[h2]GBAtemp book game club #83[/h2]
Runaway series (NDS, Wii and PC)
As with many of these threads we have a few ways to start it and a few directions to take the background info/overview. Here were we to do tags they would probably read something like [surprisingly good rendition of what was originally a PC game] (a surprisingly common theme in DS games, especially when console ports of PC games have often been seen to suffer terribly and it only running downhill when it comes to handheld games) and [handhelds- home to a once proud gameplay style] (something we expound upon on a fairly regular basis around here). Perhaps due to both happening at the same time we got a couple of notable titles though without much in the way of a North American release they do not seem to have featured as heavily as some other titles. The [handhelds- home to a once proud gameplay style] gameplay style of choice today is the point and click adventure game, a style served for a long time mainly only by the excellent DS homebrew port of ScummVM. Eventually a few developers did click that touchscreen and a well refined style of gameplay coupled with reasonable development costs and a high install base could be a good idea with this being one of the earlier attempts and one that many would argue stood the test of time against very stiff competition later on (helped in no small part but the rather pretty cel shaded graphics).
We are reluctant to discuss too much of the story here as these sorts of games are all about the mystery but it is set approximately in the modern day and things go very wrong for the player characters as they are on holiday.
There are three entries in the series give or take spinoffs and special versions. The first is PC only, the second is PC, DS and Wii where the third is PC and DS. By and large, unlike many other point and click franchises, they do work as standalone games though jumping to the last game is not recommended if you can help it as it does carry on from the second. The puzzles are not quite as obtuse as some of the luminaries of the gameplay style are known for but many would have us say there is no shame in having a guide for some of the puzzles in these games.
[prebreak]Rest of the article[/prebreak]
The DS once more a refuge of the forgotten gameplay styles/subversive method of getting them out of obscure circles on the PC? It was also one of the first attempts at such a game on the DS and with later ones like Ghost trick, the Kyle Hyde games (Hotel Dusk) and several other choices achieving massive acclaim were we premature in saying it holds up or have we chosen a little known gem for this selection? Do also feel free to share a couple of your chosen DS and Wii point and click favourites.
We are working on getting a new searching mechanism working with the new forum software now our tag system has been changed. In the meantime all the editions are in this section and hopefully GBAGOTW should get you the other entries in the series. gbagotw.
The GBAtempbook game club/GBAtemp game of the week feature we have on GBAtemp are part of our mission to continue to be more than just releases and homebrew news.
We have a few deeper themes and underlying reasons for what we do but hold a gun to our head and we would summarise this feature as "a user driven review/discussion of a selected title", we select a title and provide the background for the game but hold back on reviewing it in any real depth in the opening post as it is very much about the user driven review/discussion.
We are not limiting ourselves to any one console or type of release but for the most part a game will want to have a notable entry as a commercial releases (this includes things like leaked beta releases and ROM hacks), a piece of homebrew code on the GBA, DS and Wii. That said the DS can emulate quite a bit so we may step on the toes of our friends across on the retro reviews desk from time to time and should a selection have something on another platform it will hopefully be mentioned in passing.
We hold that the "best games in a given genre/platform" and "hidden gems" framing devices are horribly limiting and as such we often do pick titles that fell short of greatness but tried something interesting along the way which gives us a huge choice of interesting things to look at.
Runaway series (NDS, Wii and PC)
As with many of these threads we have a few ways to start it and a few directions to take the background info/overview. Here were we to do tags they would probably read something like [surprisingly good rendition of what was originally a PC game] (a surprisingly common theme in DS games, especially when console ports of PC games have often been seen to suffer terribly and it only running downhill when it comes to handheld games) and [handhelds- home to a once proud gameplay style] (something we expound upon on a fairly regular basis around here). Perhaps due to both happening at the same time we got a couple of notable titles though without much in the way of a North American release they do not seem to have featured as heavily as some other titles. The [handhelds- home to a once proud gameplay style] gameplay style of choice today is the point and click adventure game, a style served for a long time mainly only by the excellent DS homebrew port of ScummVM. Eventually a few developers did click that touchscreen and a well refined style of gameplay coupled with reasonable development costs and a high install base could be a good idea with this being one of the earlier attempts and one that many would argue stood the test of time against very stiff competition later on (helped in no small part but the rather pretty cel shaded graphics).
We are reluctant to discuss too much of the story here as these sorts of games are all about the mystery but it is set approximately in the modern day and things go very wrong for the player characters as they are on holiday.
There are three entries in the series give or take spinoffs and special versions. The first is PC only, the second is PC, DS and Wii where the third is PC and DS. By and large, unlike many other point and click franchises, they do work as standalone games though jumping to the last game is not recommended if you can help it as it does carry on from the second. The puzzles are not quite as obtuse as some of the luminaries of the gameplay style are known for but many would have us say there is no shame in having a guide for some of the puzzles in these games.
[prebreak]Rest of the article[/prebreak]
Gameplay and a few words with the developers
GBAtemp release thread ( Runaway: The Dream of the Turtle 1.1) The v1.1 in this case includes Spanish and Italian though there may be a few other bugfixes
GBAtemp release thread (Runaway: A Twist of Fate) - the third game/sequel to the first DS game
The DS once more a refuge of the forgotten gameplay styles/subversive method of getting them out of obscure circles on the PC? It was also one of the first attempts at such a game on the DS and with later ones like Ghost trick, the Kyle Hyde games (Hotel Dusk) and several other choices achieving massive acclaim were we premature in saying it holds up or have we chosen a little known gem for this selection? Do also feel free to share a couple of your chosen DS and Wii point and click favourites.
We are working on getting a new searching mechanism working with the new forum software now our tag system has been changed. In the meantime all the editions are in this section and hopefully GBAGOTW should get you the other entries in the series. gbagotw.
The GBAtemp
We have a few deeper themes and underlying reasons for what we do but hold a gun to our head and we would summarise this feature as "a user driven review/discussion of a selected title", we select a title and provide the background for the game but hold back on reviewing it in any real depth in the opening post as it is very much about the user driven review/discussion.
We are not limiting ourselves to any one console or type of release but for the most part a game will want to have a notable entry as a commercial releases (this includes things like leaked beta releases and ROM hacks), a piece of homebrew code on the GBA, DS and Wii. That said the DS can emulate quite a bit so we may step on the toes of our friends across on the retro reviews desk from time to time and should a selection have something on another platform it will hopefully be mentioned in passing.
We hold that the "best games in a given genre/platform" and "hidden gems" framing devices are horribly limiting and as such we often do pick titles that fell short of greatness but tried something interesting along the way which gives us a huge choice of interesting things to look at.
