Monday, May 17, 2010

Again [DS] Review

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IGN give 4,5 to this game.
WHAT THE FUCK IGN?
and the "press" give it 5,0 (7 ratings)

And the reader; 7,2 (10 ratings)

Something might be wrong, and yes, it IS.
Put all the reviewers out and hire the readers - that actually play the game and review with heart and not for job.

I'm an asshole motherfucker to review games. This games of nowadays are pretty dumb stuff. But this one is a Cing game, a Japanese independent developer, the same who developed Hotel Dusk Room 215. Cing got bankrupted march 2010.



About Again;
This game is quite awesome. The art direction, the script, the gameplay and the music. Amazing.
I must confess that sometimes I miss a little more GAME itself. It is almost a point and click movie.


The plot. 19 years ago a murder called "Providence" killed 6 people. In each crime scene he drop his 'sign', the weapon is gone, and nothing seen to fit with anything.
19 years later, the FBI receives a letter apparently by Providence himself saying he will do it all AGAIN. (Got the name?).

And it happens. 'J', the FBI dude on this case, see the crime scene, feel dizzy and guess what? He could see the PAST.


HOW? In a screen of the DS you see the past, in another one you see the present. FUCKING AMAZING UH?

If you make up the present the same as the past, a fragment of a "night vision" movie will appear, revealing what the hell happened. When you collect all the fragments, you have to put it in order of facts. And when is all settle and done, you can see the face of the victim at the time, and the MURDER! When you see it, you will shit BRICKS. Believe me.



When you interrogate anyone,  you have to ask EVERYTHING that is yellow, and have to choose one when it is gray. Sadly, almost everything is yellow. And even if you think "this question is irrelevant to this person". You cannot simple do not ask. Your partner will be bugging you: "You have something more to ask, didn't you?"


As a designer I should say that at least the order of questions should do some effect at all.
Sometimes you get yourself thinking, "hey, I'm just touching, wheres the game?"
The game itself is just in crime scenes. You have to figure it out yourself. Oh, the piano stuff in the 3th crime scene... make me so proud when I discovered it.


And if you use your sense in wrong places you can get a game over - But you can come back full healthier to the crime scene. Don't blame Cing, blame the Easy Generation that we all live in games right now.


The actors whose play the roles in the game (yeah, really ACTED), was pretty cool. I just dislike the blind women. C'mon, looks like she just lose the vision in that very moment, with the hands in the air searching for the voices who talk with her - you in this case.
Pretty noob blind.

The music is AWESOME! My favorite was when you have to choose a location:


Now serious, the dude in Grand Park. His fear was to be junked by the guys he used to help. But after the last talk with him, we just dumped the guy. Where is him after it all ends? What happens to him? He is the coolest motherfucker in this game!

ALSO: The blindness of J and his partner when they back to the office after being in the crime scene - where he cannot see the face of the murder - and see their boss *cough...cough*.
C'mooooonnn. I almost became a pixel and invade this game to slap this stupid good hearted FBI guys.

Kate is your partner. She is pretty hot. But is visible that she likes your friend reporter Hugo. But the game do not make it deeper. Spoiler, oops, sorry bout that.

The end of the game was something very confusing also. I get it. You bet, but the last words appears just flying in the screen.

It is pretty visible this Japanese developers where watching too much American series. The format of presentation, logo, even break cut-scene with logo and stuff... The director mixed series with hotel dusk, and borns AGAIN.



C'mon lets check:

Soundtrack; 10
Amazing musics. Deeper the stages, deeper the music stay.

Gameplay; 6 
It is just point and click, but the interface is pretty fine.

Script; 7
The plot is amazing, but is somehow stupid visit a person, go to another and have to comeback just to ask 1 thing. And at the end of the game, the people was a little repetitive. And also, the villain is pretty awkward at the end. In the past was a genius, in the present he was "ok, it is something", even J could laugh at his face, and so he became just a mad one, not a genius, but a mad one. Anyway, the plot make me awaken many nights.
 Direction; 8
I like the way it goes. The way the director play with you, and not you play with his game. Sometimes is everything so obvious, and when you see, it wasn't sooo like that. It is a brilliant game.
 Replay; 5 
I like the game, but I don't think this have another final or will appear something I don't have seen. I would play Again II, but play one time is pretty ok.

General: 7,2

Woah, this was surprising. The same rate as the readers of IGN. And I do not fake it.
See IGN? Try play it with good feelings.

And you player, give a chance to Again.

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