Gives you a great conspiracy tale, but can be boring and preaches quite a bit.
The story starts rather abruptly with you watching your neighbor being dragged from his home by a squadron of police. The neighbor’s wife has no idea what has happened and the child seems completely distraught. So in true adventure game fashion, your character decides that he should get himself involved. After meeting with the wife, you work your way through the clues and puzzles that really keep you guessing as to what is going on and who is pulling the strings. If The Adventure Company does something well, it is putting together a good storyline to get the players sucked in.
The two components that a good adventure needs are a compelling story and good puzzles. The first items is easily taken care of because the story is top notch. The story would definitely make a good movie and you can tell that the writer of the game put a lot of thought into how the story should unfold. The puzzles on the other hand are good, but sometimes will push to the point of sanity. A good example is an elevator puzzle that you run into during the game. Somehow, I was supposed to know the code that was used to activate it. No hints that I found for the puzzle, just had to figure it out through trial and error.
Graphics are pretty standard fare and give you a good visual representation of the city. But the details are not consistent. Some levels are sparse and seem too empty, while others are choc full of detail. Character models are nice without too much detail. But graphics are not what make an adventure game, so you can overlook the graphical issues and simplicity.
Sound is a whole different item, however. The music and ambient sound is good. I really liked some of the background ambient themes. But the voiceovers will grind the last nerve in your brain. You will run for the emergency exits knowing that the spoken dialogue in this game will possibly kill you with its droll, dry presentation. I think about four people did all the voices. You can tell, because there are three characters at the end that sound almost identical. And it is so monotonous that you can never really get anything done. I fell asleep at the computer during the game because it was just so even toned. The voiceovers also give the feel of not caring about how they sound when presenting important points to the story.
Other glitches abound in the game. One big thing is that the game would reference things that I had not done yet. Finding a body, or talking to a certain person when I may not have even come across the person or item in question. Pathfinding of your character will sometimes have your character running in weird directions. Not a big thing, but it was noticed and sometimes was just confusing. Also, a major plot point is never really explained until near the end. It is constantly referenced, but you have no idea what the character is talking about until near the end of the game.
Another glaring problem in some degree is how much of a soapbox that the game sits on. I noticed themes that definitely address a lot of the issues in the US right now. Domestic spying, terrorism and pre-emptive strikes are all here and the writers of the game made a conscious effort to address the shortcomings of American foreign policies. When it started getting too preachy, I lost sight of the fact that I was playing a game and felt more like I was playing a tool of politicians. I may be looking into it too much, but it just seemed a bit weird that most of the topics that are brought up in the game made me think that society could be heading towards this type of reality. But it comes on a bit too strong and forced that the message is lost.
So is The Moment of Silence worth your hard earned cash – Not at full price. If you find it in the bargain bin, you will get a good story that will keep you guessing. Just remember that the puzzles will send you near madness looking for solutions. Too bad you just can’t rent it.