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Little Big Adventure seriesWhat's with the saves?(4 posts)(4 posts)
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Posted July 29, 2012
I recently started playing LBA. I like the graphics and the overall tone of the game, however the save system is really frustrating me. Every time I die, I go back to the beginning prison cell. After lots of tries and a couple hours of total playtime, I finally managed to make it to Twinsen's house. However, the guards broke in and killed me before I found a place to hide. This means I have to replay a good 20 minutes, and hope I don't die again. I don't have much time to play games, so I end up wasting all my time replaying old content.

The problem with this style of save system is not just the time lost, but it also discourages exploration and heavily rewards following a walkthrough. If you get to a point in the game where there are lots of things to try, exploring them is going to be incredibly frustrating due to continuously dying. An example is the room in the forest with the elephant ... I thought you had to sneak up on it and kill it, and wasted a ton of time trying different strategies to do this before realizing it was impossible and I was headed in the completely wrong direction.

So does it ever get better? How does this game get such rave reviews and strong recommendations with such a frustrating save system?
Posted July 30, 2012
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ecamber: So does it ever get better? How does this game get such rave reviews and strong recommendations with such a frustrating save system?
It looks you're not "old school gamer"... like most casual gamers nowadays. Saving in LBA1 is a little bit "strange" but you can learn how to manage with it... ;-)
Posted July 30, 2012
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ecamber: It looks you're not "old school gamer"... like most casual gamers nowadays. Saving in LBA1 is a little bit "strange" but you can learn how to manage with it... ;-)
Well, there are many "old-school" games where saving is allowed anywhere in the game. From FPSes such as Doom to adventure games like Monkey Island. In fact, I would say it is more of a modern trend to see games restrict saves to only fixed checkpoints.

I'm fine with checkpoints, if they are done well. For example, Another World had you replay a lot of sections over and over, but the sections were usually fast-paced and short (just a few screens). In contrast, LBA has you replay very long sections, such as the escape from prison and entering the garbage truck, over and over again. These sections are slow and involve a lot of walking around, waiting for stuff, and picking up items, fun the first time but a chore to replay. So how does LBA get universal praise and Another World get such vocal critics due to its "trial and error" nature? (see Jetman123's popular review for example)

Anyway, how long does the checkpoint "drought" last? The thread linked above says after you escape from prison it's fine, but I've already done that so that can't be right. And how much better does it eventually get?
Posted July 31, 2012
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ecamber: Well, there are many "old-school" games where saving is allowed anywhere in the game. From FPSes such as Doom to adventure games like Monkey Island. In fact, I would say it is more of a modern trend to see games restrict saves to only fixed checkpoints.
By "old school gamer" I mean gamer who will try to solve/find method to play not just bumping at wall while speed running... ;-)
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ecamber: In contrast, LBA has you replay very long sections, such as the escape from prison and entering the garbage truck, over and over again. These sections are slow and involve a lot of walking around, waiting for stuff, and picking up items, fun the first time but a chore to replay.
LBA is very simple game. Just observe opponents - they have regular paths, simple behavior and they can be "fooled" sometimes. It's not a game where you can run all the time...
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ecamber: So how does LBA get universal praise and Another World get such vocal critics due to its "trial and error" nature? (see Jetman123's popular review for example)
LBA is a very FUNNY adventure, very cheerful and as opposed to Another World you don't need to rely on strict moves, you are not limited to certain path of play (usually).
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ecamber: Anyway, how long does the checkpoint "drought" last? The thread linked above says after you escape from prison it's fine, but I've already done that so that can't be right. And how much better does it eventually get?
Autosave will work every time when you'll leave building. You can manually save too but it will place your character (Twinsen) on "start place" for current location. In prison it's a cell...
Post edited July 31, 2012 by TPR
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Little Big Adventure seriesWhat's with the saves?(4 posts)(4 posts)
(4 posts)