View Full Version : Sprung is underrated
RollingSkull
10-25-2006, 11:14 AM
As far as adventure games marketed as dating sims go, Sprung isn't that bad. For every really dumb thing they do, they pull off something else equally as cute. It is, for instance, the first game I've played where if you follow a conversation line where your joker friend makes about 20 consecutive money-related puns, you get a Game Over where he is found next morning with several broken bones and a "coin purse lodged in his throat" and your character wanted by the police.
The entire thing has the air of a good-natured teen drama type deal.
For the clearance price at TRU these days, you should really pick it up if the idea of a dating-oriented adventure game appeals to you, IF you have the patience for occasional bouts of stupidity (the bad kind) with your humorous writing.
Though, I should warn you, having played RE and SH with a steel nerve, Sprung was able to shake me to my very core. Shana's cow thing... ... I still have nightmares.
furyk
10-25-2006, 11:15 AM
Sprung took five dollars and half an hour of my life that I'll never see again.
RollingSkull
10-25-2006, 11:45 AM
Yeah, and I paid $10 for Death By Degrees. :P
Still, I liked it. It isn't one of the best games out there, but it was enjoyable, especially being a veteran of dumb adventure games (Read: Sierra's games outside their masterpiece QFG4). You have to come at it wanting to like it though.
Why you gotta be such a downer, though? :P
Scobie
10-25-2006, 10:42 PM
I've seen Sprung on umpteen clearance racks for as low as $4 but just couldn't bring myself to do it. For me it's a cross between the almost universal negative opinions about the game and a "line in the sand" mentality I have towards dating sims. Sure, I'm a gamer, and yeah that's a little nerdish I guess, but a dating sim? Can't freakin' do it, man.
I had to try hard to will myself into continue playing this game. I got the girl part done but the guy one is absolutely retarded difficult. This game costed $3 @ kmart but was definitely not worth the time I invested into it.
Uhhggg Cow shana. <-- that is the creepiest thing I've ever seen in a game.
RollingSkull
10-25-2006, 10:54 PM
It is less a dating "sim" than it is an adventure game where your objectives are based around a weekend of dating people. There is loads more in the way of easy logic puzzles and conversation tree navigation than anything else.
Heck, the entire thing is divided up into missions, ranging from a little Cyrano de Bergerac action to cheering up friends and what not, with a few cute side-story bonus levels wherein you play Truth or Dare or what not. The problem with the mission design is that it feels like different people did different missions, so the characters end up behaving somewhat differently per mission.
And, of course, some of them are just stupid. Certain parts (Brett's scavenger hunt level) are just not really well-thought out, but for the price, it isn't a bad buy. The writing is laugh-out-loud funny every now and then, and usually enjoyable throughout. But you have to want to enjoy it. You have to want to see where various dialogue trees lead, try screwing up just for the occasional satisfying line where you whiz being diplomatic.
DocRamon
10-25-2006, 11:29 PM
believe it or not, i've played this one all the way through... it's bad, for sure, but yes, not as bad as most people make it out to be. you have to know what you're getting yourself into... a mediocre text adventure. if you keep telling yourself that, the game isn't so bad.
but you can't beat it 100% because there's a piece of artwork that doesn't show up when it's supposed to. there doesn't seem to be a way around the glitch. nobody knows how to fix it. i even emailed ubisoft about it... they said it's weird, they didn't know about it (THEY never even played it all the way through?), and they'd let me know the solution when they figured it out... which they didn't. sucks.
greydemise
10-25-2006, 11:34 PM
id actually buy it..im serious, i need new DS games..and $4 doesnt sound like a big risk to me..hell, i make that in tip scooping ice cream..and its freezing out! ( i make more than $4 in tips a night...usually ;) )..but yea..need new ds games, i want :D..ill buy it off someone if they want to get rid of it
mforge
10-25-2006, 11:44 PM
Heh, my friend wrote the script for this. She sent me a free copy but I could never be bothered to play very far. (Because of the actual "gameplay"--I thought the writing was pretty cute, but then I'm biased.) I don't have the heart to trade it in, though.
RollingSkull
10-26-2006, 12:07 AM
Heh, my friend wrote the script for this. She sent me a free copy but I could never be bothered to play very far. (Because of the actual "gameplay"--I thought the writing was pretty cute, but then I'm biased.) I don't have the heart to trade it in, though.
...
...
Is she single?
:P
defiance_17
10-26-2006, 12:16 AM
I paid about $5 for it at Target last year sometime, and I thought it was pretty entertaining for the price of entry. I spent a good handful of hours with it, and got one of my non-gaming girl friends pretty into it. Definitely underrated, if you're at all interested in text adventures or dating sims.
I am gussing most people who like sprung have never played a real dating sim. Such a shame.
DocRamon
10-26-2006, 02:53 AM
umm... i never needed to simulate dating... i just dated.
so really, such a shame for who?
just for people who think sprung is a good dating sim, because there are much better one in japan.
integralsmatic
10-26-2006, 03:13 AM
I am gussing most people here never played a real dating sim. Such a shame.
hmm the only dating sims i had fun with are the tokimeki memorial series and thousand arms. the love hina one for gba wasnt that bad either. i got sprung off ebay for 2 dollars shipped because i was building a ds collection and was taking anything i could get for cheap. i couldnt sit through more than 5 minutes of it. it may be good to you but its garbage to me.
hmm the only dating sims i had fun with are the tokimeki memorial series and thousand arms. the love hina one for gba wasnt that bad either. i got sprung off ebay for 2 dollars shipped because i was building a ds collection and was taking anything i could get for cheap. i couldnt sit through more than 5 minutes of it. it may be good to you but its garbage to me.
i didnt think it is good. I probably should have word it differently.
Strider Turbulence
10-26-2006, 03:42 AM
I loved this game at first but it eventually became tedious to the point where it wasn't fun.
RollingSkull
10-26-2006, 04:41 AM
Sprung is not a dating sim, dammit, it is an adventure game.
RollingSkull
10-26-2006, 06:24 AM
Wait, you cannot get one art picture? Aw man, I like the art. :(
Xevious
10-26-2006, 02:14 PM
I never knew dating sims existed.