I definitely went back many years in time to play this 2010 release for Xbox. It was a fantastic story driven game. Microsoft Studios did a good job at this as I found myself lost in a compelling mystic story. It builds your curiosity and locks you up in captivation as to where else the narrative will be going.
The graphics were very suitable for that era and pretty competitive to the times. When I started to play the game I wasn't sure If it was worth my time. It just started as a nightmare I didn't understand though I didn't take time to understand the simple controls as there is a miniature tutorial running as you play, the game script kept me wondering as the waves of enemies came. Who where these dark angry people with axes and what environment was I in and why? This and a tone of more questions as the game introduces you to a lot of questions than answers.
The story eventually opens itself up but still keeps the mystery going of Alan. Was he writing a story of the future or past that he was now living in? Where did his wife go? And a lot more questions I kept asking myself which fueled me to keep playing the game.
The Beauty about It from the get go you will find that the gameplay is easy although you have to really budget those bullets and play very tactical as the waves of enemies can at times be overwhelming. The controls tutorial is done on the move, learn as you go. I liked the way I had to save my game it had style to it as you have to look for the light and save that of course you will understand if you have played the game or wish to try it. It reminded me of God of war 2 game saving.
On the above image I got this Tell Me Why reminisce just at the beginning of the game similar setup and events occurred on Tell Me Why. From here I like the dialogues and the overall image presentation. The game starts to build a purpose you start to get to know who Alan was the famous story book writer.
I also liked how the cutscenes looked for old technology It does show effort was placed to render the visuals nicely. The characters expressions and dialogues are in-depth even the lip movement is fairly good. I need to point out that this caliber of games as far as I know is a foundation to some of the script or story driven games we see today. I feel Its imperative to appreciate such beginnings as they shape the present genre we have today of similar games.
Again the visuals in the cutscenes are really fine as you can see from the above and below screenshots I have shared with you It was really a big thing 11 years ago. To have a game running in a movie-like presentation carried a wow factor to the audience in those times. Today its more of a regular occurrence and of course visuals have stepped up big time however I love to appreciate the old wine.
In the above scenery I enjoyed how you would be trying to stay hidden as a celebrity to the locals of the town, It gives you that sense of importance and risk to the game world.
I like how the NPCs communicate with you the conversations are very interesting how for example Barry doesn't believe you at first, he thinks there's something wrong with you mentally. The immersion in the dialogue for the story was really cool.
I wished this game had a sequel I feel like it would strengthen the present Microsoft Library. Its a good well written story driven game and if you like such this is a great classic to take yourself back to. I also think this paved the way for some of the great story driven games we have like Call at the Sea and Tell me why and so on. Perhaps in the future the developers will go back in time to revive this good project but that remains to be seen.
Overall Its a good story driven game worthy to revisit If you had never played it. Happy gaming
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