine the dork she’s about to unwillingly marry! In one of
the game’s most enjoyable moments, Livy, Rhiannon’s servant,
helps Fenimore to sneak inside Starek’s mansion to meet her loved
one and express his feelings. No, I’m not going to tell you what
happens next, but this is a family game.

Like
with Monkey Island, which once more seems to be
most obvious source of inspiration here, the absence of a plot
is made up with way too funny situations and memorable characters.
If there is one area where The Westerner truly
shines, it is the characters. They are so charming and well animated
that you’ll think you’re watching a cartoon picture. This combined
with the colorful 3D world is, my friends, a real feast to the
eyes. The expressions of Fenimore have to be seen to be believed.
The rest of the facials aren’t on par with him but Rhiannon and
Livy deserve a mention of honor. Livy is probably the most likable
character after Fenimore, although conversations with her can
be reeeally winded-up. The dialogues are some of the best I’ve
heard in a while and each character has plenty of lines. Thankfully,
the voice acting is very good, if not great, in this Spanish
version. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping they’ll keep
this level of quality or improve it for the English version.
All in all, The Westerner brings a whole new meaning to
the term “guilty pleasure”.

Just
Like The Old Days

Just
to clarify, the interface isn’t an experiment like Gabriel
Knight 3, in which you controlled both the camera and character
with mixed results — it’s a classic interface done in 3D: point
a hotspot, toggle between “look” and “use” and click. In the case
of The Westerner, the “look” action actually works
as a “zoom” action that brings up a close-up of the object or person
in question. This also brings a couple of problems. One of them
is that sometimes something is on the way of the close-up, either
Fenimore himself or the door of a closet. The other problem is
an evident lack of feedback from the character. I’d love to hear
Fenimore comment about some things but, alas, all I get is a closer
view of them. An example of a weird situation this brings: in the
town you find a bull behind a jail, something quite strange I’d
say. I was really wondering about this and it would have been great
to have Fenimore accompanying me in my curiosity, perhaps with
a silly remark, as I didn’t know what to make out of it until later.

The
interface works great but, of course, it’s not perfect. For instance,
you have to click on the ground to make Fenimore move around. It
would have been more comfortable to just make him move toward the
direction you point since sometimes the ground or floor you wish
to walk are behind something, like a building, and you have to
wait for the camera to switch. Hardly an issue. You also have the
usual camera problems with angles, but those are akin to 3D games
in general. Anyway, this is a living testament that 3D and direct
control doesn’t necessarily have to be married together.

It
seems that Revistronic is not afraid at all to acknowledge their
influences as there are some classic Lucasarts jokes thrown around.
For instance, after the game ends, there is a big red message
urging you to insert CD 2 (which obviously doesn’t exist). For
the youngest adventurers, that was a very funny Easter egg from Monkey
Island. There’s even an insult fighting puzzle! This
kind of acknowledgment can be also appreciated in Pendulo’s,
the makers of Runaway, first adventure Igor
Objective: Wacky… Kiwi… Uikokahonia, which will be
soon reviewed at your favorite adventure site. Besides being
clearly inspired by classic adventures, Fenimore seems to vaguely
resemble Woody from Toy Story although I can’t really
tell whether this was intentional or not. There’s also a nod
to The Wild Wild West movie as you happen to find a robot
and an odd mechanical contraption in a fair.

Now,
I will do my best to transmit my feelings about one particular
thing. You have to move around a lot in The Westerner and
you do this using the quintessential element present in nearly
every non-linear adventure: the map. The map, by definition,
is an overview of the current gaming area. So, you generally
click on the location you wish to visit and then you travel to
it, perhaps witnessing a previous cut scene. The map in this
game works all the same. As a matter of fact, there’s nothing
special at all about it, but it has the exception that is the best
frigging’ map ever!! No, wait — allow me to rephrase that:
the best damn friggin’ map ever!! Mostly because it’s
in 3D and it has a cool “warped” effect when you scroll through
it that makes you drool all over your keyboard. And it has such
a lot of detail, I don’t know. I mean it’s… its like total
w00t!

The
music could have used a bit more of work but, at the least, it
never gets in the way and that’s enough. The only memorable tune,
and the one you will probably find yourself whistling while playing,
is the “default” walk-around tune. As a matter of fact,
I’m whistling it right now so it has to be the tune that most
clearly identifies the game. That or I need more sleep.

If
you despise 3D in your adventures, this is the game that will
make you embrace it like the most gorgeous thing ever. The
Westerner puts you in a charming and very lively world
without intrusive controls or scarifying any gameplay. Too good
to be true? Keep on reading.

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