Sunday 16 March 2014

Game 41: Les Manley 1 - Final Rating

I'm super keen to move onto something enjoyable, so let's get on with it and see just how poorly Les Manley rates.

Puzzles and Solvability
Well this isn’t going to be pretty! The puzzles in Les Manley are by far and away the most ridiculous that I’ve ever had to endure. It was difficult enough when I rarely had any motivation to try anything at all (To what purpose am I helping everyone at the circus? Why am I collecting items of clothing in the style of Elvis?), but the solutions to each puzzle were often bordering on impossible. Why would anyone try looking at someone’s dream, let alone try picking it up? Why would anyone randomly try touching Madame Zarmooska, let alone the lizard statue on her desk? Why would anyone try to pick the floss back up after using it, particularly when there was no reason they shouldn’t still have it in their inventory in the first place? Then there were the culturally specific solutions, such as asking for a raise at the very start, and having to type “ask for soda” (I happened to get away with “cola”) at Bobbi’s. I did much better in the second half of the game, but I’m not really certain whether that was due to the solutions becoming more logical or me becoming more illogical. I really do think I'm a bit stupider after playing this pile of excrement! I haven’t even mentioned the dead ends yet, which are absolutely everywhere. I may have only been caught out by a few, but I could see the potential for stacks more. Even with all the flaws I’ve mentioned here, it’s actually difficult to put a rating down for this category. I think I have to put it above the likes of Psycho, Captain Blood and Emmanuelle, for those games had either no real puzzles to solve at all, or were simply broken. I don't like it, but 2 it is.
Rating: 2


I really hope this is the last time I type this...ever!

Interface and Inventory
Let’s start this category with a little bit of positivity. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the movement in the game! Watching Les move around doesn’t look pretty, but the visuals are to be covered elsewhere, so...well, there you have it. Something positive! No-one can say I didn’t say anything nice! However, I certainly can’t say anything remotely positive about the parser technology spluttering beneath the game. It’s simply unacceptable for an adventure game, and particularly one that relies upon it as much as this one did, to have such a horrible parser. Not only did it fail to accept legitimate commands regularly, therefore putting me off what often turned out to be absolutely correct solutions, I also managed to break it several times. I received complete gibberish responses on several occasions, and at other times was given what was clearly a response meant for a completely different question. The most noteworthy of these was the response “I don’t see the resurrection card here”, which I received after trying to look at the water fountain in the office, but that certainly wasn’t the only example. As for the inventory, well it was a replica of the one I disliked so much in Police Quest 2, meaning it was nothing more than a list with no way to interact with anything in it. As the game went on the inventory grew in length and became really difficult to look at. For a 1990 game, the interface technology on show in Les Manley just wasn’t good enough.
Rating: 2


A jar and a lunch bag walk into a bar...

Story and Setting
If you were going to make a clone of a Leisure Suit Larry game, you could do a lot worse than making a loser protagonist go in search of Elvis Presley with a million dollar prize up for grabs. Setting the game in a circus in New York, then a casino in Las Vegas, and then finally a theme-town dedicated to The King in Texas would also be a pretty inspired idea. Throw in a bunch of busty, suggestive babes and some juvenile silliness and you’ve got a winner! Right?! Well the truth is that the vast majority of reasons why the outcome of the above plan turned out to be shite have been and will be covered elsewhere in this post. If I really think about what went on here, and I'm trying not to put too much thought into it, it was the puzzle solutions and the parser that should take most of the blame. The story and setting are by no means great, but in some ways they could be considered a missed opportunity rather than a failure themselves. That being said, a lot of the humour in the game falls completely flat, and some parts of the plot make absolutely no sense. The climax in particular didn't stick since it could have been achieved as soon as Les got his hands on the resurrection card, which occurs pretty early on (well it does if the player uses a walkthrough or is extremely lucky). Everything that took place after that time had no bearing on the outcome of events. I guess the lack of motivation should also be punished here, so I still have to go pretty low.
Rating: 3


I'm glad I wasn't alone in feeling a bit perplexed by the ending.

Sound and Graphics
The sound and graphics in Les Manley are pretty comparable to a Sierra game in around late 1988 to early 1989. There’s not much in the way of sound effects, but plenty of music. Some of that music is reasonably memorable, but that probably has more to do with how repetitive it is rather than how enjoyable. I was actually forced to turn it off while in the circus, as the repeating tune was destroying my brain cells. On the graphics front things are a cross between the first sequels to Police Quest and Leisure Suit Larry, with some really bland screens of light blue and grey (think the office hallways and Bobbi's house) dividing others containing a wide range of more attractive bright colours (the mansion for example). I guess when I consider that only Mean Streets and Accolade have scored more than 4 in this category out of non-Sierra/LucasArts games, this is really not a bad one. The girls (which let’s face it, are a pretty important part of the game’s attraction for its target audience) are easy on the eyes, the animation isn’t too bad (a bit stilted though), and I can’t recall not being able to figure out what an important item on screen was by sight (the parser had other ideas though). This category is probably the best thing about the game, so I'll dish out a 4.
Rating: 4


The Elvis moves were pretty spot on too.

Environment and Atmosphere
The environment in Les Manley is a bit of a mixed bag. In some ways it feels really incomplete, with each of the three main sections (New York, Las Vegas, Kingdom Gates) suggesting a large play area while delivering very little. The last of the three sections is the worst offender, showing a top-down view of an entire town while allowing the player to visit only two buildings, and Las Vegas contains a pool, two hotel rooms and a dry cleaner, with no sign of any gambling areas at all. The circus and the Kingdom mansion are probably the most fully realized parts of the game, but even they feel limited in their implementation. I really have to question why I wasn’t allowed to open the door leading from the dining room in to the kitchen, and the game’s only defence was that there was a “more interesting” way to get in. It’s hard to get a grip on the atmosphere too, as there seemed to be a bit of an anything goes attitude when designing it. Clearly things are not supposed to be taken seriously, but puzzles that involve putting a man the size of a mouse into a drainpipe to collect a receipt, a disappearing psychic, and being launched the entire way across the United States take things to a new level of silliness. This is probably a case where the frustration the game brings to the table pretty much takes away any opportunity for a positive atmosphere to be created.
Rating: 4


It's like they ran out of time / money and therefore had to cut out the major parts of their plan (then made the remaining puzzles way too difficult to make it seem longer).

Dialogue and Acting
The dialogue in Les Manley can only be described as a poor imitation of the work of Al Lowe. There are lots and lots of jokes throughout, but they’re rarely funny due to being overly telegraphed or just eye-rollingly corny. There are other issues too, such as racial and sexual stereotypes (Sierra isn’t innocent on this front though) and some seriously misleading parser responses. I know I’ve already caned the parser in the interface category, but that was specifically focussing on its inability to function correctly. What I’m talking about here is actual responses to questions giving me reasons to focus on things that don’t mean anything. For example, Alona made a couple of comments suggesting she wanted me to bring Helmut to her, and then had nothing to say whatsoever when I did so. Worse than that were the occasions where I was specifically told something wasn’t possible, only to eventually find out that was exactly what I was supposed to do. Madame Zarmooska told me very specifically: “You can’t take the wax”, but guess what I ended up doing! Add to all this the various grammatical and spelling issues that popped up throughout and its difficult to understand how so many game designers with previous adventure game experience could possibly have produced this.
Rating: 3


Whoever was behind this stuff was just trying too hard. It was a chore to read and rarely raised a smile.

Alright, so that's 2 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 3, which equals 18, divided by 60 equals 0.3, which is exactly 30 when multiplied by 100. 30!!!! That really is low! It's the same score I gave Uninvited and only a few marks higher than Captain Blood and Mortville Manor. Have I been too harsh? Maybe, but I really hated this game. There's no way I'm using my discretionary point to increase it, so 30 it is!


Did anyone predict that? Yep, Laukku absolutely nailed it! I don't feel so bad about the score now either, since many of you went even lower. I'm really happy to be done with it, but I'm also excited at the prospect of reading through all of your comments. I'll have to set aside about an hour of my time tomorrow to get through it all. Then it's onto the first remake on the list, Roberta Williams' King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown.

170 CAPs for Aperama
Zarmooska Award – 60 CAPs - For betting I wouldn’t solve the resurrection card puzzle unassisted.
Giant Keys Award – 20 CAPs – For answering my request for assistance regarding the keys
Tangible Dream Award – 20 CAPs – For answering my request for assistance regarding the dream
Luigi Vanity Award – 20 CAPs – For answering my request for assistance regarding Luigi’s moustache.
Hitchhiking Award – 20 CAPs – For answering my request for assistance regarding hitchhiking
Probation Explanation Award – 10 CAPs – For informing me about the in-game performance review hint
Trade – 10 CAPs – Traded from Canageek for Crapshoot intro
Community Assistance Award – 10 CAPs – For uniting the companions in one final push for victory

85 CAPs for Laukku
Dream Catcher Award – 60 CAPs – For betting I wouldn’t solve the dream puzzle unassisted.
Touche Award – 30 CAPs – For solving my Touche riddle
Psychic Prediction Award – 10 CAPs - For correctly predicting what score I would give the game.
Community Assistance Award – 10 CAPs – For uniting the companions in one final push for victory
Lovecraftian Spiral Into Madness Award – 5 CAPs – For visualising my descent into madness.
Tricky Smackdown Fail - -10 CAPs – For betting I wouldn’t solve the soda puzzle and losing.
Tricky Smackdown Fail - -10CAPs – For betting I wouldn’t solve the Do Not Disturb puzzle and losing.
Tricky Smackdown Fail - -10 CAPs – For betting I wouldn’t solve the spa bath puzzle and losing

60 CAPs for Lars-Erik
Game Over Award - -1000 CAPs – For messing with me and getting caught!
Sponsor Award - 20 CAPs - For sponsoring the blog with free games
Steakhouse Analogy Award – 10 CAPs – It really was awesomely done.
Community Assistance Award – 10 CAPs – For uniting the companions in one final push for victory
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on GOG
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on GOG
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game on GOG
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game on GOG
Resurrection Award – 1000 CAPs – For having the resurrection card at the time of getting caught.

20 CAPs for Kenny McCormick
Game Over Award - -1000 CAPs – For messing with me and getting caught!
Kickstarter Award – 10 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game project on Kickstarter
Spinning Luchadore Power Bomb Award – 5 CAPs – I don’t know what it is, but it sounds painful!
Honesty Award – 5 CAPs – “Me? I just enjoy watching him suffer...”
Resurrection Award – 1000 CAPs – For having the resurrection card at the time of getting caught.

10 CAPs for Draconius
Ultimate Optimism Award – 5 CAPs – For predicting the game would score 96!
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on GOG

10 CAPs for Ilmari
Game Over Award - -1000 CAPs – For messing with me and getting caught!
Touchy Feely Award – 20 CAPs – For answering my request for assistance regarding Zarmooska
Community Assistance Award – 10 CAPs – For uniting the companions in one final push for victory
Tricky Smackdown Fail - -10 CAPs – For betting I wouldn’t solve the Helmut mailing puzzle and losing.
Tricky Smackdown Fail - -10 CAPs – For betting I wouldn’t solve the sandwich puzzle and losing.
Resurrection Award – 1000 CAPs – For having the resurrection card at the time of getting caught.

10 CAPs for TBD
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game on GOG
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game on GOG

20 CAPs for Charles
Game Over Award - -1000 CAPs – For messing with me and getting caught!
Kickstarter Award – 10 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game project on Kickstarter
Loyalty Award – 10 CAPs – I know he milking it for all it’s worth, but well, he’s just so good at it!
Resurrection Award – 1000 CAPs – For having the resurrection card at the time of getting caught.

10 CAPs for xyzzysqrl
Sleazy Phone Sex Award – 10 CAPs – For informing me of what the 976 thing was all about

5 CAPs for Canageek
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on Steam
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on Steam
Genre Support Award – 5 CAPs – For announcing a new adventure game sale on Steam
Trade - -10 CAPs – Traded to Aperama for Crapshoot intro

68 comments:

  1. Yay, I finally predicted a rating! :-D I don't have any use for the King's Quest collection though, because I already have the 2006 CD release (which is pretty much the exact same).

    > I'm also excited at the prospect of reading through all of your comments

    I wonder whether we will earn or lose CAPs for our conspiracy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What conspiracy? Don't be so paranoid. There's absolutely nothing going on. Especially those encoded stuff. Yvrf. Nyy tbqqnza yvrf.

      Delete
    2. I keep hoping that Trickster will go on a commenting spree after the game, and give us a directors cut commentary on what he was thinking as we commented.

      Delete
    3. I could sum up what he was thinking about us for our comments in 2 words: "You assholes..."

      Delete
  2. Trickster: While you are at it, could you put up a blog post clearly outlining your policy on Dead Man Walking type situations?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think we also need to discuss :alternate endings", too. As games get more conscientious of dead ending in the coming years, we'll see more and now games which give an easier to reach yet incomplete ending (the only one I can think of so far would be The Colonel's Bequest if you rushed through to get the Derringer then the end). I'm bringing this up as I've just played through King's Quest 6, where you can rush through for one ending, and still have an intermediate "happy but not entirely so' ending if you miss out on something mid way through. I'm imagining this will happen more and more - and with games getting both longer and larger, the question is whether you want us to intervene before you strip yourself not of an ending, but the best one?

      Delete
    2. Yeah, you better answer that one before people start getting shived in the ROT13 lounge. I can just see a disagreement about if getting a worse ending leading to someone taking a broken beer bottle to the face.

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    3. In my opinion anything that has ending credits and/or the words "THE END" printed on the screen surely counts as a valid ending. AFAIK dying without the resurrection card just gives you the usual death load/restart/quit message. If the game has actual multiple endings, Trickster shouldn't necessarily need to aim for the "golden" one.

      Delete
    4. Yes, the alternate endings bit is important. Take Pandora Directive for instance, where there's 7 different endings, depending on choices made throughout the game. If you'd want the "best" ending, we'd have to go through every post you make an ensure you didn't make choices that took you down a different path.

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    5. I don't really see any reason to accept only the "officially approved" end as the one Trick has to aim for (unless there's some plot-related sense that makes it worth the effort). Still, I would recommend pointing out to him in advance whether there will be many possible endings, as this is a) not always evident and b) might affect PISSED-score of the game.

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    6. I think it's going to strongly depend on the game, but a post or comment like we had from Trickster (is this the end?) can easily be followed up with a yes or no. There might eventually be games that require multiple playthroughs, but I think we should definitely push Trickster towards the best endings. I mean the very fact that multiple endings exist may spoil the game (e.g. Fcbvyref Jvyy Fcbvy Lbhe Tnzr Jura Cynlvat Zlfg -- uvq gur gvgyr fb Gevpxfgre pna'g nhgb qrgrpg).

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    7. See, I'm torn on both sides.

      On one side, I'd like the games to be portrayed and reviewed in its full glorious (or, in the case of Les Manley, Emanualle and Psycho- notorious) entirety.

      But on the other side, as games grow bigger and more complex, that's asking for a little too much, especially if Trix's only going to play through it once. Also, some games with multiple endings do not have a singular "best" ending. Some of us might like a bittersweet ending more than a Happily Forever After ending.

      So, I guess, in my case... the best way to do it is to just let Trix suffer - I mean, EXPERIENCE the whole thing himself.

      Delete
    8. What if we each could vote on the ending: One vote free, then 5 CAPS for an extra vote?

      Delete
    9. For games with multiple endings, we mainly have three choices:
      -"Force" the ending we want, either through hints, spoilers, corrections, walkthroughs or other means.
      -Make Tricky play through each game with multiple endings twice, once "free" and once with guidance to the ending we want.
      -Let Trickster play the game as he normally would and accept the ending he gets, but we can link Youtube vids of the different endings or whatever after the fact.

      In the spirit of progress and considering Tricksters enjoyment of the games he plays, I say he can just play the game as he would normally.

      For Les Manley, I still think the You've Died-message isn't THE ending. I don't consider it to really have multiple endings and so there's no issue either way.

      Delete
    10. Interesting discussion seeing as I've just had this exact issue with a game I've just finished: Spoilers for Police Quest 3 follow

      V tbg gur pevzvanyf naq tbg gur raq perqvgf vafgrnq bs gur hfhny Erfgneg/erfgber/dhvg qvnybthr obk, ohg zl jvsr qvqa'g erpbire - engure guna ercynl n ynetr frpgvba bs gur tnzr vapyhqvat ybgf bs obevat qevivat - V jngpurq gur tbbq raqvat ba lbhghor.

      Delete
  3. New Adventure Game: 1954 Alcatraz: The cash is out there. But who will get it? Joe's doing 40 years on Alcatraz for a heist on an armored truck. The loot is still hidden out there, but only Joe knows where it is. In the streets of San Francisco, Joe's ex-accomplices and his wife are eager to find the stolen money. Who will get their hands on the dough?

    That sounds like a pretty cool premise for a game, far better then 'lets fine Elvis and look at badly drawn BABES! WHEEEEEEEEEEE SEXISM AND STUPIDITY!'

    Oh and it is on sale. In Canada we call this a 'twofer' http://store.steampowered.com/app/255280

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Strange, where I come from it's called a 'onefer'. Now this is a twofer: http://advgamer.blogspot.com/2014/03/game-41-les-manley-1-won.html?showComment=1394566796287#c52015993679003128
      BAM!

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    2. Damn, you are right, I missed you putting that up. *bows to a worthy foe and goes back to trolling for obscure adventure games*

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    3. *nodding slowly, face once again enveloped by the shadows of a black hood while the light from a single candle dances on the surface of the wooden table*

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    4. Are we starting some kind of RPB here? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play-by-post_role-playing_game#Role-playing_blog)

      *You see a fat and greasy barbarian lugging around a rather unwieldy two-handed sword and wearing nothing except a leather shoulder harness adorned with at least 12 pockets. Yes, not even a loincloth below. You recall in some sordid bar tales that this man is the infamous Koman; roughly translated in the Common Tongue as "He-Who-Swings-His-Sword-And-Ballsack-Around".*

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk2rdlCqJH0

      Delete
  4. I think my comment got lost, so apologies if this appears twice!

    Congratulations on making your way through what appeared to be a particularly poor example of the genre. I'm certainly very glad I gave up on playing along, I could only have managed by using a walkthrough and it wouldn't have been entertaining (unlike your posts).

    Unfortunately I forsee a few other terrible games on your upcoming list, but hopefully the good will outnumber the bad.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I was so close! hahaha. This game is a weird mix of half-assed attempt, pure dreck, and a strange semi-charm. I want to like it in an ironic way.... but I just don't. Truly the sign of a bad game. Onward to Sierra!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. CAP Distribution Updated!

    *phew* It was a serious effort reading through all those comments! Lots of enjoyment to be had though, particularly reading through your discussions on whether or not I should be told about things. I'll bring a bit more clarity to the subject soon enough.

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    Replies
    1. Ugh... Truth be told, I'd rather play Psycho than Les Manley. At least, the end comes swiftly...

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    2. Don't ever say that Kenny again! No-one should play that...that...abomination!

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    3. Psycho... is... better... than... Les Manley.

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    4. Psycho only had zero production values. Les Manley *hates* the player.

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    5. At least Psycho is solvable. Les Manley may be prettier and last longer, but if I'd played that in my younger years I'd now have no hair instead of just thinning hair.

      Delete
    6. See, the community is with me!

      Delete
  7. Replies
    1. Waitaminit... Is there a lizard I can squeeze around here? I think I will need another one of those things that they usually hide.

      And here's a Spinning Powerbomb!

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTg1qcZm5rw

      Delete
    2. I must admit I did a double take when I saw you started out with -1000 CAPs. Should I take that as a hint that the Missile Lock warning light is gently throbbing?

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    3. As long as Trix is "having fun" with the game, I say...

      http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120521020559/battlefield/images/thumb/9/93/Shut_up_and_take_my_bottlecaps.png/640px-Shut_up_and_take_my_bottlecaps.png

      Delete
    4. Speaking of Fallout... I want one of these PIPBoys too!

      http://static.fjcdn.com/gifs/Shut_bc08d8_2595416.gif

      Delete
    5. I'd more go with a video game move or two. El Fuerte from Street Fighter 4 comes to mind.

      That said? I'm proud and ashamed all at once of what I've done here. It's kinda like I incited a riot. (Of CAPs.)

      Delete
    6. -1000 CAPs! Haha that was a good one Trick. And I'm glad to see my shameless whiteknighting ploy bore fruit. Watch and learn, Draconius!

      Delete
    7. Hmmm, Trick didn’t notice that I made a third failed bet (about the floss). I think I’ll just keep quiet so that I’ll not lose the only CAPs I got this time (fail-safe plan).

      Delete
    8. @Aperama : Fine, bro. You asked for it....

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSkZOawWU5M

      Delete
    9. I did notice Ilmari, but felt the whole floss puzzle was pretty much spoiled by the time I got to it. It didn't seem right to take your CAPs.

      Delete
    10. @Lars-Erik: Nah, I'm pretty used to you guys messing with me. I consider it community bonding and encourage the behaviour. Just don't expect me to actually pay out CAPs for it!

      Delete
    11. Hey! You're enjoying that a little too much ,you pervert!

      Delete
    12. Huh? I'm pretty sure at least one of the games I pointed out was a new one, not one Ilmari had already found....

      Delete
  8. Oh, and before I forget: Without Canageek I wouldn't have known how bad the puzzles are and make bets, and since poor Canageek didn't get to make any I'll give him some CAPs. Let's see... I won one bet but lost three, earning me a total 30 CAPs. I'll give him a generous 33,3%, 10 CAPs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much!
      Also what part of the world uses , for .? France I think?

      Delete
    2. Europe and most non-English countries. It's very annoying when other people use comma to group digits into three instead of marking the decimal. Why don't they use space for that, like all sane people do? 35 045 is much clearer than 35,045 in that it means thirty-five thousand and forty-five, not about thirty-five.

      Delete
    3. Yup. The comma used by most of Europe, South America, Africa and the "Russian countries", while the period is used by the U.K. and its colonies (USA, some of Canada, Australia), along with Asia and some of Africa. (according to Wikipedia).

      As a Norwegian I totally agree that reading 12 345 678,90 is much easier than 12,345,678.90, as using both commas and periods can be more difficult to separate. No bias at all of course. ;)

      Delete
    4. Spaces make me read it twice as I think you are listing more then one number.

      Delete
    5. If you'd be listing numbers, you'd use comma and a space like this: the numbers are 12, 345 and 678,90. Clear as water.

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    6. And I am really glad we are not beginning billion vs. milliard discussion.

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    7. European billionaires have one advantage over English-speaking ones: They're much richer.

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    8. We use commas for decimals of course, but to me that space between the thousands makes numbers really hard to read. Still, that's what the SI prescribes. We rarely use any thousands separator at all except for really big numbers.

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    9. Things that France has done right: SI units.
      Things for which France should be reviled and hated: EVERYTHING TO DO WITH TYPESETTING. Every time France does something related to typesetting it is an abomination against taste and readability. Putting thin spaces before punctuation, putting spaces in numbers, BAH!

      Delete
    10. Space in numbers? Are the French secretly Cthulhu worshippers, trying to spread insanity amongst mankind?

      Delete
    11. That would explain mimes...

      Delete
  9. For everybody not based in the UK, the Doctor Who adventure games are now on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/268830/?snr=1_4_4__106_2

    They're also 10% off now. For those based in the UK (or with other...solutions), they're available free on the BBC site.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I (may have) said it before, and I'll say it again. I'm glad I was busy with Circuit's Edge instead of joining Future Wars and this. I've never played Secret of Monkey Island, so I'll be coming back for that. I have a feeling King's Quest I re-release won't take you long.

    ReplyDelete
  11. There's a new first person adventure game up for pre-order on GOG called Ether One.

    http://www.gog.com/game/ether_one

    The overview makes it sound very ambitious, but the video gives absolutely nothing away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Huh... you're right... I can't make heads or tails on how they are going to pull that idea off. I don't know about Skill Level but anyone with a little OCD (i.e. EVERY GAMER) is not gonna just finish the game with a condescending "The End".

      Delete
  12. ON the I need more CAPS front:

    Sale 50%: The Mysterious Cities of Gold: http://store.steampowered.com/app/261940/\

    Where Angels Cry: http://store.steampowered.com/app/277560

    I spend way too much time trolling the Steam lists just to find adventure games on sale, do any of you actually read any of these? OR do you all own these long ago or how no interest in them?

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    Replies
    1. Now in a separate post for Trickster's convince:

      New releases:
      Tales From The Dragon Mountain 2: The Lair: ON sale and if you get it now, you get a copy of Tales From The Dragon Mountain: The Strix free. http://store.steampowered.com/app/27646
      TWOFER! Tales From The Dragon Mountain: The Strix is ALSO a new release http://store.steampowered.com/app/277540
      These are BOTH on sale. 4x the CAPS for the same amount of work! Right, Trickster? RIGHT?

      Return to Mysterious Island: http://store.steampowered.com/app/277110 I think this was the game you missed giving me CAPS for finding.
      Return to Mysterious Island 2: http://store.steampowered.com/app/277270 I think this was the game you missed giving me CAPS for finding.

      Year Walk http://store.steampowered.com/app/269050 On viewing the screenshots: NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE. *begins hammering boards over his windows*

      Delete
    2. I read them every time. I've got most of them already (on Trickster's Master List there's only 5 games that are available on Steam that I don't own as of yet, according to my own Expanded Master List), but sometimes old games pop up that are either not for sale anywhere at the moment, or new games that are clearly adventure games I want to play.

      This time, none of them appear on Tricky's list and I don't own either of them. MCoG doesn't seem like that much of an adventure game, but Where Angels Cry got put on my Wishlist awaiting a sale.

      Delete
    3. Having the first game in a series called Return to Mysterious Island and the second game called Return to Mysterious Island 2 messes with my brain.

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    4. And to continue, TFTDM2: The Lair, don't own so added to my wishlist. RtMI I own on GoG, RtMI2 I don't, added to my wishlist. And yes, Year Walk gets a skip I think.

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    5. TBD, I see your point, but they're following up Jules Verne's Mysterious Island, so I can kind of see where they're coming from. I do however wish they'd put some kind of main title on it and used RtMI as a subtitle or something.

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    6. @TBD: Speaking of brains. At least it's not as bad as sorting out all those "Return of the Living Dead" movies back in the 80s.

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    7. Well then, I'll keep going. I was worried that the (Not inconsiderable) amount of time I put into reading all the top 100 sales on steam was just annoying people.

      HEY, Can I get bonus CAPS if someone actually buys a game that I told them about a sale of?

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    8. Hah.

      Sure, I'll throw a couple of CAPs into your beggar cup whenever I buy one you've posted. Hey Trickster, can you transfer 10 CAPs from me to Canageek to cover previous deals?

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