Well, I finally had time to play TLJ.

I just finished it. I spent the last several hours silently willing my phone Not to ring as I wanted to see what was going to happen soooooo badly!

I'm blown away! I can certainly see why the folks who love it, love it, and why the folks who don't like dialogue don't.

I know it's a good game when I finish it, and my first thought is, "Maybe I'll load it back up and play it again."

It is a neat game isn't it L4L? It's one of my favorites!

Sue

It's one of mine too. I wanted to finish it to see where the story went, but I also wanted it to go on and on.

Looney TLJ creates a major problem for gamers. It had a story rich in detail that encouraged you to keep playing even if time suggested you quit. In addition multiple engaging well developed characters not only advanced the story but even the lesser characters contributed. I can recall the ship captain, the mole, Abacanus, I know I spelled that one wrong, all of these lesser characters were engaging. There were many many more. The limited easy puzzles and the long conversations detractors point to are the reason this game was so good. It comes back to story and characters, throw the puzzles out they only got in the way of the game. Why I say it is a major problem is simply because no game I can think of has characters and story so highly developed and detailed as TLJ. Newer games have failed to meet this standard of story telling. that's the problem TLJ created, it set the bar too high. Dreamfall came close but slips a bit with the action component. That warrior guy, forget his name, I tried to throw the fights forced on me to see if I could get rid of this guy. Too me he was a waste and slowed down the story.

Oldmariner, I have to agree with much of what you said. I love dialogue so this game was right up my alley. This game called me. When I wasn't playing it, I was thinking about it.

My only complaint about the game would be the back and forth, back and forth. Most of the time it was ok, but when I was stuck on the island, I really got tired of that.

But for a game made so long ago, I truly was blown away. I haven't played Dreamfall yet. I really wanted to play TLJ before I started it.

I found that I really cared about April, and several times, near the end, kept silently rooting for her, thinking "no, no, don't do that"

Having finished the game, I still have questions and I miss it.

this is one of my favourite games of all time. Dreamfall is very nearly as good.

umn....I thought I had more to say about this, but I guess I don't!

glad you enjoyed it, L4L

WW

I'm so glad that you were finally able to play this game - one of my all time favorites as well. I too love dialogue and a deep story. I never finished Dreamfall though, and will be interested to hear how you think it compares.

I just finished TLJ for about the 10th time. I love this game a lot. I use to just skip the dialogue but this time I sat it out and enjoyed it even more.

Cathy

I'm glad you found some time to play this game too L4L. It's one of my all time favorites. I enjoyed the depth of the storytelling. They did raise the bar for adventure games with this one!

Yes, this is indeed a wonderful game. I'm looking forward to Dreamfall.

I think I'm in a "mourning" period though as I'm having a hard time finding something else to hold my attention while I wait on Dreamfall.

It is a really great game and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I too hated to see it end. Have not played Dreamfall.

Bets

I loved this game L4L, I've played it through three times now. Some of the more recent games just don't grab me the same as TLJ and the Syberia games. I haven't played Dreamfall, read too much that put me off I guess. Glad you enjoyed the game!

Mary

Add me to the "loved it" crowd, too! And like the Mary above me, I also passed on Dreamfall.
Glad you choose to play it L4L, and that you liked it, too!

looney4labs, that's cool that you enjoyed it so much. And I agree about wanting to play it again right away. It was actually the first game I'd ever played where I wanted to start it again immediately.

IMO April's the best protagonist in any game I've ever played, the most interesting and the one I felt most invested in. And the game has some great, well-rounded side characters too.

Do you already have Dreamfall, and were just waiting to play TLJ first?

Jess, I certainly felt very invested in her, and also wanted some questions answered--such as,

I think I have Dreamfall for the console (I need to check). However, thanks to the kindness of a Boomer, Dreamfall is on it's way.

Then the next question will be "Will it play?" I'll load it as soon as I get it, and then we'll answer that one

Yes, she is.

This sets me off once more. Sob. Sob. Sob.

I mustn't say more lest the Beckster pounce on me again.

L4, I'm not going there but I did want to mention that Dreamfall has its own draw, not to be totally compared to TLJ. I was hunting for April myself when I first played it, but I learned to really like it for itself. It's a little harder than TLJ, (to love at first and to play) but I'll bet it grows on you, too.
Now I have to go and replay BOTH of them!

Thanks Res and Bubba

TLJ was the first Adventure game I ever played and I loved it and agree that no other game has yet to reach the level of enjoyment I experienced. Perhaps the only game I have played recently that had an excellent story line that compared was Keepsake.

I tried the download trial of Dreamfall but it just did not feel the same as TLJ and I could not cope with the action/fighting - I wish they had put something in the game that could have bypassed that if desired - I might have continued then just to see what happened to April.

I love some shooters but hate hand to hand. I did have probs with the fight sequences at first, but one of the boomers here gave me help with that. I've been at it just to better my own skills in the game. Some sequences you have to redo a few times til you get accustomed to the (2-3) key strokes so you can learn how to avoid and counter. Once you do that, you'll find the game is excellent and the fighting not too bad at all.

Bubba, I am finding now that I've finally stuck with 1 way of playing, I am more comfortable. I was flipping back and forth between the keyboard and the gamepad.

Does that work for the fighting sequences in Dreamfall?

I just finished playing TLJ for the second time. (Had to play it, doncha know, after I played Dreamfall all the way through for the first time) Wonderful games, both! Except for the loooooong running (if I walked I would still be at the beginning! :))to get from one place to the other. As for the fight scenes in Dreamfall, I just kept moving forward tapping the action key like a machine gun.

I too LOVED TLJ and think it is the most satisfying game I have yet to play. Needless to say I was eagerly anticipating Dreamfall and, indeed, I did like the story as it was progressing. I could not get used to the fighting and kept getting the stuffing knocked out of me. I would have loved to be able to bypass these scenes. This was before I knew about Gameboomers though, so maybe I'll check in the archives to see if there are some helpful hints to get better at fighting and try it again. Carte Blanche was the only other game I didn't stick it out and finish....and Dreamfall is head and shoulders better than that game, in my opinion. I sure do enjoy this forum! You all make it so fun and interesting. Thank you.

I couldn't finish Dreamfall. It's been a while now, but I think it was one of the sequences where and I keep getting caught and killed.

Maybe I should reinstall it and see if I'd do any better this time, but after all the sneaking and fighting I managed to get through by that time, it was pretty frustrating.

The only thing comparable to TLJ for me is the Syberia series - I got pretty attached to Kate Walker and Oscar myself. Zoe from Dreamfall's not a bad character either.