Nelson can have a gun. Guns aren't evil. Why my good friend, Abraham Lincoln, has an arm made out of a gun.
This is a recent picture I took of him on his patio. Remember, kids, Abraham Lincoln's motto is, "Guns don't kill people. I do."
God Bless you, Abraham Lincoln! salute
I'm sorry, but you seem to be in error. According to John Hodgman's master work 'More Information Than You Require,' Abraham Lincoln was portrayed by Edwin Booth for most of his presidency and had a hook for his right hand. A HOOK.
You talk about mood and feeling and everything, but you want an FBI agent to not use a gun, and instead to pull a rubber chicken out and wobble it around or something goofy like that? I think it adds a ton to Nelson Tethers' character that, while he's a "Puzzle Agent," he is still an FBI agent first. He went to the academy. He had weapons training. He has a chain of command, etc. Otherwise he wouldn't be on the case at all! It's far more interesting to me that way. Also, Nelson only brings out his gun when he is scared. I don't think it's in his nature to do so, but he falls back on his training and typical FBI behavior when he has no idea what else to do, or what is appropriate.
So it's FBI training to just shoot around once you feel overstrained?
That's a pretty bad training if you ask me.
In my opinion you're mixing up fiction with pseudo reality too much. Honestly i can't take someone as a real FBI agent who scratches old chewing gum leftovers from the floor or the walls for...buah... and solves bug riddles.
Secondly who tells you that the puzzle department also gets trained in shooting like the other departments?! It also could be that they don't do this by intention in order to sharpen their intellect for solving puzzles and difficult situations. Last but not least Nelson could have a gun but due to his character he does not use it because it scares him and he doesn't feel comfy with it. And so on...
Nelson not using a gun could more add to the atmosphere, deliver an interesting background rather than destroying it. It just depends on how you colour him.
So it's FBI training to just shoot around once you feel overstrained?
That's a pretty bad training if you ask me.
In my opinion you're mixing up fiction with pseudo reality too much. Honestly i can't take someone as a real FBI agent who scratches old chewing gum leftovers from the floor or the walls for...buah... and solves bug riddles.
Secondly who tells you that the puzzle department also gets trained in shooting like the other departments?! It also could be that they don't do this by intention in order to sharpen their intellect for solving puzzles and difficult situations. Last but not least Nelson could have a gun but due to his character he does not use it because it scares him and he doesn't feel comfy with it. And so on...
Nelson not using a gun could more add to the atmosphere, deliver an interesting background rather than destroying it. It just depends on how you colour him.
It...its just a cartoon video game, man. Just roll with it. Nelson might be an FBI agent, but hes also a human. Everyone has personality tics like the gum chewing.
I felt that the final puzzles where too easy, with the exception of the platform puzzle. That one was ok in terms of difficulty. While I figured out that they would move together, I can see why people assume otherwise, that was unclear. What does bug me is having to restart it just because a piece went missing. A piece that was never used mind you. I can't say that I like the abrupt ending either.
But what bugs me the most is that the gum collecting was buggy. If you collect too fast, pieces aren't counted and you have to collect them again. And I think the mouths where a bit buggy this time. And I honestly don't like intentional quality degradation. The low framerate was bad.
But I liked the how note, it helps when you accidentally solve a puzzle. But then again, that only happened with the annoying fitting puzzles. I don't like the final two of those. The cog parts didn't fit together in any logical way. And the arranging puzzles plain shouldn't snap at all. But they also had issues with what piece I picked.
As for the GUI, I have only one thing to say, the bouncy scrollbars suck. It is not a good idea, and it just annoys the user.
As for the lack of quality settings, I think at least the snow falling could be disabled. If the horrible noise can be part of the quality settings, why not the snow?
And the key puzzle had me assuming that each fish had another inside it, even if it already was inside another one. And yeah, get the key, jump out of the window?
This is was the first Telltale game I didn't enjoy much.
If you played Professor Layton, which inspires this game, you'd feel Puzzle Agent is a cheap gimmick with no original puzzles.
If you plan on copying a game, make sure to do it right Telltale!
Also, I didn't like the animation style, though the art was great.
The game was not a total disaster, but I'd give it a 5/10 or 6... And nothing more.
Hands up for IGN review.
I have hope in Telltale, and I believe future iterations should be a lot better.
Still, as i wrote a) it's a weird balancing, trying to be over correct on this one if you're comparing it to the others things he does and b) also if he had a training, it doesn't say anything about his character and that he must use it.
In my opinion a Nelson without a gun would be the better Nelson, also as an FBI agent and even more as a Grickle character.
It's fine that Sam uses a gun but Nelson just would do very fine without. Maybe it's also a culture thing as well because europeans aren't so much into firearms.
(I wasn't expecting it to be that easy to find information on! Thank's FBI for your over-informative website!)
The FBI site just make my day!
Edit: @tamuel OUR version of the FBI (Or something similar) use guns as well. And you are putting too much into it. I don't think he having a gun make him, well, less him. More a FBI Agent yes.
Seriously I liked this game, granted 2 of the puzzles I had to get help from these forums on but other than that an awesome game overall. I agree that the ending seems like something's missing but not knowing the Grickle comics I don;t concider my self qualified to make that judgement.
I HATED the football pass one. I forgot what it was called, but I so HATED IT.
I did pretty good on the other ones, though. I always smiled whenever I got Top Agent. Even on the not-so-tough ones.
Anyway, I'd like to see what the deal with the astronaut dude was. Full Season +9001
Also, I loved R. L. Jackson as Sheriff Baug. I couldn't even tell he was the space-faring science-gorilla Skun-ka'pe! You've got some great talent on board, Telltale! And not just Jackson, either. Every single regular you have is great.
I just got around to finishing the game. I really enjoyed it! But I have to say I would have liked it more if it wasn’t so similar to Layton. For me the puzzles got boring after a while and it was only the interesting story and the cool world of the game that kept me playing.
I would have liked the game more if it was more like Phoenix Wright than Professor Layton. This is because in Phoenix Wright the puzzles are not just mini games and have more to do with character and story. In short I liked the Nelson Tethers part of the game and not the Puzzle Agent part. But maybe this is just me.
Also I find it hard to imagine playing a full season of Puzzle Agent because the puzzles are going to get repetitive after a while. Some puzzles were similar in the polite alone.
Over all I really liked the game and think TT did a great job in make Puzzle Agent look and feel like Grickle and I hope to see more. Maybe even different storeys and kinds of games but in the world of Grickle.
I finished the game up last night. So here are my impressions.
I liked the way the puzzles integrated into the storyline (for the most part). It's OK that some are easy and some are harder and they're mixed up. I even liked the occasional placement puzzles that everyone is complaining are too easy because of the pieces locking together. Not every puzzle has to be a mind-bender. Purists will probably think that the harder ones should count more toward your "score," though.
It was annoying that the instructions weren't always clear that certain approaches were allowed or disallowed, so you have to ask for hints or try a solution to find out how the puzzle really works. If you can't express the complete rules up front or demonstrate how it works (maybe allow one free "try" on a simpler version), it probably isn't a good puzzle.
It would have been nice in some cases to be able to draw on the puzzle, or pull up a notepad, so I wouldn't have to use real paper. For the puzzle with the crows, it would have been nice to be able to slide the pieces around on the screen to benefit my own thinking process, even though it wasn't necessary to complete the puzzle.
It's kind of gross that Nelson is pulling previously chewed gum off the wall to chew himself. The gum is so plentiful that you might as well have given him an infinite supply up front. Or, make it harder to come by in future games, if there are any.
It isn't always clear if it would be better to chew more gum or make a guess that might be wrong, scorewise. Maybe have a scoring button that says things like "For this puzzle, chewing a piece of gum will cost two stars, and a wrong guess will cost five stars."
It should be easy to quit the game at almost any point (except maybe the cutscenes) and restore back to that exact point, even if you're in the middle of a puzzle. Quitting the game should indicate that the game will be saved.
I liked the character development, where you got a sense of how the characters feel, more than them just being a one-dimensional obstacle to the next puzzle.
Having a
gnome occasionally breaking into the puzzle you're trying to solve and stealing a piece, so you have to run after the gnome to get the piece back
is genius. Of course, if there are any more games in this series, now I'll be expecting it.
I think more map exploring and less of Nelson saying where he was going to go next would have been good. It would have kept the tension level higher if the player wasn't sure what was going to happen next.
Here are my thoughts on the ending.
It would have been easy to wrap up the game by having the foreman happy to be saved, the gnomes cursing their plan's failure and running into the forest, and the town cheering that their puzzle predicaments are over. Of course, that's not what happened. Not only did the ending leave questions open with no answers, it went out of its way to leave questions open with no answers! And because there's only one game at this point, I don't know if you did that as an homage to the Grickle style, or if you plan for the next episode (if made) to also feature Scoggins, or if the entire season (if made) would have a hidden people theme. If you decide not to make any more Puzzle Agent episodes, I hope you'll reveal what you were planning to do if you had.
Overall, it was $9.95 well spent, and I will probably buy more episodes if they are released. There are a few things you could have done better, and I hope you will if you release any more.
What can i say: the perfect mix of tension and fun. I loved the story, the music, the graphic style, the puzzles, the price, Glori Davner -:D-, the humor and all the jumps on my chair caused by those damned red gnomes!
I also discovered the talent of an author like Graham Annable.
If one day i will have the luck to meet some Telltale Guy, i promise them a warm handshake and my sincerest congratulation.
Secondly who tells you that the puzzle department also gets trained in shooting like the other departments?!
This is just how it's done. Even in our military if you are a computer programmer, doctor, band member, lawyer, or whatever else... you are still a "soldier first" as they say. You go through boot camp and you learn to shoot an M16 and a pistol and throw grenades just like everyone else.
FBI agents are FBI agents first, and whatever their department is second.
I'm impressed at this game. Adds literal puzzles to adventure. The question that comes to my mind is what is Nelson Tethers' next case, assuming he has another case somewhere.
I just finished the game & it's my opinion you should go for the full series.
Pretty nice game, with some good puzzles. I like the fact that some of them are optional - adds a bit more to the game. You can take the long road or the shortcut, pretty nice idea. The being able to re-solve every puzzle after you ended the game is a touch of genious.
Only thing I didn't really like was how long it took to tell you if you're right or wrong.
Seeing as I'm pretty frickin' bad at math, all the math puzzles are trial & error for me, so it's a bit annoying to have to wait all that time between submissions.
ive had many times where my snowmobile just vanishes and my story cant progress unless i load or quit.
tons of bugs in text going outside the bubbles.. and many many repititious puzzles just with increased difficulty.
id like to see other aspects of this game flourish .. as of now its worth about 5$ and good for a ds.. not a pc or wii or something.
i never had suspense when doing the accepted or rejected.. as i found that none give you anything of note.. on the pc version anyway..
didnt unlock anything..
all i did was run 2 games.. one the trial.. and side by side.. another with perfect score.. no difference existed.. thanks chief im the top puzzle guy..
freeplay mode after that was.. sort of a joke.. as this game has -99231823812 replay value..
fix that somehow.. or make the puzzles gulp random .. and you might have something..
bugs... to many of the same puzzle just redone (most were old windows desktop games reminding me of the ski between the flags style )
but the games story is cool.. and well i love puzzles..
just fixxxxxxxxxxx stuff..
I disagree. It was a design choice to match the Grickle animated shorts as you can find on youtube.
I think there are two things here. One is the animation style, which is not very fluent, but that's OK. That's part of the art style. The other is that, at least on my PC, the framerate is unbearably low at the default resolution, let alone my native resolution of 1680x1050. Think the mouse moving only once per second or so. That's uncontrollable if you need to drag puzzle pieces and such.
That's because there is nothing in the game that the "higher quality" settings in Sam & Max/TOMI/W&G use. There's no depth of field, glowing lights, shadows, etc. This game runs at around the equivalent of quality 1-4 on those other game's sliders.
There must be something, because I ran S&M (season 1&2) and ToMI at 1680x1050 after setting graphics to 3, and they were smoother than Puzzle Agent is at 800x600. So I'm 100% sure there is something fancy going on in the graphics department that my (admittedly outdated, but officially conforming to the system requirements) graphics card can't pull off.
What, 800x600? 1024x768? Those are classical resolutions. 1680x1050 is my monitor's native resolution, which is also fairly common for 16:10 widescreen monitors.
So I'm 100% sure there is something fancy going on in the graphics department that my (admittedly outdated, but officially conforming to the system requirements) graphics card can't pull off.
I am sure about that too. And I really don't think this game will do very good at the minimal requirements that are stated on the site. Not at Quality Setting 4 which the game is using.
So far I'm enjoying the game immensely. I don't think it's on the same level as Professor Layton for the Nintendo DS, but it definitely has a lot of promise.
I haven't gotten to any repetition with puzzles yet, so my experience has been very positive thus far. The story line and animation sequences are fine and I haven't really seen any of the framerate issues some of you are seeing (maybe I'm missing it?).
Regardless, I think the game stands on its own thus far and has been worth the $8.99 I paid on Steam for it. I'd definitely buy it again had I had to make the decision once more.
I started the game yesterday. I also ended it yesterday, after a few hours of constant puzzling. I enjoyed it quite a lot. I have possitive impressions on it, but of course I found some things that could be better.
I liked the idea, it's very Layton, although it can't even try to beat Layton if we onlye care about puzzles. I liked the design and it's houmor. I know it's made on purppose and it's the style it's always had, but I think they could have polished a bit the faces, eyes, etc when the camera gets very close, because it gets really foggy, as if the framerate weren't good enough (I know the meant to do it that way).
One thing about the game I didn't quite like was that there were some puzzles in which it wasn't so clear what you had to do, or how, such as the one of the menacing map, the hydraulic things on the ending, and a few more. Also, I found most of the puzzles pretty easy. (I loved the ones of the bugs, and the ones of the birds carrying gnomes, as well as the ones of logic thinking such as the dinner of the people with food faces)
Of course, it's a nice game, and I hope to see another episode someday!
was the game even made for widescreen? if not why use it? just disable it..
I'm not using my native resolution, because it's way too slow. That was my point. But it's a shame that I can't, because the graphics don't seem that special, and earlier Telltale Games worked fine if I turned the graphics setting to 3.
i personally see no need in wide screen for gaming.. now for movies thats a whole different ball of wax..
You do realize that the entire game is in 16:9 widescreen right? Apparently Telltale disagrees with you.
Just finished it... really enjoyed the original style and the general mood of the game.
Many of the puzzles were great too, but the ones at the end were far too easy!
Those snap puzzles fail completely as has been pointed out many times by others but other than that, the other puzzles are good.
I love the puzzles where you are given clues and have to pick the right person/fish/whatever... wish there were more of those.
I also liked the bug and bird puzzles, I was glad to see there were more of those (optional I guess? I finished them right away so I don't know).
Also, there were two sports puzzles after I had finished the game that were left unsolved... I finished those too but after I had finished the game.
Is it possible to find this puzzle within the game itself?
i personally see no need in wide screen for gaming.. now for movies thats a whole different ball of wax..
...
im saying1680x1050 is not a standard game coding resolution.. just the first few you mentioned...
What the hell is a "standard game coding resolution"? Better yet, why do you feel the need to limit the resolutions and aspect ratios to a select few? We are no longer in the age of emerging discrete graphics. The VESA standard did not get finalized just last month. Many people these days have widescreen LCD monitors that run at much higher resolutions than those of the days when 800x600 was cutting-edge (And by that I mean "All that was available"). These days there is a multitude of resolutions and aspect ratios available, and I don't believe there's any excuse for releasing a game that cannot run at any resolution and aspect ratio thrown at it.
Let's take a moment to compare how Telltale's games scale to different resolutions versus Popcap's games: Telltale's games (S&M, SBCG4AP, W&G, ToMI, PA) all have the ability to run at whatever resolutions the videocard and monitor will support, including different aspect ratios. The on-screen elements will move and scale to fit the display. You get the option to play at your display's native resolution (I'm assuming an LCD panel here) with absolutely no stretching or distortion. Now, Popcap's games don't give you any of those options. You just get 'windowed' or 'fullscreen'. If you select fullscreen (And you didn't turn on scaling in your video card's config, or your video card doesn't support it), then you'll end up with a horribly blurry 640x480 or 800x600 image. If you have a widescreen display, then not only will the image be blurred from the scaling, but it'll also be stretched/distorted horizontally.
In short, you may not see a need for widescreen gaming, but that doesn't mean that game developers should be inconsiderate of the available technology.
Also, there were two sports puzzles after I had finished the game that were left unsolved... I finished those too but after I had finished the game. Is it possible to find this puzzle within the game itself?
Yes, you can find these by clicking on the window of the shop to the right (outside of) the hotel.
One thing that I found really strange, finishing this game, was that the weirdo in the hotel ("mind always thinking... thinking about puzzles!") ended up playing no role whatsoever.... he doesn't even give you any more puzzles after the beginning. What's that all about? I expected to see a lot more of him!
Due to work i haven´t had much time to play this game, managed to reach the Erasor Factory so far. But i´ll spend more time on this one for sure, really digging the art style and the mood. I hope we´ll see a whole Puzzle Agent season, yes i do.
Presentation: as always, two thumbs up. A polished, stylish 2D adventure with a clear interface and some great music. Irresistible.
Story: tense, scary and compelling, but it does leave too many loose threads. There's a frozen corpse in the middle of the forest - why does no investigation take place? What happens to the Sheriff, Bjorn and Glori? I like the abrupt, mysterious ending, but there's something unrealistic in the almost complete lack of curiosity - or professional sense of duty - in Nelson and his department. Anyway, Scoggins is indeed a fascinating setting, and the insecure but resolute Nelson Tethers has already proven himself a great main character.
Gameplay: my main complaint. Too linear, too flat, too straightforward. For the first time with a Telltale Game I've had the impression of watching a TV show more than playing an actual game - and there's absolutely no praise in this. Why have you abandoned the three-quests-for-chapter formula, which worked so well? Tethers has to get three wheels in order to gain access to the factory: why can't he look for them in whatever order he wants? There's always one single - obvious - thing to do next, and absolutely nothing else.
An option would have been leaving more facultative puzzles scattered throughout the map, instead of cramming all of them in one single room (the Diner). Anyway, the problem remains: due to the almost complete lack of facultative interactivity and non-linear gameplay, we never feel like we're actually conducting the investigation - we're just watching a story unfold on its own, and solving puzzles in the meanwhile. Very far from what Telltale has accostumed us to.
Puzzles: fun and balanced, for the most part. I've had a good time solving the vast majority of them - but some were simply too unrealistic or inconsistent to fit well in the overall tone and atmosphere. I've written what I think of them in the dedicated thread.
Dialogue: loved its style - dry, humorous, suggestive and disturbing. But more options would have been appreciated during the later stages of the game.
Verdict: a promising start, but Telltale can do much, much more. Bring on Puzzle Agent, sure, but only when you feel confident enough to create a good, deep, story-based puzzle game, and not a simple Layton clone.
... Verdict: a promising start, but Telltale can do much, much more. Bring on Puzzle Agent, sure, but only when you feel confident enough to create a good, deep, story-based puzzle game, and not a simple Layton clone.
To be fair, Telltale has always said, or implied, that this was to be a puzzle game, not an adventure game like their other titles, that exploration would not be part of the gameplay, that progression would be mostly linear, that some puzzles would be non-contextual. And I'm okay with that, personally.
But something in the way you said what you said makes me wonder that it might be worth considering a re-think of the gameplay. Because, you're right, they're not really playing to their strengths and it shows in that more than a few reviews say the gameplay is a Layton clone that's not as good as Layton. On the other hand, they clearly have a hit in the story, the feedback is overwhelmingly positive on the story (except for complaints about the ending, but I think those become irrelevant if they do a complete series).
If they're happy with the sales of the pilot, they could easily just make marginal improvements in the puzzles to address specific criticisms and crank out a series. But I think I'd rather they spent a little more time to make sure they're building the best gameplay they can into the first-rate story.
An option would have been leaving more facultative puzzles scattered throughout the map, instead of cramming all of them in one single room (the Diner).
I think there are six (three bugs, three birds) optional puzzles in the diner, and two (handegg) outside. But yeah, a little more scattering would've been nice.
Comments
I'm sorry, but you seem to be in error. According to John Hodgman's master work 'More Information Than You Require,' Abraham Lincoln was portrayed by Edwin Booth for most of his presidency and had a hook for his right hand. A HOOK.
So it's FBI training to just shoot around once you feel overstrained?
That's a pretty bad training if you ask me.
In my opinion you're mixing up fiction with pseudo reality too much. Honestly i can't take someone as a real FBI agent who scratches old chewing gum leftovers from the floor or the walls for...buah... and solves bug riddles.
Secondly who tells you that the puzzle department also gets trained in shooting like the other departments?! It also could be that they don't do this by intention in order to sharpen their intellect for solving puzzles and difficult situations. Last but not least Nelson could have a gun but due to his character he does not use it because it scares him and he doesn't feel comfy with it. And so on...
Nelson not using a gun could more add to the atmosphere, deliver an interesting background rather than destroying it. It just depends on how you colour him.
It...its just a cartoon video game, man. Just roll with it. Nelson might be an FBI agent, but hes also a human. Everyone has personality tics like the gum chewing.
But what bugs me the most is that the gum collecting was buggy. If you collect too fast, pieces aren't counted and you have to collect them again. And I think the mouths where a bit buggy this time. And I honestly don't like intentional quality degradation. The low framerate was bad.
But I liked the how note, it helps when you accidentally solve a puzzle. But then again, that only happened with the annoying fitting puzzles. I don't like the final two of those. The cog parts didn't fit together in any logical way. And the arranging puzzles plain shouldn't snap at all. But they also had issues with what piece I picked.
As for the GUI, I have only one thing to say, the bouncy scrollbars suck. It is not a good idea, and it just annoys the user.
As for the lack of quality settings, I think at least the snow falling could be disabled. If the horrible noise can be part of the quality settings, why not the snow?
And the key puzzle had me assuming that each fish had another inside it, even if it already was inside another one. And yeah, get the key, jump out of the window?
Well, would you listen to Abraham Lincoln knowing that... um... HE SUPPORTED THE HOBO EMPIRE?
I really hope this one can take off and become a full fledged series
If you played Professor Layton, which inspires this game, you'd feel Puzzle Agent is a cheap gimmick with no original puzzles.
If you plan on copying a game, make sure to do it right Telltale!
Also, I didn't like the animation style, though the art was great.
The game was not a total disaster, but I'd give it a 5/10 or 6... And nothing more.
Hands up for IGN review.
I have hope in Telltale, and I believe future iterations should be a lot better.
All FBI agents get standard weapons training.
(I wasn't expecting it to be that easy to find information on! Thank's FBI for your over-informative website!)
In my opinion a Nelson without a gun would be the better Nelson, also as an FBI agent and even more as a Grickle character.
It's fine that Sam uses a gun but Nelson just would do very fine without. Maybe it's also a culture thing as well because europeans aren't so much into firearms.
The FBI site just make my day!
Edit: @tamuel OUR version of the FBI (Or something similar) use guns as well. And you are putting too much into it. I don't think he having a gun make him, well, less him. More a FBI Agent yes.
I misread that as the hobbit empire. Yes I would support him knowing he supported the Hobbit Empire.
Seriously I liked this game, granted 2 of the puzzles I had to get help from these forums on but other than that an awesome game overall. I agree that the ending seems like something's missing but not knowing the Grickle comics I don;t concider my self qualified to make that judgement.
I did pretty good on the other ones, though. I always smiled whenever I got Top Agent. Even on the not-so-tough ones.
Anyway, I'd like to see what the deal with the astronaut dude was. Full Season +9001
Also, I loved R. L. Jackson as Sheriff Baug. I couldn't even tell he was the space-faring science-gorilla Skun-ka'pe! You've got some great talent on board, Telltale! And not just Jackson, either. Every single regular you have is great.
I would have liked the game more if it was more like Phoenix Wright than Professor Layton. This is because in Phoenix Wright the puzzles are not just mini games and have more to do with character and story. In short I liked the Nelson Tethers part of the game and not the Puzzle Agent part. But maybe this is just me.
Also I find it hard to imagine playing a full season of Puzzle Agent because the puzzles are going to get repetitive after a while. Some puzzles were similar in the polite alone.
Over all I really liked the game and think TT did a great job in make Puzzle Agent look and feel like Grickle and I hope to see more. Maybe even different storeys and kinds of games but in the world of Grickle.
I liked the way the puzzles integrated into the storyline (for the most part). It's OK that some are easy and some are harder and they're mixed up. I even liked the occasional placement puzzles that everyone is complaining are too easy because of the pieces locking together. Not every puzzle has to be a mind-bender. Purists will probably think that the harder ones should count more toward your "score," though.
It was annoying that the instructions weren't always clear that certain approaches were allowed or disallowed, so you have to ask for hints or try a solution to find out how the puzzle really works. If you can't express the complete rules up front or demonstrate how it works (maybe allow one free "try" on a simpler version), it probably isn't a good puzzle.
It would have been nice in some cases to be able to draw on the puzzle, or pull up a notepad, so I wouldn't have to use real paper. For the puzzle with the crows, it would have been nice to be able to slide the pieces around on the screen to benefit my own thinking process, even though it wasn't necessary to complete the puzzle.
It's kind of gross that Nelson is pulling previously chewed gum off the wall to chew himself. The gum is so plentiful that you might as well have given him an infinite supply up front. Or, make it harder to come by in future games, if there are any.
It isn't always clear if it would be better to chew more gum or make a guess that might be wrong, scorewise. Maybe have a scoring button that says things like "For this puzzle, chewing a piece of gum will cost two stars, and a wrong guess will cost five stars."
It should be easy to quit the game at almost any point (except maybe the cutscenes) and restore back to that exact point, even if you're in the middle of a puzzle. Quitting the game should indicate that the game will be saved.
I liked the character development, where you got a sense of how the characters feel, more than them just being a one-dimensional obstacle to the next puzzle.
Having a
I think more map exploring and less of Nelson saying where he was going to go next would have been good. It would have kept the tension level higher if the player wasn't sure what was going to happen next.
Here are my thoughts on the ending.
Overall, it was $9.95 well spent, and I will probably buy more episodes if they are released. There are a few things you could have done better, and I hope you will if you release any more.
I also discovered the talent of an author like Graham Annable.
If one day i will have the luck to meet some Telltale Guy, i promise them a warm handshake and my sincerest congratulation.
This is just how it's done. Even in our military if you are a computer programmer, doctor, band member, lawyer, or whatever else... you are still a "soldier first" as they say. You go through boot camp and you learn to shoot an M16 and a pistol and throw grenades just like everyone else.
FBI agents are FBI agents first, and whatever their department is second.
I disagree. It was a design choice to match the Grickle animated shorts as you can find on youtube.
And it worked perfectly, in my opinion.
Pretty nice game, with some good puzzles. I like the fact that some of them are optional - adds a bit more to the game. You can take the long road or the shortcut, pretty nice idea. The being able to re-solve every puzzle after you ended the game is a touch of genious.
Only thing I didn't really like was how long it took to tell you if you're right or wrong.
Seeing as I'm pretty frickin' bad at math, all the math puzzles are trial & error for me, so it's a bit annoying to have to wait all that time between submissions.
Other than that, near perfect game.
I want more.
Cheers!
ive had many times where my snowmobile just vanishes and my story cant progress unless i load or quit.
tons of bugs in text going outside the bubbles.. and many many repititious puzzles just with increased difficulty.
id like to see other aspects of this game flourish .. as of now its worth about 5$ and good for a ds.. not a pc or wii or something.
i never had suspense when doing the accepted or rejected.. as i found that none give you anything of note.. on the pc version anyway..
didnt unlock anything..
all i did was run 2 games.. one the trial.. and side by side.. another with perfect score.. no difference existed.. thanks chief im the top puzzle guy..
freeplay mode after that was.. sort of a joke.. as this game has -99231823812 replay value..
fix that somehow.. or make the puzzles gulp random .. and you might have something..
bugs... to many of the same puzzle just redone (most were old windows desktop games reminding me of the ski between the flags style )
but the games story is cool.. and well i love puzzles..
just fixxxxxxxxxxx stuff..
for once support the darn games.
The only nitpick are the rendering glitches and the fact that the framerate is rather low, even at 800x600.
I think there are two things here. One is the animation style, which is not very fluent, but that's OK. That's part of the art style. The other is that, at least on my PC, the framerate is unbearably low at the default resolution, let alone my native resolution of 1680x1050. Think the mouse moving only once per second or so. That's uncontrollable if you need to drag puzzle pieces and such.
There must be something, because I ran S&M (season 1&2) and ToMI at 1680x1050 after setting graphics to 3, and they were smoother than Puzzle Agent is at 800x600. So I'm 100% sure there is something fancy going on in the graphics department that my (admittedly outdated, but officially conforming to the system requirements) graphics card can't pull off.
I am sure about that too. And I really don't think this game will do very good at the minimal requirements that are stated on the site. Not at Quality Setting 4 which the game is using.
was the game even made for widescreen? if not why use it? just disable it..
set the res to something else..
some odd random games require some res to run in proper non window or fully functional manner
i personally see no need in wide screen for gaming.. now for movies thats a whole different ball of wax..
(you can set each application to use specific res and refresh .. etc)
just fyi..
im saying1680x1050 is not a standard game coding resolution.. just the first few you mentioned...
and heck.. 800x600 is almost all but gone.. lol
I haven't gotten to any repetition with puzzles yet, so my experience has been very positive thus far. The story line and animation sequences are fine and I haven't really seen any of the framerate issues some of you are seeing (maybe I'm missing it?).
Regardless, I think the game stands on its own thus far and has been worth the $8.99 I paid on Steam for it. I'd definitely buy it again had I had to make the decision once more.
I liked the idea, it's very Layton, although it can't even try to beat Layton if we onlye care about puzzles. I liked the design and it's houmor. I know it's made on purppose and it's the style it's always had, but I think they could have polished a bit the faces, eyes, etc when the camera gets very close, because it gets really foggy, as if the framerate weren't good enough (I know the meant to do it that way).
One thing about the game I didn't quite like was that there were some puzzles in which it wasn't so clear what you had to do, or how, such as the one of the menacing map, the hydraulic things on the ending, and a few more. Also, I found most of the puzzles pretty easy. (I loved the ones of the bugs, and the ones of the birds carrying gnomes, as well as the ones of logic thinking such as the dinner of the people with food faces)
Of course, it's a nice game, and I hope to see another episode someday!
You do realize that the entire game is in 16:9 widescreen right?
Many of the puzzles were great too, but the ones at the end were far too easy!
Those snap puzzles fail completely as has been pointed out many times by others but other than that, the other puzzles are good.
I love the puzzles where you are given clues and have to pick the right person/fish/whatever... wish there were more of those.
I also liked the bug and bird puzzles, I was glad to see there were more of those (optional I guess? I finished them right away so I don't know).
Also, there were two sports puzzles after I had finished the game that were left unsolved... I finished those too but after I had finished the game.
Is it possible to find this puzzle within the game itself?
What the hell is a "standard game coding resolution"? Better yet, why do you feel the need to limit the resolutions and aspect ratios to a select few? We are no longer in the age of emerging discrete graphics. The VESA standard did not get finalized just last month. Many people these days have widescreen LCD monitors that run at much higher resolutions than those of the days when 800x600 was cutting-edge (And by that I mean "All that was available"). These days there is a multitude of resolutions and aspect ratios available, and I don't believe there's any excuse for releasing a game that cannot run at any resolution and aspect ratio thrown at it.
Let's take a moment to compare how Telltale's games scale to different resolutions versus Popcap's games: Telltale's games (S&M, SBCG4AP, W&G, ToMI, PA) all have the ability to run at whatever resolutions the videocard and monitor will support, including different aspect ratios. The on-screen elements will move and scale to fit the display. You get the option to play at your display's native resolution (I'm assuming an LCD panel here) with absolutely no stretching or distortion. Now, Popcap's games don't give you any of those options. You just get 'windowed' or 'fullscreen'. If you select fullscreen (And you didn't turn on scaling in your video card's config, or your video card doesn't support it), then you'll end up with a horribly blurry 640x480 or 800x600 image. If you have a widescreen display, then not only will the image be blurred from the scaling, but it'll also be stretched/distorted horizontally.
In short, you may not see a need for widescreen gaming, but that doesn't mean that game developers should be inconsiderate of the available technology.
One thing that I found really strange, finishing this game, was that the weirdo in the hotel ("mind always thinking... thinking about puzzles!") ended up playing no role whatsoever.... he doesn't even give you any more puzzles after the beginning. What's that all about? I expected to see a lot more of him!
Presentation: as always, two thumbs up. A polished, stylish 2D adventure with a clear interface and some great music. Irresistible.
Story: tense, scary and compelling, but it does leave too many loose threads. There's a frozen corpse in the middle of the forest - why does no investigation take place? What happens to the Sheriff, Bjorn and Glori? I like the abrupt, mysterious ending, but there's something unrealistic in the almost complete lack of curiosity - or professional sense of duty - in Nelson and his department. Anyway, Scoggins is indeed a fascinating setting, and the insecure but resolute Nelson Tethers has already proven himself a great main character.
Gameplay: my main complaint. Too linear, too flat, too straightforward. For the first time with a Telltale Game I've had the impression of watching a TV show more than playing an actual game - and there's absolutely no praise in this. Why have you abandoned the three-quests-for-chapter formula, which worked so well? Tethers has to get three wheels in order to gain access to the factory: why can't he look for them in whatever order he wants? There's always one single - obvious - thing to do next, and absolutely nothing else.
An option would have been leaving more facultative puzzles scattered throughout the map, instead of cramming all of them in one single room (the Diner). Anyway, the problem remains: due to the almost complete lack of facultative interactivity and non-linear gameplay, we never feel like we're actually conducting the investigation - we're just watching a story unfold on its own, and solving puzzles in the meanwhile. Very far from what Telltale has accostumed us to.
Puzzles: fun and balanced, for the most part. I've had a good time solving the vast majority of them - but some were simply too unrealistic or inconsistent to fit well in the overall tone and atmosphere. I've written what I think of them in the dedicated thread.
Dialogue: loved its style - dry, humorous, suggestive and disturbing. But more options would have been appreciated during the later stages of the game.
Verdict: a promising start, but Telltale can do much, much more. Bring on Puzzle Agent, sure, but only when you feel confident enough to create a good, deep, story-based puzzle game, and not a simple Layton clone.
To be fair, Telltale has always said, or implied, that this was to be a puzzle game, not an adventure game like their other titles, that exploration would not be part of the gameplay, that progression would be mostly linear, that some puzzles would be non-contextual. And I'm okay with that, personally.
But something in the way you said what you said makes me wonder that it might be worth considering a re-think of the gameplay. Because, you're right, they're not really playing to their strengths and it shows in that more than a few reviews say the gameplay is a Layton clone that's not as good as Layton. On the other hand, they clearly have a hit in the story, the feedback is overwhelmingly positive on the story (except for complaints about the ending, but I think those become irrelevant if they do a complete series).
If they're happy with the sales of the pilot, they could easily just make marginal improvements in the puzzles to address specific criticisms and crank out a series. But I think I'd rather they spent a little more time to make sure they're building the best gameplay they can into the first-rate story.