Syberia and retarded adventure game stories

[kingcomrade]

http://djpretzel.web.aplus.net/songs/Sy ... _ReMix.mp3
LAND OF THE GREAT MAMMOTHS

 

[gromit]

I don't quite get the Lionheart comparison for Sanitarium, unless it's just based on quality. Or because it has a few action elements? If so, the comparison could be made with many RPGs, or even adventures with a much larger action component.

It's a simple comparison, involving but not limited to quality: a great start slowly succumbs to filler, the game and plot alike taking a harsh nosedive after the first "act." A little action doesn't ruin an adventure game (unless you're really excited about having an adventure game to play, rather than just wanting X hours of entertainment) but bad action replacing good puzzles does. Particularly so when it's just after the "inner journey theme" is just short of outright invalidated in an unnecessary plot-twist.

I was able to "put up with" the poor-man's-diablo stuff when I wanted to peel back the layers of this poor crazy madman (not that having to put up with things is particularly satisfying in and of itself, which speaks well to the game's other strengths.) However, when it went from "explore your crazy head, you may occasionally have to pitchfork some barn-monsters" to "oh no, now the evil doctor's drugs have trapped you in evil-comic-book-bug-world (I do not apologize for spoiling this), better have a dedicated action level" I couldn't take anymore.

Even in the tolerable cases, I just don't get it. Did there really need to be a loot-based ARPG just before the best island in CoMI? Was the deliciously eerie "town full of children" scenario in any way SERVED by dropping in a hedge maze full of baddies? If you don't have an answer to this one beyond "mixing it up a little," that's fine, to each their own, but otherwise I'd love to hear it - playing through an adventure game in the last decade already IS mixing it up, because they're so god damned rare! Dropping in combat is akin to the devs saying, "wouldn't you rather play a horrible mockery of the genre from which you thought you had temporary relief?"

On quality: I would've had a very different experience with Psychonauts, had the platform action sucked as much as Sanitarium's (whatever the fuck you call systemless combat system) action did. It helped, of course, that the content surrounding the gameplay was getting better and better and the "so-so" levels are delivered among the early-game exploration / exposition, rather than coming right as the game has shot its load, tasting of piss and stale tobacco.

I bet there's a host of people who never finished the meat circus in Psychonauts for similar reasons, but you can't buy a platformer and not expect platforming... you can, however, feel a little burned if every other level of the new Mario is preceded or closed by a YDKJ-clone (with two multiple-choice answers instead of four.) But hey, all those quiz rounds mean we are the proud owners of approximately 110% as much platform game as those purchasing competing titles. Participants in the study were able to cite such precise figures because the second that shit starts they'd all start looking at the clock.

 

[Nameless0ne]

Syberia was a pretty Normal game. The only good elements i liked in them were clockwork machines and general color tone used. in whole game.

As for Sanitarium; i finally got a chance to play it last year :twisted: i know it was way too late, but when i tried the game earlier - it caused numerous crashes on my PC. My new PC was able to handle it pretty well (may be clean install helped here). Sanitarium really blowed me up! I love that game and i personally consider it Torment for Adventure games (i still think many would consider giving this "honor" to DoTT...but i still have not completed DoTT and have not played it since years)

 

[gromit]

I should probably clarify that I DO like the (majority of the) game, that's why I was so burned that it turned into a different one, while we're throwing around "MacCoun is the Mandarin of Apples" here... speaking of which, DoTT is Arcanum minus the balance issues, or Psychonauts with all the platforming that i didn't mind / liked gleefully removed.

I'm curious to how the combat in that heavy metal game of doublefine's is going to turn out, and if we won't see a few more traditional puzzles in place... isn't it wearing an RPG hat?

 

[Perkel]

fucking mistake

 

[Duraframe300]