Still having a sort of vacant day, I decided finally to start Jane Jensen's newest. It's been out for several months and I first bought it on GOG, but I couldn't get it to install even with GOG's customer support, so they refunded my money and I found it on Steam for the same price. And Steam has achievements!
A very typical Jane Jensen game, Plenty of complexity, including in the gameplay. She for some reason uses the most layered of systems, always has. Yes, it's point and click, but you have to go through plenty of steps due to the options she gives you. You can look, take, operate, or use something on the various hot spots. These are always available with either a spacebar or by clicking on a target area in her abbreviated in-game menu.
And of course the puzzles come in nice layers. You have to find an object here before you can get a result over there. The only way to do it is to be absolutely sure you've clicked on all hotspots in every possible scene. Sometimes you have to have completed an action before you get the chance to take or operate something. Example: we find motor oil in a street in Cairo. First, our guy says he doesn't need any motor oil. Later we find a use for it, so we'd better remember that it's there. Only after we find the need for it can we pick it up. Actually, that makes more sense than most adventures, where you pick up objects and carry them around for no apparent reason, then later you find out why. (Carol Reed does that constantly.) Plus, it adds more complexity to the game, and that's good.
Malachi investigates a murder
This time we play a high-end antiques dealer who tends to get into dangerous situations. I've just finished the first two chapters. We've got a murder mystery in Chapter 1 and the plot thickens in Chapter 2. I'm finding it quite fun.
Much of the gameplay involves analyzing various people and objects. In the easier puzzles, we just look at hot spots on a figure and guess which of the multiple choice answers are correct. It's fairly obvious, and Jane tends to throw in some ridiculous choices to narrow the guess factor.
But this game has a focus on history (yay!) and we get quite a lot of reading matter on various objects and figures from history. Which historical character matches the modern one, for example. Don't know where this is tending, but I suspect some time travel will be involved.
We don't yet know how the Moebius infinity strip works in the game, but I think that's going to be a major object of play. It's only been mentioned once so far.
Golly, I hope this game isn't short. I've already reached the beginning of Chapter 3, and usually her games have only six chapters. I had to look at a WT in Chapter 1, but I figured out Chapter 2 all by my little self. Just a matter of getting used to the gameplay, really.
I'm having fun!
One caveat: the 3-D cartoon characters just look dumb. She did the best ever full-motion video game in GK2. The tech is better now. Why not bring it back? (Probably too expensive. Sierra had the $$$, but she's operating independently now.) Anyway, full motion video would fit with this game perfectly. Most games screwed it up back in the 90s. Now they could do it very well indeed. Sure hope somebody tries, and with a decent game.
So, on to Chapter 3!
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