Customer Reviews

Dreamfall Game of the Year

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Since this is actually a set with two games instead of just one (which is what I thought when I bought it -not that I'm complaining!) I'm going to review the games seperately. Please note that I had never even heard of either game until I picked this package up about 2 weeks ago.

The Longest Journey. (original game released in Nov 2000)

-Story 5/5
This is probably one of the best (if not THE best) storyline I've encountered. It's one of the few games where I was captivated from start to finish with no feeling of having to drag myself through boring parts just to find out what happens in the end. This game is worth playing for the story alone.

-Gamecontrol 4/5 (given for the time)
It's a 2-d setting (no camera moving) and point and click movement. Easy for even the most inexperienced gamer to grasp. While I thought this would annoy me when I first started playing (I'm used to having more control) it actually didn't.

-Gameplay 4-1/2 /5 (given for the time)
This game has the feel of a RPG, however it's not. This isn't a bad thing, but it changes the way the game is played. There is no actual fighting, it's based on "puzzles". The "puzzles" are trying to figure out what to use next to get out in a "real world" type way. It's very fun and challenging!

-Graphics N/A
Considering the game was released 7 years ago it's not fair to rate the graphics by today's standards. My ONLY complaint has to do with the 2007 GotY release, not the game itself. They should have been able to make a "windowed" mode so that we could have the option to play the game on a 800x600 window on the computer. This would allow me (and others who didn't play it when it was first released) to experience the game as it was meant to when it first came out. The images are very pixelated and it did make me miss a few smaller items because of the stretching that occurred.

-Overall 5/5
The game is almost perfect and the few things I had a problem with were not even enough to put a dent in the game. The game was (and still is) innovative and the story is king. Definately worth getting! :)

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Dreamfall (originally released 2006)

-Story 3-4/5
Overall I guess I'd have to give the storyline 3 stars, but the good parts are so great they deserve 4 stars. The story takes longer to suck you in, but once it finally does, it's great and I could just feel myself craving to finish the game. However the end botches it up. Not only with the huge cliffhanger at the end (as another reviewer pointed out) but the side plots are never cleared up either. If you actually let the end credits play through you get a little bonus clip at the end, but it doesn't do much other then indicate there might be a Longest Journey 3 coming out.

-Gamecontrol 4/5
I'm assuming the people who rated the controls as bad aren't used to the "WASD" movement that I am. I used to primarily play World of Warcraft and Guild Wars, both of which use this same movement system so it wasn't hard to adapt to it and I did not waste a lot of time bumping into the walls. However if you move straight from playing The Longest Journey to Dreamfall it does cause a bit of confusion. The only complaint I have is that they should have included a point and click option for looking at various objects, areas, and people. The other games I've played with the WASD movement include this to make it easier as opposed to tying to position your character just right so you can look at something. That was probably the most annoying aspect of the game.

-Gameplay 3 1/2 /5
Overall it's definately 3 stars. However, I give them an extra 1/2 for trying newer features that have been developed into other newer games... particularly fighting and "sneaking". Honestly... the fighting was pretty lame and except for getting the point across that you needed to figure out a different way to get out of that section, it served virtually no purpose and just was just awkward. The "sneaking" especially for this game could have been great, if it had been done right, but somehow it just wasn't. The defualt controls for it were hard (hold "ctrl" while walking) and uncomfortable. I just think there could have been a better way to "sneak". Another thing I didn't like was the character switching. I still do not understand the point of playing the Apostle. He seemed to have no purpose other then to show that the bad guys in Marcuria were not ALL bad and it wasn't very relevant to the story. Playing as April wasa bit weird. In some parts I understood it (when Zoe is trapped in the tower), but overall they should have just stuck to one character.

-Graphics 4/5
Considering the game came out about a year ago and 6 years after the original...the graphics are VASTLY better. However I've seen other games that came out earlier that have better graphics. (Sims 2 is one that comes to mind because the faces are very similar.) Some of the picking and holding up of items is awkward and looks VERY similar to the original. (Items going through the hand and floating through the air as opposed to being held. I understand this during gameplay, but during the cinematics it was annoying.) One thing I liked about Dreamfall (that actually bothered me about the first) is the costuming. In the first one April was ALWAYS wearing a midriff bearing shirt and capris even when she was given clothes in Marcuria...and NOONE else wore that. In Dreamfall Zoe is given quite a few changes of clothes and they are all relavent to the situation. (When she borrows Damien's clothes, while it clings to her, they actually made it look like a man's sweater, bc a single guy is not going to have women's clothing lying around.)

-Overall 4/5
I'm tempted to give it 3/5, but I'll be honest, I haven't played many "adventure" games and I was still engrossed in Dreamfall and finished it in three days (Technically two, but I didn't play on the day in the middle) this is rare that I want to find out what happens next that I must play (as I did with The Longest Journey) The problems don't have too much of an effect on the overall game, even if the original was far better. The only huge disappointment was the ending and all the cliffhangers.

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The set overall 4/5

I definately recommend getting this set. As others stated it might be in your better interest to buy the games separately and used bc you could probaly shave $10 off the price, but I'm used to paying $30-$60 for a game (varies depending on the system) so a new game for $20 that turned out to be great was an awesome deal. It also comes with the Dreamfall soundtrack, which I haven't listened to it on it's own yet, but I did enjoy the music I heard in the game. (Both the score and the songs with singing) I did SOME research on it and it is supposed to include one song that you can't get from the free download off the site. So I suppose if you are a huge fan you might want to pick it up just for that reason alone. :)

My only complaint is that my new shrink-wrapped copy did not come with a game booklet, while it was not necessary to have one, it would have been helpful for learning certain things particularly in Dreamfall. (I was over half way through the game when I finally figured out how to check messages on my phone...and almost done when I learned they did include a "diary" of sorts as they did in the first.) The key is "M" btw and it has the diary, recent dialogue, and messages.

Also just a note on the rating...for parents (I have a 16 month old). The game is rated M and claims many things, but the main reason (I find) for the M rating is language. (They like using the "f-word" a lot.) The violence is not bad or realistic and there is no gore. I found I was able to play with my child in the room if I turned the sound down or the voices off. This goes for both games. It does have "suggestive themes", but is only voiced and not shown.

Being forthright, I'm not generally a fan of adventure games. They tend to be puzzle-heavy, action-light, and not particularly fast-paced. These are all generally traits that end up getting me frustrated and in a cheating mood, which rather defeats the purpose of the game. I picked up Dreamfall quite a while ago, and to be honest the only real reasons I did so were the fact that there weren't any decent new games out (and Dreamfall had decent reviews), and that the girl on the cover was hot (shallow I know, but hey, I was bored). I started the game right off, found it decent, but got sidetracked by newer releases for a long time. Thus I have only recently finished it, and have found it to be a rather pleasant surprise.

The main draw for this game are the graphics, plot, and voice acting. All are very well done- each of the areas is unique, and many are spectacular in design and ambiance. The story is (as one would expect from an adventure game) excellent and full of interesting plot twists that keep you going... or at least, once it picks up. The beginning is a tad slow, but after the first few areas it gets rather arresting. The pacing is also well done in general, with no undue amounts of backtracking, repetitive tasks, and long periods of time spent in the same area. The puzzles are generally not difficult to the point of frustration, though they are challenging enough to give you a sense of accomplishment when you pass them. Last but not least, the soundtrack is superb- one of the best game soundtracks I've ever heard.

In general, the game's controls are very simple. You can move around, look at objects, and interact with them. The only 'hard' part in this respect is that some of the 'hotspots' that you must interact with are not easy to reach and sometimes it's not even clear they exist. This is somewhat mitigated by focus mode, where you can sweep an area for hotspots if they're in your field of view. You can also access your mobile, which is essentially a journal, and a simple inventory that rarely contains more than 5 items. Most of the game consists of speaking to people, finding and using items (sometimes with other items) and deciding what things to use where, or where to find an item you need. Combat is pretty rare and not challenging in the least, and I'm pretty sure that no matter what dialogue choices you pick, the show will go on. Some might not like the fact that the game is very linear in this regard, but this isn't that big a deal the first play through.

In general, the game plays pretty much in the following way: you see a cutscene, quite a few of which are rather amazing, then you end up in control of one of the characters (almost always Zoe or April). You can then move around and explore a limited area, and are clearly shown that there is an objective to meet in this area (oftentimes nothing more than finding a way out). There are sometimes puzzles to be solved in the process, both of the traditional sort (pattern matching, mostly) and environmental manipulation of some kind. Though some of the puzzles have more than one solution, this is generally the exception to the rule. I suppose this simplifies matters to some degree, since they usually leave pointed hints as to what you're supposed to do. However, it absolutely cripples replay value- once you've played the game once, you literally know exactly what to do to beat it again. There's also not much in the way of secrets, extras, or random encounters. If you beat the game, even taking the path of least resistance, you will likely see and hear all it has to offer.

Combat is a weak point of the game, so perhaps its a good thing that it's so rare. I've seen browser based flash games with better combat than this one: you essentially face your foe and hit one of two attack buttons until they go down. You can block some attacks, but this is generally a waste of time. It doesn't help that at least a third of the combat encounters are totally unwinnable- you have to avoid them altogether if you want to survive and continue. Bottom line- this is no action game; if you really care about that sort of thing, you might want to look elsewhere.

Perhaps the only really big downer in the entire game is the fact that it leaves a lot of questions unanswered and a lot of threads dangling. This is obviously not the last game in the series, and it practically screams 'To be continued' when the credits roll. Considering how long it took for Dreamfall to finish development, it's also not likely we'll see the end of this story any time soon. The cliffhanger plot is enough to drive one mad.

Though it does have its flaws, Dreamfall is a great adventure title. It doesn't require a whole lot of experience with the genre, just an appreciation for art and plot. You don't even need to have played the previous game in the series (I hadn't) though it might help explain the history of the characters you encounter. The production values, especially voice acting and music, are top-notch. If you can live with the weak combat minigame and lack of replay value, Dreamfall is definitely worth your time playing.

I played Dreamfall for the first time years ago when it was first released, finished it, and then somehow forgot how much I enjoyed it. That actually turned out to be a blessing, because playing it through a second time was mostly an all new experience, and if possible, it was even better this time around.

Let me start by telling you the faults of the game, just to get them out of them way, and make room for what's great about it. The combat sucks. There's just no way around it. Fortunately, there is very little of it. Future games might want to take a hint or two from Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit), and just have quick time based fighting or something. This is an adventure game, afterall, and it should stay purely adventure, as there is no room for anything else.

What's great - the story. It is completely mind-blowing. I don't mean that as a cliche, but literally mind-blowing, because it will really make you think - about life, about purpose, about reality. The game touches on themes from Indigenous Australian mythology, and does so brilliantly, adding a new dimension to the twin-world lore of the Longest Journey franchise - dreams being the common thread that connects the two worlds, and also their origin. Without getting too much into the philosophy of Dreamfall, let me just say that if for no other reason, then you must play this game for the story. Decidedly mature, but never gratuitous, and blurring the boundary between fantasy and science fiction, Dreamfall's narrative would be screen worthy, but for the fact that it is too large to be contained in a single film, and would probably be butchered on television. So the interactive medium was the correct choice to tell this story.

The characters are complex, three-dimensional, complete with virtue and vice. April Ryan from TLJ returns, but she is no longer the idealistic starving artist who went on the save the world. Now she is a jaded, cynical, and bitter woman driven by revenge. She seems both noble and selfless in how she fights for her cause, but in reality she is bent - even if only subconsciously - on self-destruction. Saving the world, it seems, creates a void in purpose after the fact.

Kian is a man of both unshakable faith and honor. He has committed himself to the word of his Goddess, which he believes is aligned with the will of the Six Empresses of his kingdom, a belief that is easily protected within his home city, insulated from the reality of the outside world. Once abroad, however, and faced with the grim truth of what his Empire does in the name of the Goddess, he questions not his faith, but the politics of his leaders. It is a strange sort of thing to play as a character who is killing the allies of another of the playable characters and watching as he comes to grips with his purpose.

Zoe. Zoe, Zoe, Zoe. There is so much to say about the new main character - but in a few words, she is a dreamer who has lost the ability to dream. Like the other characters she questions her purpose in life, and has become restless, lazy, uninspired, and bored. So when her closest friend goes missing, she jumps at the opportunity to search for him, not out of some altruistic instinct, but out of a personal desire to rekindle her sense of purpose. Along the way she discovers that she is tied into the very nature of the twin worlds, that she has some affinity to the Dreaming.

Although most of the game is played as Zoe, there is enough of April and Kian to add plenty of variety and alternate perspectives, creating a truly three-dimensional narrative.

Dreamfall is probably better described as an interactive story than a video game, and so a warning to action gamers and even RPG-players, this is a game purely driven by its plot and characters, with everything else merely an excuse to keep you involved. For me and other adventure game lovers, it is perhaps the crowning achievement of the genre, an example of how a video game can be art - indeed, interactive literature.

Of lesser importance to the overall product, but worth mentioning is that the visuals are excellent - not the high poly count of current gen games, but rendered in a style that somehow allows it to remain timeless. Clean, simple character models with no muddy textures, and gorgeous environments that showcase top-notch art direction. From the bright and clean quasi-futuristic middle-eastern look of Casablanca to the esoteric and hauntingly beautiful City of the Dark People, there is plenty to look at in Dreamfall. The only shortcoming here is that the environments aren't larger, because here is truly a world that you'd like to spend a few hours just exploring.

As for sound - the music is mostly ambient, and falls into the background, present enough to create an atmosphere, peaking at critical story points, but never intrusive. Of greater importance is the quality of the voice acting, which does justice (at least in English) to an incredible script. The believability of the characters is enhanced not only by what they say, but HOW they say it.

There is so much to love about this game, I could spend another ten paragraphs singing its praises, but I'll spare you. Let me just summarize it all by saying that this is the single greatest adventure game that I have ever played, and a contender for my favorite game of all time. If you do not agree after your first playthrough, I'd recommend waiting awhile and giving it another go, perhaps after dabbling in a little of the underlying mythology.

I give Dreamfall my highest recommendation.

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.

One confusing problem is the constant presence of loading screens. There are a ton of them breaking up cutscenes as well as action. It's a little disappointing. I'm sure part of the problem was to help make it playable on both the Xbox and the PC. But load screens are a normal part of our life now and even the "triple A games" like Half Life 2 utilize them. And the loading screens in Dreamfall, while frequent, aren't long by any means. So, to me, it is a minor nuisance that I completely ignored and only bring it up because of other reviews out there commenting that reviewers aren't bringing it up ;)

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.

They should have packaged this as The Longest Journey, with Dreamfall as a bonus. The Longest Journey, the original game in the series, is by far a better game and a better story. (It should also be noted that you should definitely play The Longest Journey before Dreamfall, since a lot of things are only really explained in The Longest Journey.)

Dreamfall has an interesting story with a chliched "spooky" little girl with black hair, but it ends with an irritating cliffhanger. Not to mention the sneaking and fighting portions of the game are horrible, and show up one too many times. Dreamfall has much better voice acting and graphics than the Longest Journey, but it's still more of a 3.5/5, but this package includes The Longest Journey, which is easily a 5.

The Longest Journey is a straight-forward point-and-click adventure game with a great story and interesting characters. The graphics are weak by today's standards, but everything else is very well done. It's definitely long and there are numerous 10-15-minute-long speeches by characters, but they're generally well done, so it's not a problem, just something you don't often see in games. The biggest downside is that a lot of puzzles are really esoteric and take a really long time to figure out. It's often hailed by critics as one of the best adventure games ever made, and I'd have to agree. It's not quite Grim Fandango good, but it's really good.

In addition, you get the soundtrack to Dreamfall in the box, which is fairly good.

Definitely a good package, but ignore the fact that Dreamfall is the headlining act.

We bought this game because we'd played The Longest Journey and loved it. We thought the original Longest Journey was one of the best adventure-quest games we had played in a long long time.

Unfortunately, Dreamfall really really disappoints by comparison. It is painfully evident that Dreamfall was designed primarily to be played on a game console, rather than a PC. Like other adventure games which made a transition to console (Broken Sword 4, for example), the result is not a happy one. There are several serious flaws with this game:

1) Gameplay - because it was designed for console, the controls on this game are a real pain for PC players. We keep getting stuck in corners and taking a long time to extract ourselves from them, the camera is always turning in the wrong direction, and the simplest tasks become extremely frustrating because both the mouse and keyboard controls are a real pain.

2) The type of challenges - in a quest game, the fun is usually in slowly unfolding a game by finding new objects, talking to people, and trying to figure out how to solve a puzzle or what to do next. In this game, however, most of the challenges are simply about jumping or fighting or running or something stupid like that, which may be fun if you're playing a console game, but aren't fun if you are looking for an actual quest-adventure. When you do need to help someone or find an object, this is always painfully simple: you are told where to go, you talk to the person, you easily locate the object and bring it to them. Where you come across something like a locked door, which is often a challenge in quest games, here the solution is usually something as simple as calling a friend on the phone.

3) Linear - really, I've never played a game quite as stupidly linear as this one. Even the Sherlock Holmes games, which are quite linear, aren't as bad as this. Basically, you can't do *anything* until you get things in precisely the right order. I can't tell you how many times we found ourselves yelling at the screen saying "but we know exactly what we need to do!!!!" and not having the game allow this. For example, in one particular instance you need to get a keypad code. You (the player) see someone else opening the keypad, so you'd think the game would just allow you to walk up to the keypad and enter the code, but no, you have to get your character into a particular position in which they see this someone enter the code, and then the character goes and enters it.

4) Very lengthy cutscenes and dialogue that don't give you any additional information.

The result of all this is that Dreamfall is essentially an interactive movie. You need to perform actions to move the plot along, but the actions are pretty obvious and have to be done in exactly the right order. Where you need to perform more complex actions, these are never a challenge to your brain, but rather to your ability to maneuver or fight using the cumbersome controls.

We are now in the middle of the game, after hours of gameplay, and we are so frustrated by this that we are seriously considering not finishing the game, which is very unusual for us. We are very disappointed by the fact that this game's creators took an original that was exciting, interesting and a model for the fact that quests are not dead - and turned it into a boring, tired, simple console game that is a pain to play on a PC.

I just finished both games this week.

As someone who is new to adventure gaming and one that is used to action games, my opinion of the two games will sound pretty different from most of the reviewers on here.

First off, I loved both of the games, although Dreamfall was a bit more like half a game with nothing being resolved by the time the credits roll, but the half that I did get to play left me craving more, even if it did leave me unsatisfied as far as tying up loose ends goes.

For me, the original was a bit too 'adventure' for me.. The point and click and then waiting for her to run all the way across the screen was just short of torture. I loved the story and the characters, but some of the tasks were more tedious than they had to be if April didn't have to slowly jog all the way across the current environment. If I forgot to pick something up on a previous screen, it almost made me want to quit to have to think about jogging all the way back. With that said, the in depth and beautifully written story is worth the wait.

I know this is blasphemous for a lot of adventure game players, but I liked the controls of dreamfall 10x better. It was a free environment, and the graphics were so beautiful that I did not mind having to run across Marcuria, Casablanca, etc. The controls took a bit of getting used to, but with WASD, the movement, and the ability to explore, adds so much to the game and for that reason, I feel the controls are superior. Being confined to a linear space takes so much away from the environment, and after all, isn't the environment a big reason for playing adventure games in the first place?

The combat was a bit ridiculous, but I can't deny that the fact that you can actually die in this game enhances the suspense of some of the encounters.

As for the storylines, I can appreciate both. I love the way that the two stories tie together without really being a sequel. Some of the charaters remain, but the story of each stands alone. They intertwine without being the continuation of the first. But... like I said before, Dreamfall is more like part 1 of a two part story. They get you there, but they don't finish the job. You are just beginning to see where they are going with it, and where they are going is fantastic, then bad things happen, then the credits roll. *scratches head*--- Is that it? ---- Unfortunately, it is. I have become very attached to the characters and can't wait for the sequel!! Whenever that may be..

I'm playing it with my 7 y.o. son and he just loves it. Actually, he's playing it and I'm sitting next to him helping him out with some of the harder puzzles. The graphics are beautiful, the music is good, the puzzles are solvable. So far I only had to cheat and search the internet for hints twice. The game starts slow but the action accelerates after about 15-20 minutes.

The game is hard to control if you are using a mouse and keyboard, it must have been designed for a gamepad type controller. I had a much better experience once I switched to logitech wireless gamepad.

What appear to be weaknesses of this game are often actually strengths; perhaps people complain about some aspects only because they are expecting something more formulaic. I feel as if the designers were making a point of saying, "We can create a great story without having to do things just like everyone else does."

Story: Interesting and complex, with varied environments and interpersonal connections. I cared about what was happening to people, and I liked the portrayal of emotion in both the voice acting and the graphics. The story doesn't conclude in a way that people expect, but in a way that adds a positive and fairly unique element. I wanted to hear a lot more about the conflicts that were created in the game. Characters and settings were used skillfully; sometimes the designers only gave us a taste of them, which was intriguing and game the game flavor (whereas other games can be heavy-handed as they try to get too much of their money's worth from a story element). It's good fiction. I think there's really only one path to take through the game, but the interaction still gives the player a sense of making real choices about how characters actually feel about what is going on.

Visual aspect: Rich and appealing. I wouldn't expect to be disappointed with this game as computer graphics keep improving in other games and movies.

Combat: Some say that the combat is bad, but I would consider it ancillary, intended more to allow the player to participate in that part of the story than to provide intense interactive action. It serves its purpose, and is realistic in that there are some fights that the protagonist practically can't win (and thus we have to find an alternative to a direct fight); that's different from most games and is a actually a good thing. As long as you expect to use combat to help move the story along instead of focusing on it, you'll be fine.

Controls: Some have said the controls were difficult, but we used an XBox 360 controller and it was just fine.

Music: Fantastic. I didn't realize while playing the game how much I liked the music, but in listening to the CD I found that I recognized the songs and really, really liked them.

Content: It contains some foul language (including the f-word) and perhaps some potentially troubling themes; I don't remember hearing very much of either, probably because I'm thinking in the context of comparing this game to its predecessor, The Longest Journey, which had ridiculous amounts of offensive language and sexual themes. Because this is important to me, I rate Dreamfall at only four stars; if I could remove a bit of the language, I wouldn't hesitate to call it one of my favorites.

I heartily disagree with those who say that the first game was better. Dreamfall is distinctly superior to its predecessor in its story, realism, character development, voice-acting, music, graphics, and playability. I would never want to play The Longest Journey again (and I'd recommend that everyone else skip it), but I found Dreamfall to be uniquely engaging and quite original in its presentation. Overall it is very well done and very enjoyable, provided that you can accept a story and game with unusual aspects.

A fun, classic point and click adventure game with a great story.

Be warned though, as an older game, this seems to have issues installing on certain graphics cards. I actually had to install the original (dreamfall) on my older laptop, and the sequel on my PC.