year: 2012
Secret
Files 1 and 2 offered a much needed boost into a genre that at that time was a
bit forgotten. Both visually outstanding games with adequate storytelling and likable characters. The game
play was a throwback to older point and click games only where some puzzle
solving was needed to advance. Luckily it was never of the variety where you
might have overlooked or missed picking up an object. Everything that you need
is right there on the screen. You just have to look for it. Even with this
simplification it had just enough challenge to satisfy
the puzzle solving needs. Since the focus naturally was on the story difficult
puzzles would have gotten in the way of the enjoyment.
The third
part in the franchise just as previous games looks stunning and the introduction
puts you right in the middle of some dramatic event. It bothered me a little
that the main character for the most part seemed so emotionless. And brushed
things off like it is a normal day in the office. It’s not fair to blame this
on the voice actors but more on the writers and director not putting more
thought into this. After this introduction though you will immediately notice
something is off. And I am talking about the puzzle solving. Somehow there is
no real pressing incentive to start your adventure. The emotional connection
you normally would have for the main characters is almost non existent in this
one. Just puzzle solving because an adventure game needs to have puzzles I
never found appealing. To me it had to make at least a little sense. The
Gabriel Knight and Tex Murphy games are a good example how to combine puzzles
with storytelling that don’t feel random at all. But Secret Files 3 is filled
with puzzles that aren't logical. As opposed to the earlier parts who
mere more so. At a certain point this really got on my nerves. To make a
comparison. It took me one day to beat the first,two days to beat the second
and almost half a year to finish the third. I kept quitting and forgetting to
play the game since I never felt motivated to play it unlike the first two who
I just had to see through the end as soon as possible. The story also has a lot
to do with it. It simply is not interesting enough.
Overall to
me this part lacks the charm of the earlier games and is the
most tedious in the franchise. Skip this one and ignore it's existence. (Ok I realize this sounds real harsh and it might not deserve to ignored. But to me this game felt soulless. And an adventure game even if it is heavily flawed not to have a soul shows that the developers are not really understanding the genre.)
No comments:
Post a Comment