If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the
FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to
register or
login before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
| 28 SEP 2008 at 6:09am |
avatar_58Private Detective
Posts : 403
Joined: 27 MAY 2008
Status : Online | I just finished it (forced myself is more like it). I have to say this game is not at all worth playing, unless you really feel bored one day. There is no real story to speak of and the events are near-random. You start out trying to help Mina, then all the sudden you are in Egypt exploring crypts and solving odd puzzles. In fact it wasn't until the latter half that it even began to resemble a Dracula based story.
Whats worse is that it doesn't even have a proper ending. Terrible.
Some puzzles were pretty good, others were the product of pure stupidity on the part of the developers. One puzzle required you to have knowledge of Piano playing. I have no idea why someone would think this is funny. I solved one or two puzzles by accident as well, as they made no sense to me but randomly flicking it for 2 seconds seems to have solved it. Some of them need walkthroughs too, as I can't for the life of me imagine who would spend hours trying every combination.
Terrible.
|
| 29 SEP 2008 at 9:14pm |
| Deleted User | I loved this game. I just felt it was over too soon, and that the Transylvanian part was too short.
I don't understand how a criticism against the game could be that you are brought down by: "an endless string of unnecessary puzzles." :-? Puzzles are what adventure gaming is about. If it didn't have puzzles, it would not be an adventure game, right?
Besides that I felt the ending was arrived at too soon, I thought that the ending itself was pretty good - I suppose it could have been slightly more dramatic, but hey, this is an adventure game proper, after all, not an action adventure.
The game had lovely graphics and music, a good, solid story, and I enjoyed spending time in it's gameworld.
I would definitely rate this game a B+ to an A. It would have been a solid A if some of the puzzles where not a bit obscure, and if time spent in the castle had been longer. The general quality of the puzzles were good, though.
|
| 30 SEP 2008 at 12:41pm |
avatar_58Private Detective
Posts : 403
Joined: 27 MAY 2008
Status : Online | Originally Posted By TheTraveler (29 SEP 2008 9:14pm)
I loved this game. I just felt it was over too soon, and that the Transylvanian part was too short.
I don't understand how a criticism against the game could be that you are brought down by: "an endless string of unnecessary puzzles." :-? Puzzles are what adventure gaming is about. If it didn't have puzzles, it would not be an adventure game, right?
Besides that I felt the ending was arrived at too soon, I thought that the ending itself was pretty good - I suppose it could have been slightly more dramatic, but hey, this is an adventure game proper, after all, not an action adventure.
The game had lovely graphics and music, a good, solid story, and I enjoyed spending time in it's gameworld.
I would definitely rate this game a B+ to an A. It would have been a solid A if some of the puzzles where not a bit obscure, and if time spent in the castle had been longer. The general quality of the puzzles were good, though.
I do agree - they needed more time spent with Dracula and his castle. However thats an overwhelming theme with this game - wondering what it has to do with the mythos. It felt like I was in Egypt for so long I forgot which game I was playing. Only a fourth of the game, but a fourth too much.
The puzzles that worked were nice. Even the more obscure castle puzzles. What I didn't like was trying to guess what Van Helsing wanted me to do or find. "I am in need of something". Instead of desinging the game to make it logical I felt lost and like I was just trying to please Van Helsing than solve the puzzle.
The best parts of the game were the graveyard/mansion and the last bit. The rest just annoyed or confused me as to what they were trying to do.
Also for a game bearing his name I saw very little of Dracula or his trail. He didn't even seem like a villain, just a name dropped here and there during scenes. :'( Lots of potential just flushed away.
|
| 30 SEP 2008 at 2:46pm |
| Deleted User | Originally Posted By avatar_58 (30 SEP 2008 12:41pm)
I do agree - they needed more time spent with Dracula and his castle. However thats an overwhelming theme with this game - wondering what it has to do with the mythos. It felt like I was in Egypt for so long I forgot which game I was playing. Only a fourth of the game, but a fourth too much.
The puzzles that worked were nice. Even the more obscure castle puzzles. What I didn't like was trying to guess what Van Helsing wanted me to do or find. "I am in need of something". Instead of desinging the game to make it logical I felt lost and like I was just trying to please Van Helsing than solve the puzzle.
The best parts of the game were the graveyard/mansion and the last bit. The rest just annoyed or confused me as to what they were trying to do.
[highlight]Also for a game bearing his name I saw very little of Dracula or his trail. He didn't even seem like a villain, just a name dropped here and there during scenes[/highlight]. :'( Lots of potential just flushed away.
Hi Avatar.
I definitely agree with you in that I would have liked to have seen more of Dracula himself. I think the rub lies in that an adventure game proper was made out of a subject that would probably have lent itself better to an action title?
Regarding your comment: What I didn't like was trying to guess what Van Helsing wanted me to do or find. "I am in need of something". Instead of desinging the game to make it logical I felt lost and like I was just trying to please Van Helsing than solve the puzzle.
Well, these were your classic "inventory puzzles", and I think he was just giving you auditory queues about the fact that you needed to combine something, or "use" something there in the classic inventory puzzle way, so I didn't have a problem with that, as the inventory puzzles were generally still slightly more logical than, for instance, some puzzles in Tunguska. [smiley=laughing.gif]
It was some of the logic puzzles (like the music one you mentioned), that I have a problem with. Although generally reasonably enjoyable, they just weren't all quite straightforward enough for me.
All people are different though, so I don't expect my experiences to be exactly the same as that of other gamers.
Maybe I liked the game so much because I'm a bit of a *person who makes special allowances for nice sound and graphics* ...er... I think you know what I mean. [smiley=devil_smiley_grintail.gif] (Sort of a 'graphics strumpet' ; -to put it reasonably politely)
Here and there, like in the graveyard/mansion and castle, the atmosphere was rather nicely done, and it is rather a pity that there wasn't a bit more of that....
|
| 30 SEP 2008 at 4:34pm |
avatar_58Private Detective
Posts : 403
Joined: 27 MAY 2008
Status : Online | Originally Posted By TheTraveler (30 SEP 2008 2:46pm)
Hi Avatar.
I definitely agree with you in that I would have liked to have seen more of Dracula himself. I think the rub lies in that an adventure game proper was made out of a subject that would probably have lent itself better to an action title?
I think that pretty much sums it up. However let's think about this from another perspective. Had this game been released in the 90's by sierra they would have made a Manhunter-esque game with action sequences. I mean you can't even fault the ending because how else *could* they have done it? In this no-action style they didn't have a choice I guess.
Although you know what would have made things more interesting? Maybe a chapter or two *as* Dracula, showing his past. I liked reading about why he was after Mina and what his origins were - but....why read? Couldn't they have shown me through a short Dracula chapter or two? Would have gone a long way towards making the story interesting.
The "I am in need of something" cues were a bit much to me because it made things kind of silly. I mean at some points he would say this even to non-essential puzzles/objects. Why not employ a score like in the old days? Let me miss things, rather than force me to stare at paintings or talk to characters. I couldn't leave the museum until I showed the curator a statue......but he didn't even give me anything useful. However tell that to van Helsing, who knew I needed to do it but never spoke up.
The graphics were pretty good. I liked seeing a sort of 'hd' adventure. Only problem is the character animation needed some work, as they didn't really fit into the hyper-sharp background images.
|
| 30 SEP 2008 at 5:29pm |
| Deleted User | Originally Posted By avatar_58 (30 SEP 2008 4:34pm)
I think that pretty much sums it up. However let's think about this from another perspective. Had this game been released in the 90's by sierra they would have made a Manhunter-esque game with action sequences. I mean you can't even fault the ending because how else *could* they have done it? In this no-action style they didn't have a choice I guess.
Exactly.
Although you know what would have made things more interesting? Maybe a chapter or two *as* Dracula, showing his past. I liked reading about why he was after Mina and what his origins were - but....why read? Couldn't they have shown me through a short Dracula chapter or two? Would have gone a long way towards making the story interesting.
I couldn't agree with you more. This would have been preferrable to the Egypt chapter, I think.
|
| 9 MAR 2009 at 10:25pm |
fahmyIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 18
Joined: 12 OCT 2006
Status : Online | Originally Posted By TheTraveler (29 SEP 2008 9:14pm)
I don't understand how a criticism against the game could be that you are brought down by: "an endless string of unnecessary puzzles." :-? Puzzles are what adventure gaming is about. If it didn't have puzzles, it would not be an adventure game, right?
What I meant here by unnecessary puzzles were those break-the-code things that have little to do with the story. They were just, to me, excessive and forced. I'm more attracted to a strong story-driven adventure...and story-related ways of solving things.
|
