Pathologic

[CB..]

by Buka entertainment..

http://g2games.com/pathologic

this is a great adventure game...cept it is played in full 3D from the FPS perspective..if you can imagine a very large stripped down "Oblivion" type city scape..with a adventure game type plot and gameplay mechanics then you have the idea..

very interesting gameplay centred around an epedemic which hits this city...leaving you as one of three characters to attempt to find the source and possible cure..very open ended and non linear gameplay and storyline...with plenty of random events and possibilities..the emphasis is centred around non violent interaction (your there to find a cure not shoot every thing that moves lol) so even tho there are weapons available in the game..you are discouraged at every point from using them..(so far any way- haven't finished it as yet)

lots of the usual adventure game interaction with the main characters conversational choices from menus etc etc..except it is just slightly higher up the evoloutionary ladder than most normal conversations in that the choices pose as many questions as they answer frequently..leaves you doing a spot of sherlock holmes head scratching even as you follow the objectives through-

if you like traditional point and click adventure games but allso wish that some one would make one set in a fully modelled and dynamic 3d world (ala the Oblivion model) then this should have it's moments of fascination..

the graphics are not cutting edge to be honest and they haven't gone over board on the populations faces and clothes etc..(lots of cloned citizen "types" rather than distinct individuals) but this doesn't detract from the game at all..IMO..

the health stats and other survival factors are extremly subtle (for a game) and require allmost "sim" like attention in order to remain healthy and survive each passing day- the game is played over a period of 12 days-

lots of alternative ways to play the game --play it straight or choose your own level of honesty thru-out the game-- steal kill break into houses if you want..(all the houses have interiors and occupants etc etc)--plenty of scope for imagination and trying differing ways to survive and solve the dilemas-

fascinating so far...give it a try:ping:

allso has one of my favourite features for a computer game...you don't need the cd in the drive to play it lol (it comes on two cds)
being an inverterate lazy bum..i like to collapse in front of the PC double click an icon and play...searching for cds checking they are clean and slapping them in the drive is often the difference between me playing a game and simply changing my mind and doing some thing else instead..ho hum...any huw thumbs up for the double click and play aproach every time IMO!+

[CB..]

just to add a bit of gameplay info regarding the level of difficulty invloved in survival..this game is probably the toughest game i have played...staying alive requires planning ahead in the most demanding fashion possible...twelve days to survive ...i am on day four and so far there is no way to cure the disease (tho i am did fail to find the tissue samples required on day 3 and as a consequence one of my allies in the search died...) as i am infected by the disease and every hour that level of infection grows slightly (the only drugs available merely slow the infection rate down at the expense of my health)..it is highly unlikely that i will survive day 4 at all..meaning that i may well have to start from day 1 over again and plan ahead far more dilengently if i am to to reach the final days of the campaign..
yes it is correct to say that this game plays like a campaign...i thought they were kidding when they said in the manual this game is meant to be a simulation!!

very very tough...a most unusual game!! :yep:

[TteFAboB]

Very interesting!

I love these unique games. Brings me back in time to the 80's and 90's when most games were original and the rest were copies or cheap attempts at it, unlike today when most games are poor copies and few are original, unique and fun.

Just a question: where the hell can I buy this game?

[CB..]

i got the game from Amazon:up:

yes it is fascinating...i find my self replaying the previous days in order to find new ways to stay healthy ...complicated isn't in it! the stry line is just as complicated and intricate as well...but staying alive well..it's a huge task..as i say im still on day four of the twelve and i have no idea how i'm going to survive..you really have to explore every possible idea in order to balance out your health hunger infection exhaustion immunity and many other stats as well as moving through the city trying to complete the objectives...it really has taken a look at the normal gameplay rule book and thrown it out the window in favour of something far more radical...the real objective of the game is staying alive..and man is it complicated just doing that for 4 days let alone twelve..this game is a real forget everything you know about computer games and learn from scratch puzzle..if this is the future of gaming then count me in!!

i am having to learn how to play this game entirely from scratch...the way it combines all the elements into a cohesive and challenging whole forces you to treat it as if this was some thing from an entirely new dimension of gameing--- you won't know this untill you have played it for a while and realised that normal approachs just won't get you thru the full twelve days...then and only then do you start playing for real... what ever your first impressions are with this game your going to be wrong..

it is a simulation level survival scenario from start to finish..and it's an adventure game at the same time...what a combination lol!

huge