telepathicscreenshots

I hope you are all ready for a LucasArts classic! 

This game was developed and published by LucasArts in 1992. This game is their second Indiana Jones game, following the extremely successful Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). It falls just after Secret of Monkey Island 2 and Day of the Tentacle on the LucasArts chronology, during a real golden age for them. While I don’t think this is the best LucasArts game I’ve played, I do think it is somewhat under-appreciated and overlooked by newer fans.

Mechanically, it plays like any other LucasArts game. You’ve got that classic SCUMM experience–clickable inventory, verb wall, etc. Its also another pretty short one. I think it took me about 8 hours to complete it and I tried to find puzzles myself before going right to the guide.

The thing this game does differently than its predecessors, is it introduces differing paths through the game’s story- Fists, Wits, and Team paths. For my playthrough, I did the Wits path, though I have watched sections of playthroughs that chose the other paths and they do all have their own charm.

The Team path focuses on Indy’s compatriot, Sophia Hapgood, and working together with her, Wits is the most puzzle-oriented, and Fists focuses on physically manipulating the environment to thwart enemies.

I really appreciated that the plotline of this story was original. I was worried that it not being a Indiana Jones movie prior that it would not feel true to the world of Indiana Jones but I think this game fits right in. The story has all the staples of the Indiana Jones classics, for better and for worse– Globe-trotting puzzle-solving, drama with some Nazis, one-liners and quips, cartoonish exploration of world cultures, Love-interest sidekick (who, of course, gets captured), its all here!! But really, it was fun to just go with it and not know what was going to happen next.

The voice acting is really great for this kind of game and at this time. It adds a lot to the silly writing and jokes and I think lends to this game aging slightly better than it might’ve otherwise.

I recommend using a guide for this game as some of the puzzles are a little clunky and since there are multiple paths, its sometimes hard to know what thing you’re supposed to be doing and when. There’s also a somewhat annoying labyrinth section about 2/3 of the way into the game and who has time for that?

 If you’re interested in learning more about the development of the game, I listened to this interview with Noah Falstein, one of the game’s 3 creators. One notable fun fact I learned was that they received multiple hate letters regarding the aforementioned labyrinth section! 

 Also, you will probably also need SCUMMVM to play this game but its free to download.

If you play the game, let me know what you think of it! 

Right now, its only $2.09 on GOG!

I really deliberated over what my first game to talk about would be. I didn’t want to pick something TOO well-known but I didn’t want to get too far out there right away either. Scrolling through the backlog, Beneath a Steel Sky really stood out to me as a stellar game, not too long, and emblematic of what is good about its genre at the time.

For those who are unfamiliar with the game, it is a 1994 cyberpunk point-and-click adventure by Revolution Software and Virgin Interactive. It was originally released for MS DOS and Amiga home computers but the source code was released in 2003 and has been easy to find all over the internet since. (Steam, GOG– take your pick, they’re both free!)

The game starts off with a digital comic by Dave Gibbons of Watchmen fame. I must admit the art looks a little off due to the limitations of creating art for a computer screen. However, his signature style is there and it does all of the heavy lifting for the exposition, with the gameplay starting in media res. 

If you’re interested in Gibbons’ process and approach for creating the game’s character concepts, background sketches, and of course, the introductory comics, there is a good, short interview from Revolution’s 25th Anniversary here on YouTube.

Moving on to the game itself, there’s a lot of good things to say. The tone is somewhere between Sierra’s earnestness and Lucasarts’ more comedic approach. I cannot say what a relief that was to me as I moved from the serious opening comic and into the gameplay. They very easily could’ve made this game fully dark and edgy, especially in 1994 when that wasn’t already done to death. Not all of Robert Foster’s quips land but as someone who grew up reading Spider-Man, this was no problem for me. Even some of the bad ones gave me a chuckle.

The logic behind puzzles are something I always think about when considering whether or not I want to recommend an old-school P&C and Beneath a Steel Sky gets a solid B+ in this regard. (Don’t get me started on Moon Logic!) 

There was only one puzzle in the game that I needed to go hunting through the walkthrough for its solution so if you are used to this kind of puzzle-solving, you shouldn’t have too much trouble either. If you want to have a walkthrough open in the background, just in case, this is the one I used. No spoilers, no pics, just actions to solve the puzzles– That’s my preference when it comes to a walkthrough. 

It only took me a few hours to complete it so its a great game to play over a weekend or between two longer games.

In summary, this game gets my seal of approval, with certainty. Anybody into a cyberpunk or dystopian setting that likes a game with humor, this cult-classic is a must-play, especially since it is available for free. 

Shardlight (2016)

I’ve heard nothing but love for wave 2-10 of destruction; but I’ve realized that the scene loses some of its magic for western audience because they don’t know it’s a shout out. 

So today I want to break down for you today the biggest reference in 13 Sentinels you most likely missed out on; Miyuki Inaba, Lynn Minmay and The Super Dimensional Fortess Macross.

Join me under the cut for massive spoilers for Sentinels of course, and a nearly 40 year old anime you’ve never seen.