Gray Matter (Wizarbox and dtp entertainment 2010)

I know it's been a while and I'm a bad blogger *slaps wrist*. I have mostly been playing World of Warcraft since Warlords of Draenor came out, and recently got Civilization Beyond Earth, as well as a few indie games I got on Steam (mostly not adventures) so I didn't really feel I could review any of them here. But now it's a new year, I shall endeavor to do better!

Thankfully I got a Steam Wallet voucher as a Christmas gift, and one of the things I get for less than £2 was actually Gray Matter**, a game that's been sat in my Amazon Wishlist forever and nobody bought for me *sniff* so I bought it for myself! (**note- it was less than £2 as it was in the sale, it's normally £6.99)

I had no expectations about the game. Any reviews I'd read were a long time ago when I put it on my wishlist and I'd forgotten anything I knew. Other than that I saw a hot chick with piercings, and some cleavage out doing magic on the cover and I was sold (very much my thing *grin*)

See what I mean? This is Sam Everett, our heroine. 

Lack of expectations can often be a good thing in adventure games, as I liken it very much to reading fiction, it's like picking up a book without knowing the author, the reviews or even reading the cover. Sometimes what you find within can surprise you.

First things first- WHY isn't this game much more famous?? I honestly think it's one of the best storylines of the genre. I won't spill the beans on what happens, because I think that's half the fun, but it combines two themes I love- science and the brain in particular and magic and illusion. The fusion of these two things was practically a wet dream in game format for me, especially when you add a gorgeous female protagonist and some wonderful casting to boot, and sprinkle in real areas of the UK I've actually seen.


The second the game finished and I saw the credits, I saw why I loved it so much in one line "Jane Jensen". OH HALLO AGAIN!  Yes, I know my last post was about her, and I didn't realise she was part of this game until I finished it! It's odd because as I played I kept mentally comparing it to the Gabriel Knight games... (I've downloaded a demo for Moebius: Empire Rising, but as that's another Jane Jensen game, I should probably hold up on playing that until I've reviewed something else or she's going to want to take out a restraining order on me ;) )

Magic trick preparation

The only thing I have to mention that didn't *quite* work for me was the magic thing. Part of the game involves performing tricks to solve puzzles. I like this idea in theory. You have to find the right trick in your book of tricks, set it up correctly, then set out a plan with the order of what you put where to successfully perform the trick, I will hold my hands up and say I used walkthroughs for nearly every trick as I found it wouldn't work for me even when I was sure I had it in a way that worked, and more often than not it was because I put something in the left hand rather than right hand and vice versa. It wasn't very intelligent the way it was coded, to me. It seemed that you had to do things precisely as it was programmed to accept, even if the way you had planned was actually a way that really would work... I recommend checking online for the answer to these things if you find yourself screaming at your computer like I was...

Artwork/character design for Sam

Other than that, the puzzles were wonderful. They were hard enough, but not impossible or pixel-hunting. None of the sort you scratch your head over for days, then Google it and go "WTF?? How was I meant to get that??" It always made sense, but pushed me enough so I felt I was working for it.

The music was lovely. Apparently a band called the Scarlet Furies (as mentioned in game). It's not the type of music I choose to listen to, but it fitted in well, and felt atmospheric. The voice acting was also very good. Real emotion in the acting and I felt empathy for all the characters, and felt they were well fleshed out. Knowing that it's Jane Jensen, that does make a lot of sense. Her characters and background stories are always very detailed and elaborate.

Graphic novel style cut scenes.

The first thing that I compared to the GK series whilst playing was the cut scenes. They were graphic novel-esque, and if you read my previous review of the GK remake, you'd know that's something I really enjoy in games. The artwork in these was breathtaking to me. As an artist, it was something I really appreciated. They were beautiful and had some luscious movement and use of colour. It really tied the game together and brought in the emotion.

Top- photo of Oxford

Bottom- Oxford in game

The whole design artwork was gorgeous in fact. The places in Oxford that I've seen looked true to life, and I'm assuming the ones I don't recognise were equally accurate... It was wonderfully moody throughout and the lighting and colours very much enhanced the game.

I want to say more about the storyline but honestly, it's better for you if I don't, go in with an open mind and no preconceptions and enjoy the ride through a "magical" tale... Actually, I think the description on the Wikipedia page says it best without spoiling it...

"The opening scene of the game depicts Sam riding her motorcycle in the rain in the countryside while traveling to London, and accidentally being redirected to Oxford because of a broken street sign. Her bike breaks down, forcing her to take shelter in Dread Hill, a nearby mansion where David resides. She poses as an Oxford student responding to Styles' request for a research assistant.

Eventually, Sam is ordered to recruit six students as test subjects for David's research. Through clever manipulation and magic tricks, Sam manages to find four students willing to volunteer for the experiment. The professor recalls her to Dread Hill, letting her know that he found a fifth candidate and making Sam herself the sixth.

As the game progresses, Sam learns about the professor's past, his research on the paranormal, the prestigious members-only Daedalus magic club, a series of bizarre events that take place at Oxford University, and how these elements are connected."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_Matter_(video_game)

Just because it amuses me and I managed to review two Jane Jensen games in a row without realising I was even playing one the second time, I'm sticking that classy B&W moody writer's promo shot in again...

Oh look! I get to use that Jane Jensen picture AGAIN!

Broken Age (Double Fine)

During my splurge on the Steam Summer Sale recently, I bought Broken Age. This is a brand new game by Tim Schafer who is known as the designer of critically acclaimed games Full Throttle, Grim Fandango and Brütal Legend and co-designer of the early classics The Secret of Monkey Island, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge and Day of the Tentacle. As this guy is part of so many wonderful games, the second I heard of his involvement, I knew I wanted to play this, without reading ANYTHING about the game anywhere else first!

The odd thing about this game I that I can't decide completely how I feel about it. It was weird, but weird can be good. I felt oddly detached in it. I so badly wanted to love this because of the team behind it. It has some wonderful ideas in it, and I can sense Tim's humour within the game, but it wasn't as prevalent as it is in his other games. This game is only part one (which I only discovered when I finished the game!) so there is more to come, but as far as I'd got, it didn't really make much sense to me, as a game.

There is no denying the beauty of this game...

I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it either. I feel oddly ambivalent about playing it. It's got some big names doing the voices in the game, Elijah Wood, Jack Black, Wil Wheaton! Everything about this game should make it absolute magic, but some sort of spark is lacking. I can't deny that the voice acting is absolutely breath taking, the graphics are beautiful, and the world created is enchanting.. but the puzzles fell flat, and I felt like I was missing something the whole time. I downloaded several games at the same time, and I completed most of the others before I came back to give Broken Age another try, as it just wasn't a game I felt I wanted more of. This said, I will probably try the next part of the game when it is released in the hope it completes the picture more for me, but I feel it's more an indulgence of ideas than something cohesive that works.

Shay the male character (voiced by Elijah Wood)

As for storyline, it's very surreal, but that's not a bad thing. There are two different characters to play and you can switch between the two. There seems to be no connection between the two characters at all until the very end, and it felt a little like playing two different games at once with the same art style. A couple of hints at things that connect the two would have been nice to stop the disconnect in the game. What is interesting is that the concept here is that the two heroes are being babied and controlled with decisions taken from them, and that's exactly how I felt in the game. I was babied with easy puzzles, and felt I had little free will.

I don't like an adventure game that has nothing beyond left clicking on things to interact with the environment, no choosing of whether to look/take/use etc, just if something highlights, you click, and it does the right thing. It feels too easy that way. That is how Broken Age works. Everything seems spoon fed, superficial and easy in that sense.

Vella the female character

Perhaps the problem is that I expected so much more from this game because of the people involved, and that  is why I'm disappointed... It's not a bad game, and it was worth playing... I think... All other reviews I've seen seem to be glowing, so perhaps I'm missing something! For me, Broken Age has many of the right ingredients, but someone screwed up the cooking process I think.

Click below to get the game and try for yourself. Let me know what you think about it!

The Shivah (Kosher Edition) by Wadjet Eye Games

The Shivah is the most recent game I have played by Wadjet Eye, despite them having made it back in 2006 as their very first game! With the re-release of the game, remade with new graphics and full voice and sound packs as the "kosher edition" I reconsidered it.

Shivah screen shot (apartment appears in a Blackwell game)

I will admit that I avoided it originally because of it's content. I am not a religious person (I'm actually an atheist), and I know nothing about Jewish culture, and I didn't know what to expect in a game about just that. However, I must say I'm pleased I decided to give it the time. When I thought about it, I realised other games had helped me understand religions on some level without it being an absolute "religious game" it just had that as a partial theme- Gabriel Knight 'Sins of The Fathers' had masses of stuff about voodoo, but was about murder and conspiracy. Broken Sword taught me about the Templars, and the Gnostics and more, and I've lost count of the games with mentions of Catholicism. Some sort of religion can make a good story in an adventure game, that's for sure. The Shivah is not so much a "Jewish game" as I may have though, but a game about murder and loss, that happens to have a Rabbi at the centre, so his world involves Jewish themes and ideas. You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy it!

Don't mess with tha' rabbi!

It's a very short game, but that doesn't detract too much from it, especially when you know it was Wadjet Eye's first game. I'm very fond of their style, their humour, the graphics and even the music of their games. The only thing is I'm sick of New York now! I know it's where Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye lives with his family, so it's what he feels most comfortable using as his setting, and I can understand that, but I'd love to see something somewhere else.. anywhere else!  

The game, despite it's short length, has multiple endings. You can end it before you even start anything interesting in fact, without ever knowing anything. It makes a short game more rewarding as I replayed it several times to try to get all the endings, and getting it through Steam meant it had Steam Community achievements too (you have to get the game through Steam to do that though)

Rosa's cameo

One of my favourite bits in this game was the cameos of Rosangela Blackwell from the Blackwell games, standing in a bar "talking to herself", and Detective Sam Durkin who is also in the Blackwell games. Of course, Sam could well have been in Shivah first, but I played them the wrong way around! The apartment you visit was also in one of the Blackwell games, but I know from hearing the commentary on the Blackwell games that it did come from the Shivah first. Little things like that make nice connections for fans through games which is particularly nice in Indie games.

New York skyline

The voice acting is, as you would expect from Wadjet Eye, beautiful. Well cast, well recorded, well acted. The music is stunning, same as I expect from them, and the graphics are just beautiful. I mean look at the screen cap of the skyline for a start! I sound like a screaming fan girl, I know, and I suppose I am. Everything Wadjet Eye touch is gold. Of all their games, this would be my least favourite, but it's still a damn good little game and worth a play.

How many other games have you ever played where you get to play a boxing Rabbi??

Click below to buy the game from Wadjet Eye (currently $4.99 via this link or £3.99 on Steam)

Mata Hari "Betrayal is Only a Kiss Away" (2008)

The REAL Mata Hari in costume

The Real Mata Hari 

Well, I had high hopes for this game. It's one I'd had on my wishlist for awhile. I'd not read anything about apart from having websites suggest to me that "you like x, y and z, so you'll like this" and I'd seen some screenshots that made me interested.


Firstly, if you didn't know, Mata Hari was a real person, her real name was (Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" Zelle MacLeod) but she was mostly knwn by her stage name Mata Hari which comes from the Malay meaning, mata 'eye' and hari 'day', as a compound meaning 'sun'. Mata was an exotic dancer from the Netherlands, who was thought to be a spy. She seduced men and got secrets out of powerful people this way. She is said to have lived 7 August 1876 – 15 October 1917, when she was executed in France by a firing squad under charges of espionage for Germany during World War 1. 
As you can imagine, the real story of Mata Hari is an interesting one in it's self, but sadly, that excitement and intrigue fails to come across in this game. What follows will involve some spoilers, be warned!

Firstly, I found the interface rather clunky to get on with. Any new interface in a game can be awkward, but I never quite felt right with it, even by the end of the game. It was also never explained anywhere (though originally the game may have come with a manual, but I got the direct download on Steam) It was also never explained that I could gain extra points by looking around for things, and gaining Spycraft, Wealth and Skill points. I only discovered this at the very end and felt duped. I realised I was gaining Skill Points every time I did a train journey the non-direct route but that was about it. Spycraft points are gained through investigating and noticing other things outside of the missions which actually explain what is happening. I found ONE of these randomly, and never found another. It was a pixel hunt thing for that one, so no idea how to get the rest. Wealth is gained through doing dances, and I only did the bare minimum of those, because the less said about that mini game, the better...

Train route mini-game

Ok I will explain the mini-games. The whole game relies heavily on mini-games. Repetitive and dull mini-games. There are three types, varied throughout, but repeated, and a couple of others that aren't done to death. The first is the train based mini game, where you have to pick a route on the trains to avoid the people trying to catch you. As you travel more there are more people to avoid, but you do get options like "safe stations" and to put some of them out of order. Paying it once is fun, but it gets very annoying very quickly as you have to travel a lot. You can learn about the direct routes to all cities from fellow spies, but you gain no skill points that way.

Infuriating dance mini-game

Secondly, my most hated, the dance mini-game. In this, you have to help Mata perform by moving your mouse to a circle when a musical note reaches the centre of that circle. Sounds easy yes? Well.. it isn't. Nobody has a mouse THAT responsive, and if you wave your mouse a bit too far and overshoot you loose points. And you have to move it between 4 fixed points at speed and accurately. It's insane. I nearly stopped playing from sheer frustration when I came to the last dance I had to do, there is no way I would have continued "for fun". Most mini games you can skip, but I saw no option to continue and skip on the dance game. I HATE when adventure games force you to take part in a skill based puzzle or action puzzle. If I wanted to play that kind of game, I would. I play adventure games because I like to use my brain alone, not my response times. I'm heavily medicated nowadays for reasons I won't go into here, but sharp mousing skills are not something I'd say I possess.. I think the game would have been more doable if it had been pressing say the WASD keys or using the numpad, but accurate muse movement makes a game awkward and unplayable.

Rotate wires...

Now rotate some pipes!

The third repeated mini game is the "turning pipes or wires to complete a circuit". Lucky for them, I like this sort of puzzle, but it was dragged out in some variation regularly. 

The other mini games were less repetitive and thus more interesting, like rearranging books on a shelf to solve one puzzle, using a cipher machine to decode some messages, altering chemical levels in a factory and walking a certain route around a room to avoid upsetting some rats!

Other than the mini-games, the game involved on very little in terms of inventory or interrogation, which are normally key to an adventure game. I felt more like a bystander than part of the game somehow. I felt eternally disconnected from Mata and the storyline. I'm not sure if that is mostly because I MISSED a lot of storyline due to not knowing to look for more, but I feel so frustrated my the mini games and the overall clunkiness of the way the game worked, I don't feel inclined to play it through again any time soon.

To it's credit, the game has wonderful graphics, smooth animations (for the time) and the music and sound effects are good. The puzzles felt superficial and tagged on, and the mini games were infuriating. 

Would I recommend this game? Well, only not the hardcore gamer who wants to have played EVERYTHING or a sadist who enjoys failing in badly written mini games, or a fan of the history of 
the real Mata Hari, otherwise I would advise you to steer clear and play something else.. 

To finish with, here's some larger screenshots so you can appreciate the beauty of the visuals in this game.

A screenshot to show the gorgeous graphics 

Mata Hari in Marie Curie's lab!