Dreamfall: TLJ2 is here!!!
 

http://www.dreamfall.com/

Oh. My. Gaud! Best adventure game EVER! (At least so far, and I can tell I've just barely gotten into the game.)

Okay, first off, the game comprises 6 disks, and from what I can tell its every bit as big as the first The Longest Journey, which for those of you not familar with said game, is REALLY big. (It ain't called The Longest Journey for nothing!)

Anyway visually, the game is fantastic. Story-wise, I'm just blown away. The begining scene is something of a nod to players of TLJ, but after that brief interation the game really just becomes a fantastic journey which both new & old players will enjoy.

(The scene in question involves Brian Westinghouse [a character from TLJ] trip from Stark to Arcadia. Stark is the name for our dimension, Arcadia is the name of the dimension of magic.)

Voice acting is top notch. Many of the original Voice Actors return for their various parts. The only exception to this really good VAing, is this stereotypical chinese guy who sells you a lockpick, complete with a lousy accent.

Music, is great & orchestral. Just like TLJ, the music is just ambient enough not to be annoying, but at the same time really adds to the feel.

I admit the game is not entirely without its flaws, while the engine is fully 3d, and can be mouse driven, its somewhat based on the Grim Fandango engine, which I've never been a fan of. There is combat, which is better than many adventure games that I've played, but it involves two forms of attack and a block. Which, while the combat doesn't feel forced, doesn't entirely make up for the fact that combat is fairly simplistic & somewhat dull.

Puzzles are something I'm on the fence on. Personally, I've never considered myself the greatest of adventure gamers, but I'm seeing answers to puzzles right off the bat. Of course, there are multiple solutions, but the fact that I think I'm going for the harder options (like finding a way to sneak past a guard, using pizza & climbing out a window, rather than fighting him) makes me feel like they might be too simple. Then again, maybe I've just played too many adventure games.

Anyway, fans of the original will love this game, especially how the old haunts show up & are represented in full 3d. New players will just love it for the story. At any rate, I'll talk a bit more when I get a little further along in the game.

SWB
PS - it might not have hit your stores just yet, I kinda had my copy overnighted to me.

I'm replaying TLJ in preparation of this. I'll try to play it before the summer starts.

Bah! Don't you know you're legally required to support the revival of decent Aventure games no matter what? Sell off one of your kidneys, that's why you've got two! Even if you must play TLJ first, at least buy Dreamfall while the industry is paying attention to sales.

:)

Anyway, you might want to at least check out if you can run Dreamfall before you get to that point... Go to this place, you'll find Dreamfall is one of the games it tests your system for.

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

SWB

Hum...What is this game like? Is this your old Adventure Game A.k.A. Point-&-Click? Or Adventure+ RPG?

Well its a sequel to the best point & click adventure game, The Longest Journey. As for the system the game operates on, its a 3d engine, much like Grim Fandago or Monkey Island 4. Except its fully 3d, not just a set of camera angles. There is a little combat, but nothing more than Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis, and certainly less than the Quest for Glory games.

It isn't much more interactive than Grim, but the story is even more involving that that game. Personally, if you even slightly like adventure games, you might try picking up The Longest Journey on Amazon.com (or where ever else you can find it). Its only $10.00 new $9.00 used. If you like that game (and I know you will), then you'll gladly pony up for Dreamfall.

The graphics in the original The Longest Journey are a bit dated, but its still a great game to play. I also find neat stuff on the replays, its fairly fun to read the diary recounting of events that have transpired (a feature that has been carried over into Dreamfall).

SWB
PS - The original Dreamfall is HUGE! 4 CDs back when adventure games typically only used 1-2 CDs.

Man, I just finished with Kingdom Hearts II, I've got plot points and awesome moments and excitedness for the next one in my head, and now SWB just HAS to go out and tell me to get this awesome sequel.

Thanks a ton, Bob. You're really making it easy on me.

But...in related notes, that website linked is VERY nifty...bookmark'd.

Here's linkage to Adventure Gamers section that gives linkage to all its Dreamfall articles, as well as a number of rather neat screenshots.

http://www.adventuregamers.com/gameinfo.php?id=162

SWB

Do you need to know alot about TLJ before playing 2? Or is that just kind of "Extraneous"?

No, you really don't need to play TLJ to enjoy Dreamfall. However, it does make it a richer experience for it. Like when you meet old characters, or revisit places you've visited in the first game. Also, you might be a bit quicker on the uptake if you play TLJ, or at very least the backstory will make more sense.

I mean, thus far in Dreamfall I haven't heard any mention of why the world of magic (Arcadia) and the world of technology (Stark) have to be seperated, something you do learn in the first game. Of course, to be honest with the plot I've seen so far in this game, that doesn't seem to effect the plot at all.

And that's just it, the plot in this game seems to be a thing onto itself. It uses elements from the first game, but it doesn't depend on them. Its a rich story unto itself. The only exception might be the very start of the game in which you briefly control Westinghouse, a character from the first game. But then, I know all about Westinghouse & I admit I found the scene to be a bit jarring.

To explain, the game starts out with Brian, in a monastary, writing in some sort of journal talking very verbosely about going on a trip to another world. Players of the first game will know this is the tale of Brian's trip from Stark to Arcadia. Again, players of the first game will know that Brian, not being a shifter (somebody who can travel between the two worlds) had some sort of trouble in the transfer, and got stuck between the two worlds for a bit, but Brian never went into detail in the fist game. We get the briefest glimpse into what happens to Brian, and the cutscene ends. Of course, I'm a player of the first game & I'm still trying to work out what happened, and a new player will likewise have to put this scene out of his/her mind until the game eventually gets around to explaining WTF just happened.

After that, you control Zoe for some time, and the story revolves around her exploits in Stark, which is a modern version of our world. You get constant cryptic hints about April Ryan, in the form of a ghostly girl, but other than that the story focuses on Zoe trying to follow up on a story that her reporter boyfriend was following.

Thus, the story slowly eases you into the wider events, and makes for an experience much like the first game. In that game, you too find yourself thrust into a similar predicament & the full story is only given to you in pieces.

So no, you don't have to play TLJ to enjoy the game. You just might enjoy it more if you do play said game. There's also a newish two-disk version apparently, which is said to work with XP. Of course, I suspect the older game might just work find on a XP system, since they're still selling that one on Amazon.

SWB

Mirai: just do yourself a favor and start with TLJ1. It'll be worth it, you don't want to end up reversing the series. Wouldn't do it justice, I think.