AGS Ezine blog

Introduction. One of the good, but underrated AGS games released in 2003 is “Mourir en mer’. As the title says, the game is French, and has recently been translated. Let’s now look through the pros and cons of this game.

Plot. Unlike most AGS games who pretend to have funny plots(but do not), “Mourir en mer” has a rather bold and tragic one. You play a sick and insane boy who is dying, due to his vile father’s behaviour. His last wish is to see the sea, which he has heard of from “Moby Dick”. Your goal is to fulfill this wild and last dream.

          The good. The graphics are nicely drawn; the style fits the mood of the game well. The animations are also smooth and the character art is wonderful. Throughout cutscenes, there are many close-ups which add to the cinematic feeling of the game. “Mourir en mer” also ran slickly without any bugs, which is very important to me. The interface worked quite well, despite the fact that it is an almost exact copy of the sierra GUI. One thing that struck me was a superb blur effect depending on the character’s position, much like in a movie. As much as I’d like to continue with such compliments to the game, I’d have to go on with

The Bad. First and most important of all, the game was originally released in French. So far so good, but the translation, to put it in one word, is awful. The dialogues can hardly be believed, and some lines said by the protagonist suit Macaulay Culkin in “Home alone” more than an insane and dying boy. Another weak point in this game are the puzzles. At the beginning there is a difficult timed sequence, which requires MacGyver style thinking and good timing – something that does not suit the mood of the game at all. Later on, there also are puzzles that could not be solved by an insane youth, which include distracting – while the protagonist in real world would rather grab the cell phone and run, he has to distract its owner. The puzzle design would sure fit any less serious game, but it does not fit a game with such plot. Another poor thing is the lack of music and sound – not a single tune or a sound effect. A definite minus – appropriate music could enhance the feeling of this game.

Conclusion. While not the best game ever made, “Mourir en mer” is an enjoyable game which sometimes does not reach its goals, but is nonetheless fun to play.

Mourir en mer

Creator: Dorcan

Download from: Dorcan’s website

AGS Ezine score:

65%

Introduction. The recently released game named “Grr! Bearly Sane” is one of the funniest AGS games I have played. It most certainly isn’t your run-off-the-mill adventure game. Let me start with the

Plot. Dan is a carnival entertainer dressed in a bear costume. But his life is not as good as he wants – his boss is constantly humiliating him, knowing that Dan needs the money to pay for his apartment. But now Dan is fed up with his boss and wants to get the world rid of him. And that’s when the game starts. “Bearly Sane” has a hilarious plot, and the situations are such as well. There is some violence throughout the game(after all, your goal is to kill your boss), but it is made in a funny way and it does not bother the player. To sum it up, the hilarious story of “Grr! Bearly Sane” will surely get you entertained.

Gameplay. The game is rather short, I think that no one will have difficulties finishing it for less than an hour. The interface is a verb coin GUI, with one added element. That’s the “Anger meter” – it shows how angry Dan is – and depending on its level, the main character will perform different actions. A really cool idea, but I think that it was kind of underrated in the game – I hardly remember a puzzle in which you had to use it. It also could have made the game at least partially non-linear, but, alas, it does not. The game ran almost flawlessly, except for one or two bugs and a few typos. On the whole, “Grr! Bearly Sane” is a very enjoyable experience, although its few flaws.

Graphics. The art of the game is very pleasant. The backgrounds are very nicely drawn, in a unique style, which really fits the carnival theme. The best thing about the graphics though is the character art – the character designs are very cartoony, and the amount of animation is immense – not very often you see so many animationsin an amateur adventure game. Infact, I think that there wasn’t a single “You do this and that” message throughout the whole game. It is pure pleasure watching the smooth moving pictures – Dan scratching his back, a seagull flying… A very enjoyable thing to do if you ask me.

Sound and music. The music of the game, while fitting and well composed, is not made especially for “Grr! Bearly sane”, which in my opinion is a definite drawback. On the other side, there is a very nice credits song performed by the game’s creator himself. The sound effects in the game are many and various, and all of them match the atmosphere perfectly. At the end of the day, the sound and music in the make the experience even more pleasurable, though the music could have been written especially for this game.

Conclusion. “Grr! Bearly sane”, one of the best AGS games released,  is definitely a game worth playing.

Grr!Bearly Sane!

Creator: Duzz

Download from: Duzz’s Website

AGS Ezine score:

85%