Games

Pleurghburg: Dark Ages
Author: Chrille Blomqvist Resolution: 320x200 at 16-bit color Downloaded: 30374 times (5.1 Mb) Genres: Contemporary, Investigative, Original Length: Full length games
Website: http://www.gaspop.com Content advisory: Strong  None  Strong Ratings: AGS Panel: (what is this?) Player rating: 89% Awards won: Best Game Created with AGS 2001 Best Gameplay 2001 Best Story 2001 Best Scripting 2001 Best Music 2001 You play as detective Jake McUrk working for the Police Detective Agency. The citizens got rid of the old corrupt police system and organized the PDA, consisting only of detective investigators. Despite there not being any policemen patrolling the streets anylonger, the crime rate dropped by nearly 50%. However, one morning Jake is put on a case that sounded like just another false alarm. But he is suddenly thrown into a nightmare consisting of brutal murders and danger lurking around every corner and nolonger being sure of who he can trust. Download Now - Download from Mirror 1 (if the download doesn't work, try Right Click, Save Target As)
User ratings for Pleurghburg: Dark Ages:
From 122 peoples votes so far: (vote here) Visual: 65% Immersion: 89% Puzzles & Pacing: 85% Overall Enjoyment: 89% You can see a detailed breakdown of the votes.
Pleurghburg: Dark Ages was brought to you by:
(No additional author information available)
Other games by Chrille Blomqvist:
Calsoon (Medium length games) Calsoon 2 (Full length games)
AGS Panel review for this game:
The AGS Review Panel has left a comment about this game: It may just be me, but Pleurghburg hasn't aged particularly well. It's still a decent game, and it's scope remains impressive, but it's looking very tired. If "startup.exe" produces error, run "Pleurgh.exe" instead.
User comments about Pleurghburg: Dark Ages:
Posted by Jester on 2009-08-30 at 02:39 (IP logged): The panel is right. This game, once groundbreaking, has not aged well. The writing is loose, and occasionally tone-deaf (I seriously suspected one totally innocuous character was going to betray me- nobody would write a character that saccharine without a twist... right? Wrong.) The puzzles are often completely nonsensical, often requiring an amount of backtracking that goes beyond tedious into frustrating. The game is impressive in its scope, but if it was trimmed of the redundant back-and-forth, it would be a much shorter (but probably better) game. Posted by proximity on 2009-04-15 at 14:34 (IP logged): This is the best dedective game made with AGS. It tells me beautiful graphics and musics isn't necessary if the concept is solid. I was scared at some scenes, i felt like i was playing Silent Hill in those scary scenes :) Very successful game. Posted by Franco on 2008-10-16 at 21:29 (IP logged): One of the best game I never played! Great game! Posted by Austin on 2008-06-05 at 18:02 (IP logged): One thing I forgot to mention that I liked about the game. The enviroment doesn't have titles that appear at the bottom when you move your cursor over it, and that can be a problem with some games. But with this game, nearly everything in the background had a separate discription when you examined it, and that's something I really apperciate in adventure games. Posted by Austin on 2008-06-05 at 17:58 (IP logged): Warning: This review contains spoilers and harsh criticism. I was very disappointed in this game. Despite all of the praise, each element of the game fell short of what makes a good adventure game, amatuer or otherwise. Let's start off with the plot-related aspects of the game. The dialog has no wit, charm or creativity to it. It all feels incredibly generic. Likewise, the characters don't have distinct personality or voices. I can't imagine hardened cops speaking the way Jake and his boss do. A plot doesn't necessarily have to be realistic to be enjoyable, especially for video games, but there are huge problems with the way The Order is portrayed. They leaves tons of bodies, clothing and clues laying around and they freely walk around in broad daylight wearing their cloaks. In real life, such a group would probably be shut down within a weeks time. Spoilers[hide]And at the end of the game, the members and Jake talk about how great and solid their plan is, when in actuality it is painfully simplistic. Poisoning a city's water supply is much, much harder than you might think. And blowing up police headquaters? The odds of them successfully doing that are very low indeed.[/hide] Next, the puzzles, obviously a key component of adventure games. This may be the game's biggest failing. You're required to back track to solve many of the puzzles, and that's fine. The problem is the game rarely gives you any indication of where you're supposed to go, which leads to a lot of pointless wandering around unless you're using a walkthrough. In some instances, you progress to the next part of the game by leaving the room, then walking back in, which is entirely unnecessary. For another thing, several of the puzzles are convoluted, and not in the good way that many adventure games use. The worst example is how you deal with the panther in the woods. Spoiler[hide]You have, A) A fully loaded functional gun. B) A metal pipe that could be used to strike the panther. C) A piece of chocolate that could conceivably be used to distract the panther. But instead of using any of these items, you have to go back to the apartment and scare a kid then pick up his whistle. You also can't solve the puzzle by using the whistle on the panther, you have to activate it in your inventory.[/hide] At one point in the game, you need to unwrap a candy bar, but instead of just doing this in your inventory, you [hide]have to acquire a device specifically made to unwrap things. Granted, you don't have to do anything special to get it, but it's still pretty silly.[/hide] There are also certain programming aspects that weren't needed, such as having to unlock your car every time you go into it and having to exactly hit the elevatory button to use it. Some of the environment details you need to utilize such as the water at the docks and the stick from the log are unclear. As other posters have said, the graphics are weak, and inappropriate for a full-length game. There were some parts I enjoyed. Examining the crime scenes and collecting evidence was fun. The close ups of the corpses were nice, and the fog in the game was well-done. The multiple endings were nice, because instead of offering players slightly different ways to do the same thing, they allowed the player to finish the game the way they wanted to finish it. Posted by mr.me on 2007-03-03 at 02:01 (IP logged): Great story, tone, and music and that's about it. The graphics were some of the worst I ever seen and didn't fit the game's story. The puzzles were illogical. Often you would have to click something several times, click on something else first, or click on an item that doesn't look like anything to get items and that would leave wandering around aimlessly because you think that what you need is somewhere else. There was way too much backtracking (especially going to the headquarters). Throughout the entire game you will complete something then you are supposed to go back to a previous location, but nothing in the game hints to where, leaving you completely lost. Posted by ophilius on 2006-05-24 at 04:05 (IP logged): After playing through Pleurghburg, I can't see what everyone is raving about. I mean, I acknowledge that alot of time and effort went into it and I appreciate that it's full-length and makes good use of the AGS engine. But all of the things that make a good adventure game are entirely absent, namely: good characters, believable story, and interesting puzzles. The game really reminded me of the Manhunter series too. Those games also had lots of investigations of brutal murders, tons of gory closeups, walking around areas from confusing camera angles (like in the morgue), not to mention the people in brown robes. In fact, I would be surprised if this game WASN'T influenced by that series, but stranger things have happened. Anyway, I found Pleurghburg to be very mediocre overall, EXCEPT for the music, which was possibly one of the only things that kept me playing it. Posted by Anonymous on 2005-06-15 at 16:42 (IP logged): Good Overall Game, Edgy, Original.. Pros: - The Close Up's of the bodies when you see them murdered giving you a sense of reality. - The Comic book like sequences - The Little shoot out Arcade Sequence - Good solid storyline keeping you hooked - Amazing Backgrounds - Amusing Death Sequences Cons: - The character sprites just didn't fit with the rest of the world, you have a beautiful game and the sprites just seem to take away from it - Having to use the elevator constantly- it seemed every few minutes you were going back to talk to the boss, perhaps a radio would have been more efficent or even a cell phone? and minor things like having to use your keys to open the car door every time. If you haven't tried out this game, you should, i would recommend it. Posted by aRealAdventureFan on 2005-01-20 at 07:42 (IP logged): This is the greatest AGS game I've ever played. I won't get into the quirks since most have been mentioned already, but if there's one game on here that could match up to big commercial companies like Sierra or LucasArts (aside from the remakes, obviously), it's Pleurghburg. Posted by Quasasian on 2004-12-22 at 17:03 (IP logged): This game was wonderful! The story line was the best I have seen, and the music fit the mood. Some of the puzzles could have used more hints from the character though, and the hotspots to use items were sometimes a bit small. However, it is overall a great game. Posted by madmanmunt on 2004-10-03 at 07:15 (IP logged): The now legendery Pleurghburg is as incredible as you've no doubt already heard. I can barely fault it. It is most definitely the best AGs game I've played and I would be happy to have paid money for it. Just in case you haven't heard: This game has a superb game length, a great story with a fast pace, a wide range of characters, great gritty dialogue with frequent flashes of often hilarious humour, an enormous amount of locations, a story that branches off in two directions at one point depending on what you have done beforehand and the possibility of four very different endings. The graphics, while not as slick as many other AGs games, are old-fashioned but charming and the music is finger-clicking good, utterly appropriate for a detective story. The atmosphere of Pleurghburg is pure noir novel. A gritty, edgy and totally absorbing feel. I love the way the days move through morning, evening and night as you progress, as represented by gorgeous shots of the city overlooked by the appropriate skyline for the time. To be as brief as possible, I can't praise Pleurghburg enough. It is totally absorbing, proffesional and will keep you playing obsessively for days. Topped off with frequent replay value, Pleughburg is quite simply THE classic AGs game and a great deal better than many commercially available games. What are you waiting for? It's free. Hit that download button now. Posted by lissette311 on 2004-05-14 at 12:28 (IP logged): The feel, the music everything about this game was well thought out and executed beautifully! Some of the puzzles were tough, and some of the items were hard to get, but overall a great gaming experience! Highly Reccomended! Posted by Kinoko on 2004-04-18 at 07:57 (IP logged): Wow, wow, wow. I was starting to get skeptical of this amazing game I'd heard so much about but boy, did it take its greatness and smoosh it in my face. The story is completely enveloping, and very well thought out. It never got tiresome, and it was challenging without being frustrating. It actually reminded me often of Rise of the Dragon (which I love). Possibly because of the music, slightly on edge atmosphere and the 'just-enough' attention to police procedures - which was a very nice touch. I loved having to take blood samples and things rather than just discovering a crime and having a 'team' figure it all out - it really helped in making you feel like you were solving the crimes rather than just going through the motions of the game. An absolute must for anyone interested in adventure/crime games. I now understand what makes a game a FULL length game. Posted by Quinny on 2004-03-20 at 22:07 (IP logged): Awesome game! Graphics are ok, but it's the storyline that captivates with this game. Very well done and with multiple endings it has replay value. Posted by Ryvvn on 2004-02-11 at 21:13 (IP logged): This is quite possibly the best game I've played from AGS thus far (next to JAPACA and Zak Mckraken 2), despite it's low grade graphics, occasional spelling and gramatical errors, and sometimes frustrating solutions. The story is deep and entertaining and reminds me of the Manhunter series (which I loved). The puzzles are rarely nonsensical and it does a good job of imitating police procedures but not to the point where it becomes tedious. Everything seems to make sense in the game, except for the whole touching bodies with bare hands thing, I don't think real cops do that. But despite it's extremely minor flaws, this game is just so much fun to play. So much in fact, that I replayed from a late save spot to see all 4 endings. My only real complaint is not being able to skip the credits at the end so I can get right back to working on the next ending. Other then that, if you only download one game from AGS, it should be Zak Mckraken 2 (just cause I personally love that game), but if you download a second game, this is definitly top choice (right next to JAPACA). You know what... just download 3 games and get all 3 :P Posted by NRG on 2004-01-02 at 11:31 (IP logged): The best AGS game!!! i,m really looking forward to pb the asylum. (PLEASE release it:D) Posted by piraatlife4me on 2003-12-25 at 19:58 (IP logged): This is an amazing game! I was really suprised how interesting the story was for an amature adventure game. I had no idea it was going to be as good as it was. This is some real proof that the games graphics are not the most important element in producing a good game. It contains some pretty difficult puzzles, a great soundtrack, and it even has a non-linear ending. I really enjoyed it! My only complaint that I noticed right away is the chopped-off skull perspective error on the peoples heads. Eyes are supposed to be lined directly in the center of the human head, and Where is my characters feet?. But other than that I give this game with out question an A rating. I consider it an inspiration for me as a AGS developer. I can't wait to play the sequel. A job well done. Daniel Winebarger Posted by The Weird Sir on 2003-12-22 at 19:11 (IP logged): Awesome game. One of the best things is its great atmoosphere something that many other games lack. The night/day cycle was used very effectively, bringing a good up and down feel to the game. The music also fit very well. The graphics, while certainly not state-of-the-art, were well-used, and contributed well to the fell of the game. The main bug I have with the graphics are the characters (especially the feet or lack thereof). Unfortunately, the game suffers from some rather difficult and illogical puzzles, and I had to use a walktrhough for lot's of them. Posted by Albino on 2003-12-20 at 04:08 (IP logged): This game is just incredible. There is just one bad thing about it. There could have been something like "not for children under 15-years", or something like that. My 7-years old little brother played this game and had lots of nightmares.. Posted by deltamatrix on 2003-11-05 at 06:18 (IP logged): I LOVE the gore! Good atmosphere. I guess better graphics wouldve been better. But hey, Zak Mckracken has good graphics THATS ALL IT HAD! Well done Posted by cygnus on 2003-04-26 at 03:17 (IP logged): A really good game, except some points I found annoying were things such as: * having to unlock your car each time you wanted to use it (come on, once is enough) * having to move the cursor so close to the edge of the screen to exit some rooms (this is especially troubling for window mode users) * some of the puzzles didn't seem logical to me (i know the game should be challenging, but not at the sake of not being logical... i found this to even be the case with some sierra game puzzles) * some small items (such as the wallet on the pile of garbage next to the old dead drunk in the garbage can) were just too hard to find (even after looking at the walkthrough it took me a few minutes to find it) * the graphics (not just the fact that most of the game uses very little shading, but also the character portraits are poorly drawn) Although I found those things annoying, overall I found this to be a great game. I used the <a href="http://www.gaspop.com/pleurghburgwalkthrough.html">walkthrough</a> for most of the game, after discovering I had missed a few items, but I didn't find it to take much of the fun out of the game since it is so long, and after all an adventure game is just an interactive story. The fact that this game is long and involved is what sets this game apart from many other fan made adventure games. The story is somewhat corny, but not so much so that you feel like you are playing a childrens game, due to most of the diaglogue and the general morbid theme of the game. The soundtrack to this game was written entirely by the authors! The music fits the game very well, and they have made the music available for <a href="http://www.gaspop.com/files/pdasoundtrack.zip">download</a> in module format (can be played in winamp, or in a better mod player such as modplug). Definitely worth playing and finishing (with at least a few of the different endings). I give this 9/10 (well done!... and I can't wait for Pleurghburg: The Asylum if it is ever going to be released) Posted by Rincewind on 2003-03-18 at 09:23 (IP logged): Well, is there anyting else to say except that this is the best AGs-game I've played so far? The thrilling storyline of Gabriel Knight and Broken Sword combined with a Police Quest-atmosphere makes this game a winner! Download it here or be a rectangular thynge! Posted by Peter on 2003-03-16 at 10:29 (IP logged): Atmospheric sfx, nicely detailled graphics, a great NON-LINEAR STORYLINE full of action and thrill probably took incredible effort. So far the BEST AGS-game! Posted by CMonkey on 2003-02-07 at 17:47 (IP logged): The best AGS game i have played to date. This game should set the standard for amature adventures. I can't believe it was about to be sqeezed into a meagre 5.1Mb. Story was excellent, like police quest without all the protocol crap, and some scenes that make the heart skip a beat. Thank you Gaspop games, for raising the bar a little higher. Posted by Sean Feehan on 2003-01-27 at 14:00 (IP logged): the gore is amazing like the one dude that is like ... had his body severed... the game is amazing ... 11/10 in my rating.... rock on gaspop! Posted by mr.panda on 2003-01-27 at 08:08 (IP logged): This game gave me bad dreams. I had to play it with a walkthru just so I could see the story quicker. a masterpiece. Posted by Da crump on 2003-01-21 at 20:13 (IP logged): HEY I GOT DAT ERROR TO! but it looks like a great game. Posted by phillipachickenman on 2003-01-17 at 09:02 (IP logged): I installed the game, but when I try to play it it gives me this error: Config file read error [E154]: Parse Error. Posted by Frogman on 2003-01-11 at 16:06 (IP logged): Don't let the simple graphics fool you - this game's got incredible atmosphere with its dark storyline and tons of bloody violence. It's the best AGS game to date! Posted by Kyriakos Hasapis (the butcher) on 2003-01-10 at 04:13 (IP logged): Chrille makes the TOP ags game without a doubt. PDA is long with an amazing storyline and puzzles. It's got suspence, great puzzles, funny moments, and defines adventure games all over again. TOPS! Posted by Mr Frisby on 2002-11-11 at 01:01 (IP logged): Pleurghburg is Ace. Nice work!! Posted by mitar on 2002-11-09 at 17:27 (IP logged): Now this is what I downloaded AGS for! Posted by Shorty on 2002-10-29 at 23:24 (IP logged): Theis game is so good, one of my favourite games i have ever played, i though 3 skulls was good but this kicks it's arse! Posted by Barcik on 2002-10-11 at 16:07 (IP logged): Great! Awesome! Woderful! Play, Play, Play! Posted by lord_leon on 2002-09-28 at 05:20 (IP logged): Pleurburg rockssssssssss! i love the music i love the coding and the graphics are just the way i lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeee it! anybody thinks this games sucks deserves 6 months! Posted by m0ds on 2002-09-25 at 08:12 (IP logged): All those who are planning to make a big game, play this game to see exactly how it's done, and then remember it took over a year to make! Pleurghburg is deffinatley how point & click's should be done. Posted by Byrnzi on 2002-09-17 at 17:23 (IP logged): I was sceptical about this game at first, but I must say that its the best 2D adventure game since MONKEY ISLAND! Posted by Ghormak on 2002-09-12 at 00:18 (IP logged): The rightful winner of the Best AGS Game award 2001. Thumbs up to the game, and middle fingers up to those who don't like this game! :) Posted by Marleen on 2002-09-07 at 12:33 (IP logged): This is the best possible exemple of why great gameplay and storylines can NEVER be beat by brilliant graphics. Didn't find a single bug. Great gameplay,and even replay-value ! Thank you, everybody who uses AGS for not letting the genre die and providing this old point'n click-addict with games like this. Posted by Aki Ahonen on 2002-09-06 at 09:51 (IP logged): This is the BEST game made with AGS at the moment, and if you do not download it now, I'm gonna come and kick you! Graphics may not be so good, but that's not the most important thing in an adventure game.

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