QN2 - Quantumnauts 2: Black Hole Happens!

Started by Midian Design, Fri 25/01/2013 08:44:52

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Midian Design




Game & Story: Midian Design (Danilo Cagliari)
Game Translation [english]: Paul Giaccone
Beta Test & Help: Arj0n, Paul Giaccone, Pan, Flavio Soldani.

Three years have passed since Bob Marshall and Neena joined the Quantumnaut Fleet, the controllers of the space-time paradoxes of the Multiverse.
Thanks to a fortunate and rapid series of connected coincidences and his incredible capacity for adapting to the most desperate of situations, Bob managed to get himself promoted to the rank of Captain very quickly...
And obviously managed to get his very own Quantumship, the "Higgins One".



But not everything in the garden was rosy. Envy was present even on board the Quantumnaut Orbital Station.
Several months earlier, Neena had become Bob's wife, but Colonel Fen'Herh had not stopped pestering her with his insistent advances.
What better way to get rid of Bob than to send him on a mission with no possibility of return, to the edges of the "Immense Black", the largest supermassive black hole ever discovered?



Unbelievably, Bob found himself reliving the same situation from three years before. This time it wasn't the fault of Space Pirates, but the total lack of understanding on his part of things such as "event horizons" and "singularities".
The Quantumship managed to escape the grasp of the "Immense Black" just in time, but the reactors, now damaged, wouldn't allow a "jump" towards the Orbital Station.



The only hope of salvation was a small planet, the first one that could be reached from the place the accident had occurred to try to land gently on its surface, and to hope that there was a population there to interact with.
Perhaps a peaceful one.
The journey lasted around two months, but fortunately he managed to land there.



He discovered very quickly that not only was "Tir" inhabited, but that he found himself in a potentially privileged situation. The inhabitants, robots, worshipped him immediately, declaring him as "God returned to save them".
For some, however, Bob absolutely was not a divinity, but a normal being, as normal as their creators were, called the "Ancient Astronauts" by the atheists (yes, even among robots there can be atheists).
Being a god might be nice (enemies notwithstanding), but Neena was definitely more important, and Colonel Fen'Herh couldn't go unpunished.

Video & more: CLICK HERE!



arj0n

#1
Dutch review from adventurespel.nl

I did a quick ENG translate:

What do you do when you get the choice between death or a job at the Quantumnauts? Right! Since then three years have passed. Bob is captain of his own ship and he and Neena are a happy couple. But Colonel Fen'Herh keeps annoying Neena with his advances. If Neena continues to reject him, he sends Bob a "no return" mission.
Fortunately, Bob manage to escape from the Black Hole, but he is forced to land on an unknown planet, populated by self-thinking robots. Here, to his surprise, he is brought in like a returned God.
However, Bob soon discovers that dictator Primo wants to use him to strengthen his power. Fortunately, there is also a group of rebellious Atheists who understand that Bob is not a God but just a human and they want to help him to return to his Neena.

The first thing I noticed after starting the game is that it has improved graphics quality compared to part one. The game can be played in a higher resolution, so even a close-up in a cutscene looks fine. Also, there are more details to admire, like a shiny floor, depth effects and a shadow moving correctly with Bob. And not only the backgrounds are prettier compared to QN1, there is also thought about the moving characters. Bobs shoelaces are well visible and although he normally stand tight upright, he drops remarkably smoothly through his knees when he does something like picking up an item from the floor
The game control is still pleasant simple. Right-click to look at something and left-click to interact. All active points (hotspots) have a name tag, just like the icons in your inventory.

Most of the puzzles in the game are based on the objects you pick up and have to use in the correct location. They are not too difficult and Bob gives hints here and there. But examine all places and thinking logically remains necessary, because with only simple trying you will not succeed.
Furthermore there is a music puzzle, which is not difficult, but for people with hearing problems this specific puzzle might be a matter of 'trial and error'.
There are also puzzles that are based on dialogues where you have to ask the right question or give the correct response. You can't go really wrong on this, but you get extra points if you make the correct decision. This ofcourse encourages the plasyer to replay the game again in order to get the maximum score.

The game doesn't come with a speech pack, but fortunately the game does contain well chosen electronic music. Like when Bob briefly plays his beloved metal music.
The sparse background sounds such as footsteps are provided where necessary.
The whole atmosphere of the well told story is fascinating and yet held lightly. There are even some pretty hilarious parts in the game. Bob has not lost his naivety and has the necessary self-mockery.
The last piece is therefore a bit incongruous. In this part, Bob meets God (Morgan Freeman in a familiar role) and they have a profound discussion about the reason for one's existence and parallel universes. Moreover Bob briefly visits locations from previous games of Cagliari, which, because of the underlying theories from for example Hawkin and Bohm, are more or less linked. This is only really be understood by those who played the previous games of Cagliari. Pity of a further fine adventure game.

CaptainD

Congrats on yet another release!  I enjoyed the first QN game quite a bit.
 

Midian Design



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