Runaway: The Dream of the Turtle Finally Ships

[GuilewasNK]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/772/772210p1.html

I didn't even realize another one was coming out. I bought the first Runaway and really enjoyed the parts I played. I believe I'll pick this up.

[Strell]

Hmm. I wonder if they released the Spanish version at the same time as the English one (from what I recall, Pendulo Studios is based in Spain).

Regardless, maybe I'll go pick this up. $30 isn't so bad, and I feel the need to support the company. The first one was pretty good. Not spectacular, but since most adventure games are pre-rendered Myst clones these days with obscure titles, this one stands out pretty well.

I finished the first one within a few weeks back when CAG found it on sale from gogamer.com for six bucks or something. Well worth it.

I wonder who is going to stock it?

I guess between this, the DS, and the Sam 'n Max episodes, there's a (very small) resurgence going on in the genre.

[GuilewasNK]

I got my copy of the first game when BestBuy had them for $9.99.

[Snake2715]

Hmm. I wonder if they released the Spanish version at the same time as the English one (from what I recall, Pendulo Studios is based in Spain).

Regardless, maybe I'll go pick this up. $30 isn't so bad, and I feel the need to support the company. The first one was pretty good. Not spectacular, but since most adventure games are pre-rendered Myst clones these days with obscure titles, this one stands out pretty well.

I finished the first one within a few weeks back when CAG found it on sale from gogamer.com for six bucks or something. Well worth it.

I wonder who is going to stock it?

I guess between this, the DS, and the Sam 'n Max episodes, there's a (very small) resurgence going on in the genre.

www.justadventure.com will stock them at their store I do believe Strell.

Its been out over in Spain for a bit I do believe.

Thanks GuilewasNK.

I had lost track of when it was coming so this is good news. I will probably finish Sam N Max first though. We started it a bit yesterday and are midway through episode two.

[GuilewasNK]

No problem.

I saw an IGN alert in my e-mail and thought I'd share.

[Strell]

I meant more in the B&M area. Like Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.

'Cuz would be nice to pick this up soon.

[Strell]

Well I found a copy at a Gamestop the other day and snatched it up eagerly. Which means 1) I bought a PC game, and 2) I bought it at Gamestop. These are events I never thought would come to pass.

I also felt kinda embarrassed by the game - the cover art is very (Guile will like this) anime fan service, in the sense that it shows Brian holding Gina over his shoulders, with her bathing suit ass splayed across the front. But oh well. All the characters in these games tended to be pretty to the bone when it came to their models.

I started it yesterday, and it so far feels just like the first in a nostalgic sense. I'm not too hot on Brian's redesign, but he acts precisely as he did in the first - kinda whiny, kinda annoying, kinda pragmatic, etc. But it's still very amusing, and the graphics do feel kicked up from the first. I can still run it without a hitch, even on my POS 2 year old machine that I'd played the original with (which is so f*cking loud and I seriously, seriously am going to look into pricing out building a nice little SFF comp soon).

But anyway, looks like great fun. You begin on an island, and the only reason I particularly like this is because it has a very strong Monkey Island feel, complete with bongo'd ambient music.

So yeah, try to support Pendulo and snag a copy now if you can manage.

[Strell]

Still playing through this, just got into Chapter 3.

I read a review on adventuregamers.com, and I think it's a little harsh, but pretty spot on. The same problems from the first still mostly apply here, which (for me) are two basic things.

The first is that sometimes you're a few steps ahead of Brian - you can see what the solution is, and you might even be doing the exact steps needed (using X on Y, trying to combine two objects, etc) - but you won't actually get anywhere because he's not convinced or doesn't understand why you are suggesting such things. If you read the game's manual, it's very tongue-in-cheek about this situation, as if Brian fully understands he's a game character being controlled by some intelligent force.

So what happens is that he's cheeky about it - "Why would I want to do that?" Unfortunately, to get around this sort of situation, you generally have to speak with someone to implant the idea into Brian's head (i.e., the same one you've been thinking about already). There was actually a situation where I suggested something that I thought was a good idea, and he refused to do it. Turns out I was right, but I had to go speak with a character (who I thought was not applicable at this point) to get a clue about what to try.

So that can be annoying depending on how well you handle it. I think it's a minor complaint, and I can get around it pretty easily - all you really have to remember is that speaking with some character is probably the key to moving forward with your solution.

The second problem - and I take bigger issue here - is that there are times where you want Brian to pick something up, but he doesn't think it's useful at that time. Additionally, sometimes you'll have him go into, say, a tool shed, and he'll only take one thing. But later on you get stuck. The answer is to go back to this same shed and search it again, and he'll agree that "yeah, X looks like something I should take."

If you want to hear more complaints, the voice acting can be annoying at times. In particular one character needs to shut up, because the inflection being done just isn't amusing. Likewise the dialogue isn't all that witty, but it really tries to be. I've got some issues with some of the things Brian says, but that's getting a bit familiar with the game (though I think everyone does this with all sorts of things like movies and tv shows and sports stars and the like).

Anyway, it's a beautiful game with tried and true adventure gameplay. Right now I'd give it a 4 out of 5 or so - definitely above "solid" status.

/just a quick update

[GuilewasNK]

Thanks for the update Strell. I guess I might try Gamestop too even though I loathe going to the place.

[Snake2715]

Thanks Strell...

I wonder if its a good sign you are playing through it so quick after starting it?

Typically I get a new PC game and install it and watch the intro and maybe mess with it for 5-15 minutes... then it gets turned off until I can really sink some time into it (i.e. the next weekend or two).

Did you plan on playing to Chapter 3 so quick?

[Strell]

Started on 3/22, got to chapter 3 on 3/27. I know at least 2-3 of those nights I didn't play, so I would guess it took something like 4-6 hours or so to get to chapter 3.

I played for 2 hours last night and maybe got through half of chapter 3 (just a guess).

Adventuregamers said it takes roughly 15 hours or so to play through.

Hmmmmm.

I think the game feels pretty substantial (basically anything longer than Full Throttle or Monkey Island 1 or Loom makes me feel like it has some length), and I think I'm playing through it quickly because it's kind of relaxing. I generally can't play a game until late at night, and by then I'm tired, so having a point and click (read: "no reflexes required") game is a fairly easy thing for me to do. It also helps that I never feel the need to learn a new control setup.

As for the speed at which I'm playing it, I've kind of vowed this year to play through games to completion in a more regimented manner, as my backlog is insane. Given the slow nature of games being released this year for almost all systems, it's making it a bit easier for me to do this. I mean I've finished several DS games alone, so I'm feeling like I'm accomplishing something.

I think the game is worth it because it truly does feel pretty old school, and I don't see a lot of these types of games coming out lately (Phoenix Wright and Hotel Dusk aren't really being counted here). Besides, I feel the need to support Pendulo. The Adventuregamers review said this game supposedly ends with a big "to be continued," so ehhh, I'll take my chances telling them to get their asses in gear on a possible third game.

Compared to Runaway 1, the first two chapters seem noticeably longer in this game compared to it, but I played that game nearly 2 years ago, so I don't know if I just don't remember well or not. I just know that chapters 1 and 2 in Runaway 1 went by very quick, where as in Chapter 2 in here, there were 5 big locations to go to, each with a few sublocations, making it substantially bigger/longer.

Anyway, best thing to think about is if you liked the first one or not. If you did, you'll like this. If you didn't, you won't.

[GuilewasNK]

Crap, I just read the first Runaway game had StarForce on it. I don't think I have it installed on my XP PC, but I did on my ME PC.

[Strell]

Another slight update:

Made it mostly through Chapter 5. I think 6 is the final chapter.

The game's problems just reiterate themselves a few times, and after a while, I must admit it gets very annoying. Particularly some very irritating characters and some brazenly bad logic for solving puzzles.

I got frustrated and got about half a hint on what to do in this chapter, and ultimately figured it out, but it was aggravating. Basically I was doing what needed to be done, but the game needs it done in a very specific way. Without spoiling, I needed to put an item away somewhere, and just going into the room won't let me, which is retarded because when you go into the room, you just go off screen and Brian says "yeah ok I'm in this room now" (more or less), but then he says "But I can't think of anything to do in here" and walks out.

The problem is that I had an item I knew I needed to drop off, or at least do ____ with, and I kept telling him to do it. But he won't do it unless you choose to use the item with the room itself, which makes no sense.

I guess the 20 times I had him walk into the room, it never occurs to him to do what I want him to do?

Still fairly fun game, but it's kinda getting bogged down a little at this point.

[GuilewasNK]

Strell, does Turtle have Starforce like the original game?

[Strell]

I'm going to be honest - how do I check?

[Snake2715]

Thanks for the updates Strell, As soon as my rewards come from BB this is mine.

[GuilewasNK]

I'm going to be honest - how do I check?

I have no idea, but I found the answer here....

http://www.glop.org/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4394

No Starforce so all is good.