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Written by Morpheus KitamiThis appears to be a modified shot of a scene in this very entry, though the scientist girl seems much more concerned than she has reason to be.Welcome back to the strange world of the development duo of Hirono Kenichi and Kanasugi Hajime, much like last time with Count Dracula, we'll be looking at another classic monster movie inspired title in The Invisible Man - Appear Appear. Yes, that is the title, and at first glance everything is going to be very weird. At first, ...

 Written by Morpheus KitamiThe trains must run all the time, even when nobody is riding them, that, or they didn't want a random NPC here.Last time, I thought I got defeated by an insurmountable glitch in which I could not enter a subway car. Being somewhat wise, I held off on calling it quits until you guys had a look. Lo and behold, Busca comes through and saves my bacon with a link to a post saying the exact cycles I need to fix the issue. I don't know if this is a DOSbox issue or if there r ...

Written by MichaelSo, let me start off this post with some behind the scenes info.  See, while it looks like it’s just been a week or two I last posted, it’s been over a month since I wrote the last post.  I was working ahead on my games while I had some free time, but my progress was thwarted by this game.It seems I can’t stay motivated for this title.Obviously, this will all be appropriate discussions in the final rating, whenever that comes, but this game so far lacks the charm of the ...

Written by Morpheus KitamiNot a popular destination, then.We return to where we left off on Innocent Until Caught, freshly arrived on planet Tayte, looking for the nearest bar. First we have to get through airport security, and you can tell this is pre-9/11, because it goes over smoothly. With how aggressive the IRDS is, you'd expect space TSA to perform exploratory surgery, but it goes by so quickly that you might not notice it. Even talking to the guy is optional.Nothing but class from our man ...

In the olden days, just like now, too much trash filling our landfills.Written by MichaelThis post will be a little shorter; I only did some preliminary exploration and got the lay of the land, but see a couple of puzzles I'll need to solve.So, we start off the game with our friend Malcolm crawling out from under a pile of junk; the statue of him was discarded with several other useless things long ago.Clicking around the screen, we can pick up several broken and seemingly useless items; since t ...

Written by MichaelIn the first Kyrandia game, we played young Brandon, a self-entitled prince who needed to save the land of Kyrandia from a psychopathic court jester named Malcolm.  In the second game, we played a mystic named Zanthia that Brandon briefly meets during the first game, and she saves the world from a maniacal giant hand that wants complete control.In the third game, we’re going to be playing Malcom, in his version of an O.J. Simpson tall tale.  The premise of this game is that ...

If only...Written by VetinariNot to put too fine a point on it, this game sucks. But – how much does it suck? Let's find out with the final rating.Puzzles and SolvabilityThis game has been misconstrued as being an adventure game, where there is exactly 0.001% of gameplay in this stinker that could even be assimilated to adventure game-like.What passes for a puzzle in this game.While most of the gameplay is punching and shooting random enemies, there is at least one dialogue option that needs t ...

Written by VetinariWhat?!? Already? Yes, dear reader. Saying that this game is short is an understatement. Compared to this, “Daughter of Serpents” feels like “Der Zauberberg”.Or Heimat 2 if you are more of a cinephile.So, this game starts with Flash near the wreckage of his spaceship. I seize the opportunity to try some of the keyboard controls, like ducking, jumping and so on.You know, the typical adventure game fare.Since there is nothing useful on this screen, I proceed to the right ...

And the Oscar goes to...Written by MichaelOkay, this game was short, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to score in the single digits.  Remember, this was a children’s title aimed at those barely starting to use computers at the time, and this game is so well designed in that regard that, if the iPad and Android versions released a decade ago were still maintained, they would require absolutely no changes to connect with their audience.As I look at each of these categories, I’ ...

Written by VetinariWelcome one and all to this new playthrough for the Adventurers’ Guild. The game that we will tackle in this series of posts is “Flash Gordon: il rapimento di Dale” (Dale’s kidnapping).The character of Flash Gordon originated in 1934 and was created by comic book legend Alex Raymond. The idea was for the new character to compete with the similar and already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. It was a smash hit, such that Flash Gordon is regarded as one of the bes ...

Written by MichaelIn our last meeting, we came across Mrs. Halibut, who is concerned because her daughter Gabby is stuck inside this cave.  But before we can do anything, she tries to go in after Gabby, and gets caught in the small opening.If Pixar made pornography.Of course, Freddi and Luther are helpful, so they pull her out.  Then they go in to do the job the right way.Gabby is stuck under a rock, and trying to rock it off using a small board.  It’s not creating enough leverage, so a big ...

Written by MichaelNot unexpectedly, this was a quick game to solve.  But that doesn’t mean it was bad.  I enjoyed the little bit of time I spent in this game world.  Let me share that with you now.I head a screen west from Luther’s tree, and begin to explore.  As is the case in nearly all the screens, the pathways are marked with posted signs.  Most of the arrow signs are blank, but some have icons, like the one we saw last time with Grandma’s face on it.  This screen has all blank o ...

 Written by Morpheus KitamiOne of the most beloved RPGs of the last decade is Disco Elysium. A game in which you play a cop who wakes up in a dingy hotel room with no memory of anything, and he has a murder to solve. What follows is a very strange game set in an alternative Earth with its own strange history, countries and technologies, before you even get to the actual game itself. You have twenty stats, who each talk to you based on how much you use it and how much you put points into these s ...

Written by MichaelWe haven’t played a game from Humongous Entertainment in a little while, since Ilmari played 1993’s Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon.  While he tackled the first three of their games covered by the blog, I’m happy to settle in for a new series of theirs.Much like Ilmari in 2018, I also had no exposure to Humongous Entertainment.  I might have heard something about Ron Gilbert making children’s games, but when I was 14, I would have thumbed my nose at the thought, since I ha ...

 by Will MoczarskiDisclaimer: Because this is an episode with a lot of attention to detail (and because work and life are just crazy right now) I've decided to split the post in half, you know, to let you know I'm still alive and all. The third mission is called No Man's Land, and it really feels like a proper Star Trek episode. It begins – as it so often does – with a routine mission that is suddenly interrupted by a distress call. The Enterprise is on its way to Omega Corvus to probe som ...

Just how deep is my despair for having played this game?Written by MichaelI was thinking of taking some time off between my last post and writing this scoring post, but I didn’t want my memories to fade.  This isn’t a bad game, but certainly not the best Sierra has to offer.  One could argue that they hit their peak with Gabriel Knight, although they certainly have a couple more well-done stories to come, mostly from Al Lowe with Larry 7 and Torin’s Passage, and a Space Quest game that a ...

Written by MenhirMikeI left you with a cliffhanger last time, but unlike Dallas’ “Who shot J.R.?” I’m not going to let you wait four more episodes to resolve it - the caller was Herbert Briggs, who tasked Matt with picking up a parcel from a woman named Sabien at Lisson Grove 17.If you remember the intro to the game, Sabien was the woman mourning at Matt’s grave, so this is the romance act of the story kicking into gear.  Matt is immediately stricken by her sparkling green eyes, her ...

Written by Morpheus Kitami It's nice to get back to some normal, standard and uncontroversial adventure games after what in retrospect, was a year consisting entirely of more experimental titles, the most traditional of which was arguably the most insane in other respects. (This was actually written in 2025, since I know it's 2026 when you read this) Yes, sir, it's nice to get back to the realm of adventure games that actually enjoy being adventure games.What, you think there's going to be a jo ...

Written by MichaelUnfortunately, the game fizzles out along with the volcano at the end.We’ve reached the end, and there’s not much to it.  So, this will be a rather short entry.When the scene begins, we return to the underground lair where the two troll kings are fighting each other.  While I can’t tell which is which from the animation, the voice of the real one tells me to turn the imposter back into his true self.Which witch is which?Unfortunately, the animation is so fast, I can’t ...

Written by MenhirMikeI am not going to lie, this session was a real struggle for a while. Not so much because of the game, which is still great despite some interface troubles I will get into. But because these last three sessions were essentially me keeping notes in an Excel sheet and then writing those notes into prose that read more like math homework than a blog about a game. I am happy to report that the game did pick up on story bits again at the end, but until then it’s going to be a bu ...

Written by MichaelNow, onto the most tedious part of the game so far.  More tedious than a lazy George Harrison song (although it DID inspire a great parody by Weird Al).  We use a lute, rather than a whistle, but the concept holds.We landed on what ends up being the Grand Central Station of Etheria, a floating island with four rainbows positioned around it at the corners.  If you click on one of them, it will transport you to various places we've already been to, like the desert and the hau ...

 Written by MichaelDon’t blog angry.Welcome back to Falderol, and back to Queen Valanice’s side of the story.  First, I feel the need to note:  this is, by far, the most boring chapter of the story so far.  “Nightmare in Etheria” is the title, but if this is a nightmare, it’s on the level of Groundhog Day, because we are going to be going back and forth, repeating actions, and really just running down the clock, hoping the other team doesn’t make a basket.Of course, I won't get ...

 by Will MoczarskiIn our second mission, the crew of the Enterprise is looking forward to taking leave on a planet called Nova Atar. Just like in the TOS episode "The Immunity Syndrome", that ain't happening. There's a bit of crew banter about Kazakhstanian Cognac, and then an emergency call from the Science Vessel Demeter interrupts all further planning. Demeter was located in orbit around Balkos III when the ship was suddenly scanned. That alone wouldn't be unsettling, however, the Demeter's ...

Written by MenhirMikeThis session started with me having a closer look at my available tools. I really wanted to do the Jeweller the last time, but couldn’t find an accomplice that could open the safe. Would the game really give me a location and no way to burgle it? It’s possible, but it’s had a pretty good progression so far. So I went back and looked through every tool available and found that they sell a cutting torch that only requires a 35% skill in safes, whereas a stethoscope requi ...

Written by MichaelSeriously?Part 2 of our post-Halloween post.  Or pre-Halloween post, depending on your level of optimism, I suppose.When we last were here, I was making my way to the swamp creature from the blue lagoon, armed with a potion from the local sawbones.  So, through the main gates to what I think of as a garden.  A garden of evil, mind you.In my last game for the blog, a flower gave me perfume. Now, the tables are turned.On to the swamp creature.  As he comes after me, I whip ou ...