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Runaway Ran With Starforce

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 14 / 21
Date: August 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Runaway is a Starforce game. Those of you not familiar with Starforce should read the "Prince of Persia :The Two Thrones" PC game user reviews, here, at Amazon.

I own and installed Runaway. Its an amicable enough point and click adventure game. There are certainly worse.

However, most games don't "Runaway" with your computer.

After I installed Runaway, and unfortunately for me, two other Starforce laden adventure games, I began to suffer the varied problems that Starforce is reported to cause.

I had to replace my hard drive, on a computer new enough to be under warranty.

Starforce authors, and the developers that use it, claim it to be a safe, effective means of copy protection. They have also claimed that Starforce detractors are angry gamers that can't copy their games.

I've never used pirated software, nor have I ever engaged in commiting the crime. Yet, because I like to play PC games, I have to suffer the consequences of pirating without being
informed.

Starforce installs hidden drivers on your computer, that cannot be removed easily...if at all. The company has provided a removal tool for these hidden drivers, but many posts have filtered in that either pieces or even all the software refuses to leave (after its use).

Trisynergy did not ask me if they could install hidden drivers on my hard drive that are very difficult and stubborn to remove(that interfere with my own computer's drivers).

While I can not prove that Starforce games caused the damage to my computer, I have no evidence that it did not. The excuses and procalamations I recieved from another Starforce using company included and blamed my hardware configuration...after I informed them I had a 17" Toshiba Desktop Replacement Notebook with a P4 at 3.2Ghz and 1.5 GB RAM. It would be hard, for even me, to wreck the hardware configuration of my notebook.

The choice is yours to make.

MJH

IF YOU VALUE YOUR SANITY, STAY AWAY!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 13
Date: January 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Nothing is more disappointing than a really good idea, not executed properly. That is "Runaway". If you are lucky enough to have a computer system that will run it with no problems, then more power to you! But for the rest of us, get ready to pull your hair out. The game is fun, interesting, all that it should be. But there are so many bugs in this game, it will be a surprise if you get through it at all. First, it was supposed to play on my computer - it didn't. So I played it on my husband's computer which is more powerful. Everything was great until I got to chapter 4 (there are 6 chapters in total). Every time I got to a specific point in the game, it would crash and go to the desktop.

But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that the readme file gave only Pendulo Studios' website address and nothing more. And when I emailed them with the problems I was having, I never heard back. Not once. There was no phone number given. Then I did a search and found literally dozens of forums with people with the same problem I had, plus others with a host of other problems. I got more help from strangers then I did the people at Pendulo Studios. I finally took the game back to the Virgin Megastore where I bought it and exchanged it for another game.

I'm not even going to take the time to tell you about the game, because I don't want you to get involved as I did, and then disappointed. The only way I was able to finish the game was someone from one of the forums sent me a file after the point where the game crashed. By that time it didn't matter though. I was too worried about whether something else was going to go wrong to enjoy it. I was tired, frustrated, felt cheated and ignored and I just wanted to see what happened at the end. The joy was gone.

There are other strategy games out there with fewer problems. My advice, buy one of those.

Oh dear...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: November 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Quite simply... this game is utter drivel. Everything from the badly animated 3D characters, to the unengaging puzzles to the absurd dialogue makes this game a complete waste of time! Avoid it like the plague...

Buggy Game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 13
Date: February 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is very nice but you will be lucky if you finish it. It is full of bugs and crashes continuously. I gave up at chapter 3.

Is this really for "everyone" ?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 33
Date: September 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I do not own this game. I did however look at the pictures provided with the description, the ones with the naked women sunbathing etc. I most certainly would not want MY 6 year old playing this game. I don't feel the content would be appropriate for that age group at all. Call this mom a prude.....that's ok, but this is what is wrong with our children today !!!

Somewhat Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 13
Date: December 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have played almost all of the adventure games out there (Monkey Island, Lucas Arts, Tex Murphy, etc.). This one wasn't nearly as good as any of them. The graphics were very good but the story line was sorely lacking and 100% linear. I might as well have just watched a cartoon with a bad plot instead. What really irked me was how the player is unable to do things out of sequence. For example, you have two inventory items that should obviously be combined but you can't combine them until you talk to someone about a certain subject. There are no branches whatsoever in the story line. The acting was marginal; the dialogue was boring, the humor lacking. The puzzles were often tedious and some of them seem like they are inserted simply to make the game longer. Many of them are extremely un-obvious and the average player wouldn't be able to guess them without a walk through. I also experienced several technical difficulties with this game (videos not playing, chapters not installing, etc.).
I really like adventure games and regret the fact that the genre is dying. This game doesn't do much to revive it. I was going to sell my copy but I don't want to put someone else through this.

Terribly Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: July 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game after reading other reviews saying that gameplay wasn't that great but still good. When I got the game a review on the outside compared it to the "Monkey Island" series and I thought, "this is great, I loved the monkey island games." I guess whoever made that comparison only took a brief look at the game. While the graphics are similar to the 3rd installment in the monkey island series, any other comparisons, except saying this is far inferior, are way off mark.
This is not an adventure game so much as it is an interactive movie. I'd say the cutscenes (which I couldn't figure out how to skip) made up more than 50% of the time I spent on this game. The puzzles were few in number and like others have mentioned, Brian refuses to put stuff in his inventory unless he really knows he needs it. On top of this, the voice acting was well below par and by the end I turned the subtitles on and my speakers off to get away from the whining of the main character.
If you're looking for a somewhat entertaining, short interactive movie this is it; if you're looking for a good adventure game, keep looking this isn't one.

Craptastic

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: August 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is such a disappointment. I was so looking forward to another adventure game, and had heard mixed reviews about this one. But I thought, some of my favorite games weren't exactly critical darlings (I admit it, I liked The Dig, so shoot me). Unfortunately, I should have listened to the negative reviews. This is a pretty big lemon. The only bright spot is maybe the graphics. The graphics are beautiful, I'll give it that (hence a slight improvement in the rating). But the story is lame, many of the puzzles are illogical and stupid, the humor falls incredibly flat (maybe that's due to the fact that the original version was in Spanish), there is pixelhunting galore, and it's exceptionally boring.

Perhaps if the game took itself less seriously (a la Monkey Island), the puzzles would have seemed less out of place and silly (SPOILER ALERT: lipstick bullets, anyone? melting peanuts?). The characters are rarely charming and interesting, even the embarrassingly unfunny Pricilla Queen of the Desert knockoff characters. Props to the designers for including some diversity in the game, but I've met drag queens, and I've yet to meet one quite so cringe-worthy and witless. If you go ahead and purchase this game, expect to roll your eyes at the many lame stabs at humor in this largely (intentionally) humorless game.

In short: save your money and don't buy this game or buy used (as cheap as you can possibly find) if you are still curious. Most adventure fans, I believe, will find this game to be a waste of time and money.

Fantastic style but mediocre gameplay

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 24 / 26
Date: March 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I loved this game at first, but after I got a while into it, I got extremely bored with it. The game looks great and starts off with some interesting puzzles, but in the middle it starts moving at a snail's pace. The storyline progresses at an excruciatingly slow rate while you are stuck in some huge areas trying to solve poorly designed puzzles. The bane of any adventure gamer is the pixel hunt, and this game has plenty of them. When you're not pixel hunting, then chances are you are solving some silly illogical puzzle. And when you are not doing that, you're solving some unoriginal puzzle that you have seen in other adventure games or brain teaser books.

The best part about this game is the graphics. This game is beautiful to look at and has a style that is unmatched by any other adventure game. The cartoony cel-shaded look really adds a lot to this game. The characters fit in perfectly. Every character is exaggerated in some cartoonish way - exaggerated facial features, exaggerated accents, exaggerated personalities, etc. All of the characters in the game are likeable and show that the game was made with lots of inspiration. The game's soundtrack is really good and most of the voice-acting is top-notch. The main character has this "gee whiz" dorkiness that actually ends up being kind of charming.

But it's just so hard to get into this game. The storyline is decent enough, but it progresses so slowly that you can almost forget what's going on in it. Gina (the beautiful girl on the box) disappears from the game for long periods of time, leaving her character totally undeveloped. Since the puzzles are not fun and interesting enough to keep you interested, you have to labor through the game to enjoy it. Many times you will find yourself resorting to a walkthrough, and then rolling your eyes at some of the absurd things that you are supposed to do to make it through the game. This is the problem with mediocre adventure games. The good ones manage to have logical and predictable solutions. The mediocre ones like this force you to try to read the developers' minds and guess at an inane solution. I really wanted to like this game, but it was a disappointment.

TheFlashback

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 11
Date: October 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

American dream came true! Brian got a lot of money along with a brainless chick and a brand new Ferrari. I always ask myself why people come up with such a cheesy Hollywood like plots? Runway...
Is it really adventure game? Hell no. Tired with a lot of boring conversations, linear walkthrough, completely non logical puzzles, and one more thing... blood. If I wanted to see people die I would have played freaking Doom. I simply do not understand. Look at success of Myst. Or Riven. Or Siberia. The games are logical, the puzzles are complicated but you do not have to brute forcing them, no killing. Fancy. I think 75% for the game to be successful is the "idea" that at the end comes down to the plot. The "Runway..." has completely lost in this competition. The graphics is very nice and professional, the sound is very cool too but the plot is just something that broke the whole thing. You give something to a person and then you are forced to leave the scene to come back immediately for things to "magically" work out. Dah... What is that "clicking every pixel on the screen" to finally get what you want. How logical to load a machine gun with freaking lip sticks... Anyway, I want to say thanks to all the developers that work for Pendulo Studios, they did an amazing job, it is unfortunate that the script was completely out of sync.

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