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Terrific

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 32 / 34
Date: April 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Note: I own the PC version of the game, but I would own the Xbox version would it be Xbox 360 compatible. Using the controller works best for this game. The resolution isn't as good on the Xbox version and there's more aliasing problems. However, don't pass this game up. It is absolutely terrific. I can't recommend it high enough. Also, for $10, I'd recommend checking out The Longest Journey on PC as a starter if you have a PC.

Six years. Quite a long time to be waiting for a sequel to an adventure game. It is also quite a long time for graphics, hardware and gameplay to change. When the Longest Journey came out, it was heralded by critics as being one of the best adventure games a person could buy. It incorporated a terrific story, wonderful voice work and, at the time, good graphics that helped bring depth to the genre. Now, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is out, a direct sequel to the events of the first game. Is it everything we could hope for? Well, that depends on what you're looking for.

A lot of reviews out there, including here on amazon.com, have talked about various aspects of the game. The negative points discussed were the easiness of the gameplay, the bulkiness of the controls and the horrible combat. The positives have been over-whelming the terrific, complex and utterly addictive story and plot. So, depending on what you are looking for, you will either really love this game or really dislike it.

AS far as the gameplay is concerned, I tried playing it with a mouse and keyboard but the controls felt wonky to me. I am a console player mostly and because of my lack of affinity with the mouse and keyboard for third person controlled games I spend a good deal of time walking into things and the walls. However, plugging in a controller, all of my complaints went away. I'd recommend trying a controller if you have any problems, as the game seems better suited to it (probably due to the fact it is also an Xbox game).

The difficulty has been lessened from The Longest Journey. One one hand, this is definitely a valid complaint. However, my complaint with the first game was that there were times where the puzzles seemed utterly illogical and were very order-specific. I would spend a long time trying to get something accomplished simply because I didn't do it exactly how the game wanted me to. In that aspect, Dreamfall lessens any frustrations to allow you to enjoy the story more fully. That said, the puzzles do lack the depth of The Longest Journey and adventure games in general. I wish they were a bit more difficult or took a little more brain power to figure out what to do.

The combat is a bit clunky. It is comprised of block, light hit and strong hit. A rock, paper, scissors type gameplay ensues where a strong hit will break through a block, a block defends against a light punch and a light punch can break someone from doing a strong attack. However, the controls are a bit wonky as well, making battles easy but unintuitive. You can also slide to the side, forward and back while blocking. While it's not up to par with fighting games like Dead or Alive, what do you want from an adventure game?

Actually, calling it a game might be stretching it a little. And I don't mean this in a bad way. Playing this game reminds me of another fantastic adventure game called Indigo Prophecy, but without the simon says style gameplay. Here, you will move from place to place, work on puzzles, do some stealth and some clunky fighting. But the gameplay is there to pull you in and create an interactive story. A cinematic story that has you at the center. I like this approach.

Graphically, I think the game is stellar. There've been complaints in this department as well, but I think the game is pretty stunning. While there's no way it could live up to the powerhouse of, say, Oblivion, what is here is terrific. The colors are vibrant and lush, the settings are absolutely beautiful. Casablanca, the starting city, feels like a mix of futuristic landscapes with a traditional Spanish-style living. Add to this the vibrant color scheme and terrific art direction, and I think the game is stunning.

One department no one seems to be complaining about is the sound. From the beautiful music to the very competent voice staff, everything runs well. Some characters are a little lacking, not necessarily in their voices but in the direction. Sometimes it seems as if the voice actors don't know the context of what they are saying and stress words wrongly or don't have the excitement or fear that one would have in their situations. As an example, in the beginning someone is afraid of something (I'm being purposefully vague) and cries "No! No!" but it's almost as if the threat is a mere bother as opposed to a possibly life-altering event. Other times, though, the voice actors are terrific in conveying the emotion.

The game scales really well. While I'm playing it above the recommended specs, there's nary a fault or bug that I've come across. There's no slowdown from what I've seen. It also scales terrifically well to fit your monitor. I've played it on a regular 19" all the way up to a widescreen monitor and it is terrific. The game was made to be played in 16:9 widescreen. Like I said earlier the controllers work terrifically with the game. I am using an Xbox 360 controller and I haven't had a single problem, save that the trigger buttons don't register.

All of this is simply the mechanics, though. What lies at the heart of this game, much like The Longest Journey, is a story. A story that is exciting, mysterious and emotional all at the same time. The Longest Journey was, at the time, probably one of the best stories I had seen in a video game. Dreamfall has, in my opinion, blown that story out of the water. People will probably argue this with me, but I think Dreamfall's story is definitely a bit better. It seems more urgent this time around. Partly, this is because of the fact its more of an "action adventure" game as opposed to a point and click game. Whereas in The Longest Journey there were instances where you were chased, you couldn't die. Here, things seem a bit more dire and urgent. The pacing of Dreamfall is also excellent and helps keep you moving from point to point. Ragnar Tornquist has a much better control of the story and spins a yarn fitting of a novel. I don't want to talk about the story at all in order to allow everyone a chance to view it with virgin eyes. To get the story across, there is a ton of dialogue. Much like the first game, Dreamfall allows its characters to talk and talk about their lives, what's going on in the world and the plot. While playing The Longest Journey isn't necessary per se, characters from it will show up in surprising ways, starting off from the very beginning. A small caveat about the story. Yes, the story doesn't end so much as set up events for a third game. However, if you look back at The Longest Journey, you would also find a game that doesn't end. It, too, basically explains what would happen in the second game and leaves so many threads open. Here's hoping the game sells well enough to merit a third game.

So here lies the crux. The reviews here and your enjoyment of the game will come to this: do you want a game that puts gameplay above story or a game that places story above gameplay. If you choose the former, you probably won't like this game as much. However, if you are like me and enjoy the latter, I can't recommend any other game higher than this one right now. I can normally overlook most flaws or gameplay issues in a game, if it keeps me enthralled with a terrific story. I enjoy story-centered games a ton. So I feel confident rating this game as a five star simply because I never had a dull moment. I compare both The Longest Journey and Dreamfall to novels. Very dense and filled with backstory, characters and plot, Dreamfall isn't a typical video game. You have to really want to get to know everything and everyone in it to get the most out of the game. If you want to really sink your teeth into a story and know everything there is to know about a fantastical world, there's no better place than Dreamfall.

Exceptional

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: May 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Dreamfall is the exquisite "sequel" to The Longest Journey. I say "sequel" because the events that take place in Dreamfall aren't directly related to what happened in The Longest Journey. There is a considerable benefit in knowing the back-story, but it's not strictly necessary. Dreamfall is set in a futuristic world, though not a cliche Hollywood way, where you mainly play as a young woman named Zoe. At points in the game you also play as April Ryan, the main character from TLJ, and Kian, but their parts are not as prominent as Zoe's. Without giving anything away about the plot suffice it to say that it involves dreams, corporate greed, the fate of two worlds, and a mysterious girl begging you to save April.

The Dreamfall's story is absolutely engrossing. Not only does Dreamfall have an incredible story and writing, but it's also incredibly cinematic. I have played very few games that have even come close to this level of story-telling. What's more, unlike most games there's actually meaning beyond the events that take place. Dreamfall is, at its heart, a story about three people's journey of faith and finding purpose for their lives. The character development of the characters in Dreamfall is largely unparalleled in other games today, though you do miss out on some of the character arcs if you haven't played TLJ.

Technically Dreamfall is also well above average, especially when it comes to voices and music. All of Dreamfall's voices just fit. There wasn't an annoying or unbearable one in the lot, which is something even giants like Grim Fandango can't claim. The main character's, Zoe, voice is particularly pleasing to listen to with its distinct British accent. The music is nothing short of amazing. It fits the game to the letter, and is hard to imagine it any other way. Finally, the graphics. Dreamfall is not as technically advanced as games like Oblivion, but it's still beautiful. Dare I say more beautiful then some higher poly-count games? Yes. That is not to say that the graphics are dated, by any means, but rather that the combination of stellar art direction and great (but not top of the line) graphics has incredible results.

The last stop is gameplay. Gameplay is without question Dreamfall's weakest link. Funcom, the developer, has wisely avoided the traditional non-sensical obstacles that exist in adventure games for no reason other than to prolong the game in favor of more organic puzzles. The problem is that that there aren't enough of these puzzles and the ones that are there are fairly simple. Funcom also broke tradition again by adding sneaking elements as well was limited fighting. The fighting is not hard and neither adds nor detracts from the game. The sneaking, on the other hand, is handled quite well, and it is definitely one of the more fun aspects of the game.

Overall, Dreamfall is nothing short of incredible. You should play this game for its beauty and its gripping story rather than challenging gameplay or mind-binding puzzles. Finally, a word of warning. Dreamfall is the middle part of a trilogy, the first part being The Longest Journey. While The Longest Journey wrapped up most of its lose ends by the end and only led indirectly into Dreamfall, Dreamfall is another story. The central story involving Zoe, April, and Kian comes to a conclusion, but there are several major questions left unanswered. This is a result of Dreamfall leading directly into the final chapter of the trilogy. It seems frustrating at first, but rest assured it'll be well worth it in the end. In conclusion: Buy this game if you love a good story.

An Interactive Novel

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Good though somewhat flawed gameplay is quickly forgotten as you become wrapped up in the staggeringly amazing story!

An Interactive Story That Really Means Something

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you've perused any online reviews of this game, you'll know the following about Dreamfall: the visuals are lush, the music and voice-acting are gorgeous, the gameplay is...well, not so great. And while many have commented on the engrossing story, I think what is really most remarkable is that it is *about something*. It's a work of interactive fiction that subtly tries to get the player to think about not just the fates of the twin worlds of Stark and Arcadia, but about the world we're in right now. It is an audacious attempt to stretch the boundaries of the medium of videogames, and I think it succeeds spectacularly.

The first game in the series, The Longest Journey, came out in 1999. The end of the 20th century, the "end of history," we were told. And in TLJ, although it was set in the year 2209, the story was literally about the end of time -- the end of a 13,000-year-old divide between science and magic, between order and chaos. But we pulled through -- as April Ryan did -- we made what we thought were the right choices, and we thought the good guys carried the day into the new millenium.

And here we are in 2006. Enter Dreamfall, which looks at its twin worlds through the same eyes that we're looking at ours. We thought we won. We thought we had the bad guys licked, and saved the world. But it didn't turn out that way. Sure, April saved the world, but things went downhill from there. Just as our "post-historical" world is facing new threats and old fears, Stark and Arcadia are facing powerful interests, fear of the unknown, and rage at what they cannot control.

Don't worry; the game isn't hamfisted or preachy. Its story is deftly told, with characters and dialogue that pull you in, and keep you there. As you lead the characters through the story, they will have you in turn angry, joyful, wondering, and choked up. I took 2 days off of work to play it through, and never once was I bored.

About gameplay: sure, it's pretty easy, and not the smoothest on the block. In attempting to stretch the boundaries of video games, it does seem as though the creators occasionally lost sight of what the medium is currently capable of. However, I think the Xbox version really lends itself to approaching Dreamfall more as a piece of interactive fiction: I could relax on my couch, settle in comfortably, and let the story unfold around me.

Bottom line: Dreamfall will pull you in, and leave you wanting more. It will make you feel, and involve you in the lives of compelling characters and their worlds. And it will make you think, and not just about fantasy worlds. And that is an impressive achievement for any work of fiction, and especially so for a video game. If that's something that you'd like to experience, buy this game. You won't regret it.

Spectacular!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: May 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The story of Dreamfall is fabulous and immersive! No senseless puzzles! The challenges require high curiosity and a little common sense to solve, but they aren't too easy. There are multiple choices for every action, some which seriously alter how you progress. Plenty of replay, I'm still finding new ways! The only downside is the lousy PC controls (hoping for a patch soon), but the Xbox is fine so I'm given this a top rating!

Good Game, Great Story

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I finished Dreamfall up last night. Wow, I loved the ending as well as the rest of the story.

It took me just over 13 hours to finish, and I enjoyed every second of it. I didn't find the sneaking around to be too bad actually, but it certainly wasn't great. The combat was passable, but again it wasn't great. The puzzles were easy, but I didn't mind because it kept the game flowing at a good pace for me. The story and the characters kept me hooked and I would recommend the game to anyone who likes a good story.

I actually had (just a tiny bit) more fun playing this than I have had with Oblivion, and I really have enjoyed my 30 hours with that. Which one is a better game? The gameplay certainly isn't as fleshed out in Dreamfall, the code behind it isn't nearly as complicated as Oblivion, the world isn't as large and not nearly as open. But I play games to be drawn into the world and to have fun and Dreamfall eeked it out in that category for me.
It may not be the best game out there, and it certainly isn't the game of the year, but it may be the most fun I will have with a game all year. It beat out anything I played last year, that's for sure.

Best game I've played since the first Longest Journey!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you've played the original Longest Journey following the steps of April Ryan and you enjoyed the game, then you will absolutely love this one. The puzzles are much easier in Dreamfall, but the character development, interesting dialogue, and complex, amazing storyline are all there again! I liked this game more than the first because I thought the voice acting was better done this time around, I really liked Zoe's character, and the graphics were stunning. You get to travel a lot more places in Dreamfall, as well, which I thought gave the game a much "bigger" feel than the first one. BUY THIS GAME! IT'S WORTH IT!!
If you've never embarked on this series before, I suggest playing The Longest Journey first and then this. But, if you've not the patience to play through uno before dos, then go ahead and start this one and get some exposure to the best adventure game series out there!!

art

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

let me start by saying that this game is not heavy on gameplay. there are several things i would say that could be done to make this more like all the other games and "improve" it based on the fun-factor you get in other great games of today.
however, i think that the deemphasizing of the gameplay perspective was an at least somewhat conscious choice on the part of tornquist, the games creator. when a game focuses so much on the mechanics of the way the game plays it has a tendancy to divert the focus from the plotlines. and with this story, in particular, anything that takes away from the plot is simply unforgivable. the story that unfolds is something that true gameplayers, and lovers of fiction dream of. a wonderful and surprising exercise in nuance with largely human moments.
it seems that in todays world of gaming, for the most part, any plot that you get is an excuse (usually not a good one) to play the game, when anyone with the slightest bit of sense knows that you can only make so good a game with that mindset. the truth is, the best games, the games that you remember the most fondly are ones that you connected with on a level deeper than shooting aliens or demons or felons, etc. the only reason we participate in any type of media is bc some part of it resonates with us. this story is one that, for me, resonated so much more than just about any other game ive enjoyed in the past. sure there are great games out there that lack the intricate plot but this game is set apart.
beautiful music, beautiful environments. beautiful game

Fantastic game. Hands down one of the best experiences I've had gaming in a while.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I love this game. It's one of the best experiences I've had gaming/being told a story/being entertained whilst looking at a screen. It brought up emotions, had me empathizing with the characters in a way that I think maybe no other game has, and gave me that oh so good feeling of being immersed in something grand and esoteric and playfully meaningful. Buy it if you like great stories.

Suddenly an adventure game convert

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I loved this game. Frankly, I've never had much use for video games before, because I thought all video games were basically carpal-tunnel inducing fighting games (Nintendo, etc.) or filled with tedious, pointless puzzles (Myst, etc.). My husband bought Dreamfall for me and it completely changed my mind. This game is first and foremost about the story, which is complex and deeply engaging. I felt like I was really immersed in a different world (well, worlds, actually--you'll see when you play it). The graphics are absolutely beautiful. The voice actors were actually good, and since the dialogue is a key part of this game that's important! The fighting is minimal, fortunately, and the puzzles are relatively simple. I'm now going back and buying the first installment of this series. So, if there are any other 30ish women out there who thought video gaming was just for kids, well, I very strongly recommend you check out this game.

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