Amerzone

Rating:
Summary: Truly enjoyable game
Review: Not on par with Myst but still a very enjoyable game with some really nice graphics. The puzzles weren't overly challenging and some were downright too easy but all fit in well with the story line. This is the type of game to play when you just want to sit quietly and do a quiet activity. The ambient music and the settings within the game tended to be very soothing. I know that I will probably be playing it again as soon as I have forgotten enough of the solutions or I may just play it through to look at the graphics and experience the technology...

Rating:
Summary: Fun but not memorable
Review: The graphics were ok, the story was ok, and if you like journey games with lots of weird animals this is definitly up your alley. But the game itself was rather short and abrupt, taking you to the next phase in the game before you quite understood what you had done in the first. The gameplay was shamelessly easy. (I'm one of those who had to cheat my way through Myst) Well, you won't need to cheat your way through this one! Combine all this up and you have a game that I at least didn't mind wasting five hours on. (It was so easy it only took 5 hours to play.)...

Rating:
Summary: Simply terrible
Review: The two oft mentioned criticisms of adventure games are their rigid linear plot lines together with the, at times, incoherent presence of puzzles. These problems in adventure games have seen the genre collapse in recent years. Amerzone makes you think that that collapse is not happening quickly enough. If the Association for the Banning of Adventure Games was ever looking for exhibit number one in their case, then Amerzone is it.

Take the puzzles. The prescence of puzzles in any adventure game always requires a well developed ability to suspend disbelief. The least an adventure game designer should do therefore is make the puzzles interesting and challenging (e.g. Riven). All the "puzzles" in this game however are of a "pick up every item you can and then click them on every thing you can" variety. This to my way of thinking is not really a puzzle at all.

In terms of the linear thing this game really takes the cake. There is only ever one way to go. Okay this is basically true of all adventure games but the thing here is that you never at any point even feel like anything you do makes a blind bit of difference. It's like reading a very very bad graphic novel. The only difference being that you have to "solve" a pathetic and simplistic puzzle before you can read the next (equally dire) chapter.

The other thing that amazed me with this game was how very short it was (okay I now think that this is perhaps its only saving grace). I am astounded that so little could be put onto 4 discs. I finished the damn thing in an afternoon. Given that you can't re-play adventure games this is unforgivable.

Okay so the thing was cheap and a couple of years old. But really there is no excuse for this kind of dross. The obvious comparison to be made is to Myst, Riven etc. All I can say is that if you enjoyed the Myst games then you really shouldn't buy this. Despite all the criticisms of Myst et al, they at least try to be imaginative, offer a challenge, and don't simply rely on pretty pictures connected by the flimsiest of plot lines and the solving of the worst puzzles you're ever likely to find in a game. The world is indeed a strange place, (and indeed a much stranger place than the country of "Amerzone",) when people actually get paid to produce such utter rubbish.

Rating:
Summary: Amerzone Review
Review: This game had beautiful graphics and scenery,but the story was so lame and the ending a total let down.The puzzles were too easy and the game interface prehistoric.Dreamcatcher games are all very similar in their disappointing story lines and poor game interaction,so I recommend buying them only when they are really cheap.I have played many many adventure games and this one is definitely not for the player who likes myst,gabriel knight,monkey island etc..It is way too simple and short.This would be a good game for grandma and junior only.

Rating:
Summary: great music and graphics
Review: This game has really good graphics and great music.The animal noises such as the bees,the frogs and jungle birds are awesome.I rate it about average compared to other games.It is not as hard as necronomicon and several others.It is still fairly challenging however.

Rating:
Summary: Fun game, but puzzles are easy
Review: This game was fairly good to play. The graphics usually were nice, but in one or two places could have been improved.

The puzzles are very easy. It's not in the same league as Myst III, but it is good for less experienced players who like adventure games.

Rating:
Summary: A good practice run if you're new to gaming, but...
Review: This game will disappoint those who are more experienced at adventure games.

Amerzone was the third modern (post-1985) adventure game I played (after Harry Potter and Chamber... and Syberia II). I found the gameplay easy to learn (click where you want to go, click to pick up the object, click to use the object, etc.), but problem-solving puzzles involved scenarios that seemed either illogical or contrived. In many cases, the "problem" to be solved was just within grasping range of the character, but because of the visual perspective, you have to roll your head around and up and down to find the related object. Combined with a sometimes "fishbowl" perspective, I found myself getting dizzy and nauseated at times. To save my sanity, I used "walkthroughs" from other web sites to help me find those objects "right under my nose" but which I was otherwise too sick to start pixel-searching on my own.

Also disturbing was the disjointed way you jump from scene to scene as you progress. Thus, if you face north, and continue straight ahead, you'd expect to still be facing north. But in many cases, you transition into the next frame by facing another direction. In settings like swamps, jungles, and underwater lagoons that have poor visibility anyway, this can be disconcerting. I became lost several times.

After playing Syberia II, also by Benoit Sokal, I anticipated Amerzone to have a richly engaging story, but was disappointed to discover that I didn't much care about my mission or the characters. Also disappointing was that the game is played in first-person so you never see yourself, and that nearly all personal interaction is with characters you'd normally avoid under other circumstances. There were no engaging personalities, no witty dialogue, and--just like Syberia II--no chance to repeat a dialogue if you missed what was said (unless you reloaded a saved game). At least with Syberia's Kate Walker, the character you play sometimes speaks charmingly to herself so that you have somewhat of a personality and don't mind spending time by yourself. In Amerzone, however, most of the time you're alone, with no dialogue, and no "inner dialogue" of the mind like Kate Walker had--I felt as lifeless as a doorknob. I guess after a stellar game like Syberia II, my expectations were way too high.

On the upside, Amerzone's storyline was imaginative, there was no violence (only one instance where someone points a gun at you at close range and then he expires of infirmity), no sexual content, no coarse language (except one instance where the aforementioned character alludes to the lovemaking practices of disinterested women--this is mentioned very quickly and under a drunken stupor so you might miss it if not paying close attention), no nudity (except some journal's line drawings of natives in sparse clothing), and the scenery was filled with fantastical creatures and lush landscapes.

The cut scene movies were illustrated dreamily and smoothly--although I had some technical difficulties on Disk 1 with the first major cutscene as you take off in the Hydraboat-thingy: the music and visuals were choppy and kept blacking out. This may be because I am running Windows XP with advanced hardware and software--too advanced for the aging nature of the game. There were a few other minor technical bugs in the program (such as the inability to perform certain actions when I know via walkthroughs that I was supposed to be able to), but they resolved themselves. I also discovered that it is best to play this game with as few other software programs running as possible--otherwise your mouse movements will be choppy and difficult to control.

For imagination and originality, I'd give this game 5 stars. For interface, puzzle-solving, and value for your money, I'd give it 2 stars. Overall, a 3. Not really bad, just not really good.

Rating:
Summary: A nice atmospheric game
Review: Well, Amerzone is no masterpiece, but it's well worth the money! (I doesn't coast much anyway). Graphics are smooth and clear, and the interface is easy to use. Granted, this game has borrowed a lot from Riven (Myst2), but overall it makes for a nice game. Amerzone is very simple, so it's not for those who are on the lookout for mindboggling puzzles. You won't find them in Amerzone. The storyline is simple also (follow in the footsteps of an explorer, and make good his wrongdoings). I liked it, but I could imagine that Myst-players miss the deeper layers. The atmosphere of the games, to wich the sounds contribute a lot, is great. From misty France to tropical Amerzone, it's quite beautiful and enjoyable. It has plenty of humour too, wich is lacking in some other adventuregames. The game is very short though, even with four cd's, you could play it in a day or less. But if you're tired of rewandering the difficult routes as in Riven and Exile, this makes for a nice, easy change. It's a good buy.

Rating:
Summary: No objection to the game, but I can't play it-
Review: Why was this recommended to me? I own a Mac!

Rating:
Summary: Disapointed
Review: Yes, it's spooky, but the game is so old that the actual game size on my screen is about 3 x 4 inches. Yuck. Don't bother with this one.