Tuesday 10 June 2008

The captain sings a different quay.

Title: Dread Mac Farlane
Author:
Marion
Release date: 30 april 2008 (FR)/20 may 2008 (EN)
Playtime: 70 minutes
Size: 63Mb

Another game from Marion, who has a thing for Peter Pan. First was the French version and a month later the game has been translated. And if you like Peter Pan- or Neverland stories, you can't miss this one!

The filesize is a massive 63Meg but it's worth every bit. The story is about a girl, Dread, who wants to be a pirate. During the game you'll learn about her past, present and future, her relationships with her father, mother, Peter Pan and all other well-known characters through well designed puzzles. Not too hard, not too easy, just right. It all fits in the type of game: it's an interactive comic book.

The original was a comic book and has been converted into an adventure game. With beautifull graphics, full of detail. During some conversations you get to see the characters in closeup and then you can see the real quality produced and the time and effort put into it. Accompanied by a very well balanced soundtrack, from the "yoho and a bottle of rum"-tunes to the squeeking birds, this production could fit easily into a commercial range.

So, no negative points? There are. What I found less pleasant was the storyline. You jump back and forth, from present through a flashback into history, back to the present and back again. After returning from the second flashback I lost track and it took me a while to pick up the story again. The difference between 'real' world and her imaginairy world is sometimes very little. But then again, isn't that also the case in real life? Maybe in the book it's easier to follow (I haven't read it), in this adventure I found it harder to cope with.

So what more can we wish for with this exquisit addition to the AGS games database? Well, I think this game would be perfect for an audio version. Let Dread have a real voice and let her speak up! I wonder what she would sound like...


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