Following on from the first Runaway game, Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle is another traditional point and click adventure game that follows the adventures of Brian Basco and Gina Timmins. Well. That is to say Gina is in the game a tiny bit - whereas in the first game she had a large part in the game, she hardly features at all in this one. Right at the start though she gets pushed out of a plane by Brian - it's a pretty surreal cut scene that introduces the game, and in many ways it just gets more surreal as time goes on.
Using a nice simple interface - left-click activates every function, right-click cycles between them - the game is split into several chapters, the last one of which turns out to be a huge take-off of Monkey Island (quite a good spoof it is too, though even more surreal than the rest of it). This method works quite well and gives you a feeling of accomplishment as you progress through the game. The basic gameplay works reasonably well but there's far too much pixel-hunting in Runaway 2, and a lot of the puzzles' solutions really don't seem to have much identifiable logic behind them. This doesn't stop it from being an enjoyable game overall (though it does mean that most of us will need hints to be able to complete it), but it definitely stops it from being in the top drawer as far as adventure games go. Don't get me wrong, there are some good puzzles too, but there are enough illogical puzzles for it to be a problem.
The plot is very weird but quite interesting. There are some fascinating characters in the game, but an equal number of people you meet will simply annoy you. It's a frustrating mixture of compelling and infuriating at times. The storyline itself is reasonably well developed, but becomes very odd very quickly. Some aspects of it were definitely good, but others just left you wondering what on earth the game designers had been on while designing the game.
Brian's character has changed a lot since the first game, and not for the better in my opinion - he was much more likable before, now he comes across as quite bombastic and disagreeable. Sometimes there's a bit of bad language or sexual innuendo (some of it really quite odd!) and digital nudity (or close to nudity), which gives this game a 12+ age rating (PEGI rating). There's nothing terribly shocking but it seemed a bit needless really. Though it's not based on humour as much as the Monkey Island games etc, there are a lot of attempts at humour in Dream of the Turtle. Not all of them work, but the odd attempt manages to be very funny.
Aesthetically the game is pleasing if not outstanding. There are some beautiful hand-drawn graphics (at least, they look hand-drawn) and some great environments. The mix of 2D and 3D images gives quite a strange effect, but I like it - it's unique and for the most part seems to work better than almost any of the true 3D adventure games we've seen in the last decade. Some of the cut scenes have great cinematic quality, though in the last couple of chapters in the game you seem to spend more time watching cut scenes than actually playing the game. Audio-wise the game's not bad - the voice acting is good on the whole, with a couple of weak links perhaps. The music is good but strangely subdued and underused - I would have liked to hear more of it.
One of the most disappointing things about Dream of the Turtle is the ending. It's so intent on making you anticipate the third game of the trilogy that it leaves you as the player feeling extremely ungratified at having completed the game. I've not been so disappointed by an adventure game ending since Monkey Island 2.
Overall I think most adventure game fans will enjoy Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle, but not as much as the first game. There are some really good aspects that make you want to love the game, but an equal number of infuriating facets that make you almost hate it. It has a little of the humour of the Monkey Island games and some of the interesting plots and characters of the Broken Sword games, but it only gets about halfway to either. To be honest Runaway: A Road Adventure had most of the same problems as this, but not to as great a level.
So... if you liked Runaway: A Road Adventure, don't expect to enjoy this one quite as much, but despite my misgivings about some aspects of this game, I'm definitely going to be getting Runaway 3: A Twist of Fate at some point (not released at time of writing).
System Requirements:
OS: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
CPU: Pentium IV 1.6 Ghz / Athlon 1600+
RAM: 128 MB RAM (256 MB for Win 2000/XP)
GPU: 32 MB DirectX 9-compliant video card (min 1024x768 16Bit)
DirectX: 9.0 or higher (included on disc)
HDD space: 2.5 GB free hard drive space
Related Links:
Runaway: A Road Adventure
Monkey Island Archives
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror
CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog
Using a nice simple interface - left-click activates every function, right-click cycles between them - the game is split into several chapters, the last one of which turns out to be a huge take-off of Monkey Island (quite a good spoof it is too, though even more surreal than the rest of it). This method works quite well and gives you a feeling of accomplishment as you progress through the game. The basic gameplay works reasonably well but there's far too much pixel-hunting in Runaway 2, and a lot of the puzzles' solutions really don't seem to have much identifiable logic behind them. This doesn't stop it from being an enjoyable game overall (though it does mean that most of us will need hints to be able to complete it), but it definitely stops it from being in the top drawer as far as adventure games go. Don't get me wrong, there are some good puzzles too, but there are enough illogical puzzles for it to be a problem.
The plot is very weird but quite interesting. There are some fascinating characters in the game, but an equal number of people you meet will simply annoy you. It's a frustrating mixture of compelling and infuriating at times. The storyline itself is reasonably well developed, but becomes very odd very quickly. Some aspects of it were definitely good, but others just left you wondering what on earth the game designers had been on while designing the game.
Brian's character has changed a lot since the first game, and not for the better in my opinion - he was much more likable before, now he comes across as quite bombastic and disagreeable. Sometimes there's a bit of bad language or sexual innuendo (some of it really quite odd!) and digital nudity (or close to nudity), which gives this game a 12+ age rating (PEGI rating). There's nothing terribly shocking but it seemed a bit needless really. Though it's not based on humour as much as the Monkey Island games etc, there are a lot of attempts at humour in Dream of the Turtle. Not all of them work, but the odd attempt manages to be very funny.
Aesthetically the game is pleasing if not outstanding. There are some beautiful hand-drawn graphics (at least, they look hand-drawn) and some great environments. The mix of 2D and 3D images gives quite a strange effect, but I like it - it's unique and for the most part seems to work better than almost any of the true 3D adventure games we've seen in the last decade. Some of the cut scenes have great cinematic quality, though in the last couple of chapters in the game you seem to spend more time watching cut scenes than actually playing the game. Audio-wise the game's not bad - the voice acting is good on the whole, with a couple of weak links perhaps. The music is good but strangely subdued and underused - I would have liked to hear more of it.
One of the most disappointing things about Dream of the Turtle is the ending. It's so intent on making you anticipate the third game of the trilogy that it leaves you as the player feeling extremely ungratified at having completed the game. I've not been so disappointed by an adventure game ending since Monkey Island 2.
Overall I think most adventure game fans will enjoy Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle, but not as much as the first game. There are some really good aspects that make you want to love the game, but an equal number of infuriating facets that make you almost hate it. It has a little of the humour of the Monkey Island games and some of the interesting plots and characters of the Broken Sword games, but it only gets about halfway to either. To be honest Runaway: A Road Adventure had most of the same problems as this, but not to as great a level.
So... if you liked Runaway: A Road Adventure, don't expect to enjoy this one quite as much, but despite my misgivings about some aspects of this game, I'm definitely going to be getting Runaway 3: A Twist of Fate at some point (not released at time of writing).
System Requirements:
OS: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
CPU: Pentium IV 1.6 Ghz / Athlon 1600+
RAM: 128 MB RAM (256 MB for Win 2000/XP)
GPU: 32 MB DirectX 9-compliant video card (min 1024x768 16Bit)
DirectX: 9.0 or higher (included on disc)
HDD space: 2.5 GB free hard drive space
Related Links:
Runaway: A Road Adventure
Monkey Island Archives
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror
CaptainD - PC Gaming Blog
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