I happen to love it, warts, yellowed teeth, toe jams, et al.

User Rating: 5 | Dreamfall: The Longest Journey PC
Funcom wants to immerse you in a world. It wants to show you its history, its languages, its characters and conflicts, and it wants to give it so bad it's going to sit you through hours and hours of talky bits, while interaction is kept at a minimum.

So, why not make a movie instead?

It's a legitimate question, and one that's become increasingly despairing six years after release. We fans of The Longest Journey series so desperately want to claim it as the last greatest adventure series ever made, for several reasons: there's incredibly rich characters the industry has yet to best; there's spiritual questions popular media dare not approach; and it's refreshingly imaginative in a time where imagination is marginalized.

For all we love about the series, we can't say it's the best ever, and that's because Dreamfall simply isn't a good game. An argument can be made that it is a wonderful experience; something that may leave a lasting impression on a satisfied soul. Put the story outside, however, and the fact is playing the damn thing is woeful.

Let's get the good stuff out of the way: Dreamfall is the sequel to The Longest Journey, a game which combined both fantasy and science fiction and had a fantastic protagonist to boot. It's ye old coming of age story, but with April Ryan narrating, thinking, and witting her way to the finale, it became a classic amongst many PC gamers. Dreamfall continues the trend of a young and hip girl finding her way in the world, with Zoe Castillo taking the lead instead. April is still around, and in fact she's more compelling than she's ever been, questioning her worth after the events of the first game. There's also a third guy, but he's so lame he's best left unmentioned.

The story begins when a friend of Zoe's disappears while investigating a top secret project from the world's largest megacorporation. Deciding to find out what happened to her friend, she ends up on the wrong side of the law, crosses paths with some very bad men, and before you know it, she unwillingly ends up in the alternate world of Arcadia. Arcadia itself isn't all fun and rainbows either, what with a fascist government oppressing its denizens, and a gang of rebels ready to wage civil war, probably the type with pretty magic spells and cute killer bunnies. The whole plot is rather intriguing, if a bit heavy handed. Ragnar Tørnquist probably never learnt the 'less is more' adage, and at times the lengthy dialogue can test your patience. Fear not, however, because long after you finish the game, the story will remain strong in memory.

Unfortunately, so will the actual gameplay.

At best, Dreamfall's gameplay is underwhelming. At its worst, it doesn't really work. The adventure game DNA runs through its veins, but Funcom have decided against the traditional point-and-click interface and have opted for direct controls in a three dimensional space. This should allow for greater control in theory, but the implementation could not be any more cumbersome. For example, in the town hub of Marcuria is a tower so massive that characters can't help but talk to each other about how massive it is. God forbid if you want to look at it yourself, however: you cannot swing your camera up or down. Such a design decision is so offensive, I wouldn't be surprised if anyone stopped playing the game out of sheer frustration.

Interacting and examining objects, items, and scenery is part of the adventure formula, and Dreamfall is filled to the brim with points of interest. It's fun to hear Zoe and April comment on the world around them, in order to give some backstory, or reveal a bit of their character, or even just providing some genuinely funny commentary. Walking up to items and points of interest is generally the way to go, but in another flash of uninspired design, Funcom implemented a focus field: a narrow band of character 'vision' in which the characters can interact with objects not immediately within their vicinity. It's mostly unnecessary, except for one mandatory puzzle halfway through the game in which you have to spy a magical key combination a creature is dialing; a thoroughly infuriating bit combining the rubbish camera, the aforementioned focus field, and the lame stealth mechanic.

Oh yes, there is stealth in this game. Pressing a button slows you down to a crawl, allowing you to get past some half-baked stealth sections. So broken is the feature that when timed right, it's easier to sprint past enemies. And then there's the combat. There are two buttons for attacking: a light attack, and a heavy attack. It's slow, unresponsive, and absolutely monotonous. What's worse is that the other combatants just stand there blocking the whole time, inviting you to repetitively hit them with a guard break attack until they're finished.

And yet, all the bad game design in the world couldn't sour the good stuff Dreamfall is filled with, namely the characters, plot, and lore. If you're the type that can put up with poor gameplay, Dreamfall is a sweet, sweet ride. But if you're normal, consider this a big, fat warning.

Yes, it's a love it or hate it game. I happen to love it, warts, yellowed teeth, toe jams, et al.