Posted on: February 18, 2009
chad
Verified ownerGames: 284 Reviews: 4
Solid adventure, not without flaws
This is a solid point-and-click adventure game, through and through, but it will not appeal to everyone. It seems the developers knew this -- there is a "disclaimer" in the manual that not only acknowledges this, but also invites gamers with a passion for these archaically-styled games to simply enjoy. I felt this was remarkably humble, and it makes the inherent flaws of the genre seem a little less glaring when you factor in the earnest dedication this small group of people have for the adventure genre. Nevertheless, it not only delivers classic adventure gameplay the developers promised, but also brings with it some problems. The graphics and character designs are remarkable. The style of 2D backgrounds with fully-rendered 3D characters looks beautiful. The colors really pop out, give plenty of contrast, and are duly cinematic. The stylized character designs are really inspired; the drag queens are the most memorable characters here, but the main protagonist is a bit plain. The animation is mostly smooth, but the dialogue scenes have incredibly jerky mouth animation, and it is quite distracting. However, all this wouldn't matter much if it wasn't fun to play. The interface is clean, simple, and elegant. You can do everything with two buttons -- it's the ideal input affordance for this genre. The puzzles are mostly inventory-based, and the character can carry an unlimited number of items. There is one major flaw that bothered me with 'Runaway,' and it is the writing. The puzzles mostly work, but some solutions require utterly nonsensical solutions that the sub-par translation did not quite fix. For instance, the writing comes across as if it is telling you straight fact rather than hinting. Then, when you get the solution, the player character says exactly what you just figured out in your head, and it adds nothing to the mystery. You feel the main character is always one step behind, instead of the other way around. It's too obvious when it doesn't need to be, and too plain when it needs to be guiding. The puzzles mostly work, but the strict in-game logic sometimes hampers the game flow. For instance, you cannot pick up any item you see if you want it. You have to activate the item either by looking at it, or by talking to someone about that item. Example: you cannot pry open a barrel with a crowbar unless you first look at the barrel to see if one can be opened, then you must establish motivation for opening the barrel in the first place. It's frustrating at times, but it does make sense logically. Would you pick up every item in a grocery store if you were only wanting to make a club sandwich? No - only the required ingredients will do. Most other adventure games let you pick stuff up whether you need it yet or not, however, and 'Runaway' needs a lot of clearance before the user can progress. Even though 'Runaway' has some commonplace genre flaws, the game remains a very solid adventure that does everything it's supposed to: give interesting characters, locales, and some clever puzzles that require a few less-than-ordinary solutions. It may be a bit short, but few games in this genre aren't. Adventure gamers do deserve to try it out, and most will end up liking it, if only for the stylish updating of a classic game style. Casual fans should start elsewhere. Don't forget about 'Runaway.' It's part of a dying breed, for better or worse, and it does the job.
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