tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post6320923170352268709..comments2024-03-29T05:52:53.051+11:00Comments on The Adventurers Guild: Shadow of the Comet – Final RatingThe Tricksterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01419316208187255801noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-86761280207030431272020-04-06T03:06:16.976+10:002020-04-06T03:06:16.976+10:00Great playthrough! And generally i agree with the ...Great playthrough! And generally i agree with the score; it's a game that practically did most things wrong in the puzzle design and interface/control areas but the story, setting and atmosphere are not bad, it was charming in a way and kept me going to the end to see what will happen (well ok i knew more or less but you know)<br /><br />On a side note:<br /><br />- I was also confused with the dotted line for the pickable items (even though the manual states this in a way) and the L which applies to other objects in the scene.<br /><br />- The CD version i played is not bad, the museum extra section is good, and i manage to overcome the dialogue issues with the Enter key most of the times which skips the spoken line, so when a voice over line finished i pressed enter to skip the text also.<br /><br />- As i mentioned in a previous post, in the CD version you don't have the naphtha filling bug.<br /><br />For sure it's not among the best adventure game of the era, but it is a classic for me.dionoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08342126945399188067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-32333959689336284682020-04-04T06:02:30.090+11:002020-04-04T06:02:30.090+11:00I would suggest that the only good criterion for d...I would suggest that the only good criterion for declaring a rating system "flawed" would be if it gives results that fail to capture reality - if you find yourself saying "This game was great but gee shucks, the rating system says it is terrible" or conversely "This game was awful but it managed to rules-lawyer out a high score." Rosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09703211229982182936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-14388673477739363512020-04-03T23:43:31.295+11:002020-04-03T23:43:31.295+11:00A fun read through the blog it was too, I have nev...A fun read through the blog it was too, I have never read any HP Lovecraft so it is great to see some works influenced by it too.ShaddamIVthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02024540172370536692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-39059628939134373772020-04-03T15:22:08.449+11:002020-04-03T15:22:08.449+11:00I'm not completely unfamiliar with the Cthulhu...I'm not completely unfamiliar with the Cthulhu Mythos, but I'm close. It's been referenced in enough games that I'm very vaguely familiar. I've read lots of horror fiction, but never Lovecraft. <br /><br />This game has given me significantly more lore on the subject than I've been exposed to before and I can't say I'm a fan. Like limbeck said, I find it a bit weird rather than scary or interesting.<br /><br />But the story of this game was enough to keep me playing by following a walkthrough for most of the second half. So it was at least interesting enough that I wanted to see how it ended.TBDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07010934567583163570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-91752127530224201682020-04-03T07:33:06.610+11:002020-04-03T07:33:06.610+11:00If the player knows nothing about the Cthulhu Myth...If the player knows nothing about the Cthulhu Mythos, I suspect it would seem like a typical horror B-movie scenario (I won't say Carpenter movie, because he is definitely influenced - see In the Mouth of Madness). They would probably not consider it over the top, just a bit weird. That's my experience in my circle anyway.limbeckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11671884456426769899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-59842681002481920172020-04-03T07:27:01.111+11:002020-04-03T07:27:01.111+11:00As Andy says, the scores are my interpretation. It...As Andy says, the scores are my interpretation. It's possible that a reviewer with different tastes and expectations would rate it differently. What I tried to do is present the game from my point of view. I myself am sometimes puzzled at why games that I like (such as Loom) would get a low (to my eyes) rating, but the ranking for me is secondary to the experience of the reviewer.limbeckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11671884456426769899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-9725938745669766572020-04-03T07:23:33.420+11:002020-04-03T07:23:33.420+11:00Thank you for the additional comments and for fill...Thank you for the additional comments and for filling the gaps. Yes, I don't know what went wrong with the art, which is not totally bad, it just feels off in places. It could be that's what they could do within their limitations. Maybe, as you say, there were a bunch of people with different styles and it was not possible to make them (the styles) work together.<br />Anyway, there have been (and will be) worse.limbeckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11671884456426769899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-32950018582253232572020-04-03T04:37:03.893+11:002020-04-03T04:37:03.893+11:00Great summary, this seems to be a comprehensive an...Great summary, this seems to be a comprehensive and unbiased review of a game that sparks some controversies among many adventure gamers. It has a cumulative score of 3.9 on GOG while most old adventure games score better. Even something like The Dig has 4.5. <br /><br />I was wondering how the game could fare if the reviewer has no previous (or a very cursory one)introduction to the Cthulhu Mythos. <br /><br />My 5 cents: Sure, the story is somehow cliche but at least you meet several people with some believable background stories that can be learned through dialogue. I have a soft spot for learning other life stories in adventure games. For me this is one of the most important part of a decent adventure game. <br /><br />And thanks for giving me this highly esoteric award. These are my first CAP points and this is actually some sort of relief during the lockdown. This is also a great encouragement to comment more often :). Patrykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17471088989227692571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-44218490149497068102020-04-03T02:25:20.541+11:002020-04-03T02:25:20.541+11:00I would've maybe given a higher Environment/At...I would've maybe given a higher Environment/Atmosphere score but definitely not Story/Setting. While solid, the story's inability to pass beyond clichés, lack of impressive character development and some incoherence (what was the point of visiting the lighthouse?) IMO limit it at a 7. 8 would be on the level of Serrated Scalpel and Fate of Atlantis, which feels wrong. Although the rating could have indeed been a hair higher, the game still scored in the 50s which is where I think it belongs.Laukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-1447325154894135622020-04-03T01:22:46.524+11:002020-04-03T01:22:46.524+11:00Congrats on finishing the game, limbeck!
As for t...Congrats on finishing the game, limbeck!<br /><br />As for the rating, a little harsh but overall fair, even if I would have probably given a point more in Story/Setting or Environment/Atmosphere (which would have resulted in a pissed rating in-line with my guess, but I'm not complaining ;) ).Vetinarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04734964199926068473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-29638438841571521082020-04-02T20:04:47.433+11:002020-04-02T20:04:47.433+11:00Everyone has different priorities for what they ar...Everyone has different priorities for what they are looking in an adventure game, be it puzzles, plot, dialogue, or something else. If you are only concerned about puzzle quality you can go to the spreadsheet and sort by P. The fact is, a huge portion of adventure games are focused on storytelling (it's a primary strength of the genre) and that shouldn't be ignored in a rating attempting to be balanced. Besides, Ween only got a score 4 points lower, well within subjective margin of error.<br /><br />I think the current system is fine. Kyrandia 1 has crappy puzzles but has such good graphics, music and charm that it's fondly remembered, with an appropriate PISSED rating (well above average but not great).Laukkuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258625692586860655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-53847758618324522902020-04-02T20:03:26.109+11:002020-04-02T20:03:26.109+11:00the scores are inherently subjective, not least be...the scores are inherently subjective, not least because of the scoring system, but also because we have a team of reviewers who do not always agree.<br /><br />The "key element" of any given game is rated by that games reviewer, and they get to decide what scores they would like to give. Then we get the fun of discussing it in the comments!<br /><br />There is no rating system that would please everyone, and personally I find the rating system works exactly as you would want it to.<br /><br />If you are seeking "objective" reviews of pieces of art, you may be looking in the wrong place.Andy_Panthrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231815646876343380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-76299377557572478452020-04-02T19:15:39.392+11:002020-04-02T19:15:39.392+11:00Ween is a much better game and has a lower rating....Ween is a much better game and has a lower rating. The rating system is flawed. The Puzzles score should represent 75% of the total rating. Dialog and Story should be a single section too. These are games, not movies. Interactivity is the key element here, not a B-movie quality story or some badly translated dialogs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-68987779354431701832020-04-02T08:42:51.792+11:002020-04-02T08:42:51.792+11:00I think it wasn't present in your version, but...I think it wasn't present in your version, but in the CD version I played through because of the voices, the conversations either stopped dead whenever you were waiting for the voices, or skipped massive chunks of them. That makes it simply unplayable in my opinion, regardless of the lovely music and the likeable mugs of Dennis Quaid and Vincent Price.<br />Actually, the music is nice, but it didn't feel right in the game. I mean, I guess its not that different than the music in the 11th Hour, a game I did like the music in, which had not exactly background music for its background music. Good, but out of place applies to most of the elements of this game. Like most of the artists are technically competent, but their work feels really off, most of the time. Like the shading and the way things look is very good, but the way they're placed feels odd. Might be the programmers screwing with things after the fact; Might just be a bad request by the designer. Looking at the graphics team, we have a bunch of people who worked on Alone in the Dark, and two people who worked on Eternam, one of which worked on Drakkhen.<br />Now, the guys who worked on Eternam can be blamed for the people artwork looking weird, that's what they were capable of producing at this kind of resolution and color palette. The guys who did Alone in the Dark? Personally, I remember that looking gorgeous and not at all funky...in terms of background art, before you talk about big lips and mustaches. I can only offer the explanations I previously gave as to the worse art.<br />If there's one saving grace, in my humble opinion, its the museum that comes with the CD version. Now this is worth the price of admission. Its also how you can tell something wrong happened with the in-game art, since this, without the constraints of whatever was causing issues, has no graphical flaws in my opinion.MorpheusKitamihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16591271981112642781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-74715377184283091582020-04-02T06:42:01.845+11:002020-04-02T06:42:01.845+11:00The graphics and general art direction was bafflin...The graphics and general art direction was baffling to me from seeing your screenshots. You mention the room in your rating, and I agree entirely with your remarks. The screen with the gun that you mention earlier in the rating also stands out, who decided it was a good idea to have a third of the screen as the featureless brown ceiling? We've seen so many games on this blog try and experiment with visuals and the framing of a scene, and this reminds me more of something from the mid 1980s in how each screen has been drawn.<br /><br />Great review though, look forward to your next one!Andy_Panthrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231815646876343380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3387495443226852794.post-6894735711271485722020-04-02T04:38:51.967+11:002020-04-02T04:38:51.967+11:00Congrats on finishing your first game for the blog...Congrats on finishing your first game for the blog. <br /><br />The most you missed without voice acting was the hilarity of badly acted incomprehensible babble from the banished Hambletons :)TBDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07010934567583163570noreply@blogger.com