Dreamfall: The Longest Journey

"Dreamfail"

Since this is an adventure game, I will rate it on things an adventure are made of; graphics, audio, story, puzzles, game play and overall value. I have been playing adventure games since they were text; such classics as Adventure, Transylvania (on the apple II), Zork, etc. I have played hundreds of them over the years (making me pretty old).

OPENING
I just dont understand how Dreamfall could be considered a game in all honesty. I do not understand the design choices they made during the making of this game. Also, I have not played the predicessor The Longest Journey. And I feel this has crippled by ability to play the game because the developers chose not to explain much of what was going on between TLJ and Dreamfall.

Understand, that if you are going to let people play your game it is wise to explain certain canon aspects of your game to them. Especially in a sequel. You cannot rely on people having played the previous game. I figured things would eventually be explained to me down the line, and never were.

Let us begin the review proper then;

GRAPHICS (2/2)
Stunning! Great game to look at. I read a lot of reviews that said the graphics looked dated. Huh? They look great! The artists did a great job with the texturing and modeling of the land and characters. Unfortunately, nice graphics should not be your crutch for what is underneath; a poor game.

AUDIO (1/2)
The cinematic flair to the music was pretty interesting. The music itself was really nicely done, kudos to the composer. However, the developers used the epic trills and horns in some pretty odd places. For instance, all I did was wake up in a cave and the music led me to believe this was the end all be all of existence,. I expected to grab the ring and have to bring it to Mordor myself! But sadly, the cave adventure was shallow.

The voice acting was a mixed bag. Zoe, the hero sounded like she never really cared or understood what was going on around her (just like me, the player). The girl who did the acting seem like she didn't understand what the character was supposed to be expressing. So everything came out in this even toned cute English accent. Other characters were done well, such as the Spice Merchant. But none were otherwise memorable.

PUZZLES (0/2)
Adventure games often include a series of strange, but logical puzzles. Some puzzles span the entire game as you seek to put the pieces together and get a greater picture of the world around you, or even allow your character to move into a new area of the game. Dreamfall failed utterly with its completely watered down ahem...puzzles.

As an example, there is a scene (which wont spoil much at all) in which to solve it, I have to click on a very clearly defined spot that goes over a doorway. And then another clearly defined spot. Then I have to click on the same spot on top of the doorway twice to throw a switch which opens a door. Um? This is supposed to be challenging? And this is much of what you do through the rest of the game.

Other puzzles are just simply catch 22s that make you spend your time re-travelling through areas you have been through already. Weather it's getting a solution from Olivia or marching back and fourth through the streets to find Spices for Mulled Wine, these things only served to waste time.

The only fun puzzle I has experienced, involved hiding behind the ass of a beast of burden to sneak past a guard.

I felt that they didn't matter to the progress of the story. They were connected in an annoy me sort of way. They didn't involve more than clicking from object to object with a limited set of obvious circumstances. A could have put my pet lizard on the keyboard to solve these things.

A good aventure game would allow you to gather up some wierd items that later you say to yourself; "You know...I think that might just open that strange door back there". There is none of that mystery to Dreamfall. It didn't help that the gameplay features interfered with it all...

GAMEPLAY (0/2)
This 'game' would have been better off as a cartoon, a show, something you could watch. The actions you perform in the game seem fairly pointless. There is barely any interaction with the world, and what interaction there is only relates to puzzles (which barely exist in thier own right, as stated above). At times I wonder what design choices were made during some of the sequences of this game.

Point in case, without spoiling anything (not much to spoil anyway). Entering the chapter 'Winter', you enter the vision you have been seeing around your neighborhood previously. Alright, instead of making a nice cutscene transitioning you to the next part of the game, they just want me to walk to the house....and thats it. There is nothing else you can do. Exploring and poking around is just a waste of time and doesn't reveal any ooohs or ahhhh moments.

This method is used throughout the game to what I can only guess is to extend the play length (which is short). See puzzles section to see how much your time is wasted overall.

Stealth - used at some point in the game, but only needed twice to avoid these spiders and a sleeping dog. In these scenes if you dont use stealth, game over. No other options. Otherwise, you have the option of fighting. Overall, this 'feature' was used rather weakly.

Fighting - They tried to add it, and failed. Fighting involves no real feat of skills on your part. Press one button or the other, though the strong attacks are the only way to go it seems. Fight scenes should have been removed. They dont add anything, and they are not exciting. They should have been made into a cutscene instead. Aside from that, there really isn't much fighting. The animation is weak and rigid.

OVERALL VALUE (0/2)
Adventure games dont have much replay value. Rarely do they have any rare finds or anything new to discover after playing it once. Adventure games that are made well may let you try some thing different, but are rarely worth the time to see the alternative. Dreamfall follows this as if it was in the design document from the beginning.

It was claimed that the choices you made in conversations made a different. This is in all cases an outright lie. All roads lead to Rome, and all conversations lead to the same result at the end. Even if you try again, it doesn't matter.

The story you are thrown into seems segmented, and unfinished. You are introduced to many different places and people, that in the end didn't make a difference and the story was for what I can understand left unfinished for a sequel.

Now...when I write a story, or read other people's work; even when they are a trilogy or series, I hope I am able to get a beginning, middle and conclusion out of the main plot of that particular section of the story. Dreamfall leaves you with no answers at all. Why did I even play April Ryan or Kian (brief as thier appearances were)? All three characters stories were left hanging. Nothing was concluded...only started and for the most part unexplained.

Even in Empire Strikes Back, the main plot was finished up within the story. Sure they left the parts unanswered for the sequel, but it was a full story by itself. I could watch Empire Strikes Back, or read a Harry Potter Novel, hell even one of the Lord of the Ring Books and find that there is a full and complete story within each. Dreamfall will not offer any of this. Instead, you will have to wait till they finish the next one and pay $40 for a conclusion. This is just bad form.

The developers failed to deliver not only a game, but any sort of coherent story in this title. They should have either tried harder, or not at all. Shame on ya.

End result. Don't buy it. Wait for it to come out on cable or USA network.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/06