I immediately followed the link FreewareFan provided and downloaded the first game I saw, then proceeded to spend the next hour and a half to two hours checking it out and then writing the following review, then when I returned to the post to get the link, I read the post properly and realized I'd reviewed the wrong game. (My only excuse is that I had to go to the hosptal for an appointment today, so my mind wasn't all there. lol I'll post the review anyway, but here rather than seperately. Tracmania may come soon. :)
A Tale of Two kingdoms: A very Short Review:
I think it is well worth trying this game out if you have a little spare time. The fact that it’s freeware is an added bonus. The theme is one of medieval times with two kingdoms that are at loggerheads with each other, who have to put their differences aside and combine forces to fight off the threat of an Orc invasion.
The downloaded executable is 94.2Mb, and when installed 108Mb, which is a reasonably small package for such an adventure game. This looks like a professionally produced game that I’m sure I’ve downloaded over the last year as The Crystal Shard and the game title sound very familiar as does the introduction to the game. It’s not really my style of game though, so I didn’t progress any further than the banquet hall the first time around and during this review got as far as the next room, which I found hard to get out of because I hadn’t figured the correct commands :oops: I just returned to the room and figured out how to get to the next room. You have to move your character using the mouse pointer which for movement is in the shape of a walking person. When you click on a point in the room, your character will walk there. Usually to get to another room you walk to the edge of the room. There will usually be something to indicate where you should walk to be it a carpet leading off screen or a doorway to walk through.
The game starts with a long string of intro screens (see link below for loads of images), that set the scene for the game, which is an interactive adventure, in which you point and click to progress through the game. The graphics although of a low bit rate (either 8 or 16bit) are still exceptionally done in my opinion. I think if the developer had made them larger the overall game would have been massive as there is a lot of art work involved.
This is not a game you can just walk into as there are quite a few commands you need to learn. You can access the control panel for the game once you are in game by clicking the Esc key. This brings up a triangular window called the control panel with several buttons that include quit, save and help. I have taken a sample of screenshots of the various menus which can be seen by following the link below. The help button will lead you into a nest of menus all of which you will need to learn. I suggest that you write these down, though they are always accessible from within the game by pressing the Esc button as already mentioned. I found the music appropriate, but it did get a little boring after a while. It’s quite nice played as a ver quiet background music, and fits in well with the medieval theme. If you think you’ll enjoy this game I strongly advise you to study the help menu and the various controls before you explore the game further. I did capture a video of my initial game play, but with the way I’d configured my screen capture device (Capture Wiz Pro). A minute’s video was 2 gigs of memory; so that’s out the window as far as uploading I to my photobucket account.
Check out the screen captures (there’s over 50) by following the link below:
All on one page:
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/Whiterabbit_01/gaotd/FREEWARE/?start=all
As a Slideshow:
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/Whiterabbit_01/gaotd/FREEWARE/?albumview=slideshow
Conclusion
This is a well made point and click adventure game, which if you have the time is well worth a try out. The developer has obviously put a lot of thought into it’s making;
I only wish I was into this style of game. I’ve just beta tested a point and click adventure game for Alawar called Natalie Brooks - Secrets of Treasure House, that although a commercial game, is basically the same sort of game, where you have to find clues to progress. The tale of two Kingdoms has some tongue in cheek humor added to some of the dialogue, which made me smile. Comparing this with other Freeware games I’d have to score it an 8 out of 10. though this scale isn’t comparable to the score I give to the commercial games available over on the game giveaway project.
Thank you very much for posting details and links for this game FreewareFan. I look forwards to seeing what delights we will see tomorrow. You must post the blob soon as it’s one of my favorite freeware games around. The following link takes you to FreewareFans post regarding the Crystal Shard games.
I’ve just realized I’ve reviewed the wrong game. That comes with not reading the thread fully. Well never mind.
