Customer Reviews

The Dig

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read the review left by the other person just bashing this game, and I thought to myself that someone who actually liked the game should write a little something.

This game is extremely fun, and probably one of the better adventure games to have been released. If you like these kind of games, like Sam and Max, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle....you will also thoroughly enjoy this one.

It has a difference pace from most of Lucasarts adventure games though. It is a little bit more serious, and not intended to be humorous at all.

The whole game is based on this space shuttle crew made up of mostly scientists who get sent to explore an asteroid heading towards earth, (yes, this was made way before the movie Armageddon), but something happens after they start exploring the asteroid and they are hurled towards some unknown planet. Now they find themselves stranded. It is up to you and your crew to discover where you are, who is it that inhabits the planet, (if anyone still does), and if possible, return home.

Some of the puzzles are more difficult than some, but this wasn't meant to be a childrens game. But if you stick to it, you'll find it very rewarding and entertaining.

Scale of 1 - 10
All these considering the technology of the time

Graphics - 7
Music - 9
Acting - 10
Challenge - 8
Fun Factor - 8

Overall - 8.4

Considering the cheap price tag of the game, it is well worth the money. Especially if you enjoy good clean adventure games. :)

This game is one of my top 10 favorites. It might be because I read the book and can see the Alan Dean Foster and Steven Speilberg influence in it, since Spielberg devised it and Foster wrote the dialogue and novel.
It differs greatly from other LucasArts adventure games in the follow respects. It recycles environments that must be re-explored throughout. In one moment a room is void of clues while in the next it yields the secret to the universe. Unfortunately this waters down a sense of progress. Also, since LucasArts probably just about went under getting Card to write the dialogue, they get their money's worth with quite a bit of it. Then there's the atmosphere which is alluring and mysterious. That isn't bad, just a branching out for the company.
Finally, many of the puzzles have less to do with resourcefulness and more to do with shape and color manipulation.
All in all it's a beautiful game with fantastic scenery and an equally gorgeous wagnerian classical soundtrack. It plays like a movie, basically, and feels like fantasy although is nothing less than hard sci-fi. Some might not enjoy it because of it's esoteric nature and discussion of depressing truths. I don't really know how to say this but it's honestly made for the more intellectually curious and mature. I'm almost sure this is why it was undersold.

The Dig takes LucasArts adventurers to a place they've never been before. An alien world. Not only is this the only LA game set in space, it's also the only one to take a very serious approach. That's the biggest criticism I hear about this title. My feeling is, if you want comedy, Monkey Island is your game. If you want a more serious sci-fi epic though, look no further.

Another thing that seperates this from any other LA title is the lack of characters to interact with. For the majority of the game, it's just you and your crew members Maggie and Brink. But in a way, that's what makes it great. The concept is that you're on a planet where the technology is far advanced, but it's a barren wasteland, and there's no telling what happened to the aliens that used to inhabit this planet.

Another aspect that really adds to the game is the sound effects and cinematic score. Nearly every location has it's own atmospheric music and adds an eerie vibe. The voice acting is decent too, but there's really not a lot of dialogue throughout as you are exploring solo for the majority.

The graphics I would compare to Full Throttle as they both were released pretty close together. The backgrounds look great, but I think FT looked a little better sometimes with the in game character graphics. Way too pixelated. I could have used some more cut scenes as well.

Overall, an immersive experience and one of my favorite games. The puzzles are hard, but not too hard, there are plenty of areas to explore, and it really does feel like you're watching a sci-fi movie sometimes. Well worth experiencing.

The dig is an old game but even after so much time its still fun to play with the has two endings depending on the decisions you make, LOT'S and LOT'S of diferent dialogs it seems a mere detail but its not ( the caracters speak different things to you almost EVERY TIME you talk to them) ................. and................ well , thats it :) if you like adventures game space missions and is a spilberg fan BUY this game.

Another fantastic LucasArts adventure game. If your reading this you probably collect them too, and this one is a classy game. This game is getting really rare so grab it up at this low price (look up "Day of the Tentacle" or "Sam & Max Hit the Road", they are still about $30!) Unlike the Monkey Island games, there is little funny about The Dig, it handles itself in a mysterious, deadly serious manner - but it is still awesome. It just doesn't have much replay value for me personally because of the lack of humor though. That is also the only reason I won't give it 5 stars overall.

This is one of the best adventure games ever. The atmosphere is fantastic and the story is amazing. You're really getting into it while playing.It was like watching a long movie. It's not very fast though, and you can really stuck for a long time in some points. So you have to be patient and have time to spend. I was a little dissapointed from the end, but I'm sure that this will not be the case for other people, for this is just a matter of taste.

As with virtually all Lucas games, this is a killer game. Must have for any lover of this genre.

Like Grim Fandango This is another Classic Lucas Arts pc game that I shall always remember fondly. This game came out the same time as other classic greats Full Throttle, Afterlife, Star Wars:Dark Forces 1&2, Indiana Jones and The Infernal Machine, and other greats as well. Like an earlier reviewer said this is one of the more serious games as it didn't have the witty funny humor to make you laugh but instead had you use your brain to think of a way to help the characters off the alien planet. I was amazed to find a few of these on the shelf at a store recently and decided to re-buy a copy since I lost my own a while back and for the price it was very affordable. As I have said on a few earlier pc games of the 90's the graphics won't be up to par with recent pc games so don't expect the great graphics you have like on Warcraft or Farcry but don't let that dissuade you from this classic the enjoyment and storyline will definitely make up for it. Also with Lucas arts the voice actors they got were superb for the characters they portrayed and I'm sure you might recognize the voice of Robert Patrick from Terminator 2 as well as the t.v. show the UNIT. So at the end if your tired of the standard shooting games or you're feeling a little nostalgic for a past game this game is a good choice to check up on both for the enjoyment and the story plot....

From the "old" days when VGA was "COOL" and the fastest thing on the street was a 386. This was a fun play with "cutting edge" animation clips at each level...

The story for this game was developed by Steven Spielberg for a movie. He subsequently decided that a movie would cost too much, and he suggested to Lucas Arts that the story might form the basis for a video game. "The Dig" is the result.

It is discovered that an asteroid circling our planet is in an unstable orbit and that it will crash somewhere on earth and cause a catastrophe. A team is dispatched to detonate explosive charges on the asteroid in order to move it to a stable orbit. On the asteroid, the crew finds a tunnel that leads to a cavern containg a large mysterious object. When certain plates are assembled, the object morphs into a space ship which takes the crew to a planet. By accident, the crew discovers a lower level called a "Nexus." Here is where the main game begins.

I have two issues with the game. First, gameplay tends to drag. From the Nexus five spires (also called museums) are visited twice. Much time is spent going and coming. You visit a spire, walk around, perhaps collect an object, and return to the Nexus. There is no sense of forward movement. There are several "trial-and-error" puzzles, always tedious, which slow game progress even more.

Second, after playing the game for some time you will begin to wonder just what the plot is. Where is this game going? The game ends rather abruptly, actually unexpectedly, leaving you still wondering.

In sum, "The Dig" is worth playing but you are left with the sense that it should have been better.