Posted February 06, 2010
I should start by saying that I have not gotten very far in the game yet. I've got a lot of faith in the developer and in the opinions of folks who've had nothing but good to say for this game, but I just can't help feeling a little disappointed so far.
The game starts out with a (very dated, but no complaint here) cut scene of a zeppelin being shot down. You are told that your character is on board. Somehow you survive the crash and pull another survivor from the wreckage. He gives you a very mundane sounding quest, but I'm sure there's more to it that I haven't discovered yet. It's just jarring the way it gets thrust onto you and how little it would actually matter to my character.
Then, apropos of nothing, this Jar Jar Binks type walks up and thinks you're some kind of reborn elf god or something. Then somebody else comes up that Jar Jar Binks doesn't like and you have to kill him.
The problem is that you have ostensibly just created your character. In my case, a handlebar mustache-wearing cowboy type named Courthouse Connelly - but before you get the opportunity to play your character, he gets drowned in exposition from unsympathetic weirdos and a bunch of fighting that has nothing to do with him. The tone presented in the opening cinematic is so exciting and original that it's just that much worse when you are denied the possibility of experiencing the world as fully as you might like, as a character that you might like.
Also, anyone purchasing this title should know that it is extremely bug-ridden, and the lack of an auto-save makes that all-the-more frustrating. If I pick a fight and lose, then realize that I haven't saved in two hours... well, that's frustrating, but I took the gamble. If I face the same issue, though, again and again and again and again because the game gets stuck virtually every time there's a fight, that's just much worse.
It's upsetting, because I'm one of those people who thought this game looked cool when it came out, but then couldn't find a copy for over ten years. I was excited to hear it was available here and I'm still holding out hope that it will redeem itself - but let this review be a warning to anyone considering the purchase.
The game starts out with a (very dated, but no complaint here) cut scene of a zeppelin being shot down. You are told that your character is on board. Somehow you survive the crash and pull another survivor from the wreckage. He gives you a very mundane sounding quest, but I'm sure there's more to it that I haven't discovered yet. It's just jarring the way it gets thrust onto you and how little it would actually matter to my character.
Then, apropos of nothing, this Jar Jar Binks type walks up and thinks you're some kind of reborn elf god or something. Then somebody else comes up that Jar Jar Binks doesn't like and you have to kill him.
The problem is that you have ostensibly just created your character. In my case, a handlebar mustache-wearing cowboy type named Courthouse Connelly - but before you get the opportunity to play your character, he gets drowned in exposition from unsympathetic weirdos and a bunch of fighting that has nothing to do with him. The tone presented in the opening cinematic is so exciting and original that it's just that much worse when you are denied the possibility of experiencing the world as fully as you might like, as a character that you might like.
Also, anyone purchasing this title should know that it is extremely bug-ridden, and the lack of an auto-save makes that all-the-more frustrating. If I pick a fight and lose, then realize that I haven't saved in two hours... well, that's frustrating, but I took the gamble. If I face the same issue, though, again and again and again and again because the game gets stuck virtually every time there's a fight, that's just much worse.
It's upsetting, because I'm one of those people who thought this game looked cool when it came out, but then couldn't find a copy for over ten years. I was excited to hear it was available here and I'm still holding out hope that it will redeem itself - but let this review be a warning to anyone considering the purchase.