Did anybody else play Runaway 2?
I finished it right now and I though it was really cool!
It is, though, quite a different genre than part 1.
Which means, that it is not a gangster-style game anymore.
But let me proceed...
The beginning is like part 1: Gina is in trouble, again.
The game starts off with the generic plane crash in the jungle.
Gina jumped out with a parachute (well, actually, she was pushed out by Brian. That's how you can tell your boyfriend loves you) and landed in a lake.
So far, so normal, but in the course of the game it turns out, that
Spoiler
Gina was saved by aliens, whose starship is located in the lake.
Yes, you heard me. It's science fiction, alright.
The game itself is really cool.
It has a lot of action and some cool, even though a little cliché, bad guys.
It reminds a lot of Broken Sword.
Many of the characters of part 1 come back.
It's like a big reunion!
If you played Runaway 2, then you will just have to play Runaway 3.
How I know, there will be a Runaway 3?
Well, the fact that the game ends with the words "to be continued" is a hint.
Yes, even though the game is with its six chapters very long, it's not even close to be the whole story!
Without giving too much away, if you play the last chapter, you incidentally have the feeling like playing Monkey Island.
There are a lot of references.
Phew, this turned out to be a view!
I tend to do this.
Well, I really recommend this game.
However, if you already played it, what did you think?
And if you didn't play it yet, are you still going to do it?
Yeah, the game is pretty frickin' awesome if you ask me. For me, it's definately the best of 2006. I'm in Chapter 3 I think, and so far it's been very good. The puzzles, story and dialog are surprisingly good, too. Very reminiscent of CMI for me.
What?! It's out? Since when? :D
I loved the first part, so I gotta get this! How would you compare it to the first game?
Much better - a lot more interesting storywise, better puzzles, no pixel-hunting, better-looking art, better developed characters, hugely nicer protagonist (a normal, if a little pompous, guy instead of a bumbling dweeb). The only aspect that really gripes me about the game is the title music. The devs must have horrible taste in music, because the boybandish early-90's craptastic music ruins the whole intro of the game. I ended up skipping the rest of the intro after 20 seconds of that crap.
I have to agree with ildu.
I also like the theme of the first part more.
But there is still this thing, that you have to search some boxes or something more than once because he only takes things out of them, when he knows, what he needs it for.
The devs insited on it, there is even a joke about it right at the beginning at the game.
It's not so bad, tho', you can guess, when you have to search something again.
And the story has some nice twists, if you ask me.
A lot of people are complaining about him only picking up objects if there's a motive for doing so. While it was much much more emphasized in Runaway 1, I do like it. In adventure games I usually act as I would in a real life situation. It takes a lot out of the immersion when I can collect a complete collection of inventory items without knowing why. I wouldn't do that in real life. So when the whole gameplay generates into picking up anything you can find, you say to hell with realism, and you go with it. That's what usually foils the immersion for me. It's another issue, though, if I'm not able to pick up something although I know what I need it for. Fortunately, this doesn't happen in Runaway 2.
Here's an example:
Some days ago I tried Christmas Quest 2 (the AdventureGamers.com game), and I was pressed for time so I didn't put much effort into immersing myself in it. I skipped through all the dialog, because I really didn't feel like reading it, and then got to the actual game. Granted, I didn't know what the hell was happening, who that elf was and why he was floating on a fountain of tap water. Anyways, I just idly started picking up stuff and trying stuff out, and I ended up playing it for 5-10 min without knowing anything I was doing. So I ended up with a bunch of inventory items and no idea what to do next. So I just quit.
This isn't really a good example, since it's a one-room game and I didn't pay at all attention to what was happening. But nevertheless, I focused my energy on the gameplay and started picking stuff up just because I could, so it ultimately lead nowhere at all. It's not a valid point, for obvious reasons, but I hope you get my point. I just feel this happens way too much in adventure games.
Alright, alright, I'm on your side.
I wasn't too bugged out by it either.
It's just that many other people are annoyed by it.
And it does make it quite a bit harder.
But the ironic thing is, by breaking the fourth wall at the first puzzle of this kind, the also say to hell with realism.
My brother gave it to me for Xmas and I've been playing it quite a lot since then.
When I first started the game I was impressed. Visually it is surely ace. But when it comes to story, characters and puzzles, I've seen better.
I liked the first three chapters. Entertaining and enjoyable. I truly hated the 4th. I think I prefer mazes to artificially lengthen a game. I'm currently playing chapter 5 and I'm not very fond of it either. Too much running around and too much Joshua (whom I hate with all my heart since the last chapter).
If I had to give points, the first three would get 7/10, the 4th -10/10 and the 5th 2/10.
All my hopes are on chapter 6, but somehow I doubt that it's going to get better...
Oh, and I truly hate that Brian only picks stuff up when he sees a motive in doing so, because he is kind of a slow thinker if you ask me. It annoys me beyond words to have to wait till the character finally gets what I have wanted to do ages ago, but couldn't because he didn't see a motive...