by sociopsycho » Thu, 13May16 03:45
So, I've just got 40 endings, had all the results with bonnie and done just about everything except the diner easter egg as I can't get the date Ariane to go just right the first time around, and I think I should let people know what I think of it.
GREAT visual novel Ariane. I really mean that, it's absolutely brilliant. I've played date Ariane to death and most of the games it inspired and have been checking the 'Life in the metaverse' blog waiting for SITA for ages now, and I am definitely not disappointed. Now down to brass tacks.
The music helps add atmosphere without distraction my attention from the novel. I think it's great that the mood is set that way, but it does seem that there are only a few pieces of music that are re-used for lots of different scenario's. I know getting creative commons music is hard and what you got works well.
The artwork is spectacular! Ariane's new look is wonderful and Rachel looks great, both as geek, model and dressed up. I liked the look of Paula and the only disappointment there was that I didn't get to see any more of her, despite her being interested. Veronica looks great for the 'bad girl' character and the body art (both tattoo's and paint) work well, which must have been difficult to do. Kudos. Bonnie is a little rough around the edges, but that actually works for her as with most scenario ends for her you get the impression she picks people up and sleeps with them quite often (or is a drug dealer, either way). Wendy looks good, maybe a little enhanced on the bust for someone who's a trainer at a gym, but I don't see any guys complaining so neither am I.
The overall story of the storm is cool. I like how it always effects the Ariane story, no matter your choices and the same for bonnie and veronica. At first it seemed to kill the story, but when I started playing around with choices and prequels I was happy with it. I liked that no matter what happens with the Rachel storyline the storm doesn't happen (because she's not there to notice the conditions are right) and I liked the crossover aspects (house party no storm with Rachel ect). I enjoyed finding out what was really going on and although the lack of a sex scene at the end of story 4 no matter what I do is a little annoying the only other thing that bugged me was how cold Paula was towards killing the power to a city, and later realising she actually killed veronica, then again this works fine as she points out her Eidetic Memory earlier in the story (if you ask the right questions) and her being cold and detached from the consequences of her 'amazing breakthrough' fit that character mould well.
Another date with Ariane plays out very well for the most part. I like the prequel settings, I like being given a hard time for not calling her if I slept with her last time, and being hung up on if I walked in on her and other little things that would be very true to life. I did feel more than a little railroaded into getting her dress ruined, I tried for a good long while to do anything to avoid that, whether actually getting a formal date or not, but couldn't. All the other activities had choices and options, that was about the only thing that was completely unavoidable, even if it didn't ruin the story. I liked her rant about making bad choices now that she decided to make them, and I liked the character exposition you get from multiple playthroughs. I would have liked a 'proper' threesome with Rebecca (or even Rachel) but hey, I'm male, it's an automatic desire. While some people have complained about the lack of choices compared to Date Ariane I think with a little replaying and getting the hang of it you have almost as much choice overall, it's just not blatant.
I enjoyed the Rachel scenario's the most. Being shot down in the bar repeatedly gave me an idea of how to score points with her once I'd worked it out, the only flaw I could find is that there is almost no allusion to Rachel in Araine's second date. She's not even mentioned when celebrity spotting with Ariane. I know she can't be seen in that scenario as she has to be at the LAN party, but it wasn't until I knew what to look for that I saw her in the background at the bar, and as you leave in a huff no matter what the stories never cross again. I liked seeing Paula in the background, getting soda water off bonnie and getting annoyed at Veronica, surely a small cross-over conversation would have fit the bill? It's not missing, it just would have fit nicely and only needed one or two pictures in the bar or a poster outside the nightclub and a mention. I think fantasy-fest was my favourite scenario with Rachel, especially with the LARP ending, although Gamer Girl and Nude Photo Shoot are all brilliant too. I did feel that these two stories had the most about them and were in depth, story driven without being too fixed and had enough good and bad ending to satisfy everyone.
Magic, Malice and Mayhem had potential, but seemed rather bitty, and could easily have been folded into story four if that was always the intention, or was there a lot of content that was missed out? First of all though, what was with the medusa? It's a porn game and pretty explicit, and until you pause it looks to be going into multiply x territory, why did you start the story off with that? Was it intentional given the lack of choices, to reward the player at the start? It's not a bad scene to watch, and the model used for the medusa is flawless (intentional as she is a god I assume) it just really surprised me the first time played that scenario as all the others had me working hard for my nudity. I would have liked more options with Veronica, and could see a full story with her being repetitive and stereotypical, but even having said that it seemed that no matter my choices I was railroaded to one ending, whether she was about to kill me or sleep with me. Likewise for bonnie, but I didn't feel I was missing out there as when I replayed it I got the alternate endings and could pick out which one seemed best, and with a nude volleyball team in the front room the choice seems obvious.
Story 4 was better. I liked the puzzles, even if the raptors drive me insane every time and leave me clicking randomly. The coin puzzle was better and Paula's appearance worked well, but again it was railroaded. Surely I could have turned her down there (and therefore lost any chance at sex later) and been greeted by her at the meeting with a 'told you so' glare? That would have felt less forced. I like the in joke of Rachel telling her she could be a model all the time and playing with the guild a bit, and the weather control puzzle is good fun and easy. The only flaw is the lack of a sex scene no matter your choices. Oh, and I heartily compliment the character costumes in 'Elemental Realms' They are just shy of scandalous and completely ridiculous to anyone who goes into combat, just like every video game ever, perfect!
Overall, excellent game, amazing levels of detail in backgrounds and unimportant shots. The amount of work that goes into each picture still surprises me, and then I see the crowd scenes at the house party, a relatively unimportant scene that is quite hard to get to and far from pivotal, and all I can say is thank you for putting in that much effort. Keep up the good work, take my (minor) criticisms with a pinch of salt, the game works brilliantly on it's own.