Darkfall: The Journal

Every year in late August, London hosts what is the equivalent of America’s annual E3 event – the ECTS.

Developers from around Europe demo their upcoming console and pc games for the European press, albeit without much of the unbridled hoopla and blaring noise that can make the E3 unbearable..

This year, Jonathan Boakes – the Stephen King of horror adventure and developer of the critically acclaimed Darkfall: The Journal attended the ECTS and was kind enough to offer Just Adventure his insider’s perspective of the adventure games at this year’s event.- Randy

(ALMOST) LIVE FROM THE 2003 ECTS

By Guest Columnist Jonathan Boakes

Braving the game geeks (“he can talk”, I hear you say)and game bosses I took my senses to Earls Court in London for chat, game spying and hopefully fun.
Well….
Not too many adventure games on show, well, not “pure adventure” anyway. Plenty of FPS’s, of which Unreal Tournament 2004 was a stand out. Adding land and air vehicles to the action is going to be great. There were vehicles in many of the old fanmade levels (UT) which worked wonders for the game engines longevity. So, it was great to see the makers taking advantage (UT03 was a bit rubbish).
So, on to the adventures…. well, there were two that I really got to have a play with (for hours, and hours! What security men?). One of them leaves me wanting more, and the other just needs more.
Uru is a very odd beast. It could have been beneficial for Cyan Worlds to drop the Myst theme, and pass it on. Uru does not feel like a Myst game. At all. The single player mission I experienced (from a dusty canyon with a guy and his mobile home, to a lovely landscape with rusting machinery) was fun, if a little tedious.
Walking large distances strains even the most patient of explorers, especially when you appear to be wearing GAP clothing with no Starbucks in sight (though you will be able to import your own clothing designs, from what I saw). The puzzles are of the Riven/Schizm variety, but actually loose impact when presented in realtime 3D. This could have something to do with me childishly expecting to see Riven quality animations against 2D. Who knows. I might have to sleep on that one.
On the plus side, the wildlife looked really cool! Ornithology is the new buzz word.
No multiplayer version was available to test, well, not that I saw. So no comment on ingame/online interactions. Sorry.
Right, onto number 2. Broken Sword 3..
…is a marvel!! BS fans have no worries whatsoever. This truly continues the series, in both gameplay and interaction. It is also the most successful game I have played to use new technology to actually enhance the existing positives.

Lovely lighting effects, smooth easy movements and a truly delightful reworking of the “active cursor” makes this my ‘must have’ adventure of the year. Both George and Nicole look gorgeous, and cute, with meticulous human movements and mannerisms. Also, the almost trademark dialogue and quips (that always made the Broken Sword games) are also present. What more can I say? This is going to really please.
My play experience was with a joypad, on the NVidia stand. I am useless with joypads, but had no problems. The movements are designed so well that it felt natural within minutes, to the point where I had George jumping fantastic leaps! Having said that, the game will be multi control anyway. So, again, no worries BS fans. You are in for a treat!
Playing both Uru and BS3 within hours of each other (knowing that I was getting a really sneak preview) exposed why one succeeds and the other doesn’t. Uru should be a stand alone game and drop the Myst/Riven link. It could be an excellent MMORPG(Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), but as a Myst game it can only disappoint. Broken Sword, however, shows that the makers, Revolution, know exactly what’s great about thier games, and brought them forth into a new arena, and taken us with them!

Also at ECTS, or not as the case may be, were Arxel Tribe. Maybe I should check my event program again, in case they weren’t due till tomorrow. Nonetheless, it would’ve been great to see ‘Hannibal‘(beta version). It is another FPS, but must have some adventure elements. No?
Lastly. Eidos. After a terrible time with Tombraider (“Run Lara!!!Damn you!!run!!!” …too late, she’s dead) I have been living in fear of what is to become of the “Thief” series and DeusEx II. You can’t go wrong with the Thief games can you? Well, I won’t know for a while, as Eidos were there in substance (a booth) , but not in spirit. It was a ‘no show’ for either games. In fact, Lara was strangely absent as well. Remember my ambition to be photographed with her? It just wasn’t going to happen. Perhaps the recent reviews hurt her feelings… …this happens when you plummet to your doom 40 times in one sitting, and drive your controller insane.
Lastly, if today’s event was brought to life by anyone, it was NVidea. I played BS3 and UT04 here. They easily had the best stand, even though Ubisoft did their best to “out show”, and provided a classy podium. Incidentally, I noticed a lot of Russian and Polish TV glued to that area for an awfully long time…. maybe Uru has found its niche.
Jonathan