new adventures

[Scarlatti]

The latest hidden object games from casual games portals with big budgets started to incorporate more design features from the adventure genre, but still have very easy and simplistic puzzles that make them very shallow for veteran adventure gamers.

Their target public are middle-aged women, an audience that probably don't want to be stumped on a puzzle for a very long time and just want to relax and have a good time with a game.

They are getting more sophisticated though, and the latest entries in the Mystery Cases Files, Return to Ravenhearst and Dire Grove, are full adventures with gorgeous graphics, inventory puzzles and hidden object screens. Dire Grove even adds the traditional full-motion videos with bad acting that are one of the hallmarks of the genre.

[Nikioko]

The release of The Whispered World has been postponed:

http://www.the-whispered-world.com/index.php?lang=en

[fingolfin]

The release of the english version has been postponed, that is. The german version has been available for some time .

[Nikioko]

Postponed, but finally it is out at stores:

http://www.adventuregamers.com/newsitem.php?id=2076

[KuroShiro]

Recently picked up and finished Black Mirror 2 in English. Here's some impressions...

The dialogue is for the most part well written and well acted, though being originally from Boston the main character's attempt at a Boston accent grated on me. As with most localized games the translation is a bit rough around the edges in places, but it's better than most and has a few genuinely witty moments. The graphics and environments were all very nicely done. The developers captured a typical New England coastal town quite nicely.

The puzzles were mostly pretty good, though it does contain my personal arch-nemesis the sliding tile puzzle. Fortunately it is skippable. There were no major failures in puzzle design, and a couple that were actually somewhat inspired. The game was pretty easy on the whole though. Never really felt stuck.

The part of the game I wasn't so crazy about was the overarching plot. It started out rather promising, but as more things were revealed -- particularly towards the end -- the plot twists made me feel more annoyed than surprised as things got more and more clichéd. The ending also seemed terribly rushed. To sum it up, it seems like it is trying to be something like Gabriel Knight and doesn't quite succeed.

Overall though, I would recommend the game. I had a good time playing it until the last couple of chapters and I would say it's the best of the adventures to come out of Europe so far (though I'm a bit of a sucker for occult type stories).

[Nikioko]

Has anyone played "A New Beginning" or "Lost Horizon" yet?

[McKnallski]

I bought and played "Lost Horizon". And I loved it. Animation Arts had some great Ideas for this Adventure (the Epic playable Final Battle). I know it sounds more like an Action-Adventure, but it is a real classic Adventure (even with handdrawn Backgrounds). The best Adventure in the Last Years.

The German Voices are great (the German voices of Roger Moore and Jeremy Irons for example), but I do not know if there is an English Version.

Watch this Making-of (Spoiler Warning):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbaJTY7IGwc

[KuroShiro]

The German Voices are great (the German voices of Roger Moore and Jeremy Irons for example), but I do not know if there is an English Version.

The English version is available on Steam, and is very good. I agree that it's an excellent game, definitely the best localization to come out of Germany.

[Nikioko]

How is the scene of adventures outside of Germany anyway? I know that you guys are still waiting for The Book of Unwritten Tales and some other titles.

[Nikioko]

It seems that The Adventure Company is no more due to the JoWooD bankruptcy. At least, their website is down.

So it looks bad for you guys to get english dubbed versions of BoUT etc.

[Nikioko]

I bought and played "Lost Horizon". And I loved it. Animation Arts had some great Ideas for this Adventure (the Epic playable Final Battle). I know it sounds more like an Action-Adventure, but it is a real classic Adventure (even with handdrawn Backgrounds). The best Adventure in the Last Years.

The German Voices are great (the German voices of Roger Moore and Jeremy Irons for example), but I do not know if there is an English Version.

Watch this Making-of (Spoiler Warning):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbaJTY7IGwc

I now have played Lost Horizon, too. And the final battle is indeed terrific. I great tribute to martial arts films. The whole rest of the story reminds me of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom combined with the story of Xanadu, though. But it is a great game, a real adventure film adventure after all. It is just a shame that the Nazi swastikas have been replaced by Iron Crosses for legal reasons.

[Mau1wurf1977]

I thoroughly enjoyed Lost Horizon.

My brother told me about another game, A New Beginning. He purchased the German version and finished it.

I never heard of this game and he told me that's likely because it's not on Steam (yet).

I also couldn't find a digital version (yet).

http://www.kochmedia.at/haendler/shop/p ... 08668M.jsf

There is also the third version of the Runaway series.

One thing I'm really hoping for is a special edition of the Indiana Jones games. That would be epic.

[Nikioko]

I just finished the Critter Chronicles and have to say that this game doesn't stand much behind BoUT.