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Alter Ego Review #694137
01/29/11 08:07 AM
01/29/11 08:07 AM
Joined: Jul 2010
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leo Offline OP
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A thief who wants to leave for America, and a police detective. The port of Plymouth in the 1800’s. A murder, and the ghost of the deceased that makes people frightened. This is the general setting in which you find yourself when playing Alter Ego.

Let’s start with the title. ‘Alter Ego’ could mean an inner-self. It could mean two people sharing the same story from a different perspective. Maybe, a very close and trusted friend who is almost a part of you.
Well, none of the above applies to this game. The 2 characters live their lives without knowing about each other, until very late in the game. When they finally meet, the plot moves so quickly that leaves you basically with the task of just watching a movie, until the game ends.

About the technical aspects. The backgrounds are beautifully designed. The characters are typical of the era. The graphics deserve a big applause!
The game also runs smoothly. I played for hours without saving, and had no crashes. Alter Ego runs flawlessly.
A big problem is music. The game has no background music, except from the cut scenes. Believe me, one cannot understand what a disappointment this is, until he experiences it! It’s hard to watch or play something without music!
Things like bad lip syncing and the sort, are not important to me, so I didn’t care much. A story is more important, than a technical glitch.

The riddles. Typical inventory combination. Take an item from place A, and put it at place B. You will have no problems here. If you get jammed in a place, you simply click all items in your inventory, and voila!, you continue.
Since there is a detective involved, some of you might be expecting things like clues and evidence combination. Don’t. The detective has a notebook where he notes his findings. You simply click on an image of his findings , and you hear an explanation. No interaction by you. The evidence is examined by the game, and you just get the conclusion. So, all of you “Sherlocks” will be greatly disappointed here.

Finally, the characters.

The thief is a typical lazy person who wants the easy way out of problems and responsibilities. The designers made a decent effort in this area. The issue I had with Mr. Moore, was the tone of his voice. Throughout the game, he speaks very softly, with the same monotonous pattern, and no color in his voice. It’s like a robot constantly whispering in your ear. Being chased by the police, being locked up in jail, or flirting with a woman are all the same for Mr. Moore. He speaks the same way to all. There was a actually a scene where I needed the subtitles to hear what the man was saying. If you add to the above the fact that there is no music during gameplay, you could easily end up falling asleep. Seriously! Don’t play Alter Ego after a long day at work. You could end up sleeping in your chair after a few minutes, like me (actually, now that I think of it again, this could be a plus for a game lol ).

The inspector. Well, he was obviously the comic sidekick of the story. He is the disgrace of the British police, a true fruitcake!! This guy, gets mugged inside the police station the minute he arrives to Plymouth by a woman and her “protector”! He looks at the smashed doors of a mausoleum where the body is stolen and his comment is something like“what kind of strange customs do they have here, leaving the entrance of a tomb open!!”. After that, he stands in front of some bent bars and he is asking himself “I wonder how they got away”. Click here for picture I’m telling you, you should play this game just for the laughs you’ll have with this fella!!

The story ends suddenly, leaving you with an open mouth because you simply don’t know what happened. The game screams of a sequel. Generally, in my opinion Alter Ego was a great story, with a promising scenario which lacked in implementation. If they decide to make a sequel, I hope they pay more attention to the title, because the idea behind it is original, and deserves more attention.

Thanks for reading,
Leo

Last edited by looney4labs; 02/02/11 11:10 AM.
Re: Alter Ego Review [Re: leo] #694145
01/29/11 09:47 AM
01/29/11 09:47 AM
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traveler Offline
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You finished it? Kudos to you, Leo! Not me, this was the most depressing game I've ever attempted to drag myself through but as far as I got, your comments are right on.

Love the picture. <g>

Gil.


"Best not to think about it. I don't want to fall to bits 'cos of excess existential thought."
Re: Alter Ego Review [Re: traveler] #694151
01/29/11 10:08 AM
01/29/11 10:08 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 34,287
United Kingdom
Mad Offline
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"....the idea behind it is original, and deserves more attention"

I agree, Leo smile

But, like traveler, I couldn't force myself to persevere and play through to the end rolleyes


Time : The Most Precious Commodity
Re: Alter Ego Review [Re: Mad] #694681
01/31/11 11:34 AM
01/31/11 11:34 AM
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leo Offline OP
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Yeah, it took me more than I thought it would, but I managed to finish it. I hope they make a better sequel, though..

Re: Alter Ego Review [Re: leo] #695281
02/02/11 11:12 AM
02/02/11 11:12 AM
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looney4labs Offline
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Thanks Leo wave


"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."
-Roger Caras
Re: Alter Ego Review [Re: looney4labs] #695391
02/02/11 08:07 PM
02/02/11 08:07 PM
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Hi. I am at the very end of this game, so don't know how it's going to end, but should finish it tonight. I like the game, I especially like the graphics. It was an easy game to play but I did have some problems with my graphics card so I did reference the WT when the cursor got hung up. I would probably give it a B-, simply for the graphics!
Terri wave


When you live in the past, it costs you the present.
Re: Alter Ego Review [Re: Terri824] #695495
02/03/11 08:41 AM
02/03/11 08:41 AM
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 26,918
Stony Brook, New York, USA
Becky Offline
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I liked this line:
Quote:
Being chased by the police, being locked up in jail, or flirting with a woman are all the same for Mr. Moore.


It sounds like an intriguing story, just trying to work it's way out!

Thanks for the review! wave

Re: Alter Ego Review [Re: Becky] #695694
02/03/11 10:07 PM
02/03/11 10:07 PM
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,923
Texas
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Terri824 Offline
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Hi. Finished the game. Didn't care for the ending and can't imagine a sequel, but stranger things have happened. There are a couple of unanswered questions, so who knows. All in all, I liked the game, loved the graphics and enjoyed the voice over of Tim Moor.
Terri wave


When you live in the past, it costs you the present.
Re: Alter Ego Review [Re: Terri824] #695808
02/04/11 10:48 AM
02/04/11 10:48 AM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 40,644
southeast USA
Jenny100 Offline
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I couldn't even get it working on my computer because of the SecuROM. I ended up watching a ***playthrough on YouTube*** by MrFlameifrit, which was almost like playing the game.

It's not a game I'd want to play twice even if I had gotten it to work. Both characters were so unlikable. The plot was dull, the graphics drab, and the ending unsatisfactory. The only thing I liked about the game was the thief's Irish accent.

Re: Alter Ego Review [Re: Jenny100] #695823
02/04/11 11:46 AM
02/04/11 11:46 AM
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 34,287
United Kingdom
Mad Offline
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"The only thing I liked about the game was the thief's Irish accent."

lol lol lol


Time : The Most Precious Commodity
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