Moebius: Empire Rising -- review by gremlin

Thanks, gremlin!

Jenny!

THanks gremlin and Jenny!

Ana

Nicely detailed review, gremlin. Thank you for that

[And thank you, too, Jenny100, of course ]

Thank you for the review...However, I am getting a little bored with the analyzing aspect of everything. I have just started and I have had to analyze and match what I think are the correct wordings to carry on in the game. I hope it is not like this all the way through as it reminds me so far of a Nancy Drew type game and I get bored of those also....This is the game I was most looking forward to this year but I am disappointed so far

Hamer, I'm sorry to say that the analytical part of the game is key to the story. Each chapter is predicated on gathering the data points for the analysis of the subject of that chapter. There's no getting away from it.

Of course, if you like the analytical side of the game, as I did, then this is a Good Thing(TM)

Thanks Gremlin and Jenny. Nice review. I found it quite enjoyable and had a great time playing. I so agree with you on Malachi's walk however...chuckled when I read your review.

Barbara

Thanks everyone.
Of course gremlin did all the work.

I didn't like the analyzing either. Most of the time it seemed like you could only solve by working backwards from the solution -- when you weren't supposed to know the solution.

I'm not understanding how you're saying it's like a Nancy Drew game though. It reminds me more of Sherlock Holmes deductions (though I thought the Sherlock deductions were much better because you reached a conclusion based on evidence and not the other way around).

Hi Jenny, I guess what I meant by the Nancy Drew comment was that I got bored with them very early into those games and either quit or never finished them. I don't think this game is deserving of an A- but then again the reviews are biased by what the reviewer likes. Don't get me wrong , the review is well done lol..but the analytical part that makes up the whole game is very boring. The game seems more like a casual type of game.

Thank you for the review, gremlin.

And thank you too, Jenny.

Thanks Jenny100 for the link & gremlin for the interesting review - it was refreshing that it focused on the positive aspects of the game! I found the maze fitted in well with the context of the story but felt it could have been more interesting, also the lack of facility to enlarge readable info was a bug-bear but despite that I completely agree with the grade!

Reviews and review grades are always a subjective thing, based upon the reviewer's experience of playing the game. I'm not sure how else it could be, unless you want some sort of technical analysis (which would likely concentrate upon any faults rather than the Good Stuff), and even then I think the readers would be turned off by reading the analyses, rather than enjoying (hopefully!) reading the reviews.

We do have a scale by which games are measured, which I think you might find helpful in understanding the grades that I give. It's not perfect, but I've not yet seen one that is. I always laugh when I seen a grading scale that grades with a percentage ... how do you perceive the difference between a game scoring 93% and a game scoring 94%?

I agree Gremlin and I see that you really like the Myst series and that type of game also. I am not very keen on that style of game at all so I guess if I were to review that type of game it would be much different than your review. Hence with the analytical aspect of this game which you enjoy but I don't. I see games that you have reviewed that I really enjoyed but your score is much lower than I would have put, simply because I enjoy the type of game whereas here I would have graded this game much lower. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy your reviews but I think a more accurate review would be to get 2 people doing the reviews for games. One that likes the Myst style and one that likes the (other) lol ..style. Siskel and Ebert type of thing Then compare the 2 to determine a grade

Thanks for the great review, Gremlin. Really. Brilliantly written, and well thought-out.

I was intrigued by the analytical process required of the player, and was all set to get out a notebook and pencil as we did in the "Good old days."

I almost dragged out the credit card until you said the "M" word; Aren't the days supposed to be behind us when we are treated as white rats in a lab?

I have ranted for twenty-plus years about mazes, and how odious they are. (Er, maybe it's thirty-plus years. It's easy to slip a decade these days!)

Jane - Schäm dich! Also von dir hätte ich mir wirklich etwas Besseres erwartet.

It is a minuscule gesture on my part to boycott this game, but that's what I am doing, just because it includes a maze. I HATE mazes. I HATE mazes. I HATE mazes. I have said it a thousand times before, and now I've said it a thousand-and-one. I know the thirty bucks it costs would be divvied up among the end-sellers, the authors, developers, advertisers, and countless others, and it makes no real difference to them if I decide not to buy the game, but I must make a stand. No more Mazes! Nicht mehr Irrgärten!

Tally Ho,

There are clues to tell you where to go in the maze. I think I only checked the route of 2-4 entryways and they all circle back. It's a fairly easy maze.

Well, maybe I will have second thoughts. But let it be known and not forgotten, that I hate mazes!
Thanks, MaG. I'll be more mellow tomorrow. Jane Jensen is still high on my list of favorite people.

REMINDER: Tally Ho HATE mazes!

But tell us how you *really* feel about mazes, Tally Ho.

Glad to see a score of A- for the game. A great review actually. This puts the game higher on my list of games to get in the future.

I hate mazes too but I was ('pleasantly' might be stretching it a bit) surprised at how well this one fitted into the context of the story rather than being there for the sake of it! It wasn't that bad!

I don't think I'll go as far as actually boycotting the game seeing as I've bought it now but I, too, dislike mazes

And one of the worst I've experienced was in "Return of the Phantom".
Drove me MAD

Great review, gremlin.

I'm surprised by a lot of negativity I've seen toward Moebius in general, but then I suppose it's my lot to be in the minority on these things. I actually enjoyed the analyzing puzzles for what they were. Animations don't bother me. Ideally, they could be better but they didn't have a very large budget to work with, and I think they made it work as best they could. The backgrounds are really pretty. I liked the comic cut scenes much better here than I did in Gray Matter, partly because they were in motion unlike GM's and partly because they fit better in Moebius as the graphics already had a comic book appearance.

I could have done without the maze, but as far as mazes go, it wasn't bad at all. Generally Jane Jensen's games end with a sequence similar to this, so I was expecting it. As for the characters and story, I thought they were great. I loved the potential relationship between Malachi and David, and I found the plot intriguing. It did feel like part one of a longer story, so I hope that there will be a sequel at some point.

It may be my least favorite Jane Jensen game, but I still consider it one of the better games I've played. I thought the A- was well deserved.

Glad you enjoyed it Venus!

Ana

Informative review. Thanks gremlin and jenny100.

Well, shucks! Y'all have talked me into it. After all, it IS a Jane-game.
Wish me some Labyrinthine Luck.

Tally Ho,

I'll hold your hand and bring a flashlight. Does that sound okay?

You've got a deal, thanks!

Come to think of it, maybe a GPS and a bag of bread crumbs would be helpful.

That should cover all the bases.