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Thursday 28 May 2015

Technobabylon - Wadjet Eye and Technocrat games




Oh I have been a bad blogger haven't I? To be honest, I've not played any games of note to review really... well I was recently OBSESSED with the Walking Dead games by Telltale, but I'm not sure they fit the tone of the blog so I didn't post about them! Anyway, I had been waiting eagerly for this release from Wadjet Eye for a long time, so I leapt on it as soon as I was able to.


Here is what they have to say about the game themselves:


"City of Newton, 2087. Genetic engineering is the norm, the addictive Trance has replaced almost any need for human interaction, and an omnipresent AI named Central powers the city.
CEL agents Charlie Regis and Max Lao are investigating a serial Mindjacker who is tapping into the neural wiring of seemingly ordinary citizens, stealing their knowledge and leaving them dead. An agoraphobic net addict named Latha Sesame might be the next target. But when Charlie’s past comes back to haunt him, he and his partner find themselves on opposite sides of the law, with Latha’s fate in the crossfire"




Technocrat's Technobabylon (original)
Technobabylon with a bit of Wadjet Eye pizazz..
I played some very early versions of the first three chapters of this game released by Technocrat for free on the AGS forums I frequent, so I knew I wanted more of this game, and when I heard it was heading for the Midas touch of Wadjet Eye, I was delighted and excited to see what Dave Gilbert could do to it, and he hasn't disappointed.

Having played the earlier versions of the beginning, I steamed through that bit quickly, as I'd already put the hours in on the puzzles, but that wasn't off putting at all. The atmosphere and story was beautiful already from what Technocrat put in himself, and Wadjet Eye polished it to a high shine in my opinion, adding the voice acting and musical score I expect from them, that helped the immersive experience. Of course, the artwork was also beautiful, but what else would you expect? I know, I'm a Wadjet Eye fan-girl, I am! I admit it wholeheartedly.



The only thing I could possibly mark this game down on, is that it is occasionally confusing about exactly what is happening and what you're supposed to do. There were a couple of points here I felt a bit lost, but that is partly because this future world is a bit odd, and the people in it know things we don't. For the most part, it is explained, but I felt occasionally like I missed a vital conversation or something and had to do a bit of random exploration to work out how to proceed. That said, I did muddle through!
One of my favourite bits of the games was learning how to use the technology of the time to solve puzzles around you. At first it seems bizarre, and then you understand it like second nature, like a real integration of technology into society. You have to interact with machines and robots to solve puzzles, and of course, use the "trance".
I also connected rather strongly with Latha Sesame... she's an agoraphobe who spends her life in the "trance".. and I am an agoraphobe who spends my life on the internet/in games so I very much relate!


An odd thing I feel I must mention here, is something I'm not sure is intentional or not... I should probably ask Dave Gilbert, but one of the characters (Dr Adam Baxter) looks a LOT like Richard o'Brien (he of Rocky Horror Show and The Crystal Maze fame) This is, in my opinion a good thing, whether intentional or not ;) If the artist didn't use him as reference, I'll eat my hat. That nose! The ears! Gah! It's all too much to be coincidence! 


Dr Adam Baxter
Richard O'Brien.. no.. wait...



I then noticed that another character (Dr Nina Jeong) looks a lot like Yunjin Kim from Lost... Her eyebrows don't seem quite the same, but a startling similarity. Look at the nose shape, nasolabial creases... the eyes... even the lips! I'm not judging that the artist used these as reference by the way, Damn good choices in my opinion!

Yunjin Kim
Dr Nina Jeong



I really don't want to spoil the plot, because it's glorious. It's a cyberpunk dream. I adore this kind of storyline, and it's why I loved Gemini Rue so much. Thrown into a future world, that asks questions I've pondered myself, and makes you question the world. If, like me, you're a fan of sci-fi and cyberpunk, don't ask questions, just buy the damn thing now. If you liked Gemini Rue, you will like this, I guarantee it. 

It's hard to know what else I can say about this game without giving too much of the plot away, and the juicy plot and story is the backbone of this game, and I don't want to spoil it- so just play the damn thing already and come back and thank me later!



Buy the game here:

http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/games/technobabylon/

This is not an affiliate link, I get nothing if you buy this game, I'm not that popular ;)














1 comment:

  1. I've always thought Dr Regis looked exactly like Jose Mourinho, but James assured me that the similarity was coincidental! :-D

    Nice write-up.

    ReplyDelete

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I’m useless at these "About Me" things. I’m an artistic type with goffick leanings who sits on her arse all day due to chronic illnesses. I'm a mad cat lady and I'll try my hand at most crafts. That will do for this little box! :D
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