Post by Bytor on Jun 10, 2012 6:04:21 GMT -5
-Visuals- 8.3/10
This is going to certainly be one of those cases where beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The game is essentially made up of hand drawn 2D graphics, drawn very well I might add, but still certainly a form that some may not appreciate or like for that matter. I found the game to be very nice looking actually. The way the graphics are designed it has the feel, although not the actual look, of true 3D graphics. The artists used depth and perception to make it appear as if you were traveling through the game and not simply viewing. Now, like I said, not everyone will like the look but I enjoyed the game's look and feel immensely, thus admitted, not quite as much as Hotel Dusk or even 999 but still overall very nice.
-Sound- 8.8/10
I loved the sound in this game. The music fits the mood and feel of the game wonderfully. The only real complaint is there is simply not much of the music, it's pretty much the same music over and over again. It became pretty easy to tell when it was time to open a time hole, lol, the music certainly gave it away. And don't expect much voice acting, and when I say don't expect much, I mean be ready to pretty much read 99% of what is happening, lol. Still, overall I really, really liked the music a lot.
-Gameplay- 8.8/10
Typical visual novel gameplay, with one small exception. This game plays out like a true visual novel, in other words you can't really lose, let me rephrase, if you do mess up you're either incompetent or you paid zero attention to the clues given to you, and I mean zero, yes, it's that straightforward. Now, having said that I still had a blast playing this game as I felt the story and implications combined with the gameplay made the game a lot of fun. In a nutshell you have the power to open holes in time using a special pen, appropriately called the Hollow Pen. However, the places you can achieve this are limited as is both the amount of times you can preform this action and the amount of interaction you have within these holes. I really enjoyed creating the holes and changing the past, it provided an interesting framework within which the story was woven. Like I said, it's not a hard game at all, the puzzles are, to say the least, pretty straight forward, but it still is a rewarding experience.
-Story- 9.0/10
You play as Ethan Kairos, a young man who wakes up to find his parents missing. And not only are they missing but they have, he is informed, been gone for 12 years, and the past as he remembers it does not exist. Shortly after he receives a letter and a pen which he finds out can be used to change the best in small ways, but which will have huge implications. The story unfolds a bit like a detective story but I would honestly say it's more like reading a sci-fi time travel short story. I loved the possible implications the premise set and I hope the developers will make some sort of sequel which is far more encompassing and reaching in grandeur and scope. Yes, it's that good of a premise, and although it isn't as deep or complex as I would like to see I still cannot fault it for being a well crafted, albeit short, story.
PS Be aware of many, many little nuances regarding the subject of "time" in the game, kinda fun and neat.
-Overall- 8.8/10
This game is simply fun, if, and it's a big if, you don't mind something a little slower paced, well, actually a lot slower paced. the game is the ultimate in what if's, it requires you to use a lot of imagination albeit not really that much thought, if that makes any sense. What I am trying to say is the game is certainly linear and yet is thought provoking at the same time. Not necessarily a cerebral masterpiece but still a fine work and certainly time well spent.