TWISTED LANDS: SHADOW TOWN PC, Mac
Alawar Entertainment It’s no secret that a lot of video games, like TV
shows and movies, are formulaic, but this is fuck- ing ridiculous. It wasn’t just baseless déjà vu I ex- perienced while playing this latest title from
Alawar; no, I’ve actually played this game before – last month, in fact, for this very col- umn, when it was called Vampire Saga: Pandora’s Box. Okay, so this one’s about a young man who awakens after a suspicious boating ac-
cident to find himself stranded on a haunted island, instead of about a boat carrying some mysterious vampiric cargo, but that’s pretty much where the differences end. And considering VS:PB was an iPhone game and this title’s for desktop computers, that’s a very bad sign indeed. TL:ST is a point-and-click game where you travel between the same two dozen or so
locales ad nauseum solving simple puzzles and playing find-the-item mini-games in order to track down your missing girlfriend, uncover the island’s Lovecraftian, Dagon- esque secret and eventually escape. The cut scenes feel hopelessly dated with their moving dialogue bubbles cast over still images, and despite a few creepy moments spent wandering around lost in the fog, there’s not much here to deliver chills either. The ghosts themselves are particularly lo-fi and laughable, appearing like glowing, partially trans-
00000 HEADSHOTS: EASY TO LEARN, SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER GAMERS
MAGE: THE AWAKENING RPG Sourcebook
White Wolf Publishing Over the last few years White Wolf has masterfully
revamped its Vampire and Werewolf RPGs, so it was only a matter of time before the company decided to tackle its most complex and comprehensive title, Mage. Even though the overwhelming scope of its character
arcs, magical themes, settings and antagonists can prove extremely intimidating to some players, this lat-
est sourcebook takes the Mage universe to lofty new heights by giving role players the ability to use its guidelines and story suggestions to create all-new, highly de- tailed and completely immersive campaigns. What sets The Awakening apart from previous Mage sourcebooks is that players can
use it to build characters that have just learned about their newfound magical powers, allowing for wider story arcs, while also incorporating the book’s innovative restructuring of abilities that now include psychic powers on top of those talents that are passed through ancestral lines. There are also fifteen new chronicles stuffed full of plot hooks; see mages discovering that their powers are slowly driving them insane, uncover the truth about Atlantis or deal with the possibility of an all-out magical war.
000 0 HEADSHOTS: EASY TO READ, GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS, AMAZINGLY COMPREHENSIVE MISFIRES: NOT IDEAL FOR FIRST-TIMERS OR THOSE WHO PREFER THE OLDER MAGE SYSTEMS The 220-page book is
logically organized and in- cludes dozens of gorgeous black and white illustra- tions. The entire package is designed and bound to look as if it has been passed down through generations of sorcerers and magicians before finally ending up in your eager, spellcasting hands. What you choose to do with its dark power, however, is ultimately up to you.
ANDREW LEE MISFIRES: PUZZLES NOT VERY CHALLENGING, REPETITIVE GAME PLAY, NO REPLAY VALUE
parent, backlit magazine cut-outs floating over top of the otherwise decent period-styled location backdrops. Games like this do have a place on portable devices such as
iPhones, which have tight graphics and file size limitations, but desktop gamers have come to expect more, even from budget titles. While TL:ST does come with a bonus playable chapter that’s unlocked after the main story is completed, it’s just more of the same, so don’t be surprised if you find yourself pounding the handy in-game “hint” button relentlessly, if only to shorten the suffering. Or better still, avoid Shadow Town entirely. ALYX KENDLE
67RM
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