Missing: Since January Review
Hey y'all, just finished this game a coupel nights ago, REALLY enjoyed it
The Adventure Company has done it again. They has produced yet another game that I could not stop playing until the very end. Missing: Since January does not disappoint in any aspect. Every category is taken care of and accomplished in a skillfully detailed, master-crafted form. Missing: Since January falls into a category with Dreamfall and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey; games that are so close to being perfect is scary.
We begin our game without even putting in the disc. Missing: Since January is a completely different form of game all together. This "game" begins with you somehow receiving a CD-ROM, with a booklet of "instructions." A reporter from the SKL-Network, Jack Lorski, and his companion, Karen Gijman, have been kidnapped by a mysterious killer known only as "The Phoenix," a creepy, ridiculously smart serial killer who signs all his murders with "In Memoriam." The CD you have received was created by The Phoenix and is a "game" of sorts. Basically, the CD holds the key to saving Jack and Karen.
Missing: Since January was very creatively put together. Even the instruction booklet will pull you into the story like nothing I've ever seen before. It begins with a Warning message from the people over at SKL Network, filling us in on the details of the "investigation." With each page, we are led to believe this is something very real. Instead of just giving a set of system requirements, it reads "After a series of test done in a dedicated lab, we have finally succeeded in determining the minimum system requirements to make the Phoenix's black CD-ROM work." Before even starting this game, I already felt immersed in the world of The Phoenix.
To begin the game, you are required to create a name and password with the SKL-Network, which then allows you to use their translator, search engine (a glorified MSN search), and e-mail program. When registering, if you give them you real e-mail address, during gameplay you will actually receive e-mail from SKL-Network associates, detectives, an Italian man with poor English grammar, and even The Phoenix himself! These e-mails prove invaluable during play, as they give you clues and hints on where to find information.
Bring me to the next amazing thing about Missing: Since January. During gameplay, in order to figure out puzzles, you are forced to go onto the internet through the SKL search engine and search for answers. You will be brought to real and fake websites, allowing you to find the answers the The Phoenix demands. This was, by far, the coolest aspect of this game. I remember a particular answer to a puzzle took me to 8 different websites, as I searched, entered clues and questions, and finally found what I was looking for. I felt extremely satisfied when I entered my answer and passed The Phoenix's particular test.
The graphics and sound quality for this game do not disappoint, either. Most of this game actually has real actors, but not the super-imposed kind of some games. These actors are at the actual locations, being filmed with actual cameras. It gives you a sense of realism that I have yet to see in any other game. When you aren't watching actually videos, the player sees whatever puzzle he/she is currently working on. The graphics for each puzzle can be so real and disturbing, that I had to keep the light on during the more sick and twisted parts.
The puzzle themselves were two extremes. Some were very easy, and others very ridiculously hard! The harder ones had me using a walkthrough after many frustrating minutes. While others, I opened the puzzle and laughed because I immediately knew the answer. However, even this aspect brought the sense or realism to the game, allowing me to believe that this was created by just one person, namely, The Phoenix.
In the end, Missing: Since January pulls you into a story and keeps you there until the very end. It was very hard to leave this game without finishing it, because it left me with a feeling that "Jack and Karen needed me, and what was I doing? Sleeping." I believe that any player of this game will feel immersed in The Phoenix's crazy world, just as I have. Beware the late nights and filled notebooks you will create. I give Missing: Since January 9 Manus Domini out of 10.
The Adventure Company has done it again. They has produced yet another game that I could not stop playing until the very end. Missing: Since January does not disappoint in any aspect. Every category is taken care of and accomplished in a skillfully detailed, master-crafted form. Missing: Since January falls into a category with Dreamfall and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey; games that are so close to being perfect is scary.
We begin our game without even putting in the disc. Missing: Since January is a completely different form of game all together. This "game" begins with you somehow receiving a CD-ROM, with a booklet of "instructions." A reporter from the SKL-Network, Jack Lorski, and his companion, Karen Gijman, have been kidnapped by a mysterious killer known only as "The Phoenix," a creepy, ridiculously smart serial killer who signs all his murders with "In Memoriam." The CD you have received was created by The Phoenix and is a "game" of sorts. Basically, the CD holds the key to saving Jack and Karen.
Missing: Since January was very creatively put together. Even the instruction booklet will pull you into the story like nothing I've ever seen before. It begins with a Warning message from the people over at SKL Network, filling us in on the details of the "investigation." With each page, we are led to believe this is something very real. Instead of just giving a set of system requirements, it reads "After a series of test done in a dedicated lab, we have finally succeeded in determining the minimum system requirements to make the Phoenix's black CD-ROM work." Before even starting this game, I already felt immersed in the world of The Phoenix.
To begin the game, you are required to create a name and password with the SKL-Network, which then allows you to use their translator, search engine (a glorified MSN search), and e-mail program. When registering, if you give them you real e-mail address, during gameplay you will actually receive e-mail from SKL-Network associates, detectives, an Italian man with poor English grammar, and even The Phoenix himself! These e-mails prove invaluable during play, as they give you clues and hints on where to find information.
Bring me to the next amazing thing about Missing: Since January. During gameplay, in order to figure out puzzles, you are forced to go onto the internet through the SKL search engine and search for answers. You will be brought to real and fake websites, allowing you to find the answers the The Phoenix demands. This was, by far, the coolest aspect of this game. I remember a particular answer to a puzzle took me to 8 different websites, as I searched, entered clues and questions, and finally found what I was looking for. I felt extremely satisfied when I entered my answer and passed The Phoenix's particular test.
The graphics and sound quality for this game do not disappoint, either. Most of this game actually has real actors, but not the super-imposed kind of some games. These actors are at the actual locations, being filmed with actual cameras. It gives you a sense of realism that I have yet to see in any other game. When you aren't watching actually videos, the player sees whatever puzzle he/she is currently working on. The graphics for each puzzle can be so real and disturbing, that I had to keep the light on during the more sick and twisted parts.
The puzzle themselves were two extremes. Some were very easy, and others very ridiculously hard! The harder ones had me using a walkthrough after many frustrating minutes. While others, I opened the puzzle and laughed because I immediately knew the answer. However, even this aspect brought the sense or realism to the game, allowing me to believe that this was created by just one person, namely, The Phoenix.
In the end, Missing: Since January pulls you into a story and keeps you there until the very end. It was very hard to leave this game without finishing it, because it left me with a feeling that "Jack and Karen needed me, and what was I doing? Sleeping." I believe that any player of this game will feel immersed in The Phoenix's crazy world, just as I have. Beware the late nights and filled notebooks you will create. I give Missing: Since January 9 Manus Domini out of 10.