I need lives. I need lives for the master!

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned an “upcoming title” called Dracula: Origin. A point-and-click (P&C) adventure game that was to be released in August. So lo and behold, August has arrived and with it, the sinister Count.

I was in two minds when I considered buying the game. The hardcore adventurer in me screamed out to immediately purchase it, lock myself in my room and play and play and play. But the sensible part of me (the part that actually learns from prior experiences) was shrugging away from it thinking “ugh, not another one of those adventure ‘attempts’”. The recent adventure games I’ve played consisted of some good ones and then some that’s left a bad taste in my mouth (probably a result of eating the game cover out of frustration). So I was skeptical as to what this game could offer. But my adventure side won me over. Even if it’s just purely to be complete and give the developers the chance they deserve.

But I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised!! Firing up the game presented me with an interesting, yet simple main menu. Something that served as an initial annoyance, was the fact that the game does not support widescreen format. I have two thick, black bars running down the sides of the screen. But almost immediately, I thought “Hmmm, how retro. How……old-school“. And just from that, I already had a positive feel for the game. This tiny fact showed me that the developers do not care about fancy thingies. They’re not influenced by what people think. They’re here to make a game.

Starting a new game, I watch the intro video with joy. It’s got the typical adventure-game feel to it that’s been lost for so long. And for the first time in quite a while, the voice-acting wasn’t a burden to listen to.

The interface for everything in the game, is simple yet effective. It’s never a chore to do anything and you’re never left feeling “but that’s dumb”. Playing the game for a few short minutes, the interface starts to feel completely natural and you’re left to enjoy the game as the story unfolds. On then to my second greatest fear. The puzzles.

And long has it been since I felt what I feel when completing a puzzle in Dracula: Origin. Completing a puzzle leaves you looking around and thinking “damn…..I wish there was somebody here who could have seen me figure that out!”. None of the puzzles are unfair, unoriginal or any number of words starting with “un”. Nor are any of the puzzles illogical or weird as is the case with most new generation of P&C games. The subtle hints the player receives gradually introduces them to every scenario and it starts to snowball until the player understands exactly what is expected of them and they’re left to figure it out. Never do you feel burdened by the puzzles or lost when you accidentally find a solution by attempting to combine all items in your inventory with every other item. All the puzzles play out in such an elegant manner that most of the time you feel like you’re progressing much too fast.

Although I haven’t quite finished the game yet, I’m already happy with the length so far. There’s enough new locations to keep one interested and enough brain-racking to make you come back for more.

Dracula: Origin then, is the adventure game I’ve been waiting for. A new generation game with all the ingredients of the past. It’s really a joy to play if you’re an avid P&C gamer, and a nice pastime for the gamer who just wants something to play. I’m not sure how true to Bram Stoker’s novel the game story keeps, but from the bits and pieces I’ve read and know of, it seems it’s quite close. So a game for any Dracula fans then as well.

Dracula: Origin really is a must-have for adventure game enthusiasts. I don’t think anybody will be disappointed with this buy.

Here’s hoping Frogwares delves deep into their pool of talent and starts producing more adventure games for us to slurp up. I for one, am definitely going to look into their Sherlock Holmes series of games. For now I’m just happy that a developer has arrived to give me my fix ;P