Let's Get Spelunking
For
many gamers of a certain age, the name Ron Gilbert will set the heart
racing with excitement, for it was he who brought us such classic
adventure games as Maniac Mansion, its sequel Day Of The Tentacle
and, of course, Monkey Island 1 and 2. These games are considered the
very best the genre has to offer and have captivated gamers over the
years with their intuitive interfaces (thanks to the excellent SCUMM
engine), cartoon graphics, witty dialogue (often with full speech),
and devious and amusing puzzles to solve. Of course, Ron wasn't alone
in creating these games, he was joined by the talents of Dave
Grossman and Tim Schafer. Schafer also created Full Throttle and Grim
Fandango, so his involvement in The Cave only builds the expectations
and excitement further. With these two adventure gaming geniuses
behind its production you have a guaranteed win on your hands. Or do
you?
Many eyebrows were raised when the first information and screenshots of Gilbert's new game, based on an idea he has had for the last two decades, first emerged. Many were expecting a valiant return to form, an old school point and click adventure game with a modern lick of paint. When it was revealed to be a 2D platformer many people were disappointed, yet remained optimistic, assuming that with these two gaming legends behind it, all would be OK.
Many eyebrows were raised when the first information and screenshots of Gilbert's new game, based on an idea he has had for the last two decades, first emerged. Many were expecting a valiant return to form, an old school point and click adventure game with a modern lick of paint. When it was revealed to be a 2D platformer many people were disappointed, yet remained optimistic, assuming that with these two gaming legends behind it, all would be OK.
Personally,
I was never caught up in the hype, in fact I was more excited about
the prospect of a modern 2D platform game with puzzles than I would
ever have been over a point & click adventure. The thing is –
and you will probably hate me for this – I never actually liked the
Monkey Island games. I have tried many times over the years to sit
down and play them through, but I just cannot get into them. The
pirate theme and humour just never resonated with me and I found
myself quickly bored. Day Of The Tentacle, Full Throttle and Sam &
Max Hit The Road were another story. I adored these games, and have
completed them more times than I care to remember. Since he left
Lucasarts to start Double Fine, I have been left cold by Tim
Schafer's work. Nothing really grabbed me, though my girlfriend
swears that Stacking is very good indeed. I certainly didn’t
understand why everyone went bat-shit crazy when Double Fine started
their, now famous, Kickstarter project for an unnamed adventure game,
throwing bags of cash at them like it was going out of fashion. I am
sure if Ron had done the same for The Cave he would have reaped
similar riches, but instead it is produced by Double Fine and
distributed, rather randomly, by Sega.
A
final product was never going to live up to the level of expectation
so let's put aside the these guy's involvement for now and look at
The Cave from a sensible, grounded perspective. Is it a good game?
Well, yes and no.
The
game tasks you with choosing three adventurers (of a possible seven)
and then exploring the depths of The Cave in search of what each of
these spelunkers desires most. Your adventures are narrated by The
Cave, a sentient geological structure who gains great pleasure in
witnessing those who enter him (cough) display the darker sides of
their personality.
Visually
the game is pretty impressive, with some lovely graphic novel-esque
backdrops, impressive and charming 3D character models and nice
dynamic lighting effects. It really does feel as though you are
exploring the insides of a cave system, even when the stage inside
said cave is a laboratory or Victorian era home. The music is subtle
and fitting to the atmosphere created by the setting and the sound
effects and voice acting are all of a high standard. The Cave himself
is the highlight, but there are some amusing characters to be met
along the way. It is a shame the playable characters do not have any
dialogue, their stories instead being told by a series of collectable
story book pages, but there is just enough dialogue from NPCs to
satisfy.
Unfortunately
the same suffers from some technical problems. While
playing, the game suffers from frame-rate hiccups. The XBLA
version is especially bad, jerking and twitching around like Mohammed
Ali attached to a car battery. It is completely unacceptable and as
such I highly recommend you choose the PS3 or PC versions, which run much better (I have not tested
the Wii-U version). Worse still, often your character will glitch
into the background and get stuck. This happened to me twice,
resulting in having to completely restart the game (reloading a save
didn't work). On the PC, the comic book style story pages are displayed in a low
resolution, meaning they have a nasty pixelated look, much different
to the screenshots posted on The Cave website. These issues should
not have made it into a finished product and really let the
presentation down.
Gameplay is also a bit hit & miss. While interesting to explore, The Cave is fairly linear, insisting you only go in one direction, depending on which characters you have selected. There is no Metroidvania style open world to explore here unfortunately. Puzzles are very simplistic with each small section of The Cave containing a very limited number of items and objects you can use them on. It seems exceptionally basic and childlike compared to the puzzles found in classic (or modern indie) point & click adventures. To be honest, it is not a very fair comparison to make, and one only levelled at the game due to Ron Gilbert's involvement. The experience offered by The Cave is nothing at all like that found in games like Monkey Island, or Grim Fandango. A more accurate comparison would be The Lost Vikings (in which you alternate between three playable characters), and the Dizzy series of games, popular on home computers in the 1980's. Dizzy also blended 2D platforming with simple object based puzzles (hmm, where should I use this crank? Maybe on the only well without one? Etc).
Gameplay is also a bit hit & miss. While interesting to explore, The Cave is fairly linear, insisting you only go in one direction, depending on which characters you have selected. There is no Metroidvania style open world to explore here unfortunately. Puzzles are very simplistic with each small section of The Cave containing a very limited number of items and objects you can use them on. It seems exceptionally basic and childlike compared to the puzzles found in classic (or modern indie) point & click adventures. To be honest, it is not a very fair comparison to make, and one only levelled at the game due to Ron Gilbert's involvement. The experience offered by The Cave is nothing at all like that found in games like Monkey Island, or Grim Fandango. A more accurate comparison would be The Lost Vikings (in which you alternate between three playable characters), and the Dizzy series of games, popular on home computers in the 1980's. Dizzy also blended 2D platforming with simple object based puzzles (hmm, where should I use this crank? Maybe on the only well without one? Etc).
In
The Cave, object puzzles actually play second fiddle to the
platforming ones that make up the bulk of the game. More time is
spent pulling levers, standing on touch plates, and moving blocks,
than combining items or using them with interactive parts of the
background. It is a shame as the actual platforming itself is not the
game's strong point. The characters have strange jumps that feel
floaty, climb ropes and ladders at a painfully slow speed and, most
annoyingly, die if you fall too far. When you find an object you have
to trek across long, dull platforming areas to get to the place you
want to use it and it gets pretty tiresome. You just want to get on
with it so you can see the next section and see where the story goes.
There
are moments of genuine creatively that shine through, though, giving
you a short glimpse of the magic contained in old adventure games of
the 1990's. But these sections are always over far too quickly and
leave you imagining what The Cave could have been had the entire game
been designed this way. The Time Traveller's section is the best
example of this. It involves switching between three different time
periods, set in the same locale. So, for example, if you remove an
item from the past, it will vanish in the future. It is pure Day Of
The Tentacle stuff, three characters manipulating the present by
messing around in the past. It is the most inventive, exciting, and
genuinely amusing section of the game and as a result shows up the
rest of the experience as rather bland.
The
whole quest can be finished in around two and a half hours, which
feels painfully short. I was actually gob-smacked when the game
ended, my only thought being, 'Is that it?'. Luckily there is added
re-playability in the fact you can choose another set of three
characters to play as and get a new level for each of them.
Unfortunately you still have to play through three sections that
remain the same, regardless of who you pick, not helped by the fact
that these parts are the most boring. Also irksome is the bizarre
decision to have seven characters, meaning you have to play through
The Cave thrice in order to see all the levels. I am not sure many
gamers will want to bother as after the second play-through The Cave
has exhausted its entertainment value.
Don't
get me wrong, I did enjoy my first journey through The Cave
immensely. I was engaged in the well written narration, quirky story,
and interesting puzzles enough to begin my second run immediately
after completing the game. But by the time that was concluded I had
no inclination to play it again, due to the huge amount of repetition
and the substandard platforming involved. I have mixed feelings about
The Cave as a whole. On the one hand, it is an enjoyable Dizzy clone
with decent visuals, some amusing dialogue, interesting story themes
and puzzles that are fun to complete. It will keep you engaged from
beginning to, all too quick, end, and offers enough incentive to play
again. However, it is far too easy, and plays it safe with regards to
the inventiveness of the puzzles, relying far too much on tedious
positioning of characters and lever pulling.
For PS3 & PC owners I would recommend it as it offers you five or so hours of
entertainment for only £9.99. Do not come to The Cave
expecting anything resembling the classic point & click adventure
games the creators are more well known for, else you will be sorely
disappointed. As a game standing on its own merits, it is simply
average.
The
Good
- Pleasant visuals and music
- Entertaining puzzle platforming
- Humorous in places
- Time Traveller section shows signs of brilliance
The
Bad
- Very basic puzzles
- Lack of challenge
- Far too short
- Ropey platforming mechanics
- Technical issues (especially the XBLA version)
(take off a point for the XBLA version)
Developer : Double Fine
Also available on : Wii-U
Price : £9.99 / 1200 points
Price : £9.99 / 1200 points
