Congratulations Josh.
This is shaping up very nicely, but unfortunately I have to go to bed now.
Can't wait to resume playing tomorrow :-)
[-Update-]
Finished. I really enjoyed every minute of this game. This is one of the best adventure games I've played in quite some time. Normally in a game [or book or film] that has two story-lines, you find yourself preferring one over the other. But here, I was just as enthusiastic about each setting and each set of characters
While the artwork is deliciously gritty and the option to go lo-res definitely adds to the effect, I can't help but wonder how beautiful it would have looked in higher-res.
The game world itself was really immersive, especially in Azriel's storyline. However, at times, the game felt like it was supposed to be bigger than it really was. For example after opening up the map and zooming out, all these cities and planets were teasingly labeled, giving the impression that you would be visiting those areas later in the game. So it was a teeny bit disappointing when that didn't actually happen. I'm not complaining about the length of the game though. I thought it was more than ample in length for the price paid.
I had been anticipating the action scenes with some trepidation. I thought they really complemented the gameplay very well. I'm glad there weren't any more though. I read a lot of reviews and comments saying they were too easy, but I personally had a bit of trouble with them (I stubbornly stayed on 'medium' though). And one thing that annoyed me a bit was having to go through reams of dialogue every time I failed a gunfight, there should be an option to skip an entire conversation, at least in the moments before a gunfight. However, the mechanics of these sequences was quite a clever and welcome use of AGS, I thought. I'm a sucker for any game that tries something new with the code.
I've also read a one or two comments saying that the writing wasn't up to scratch. I personally found it solid and well balanced. It's noir without all the cliched and hammy dialogue, and even quite moving at the end. The voice acting for this game is the best yet from Wadjet Eye, in my opinion. Although I couldn't help think of Joey Mallone every time Kane spoke, which was difficult to ignore.
This wasn't intended to be a full review, but it seems to be heading that way, so I'll quickly add my voice to the chorus of praise for the music of this game. I especially fell for the distinctive Blade Runner-esque tunes.
The twists, too were well dealt with:
I guessed that Mathias was Balder when he started questioning Sayuri in the ship about her escape from Center 7, but I didn't actually guess the 'main' twist until it's intended reveal... I guess the first mention of face transplants should have rang alarm bells.
Thanks Josh, for bringing such an ambitious project right the way through to fruition. Many have tried, most have failed, you have succeeded, and then some. I look forward to following your future endeavours.
