Ar-K is a classical point and click adventure with an updated twist.
Alicia Van Volish is a former cop and current journalism student who wakes up after a one-night stand with a terrible hangover and a lot of questions: How much did she drink? Did she really take that guy home with her? What was his name? And what, exactly, is the Golden Sphere, the mysterious object that seems the source of all Alicia’s woes?
Mixed
100 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Y | Y | Y |
| Spanish (Spain) | Y | Y | Y |
AR-K es una joya del género point-and-click que combina una narrativa intrigante con un estilo visual atractivo y personajes memorables. La protagonista, Alicia Van Volish, destaca por su carisma y determinación, guiándonos por una historia de misterio, conspiraciones y humor inteligente. El juego brilla por su guion bien escrito, doblaje profesional y una ambientación futurista que engancha desde el primer clic. Ideal para quienes disfrutan de aventuras clásicas con un toque moderno.
Reconozco que el juego me ha resultado entretenido y me ha gustado el carácter de la protagonista y que esté doblado al castellano.
These games are extremely difficult - partly because the puzzles are nonsensical sometimes, but mostly because the game doesn't teach you how to play/use all options in the interface properly. The system changes from game to game too which doesn't help.
I ended up playing with a guide to see how the story plays out for parts 1 and 2 and ultimately these are hard to recommend, the games are short and certainly beatable with persistence, the main character is likeable - but the overall experience wasn't very intuitive from a game play/user perspective.
Half decent Point and Click Adventure games that have charm at most - 4/10.
I can't remember when or how I got this game. Might have been with a bundle. I am always eager to try out new point and click mystery games. AR-K checks that mark. I can't say that the game's anything special. But at least the voice acting is good. At times it all feels a little tedious. There's a lot of text to go through for such a short experience. Nevertheless, main character's attitude, occasional profanities and amusing cutscenes kept me hooked for the 5 hours. Chapter 2 took notes from the previous one and did better. I might get the third chapter on sales someday.
Don't waste your time or money on this either less than half-hearted or merely incredibly inept and profoundly disappointing attempt at making a game which runs decently.
You are supposed to be able to set the resolution before starting the game, but there is no choice. The "configurator" appears to use the desktop setting and check or uncheck the "Windowed" box it uses fullscreen. At a setting of apparently 3840x2160 resolution the actual screen image appears to be less than 1920x1080 in resolution. It looks as though the max resolution is significantly lower than my native resolution (3840x2160) and pixels are just expanded to leave everything a fuzzy and annoyingly unfocused mess.
Then about 5 minutes into the performance, after leaving the professor's office without an assignment and going back downstairs the whole operation lags interminably grinding almost to a virtual halt with each progressive dialogue selection, initially lagging about 30 seconds on first location change and thereafter up to a minute or more for every subsequent action. I can't tell you any more because that was the point at which I admitted to myself that this is indeed a piece of parc and I had been duped.
I am my own worst enemy, because I deferred trying this way past the two week return period, so I have no-one to blame but myself. Perhaps your experience will be different to mine, perhaps the same, but either way, should you still elect to surrender your hard-earned money, you will be doing so in the knowledge of potential disappointment.
This is the best I can do to try and save you from yourself. I hope it works either way.
I played Episode 3 years ago (not knowing it was a sequel) and I liked it, despite still being a (forever) unfinished story.
So I bought these 2 previous entries, expecting more of the same.
Don't do that.
1 and 2 are ridiculous.
Firstly, they offer a terrible interface: no save menu, no options, no hot spots key, no fast walk, no fast transitions, unmarked interactables, atrocious inventory, no item descriptions, no item labels, tedious drag & drops, keyboard required for skipping, illegible subtitles (translations) over alien speak, out of screen labels... and I'm forgetting some.
On top of that, the story doesn't make any sense, the storytelling is utterly disjointed and incomprehensible, the feedback fluctuates between useless and totally absent, the puzzles have no rhyme nor reason (not in their build up, not in their consequences, not in their relationships with the rest, not in their physical/UI completion... they are consistently among the worst Pn'C puzzles ever committed,) the entitled protagonist is despicable (wait until you see what she does to her friends, or rather don't,) not to mention how gross some scenes are.
The only worthy component is the voicing.
It's playable (by trying everything on everything, preferably each most unrelated 2 things you can think of,) but it's definitely unpleasant.
This series has a game-breaking bug, so...
6 of 5 must play.
5 of 5 great story great game-play.
4 of 5 great story average game-play.
3 of 5 average story average game-play.
2 of 5 play only if it's your favourite genre.
1 of 5 play if you have nothing better to do.
0 of 5 play if you're a masochist.
-1 of 5 avoid.
AR-K score is -1 of 5.
point click hikaye sevenler deneyebilir biraz eski kaçabilir açıkcası ben sevemedi de yanlış yere tıklarsan diyalog bitsin diye bekle de bekle sıkıyor hemen
NO LO RECOMIENDO
Es un juego point-n-clic que tiene pinta de ser interesante pero cuando lo descargas te das cuenta de que es solo un juego que se basa en puras imágenes pre-renderizadas de una calidad demasiado baja, al grado de ser un vídeo-juego de los 90 en la primera generación de consolas, a pesar de usar motor gráfico unity fue totalmente desperdiciado al tener una mecánica sin pulir ya que tiene varios fallos puntuales, por ejemplo, al caminar no te permite correr, no te permite cancelar el destino, no te permite elegir otra opción, no te permite ni si quiera el camino libre, únicamente uso de mouse.
Tampoco te muestra indicaciones sobre objetos o lugares, no tiene indicaciones de ningún tipo y sus puzzles de búsquedas son ambiguos, si no entiendes sus "chistes" forzados, te podrás perder en varias de las tareas del juego al grado de quedar atorado sin saber que hacer
Incluso juegos como Still Life tienen una mecánica mas pulida que este juego
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A little dated, but still a decent Point and Click game. Not really my thing, but recommending for fans of the genre.
鼓励性好评，不推荐。chinese come my baby. 来个中文我的宝。202211下，t a o宝，支付宝红包，杉果，本平台，本平台充值折扣掉卡，indie gala，fanatical，humble，daily indie game，loot boy，它处自定义包入的本体约3元。爱人如己，目前就这，看以后追评。兄弟萌，强烈建议不要第三方平台的小店买y u额，通过饰品等挂steam市场转的，高概率red信乃至封号，且行且珍惜。
AR-K, GATO STUDIO tarafından geliştirilen ve yayınlanan bir işaretle ve tıkla macera oyunudur. Oyun gizem, mizah ve gerilimle doludur ve zengin 3D-animasyon ile hayata geçirilmiştir. Oyun, tek gecelik bir ilişkiden sonra korkunç bir akşamdan kalmalık ve birçok soruyla uyanan eski bir polis ve şu anda gazetecilik öğrencisi olan Alicia Van Volish'in hikayesini takip ediyor.
Alicia önceki gecenin olaylarını bir araya getirmeye çalışırken, bir şekilde Altın Küre olarak bilinen gizemli bir nesneyi içeren çok daha büyük bir komploya dahil olduğunu fark eder. Oyun boyunca oyuncular, Altın Küre'nin ardındaki gerçeği ve kendisinin de bu komploya dahil olduğunu ortaya çıkarmaya çalışan Alicia'ya bir dizi bulmaca ve engelle rehberlik edecekler.
AR-K, modern bir dokunuşla klasik işaretle ve tıkla oynanışına sahiptir. Oyuncuların bulmacaları çözmek ve oyunda ilerlemek için çeşitli nesneler ve karakterlerle etkileşime girmeleri gerekecek. Oyun ayrıca iyi geliştirilmiş karakterler, esprili mizah ve şaşırtıcı olay örgüleriyle zengin ve sürükleyici bir hikayeye sahiptir.
Oyun iki bölüme ayrılmıştır, ilk bölüm AR-K: Gone With The Sphere ve ikinci bölüm AR-K: The Girl Who Wasn't There, oyunun ilk sürümüne dahil edilmiştir. Üçüncü bir bölüm olan AR-K: The Great Escape adlı üçüncü bölüm de Steam'de mevcut.
Genel olarak AR-K, ilgi çekici hikayesi ve zorlu bulmacaları boyunca oyuncuların ilgisini çekecek ve eğlendirecek, iyi hazırlanmış bir işaretle ve tıkla macera oyunudur.
I have been replaying the game, and realize that much of the text of my initial review was inaccurate.
I still am in the process of replaying before I make any decision. In the meantime, I recommend approaching this one with caution.
Fun game with a good story. Just wish the story's final chapter was ready.
AR-K is one of those games that I have no idea how or when I got. It has been sitting in my backlog for as long as I've remembered, and I've often thought about playing it. It never looked great; the graphics are on the level where the developers could've probably made a visual novel and have it both look better and be easier to develop. But I try to have an open mind, since I've been positively surprised many times in the past by games I didn't think I'd like.
So I gave AR-K a try. And it's absolutely terrible.
Not only is this the worst P&C adventure game I've played, it is the second worst game I've played period. The story is incomprehensible, jumping from one conclusion to another in such a haphazard way that I wonder if there was even a try to make any sort of story layout. Characters are robotic, despite the best efforts by the voice actors, and are forcibly pulled into crazy behaviour by the plot, which doesn't seem to know where it's going half the time. No one is a better example of this than the main character, who performs actions like feeding one of her friends vomit, almost killing said friend by having him falling out a window and blowing up a sewer line for no reason. It's not even mean as much as it is insane, since she only really seem to be following the crazy logic of this world and succeding in her endeavors as a result.
Puzzle solutions are out of control in this game, the worst moon logic I've ever seen in a game. It is close to unplayable without a walkthrough, because so few actions actually lead to a logical result. For example, the earlier mentioned sewer needs to be blown up because the sound will make one of the neighbours, from a nondescript window that you can't see them from, throw a bottle of booze from the second floor (which doesn't break, of course!) so that you can give it to someone. Meanwhile, [b]your best friend runs a bar/food place[/b]. And that's just one out of a dozen solutions to problems that don't make any sense.
Now, the developers do improve over the course of the series, with the third chapter (The Great Escape) actually being passable. But the journey there is so bad that it's just never worth it. Not to mention that the fourth and last part of the series is several years late by the time of writing, which is always a bad sign.
There is absolutely no reason to play this game. Look elsewhere for your entertainment.
Cute P&C game. No bugs, Short story. Less then one hour to beat.
I always hate to give negative reviews for small indie games, but that's what I'm going to have to do for AR-K. I actually tried playing this game twice, with a several year break in between, just to give it a fair chance and I still dislike it. I'll try to break things down.
We'll start with the characters. I absolutely HATE the main character in the game. She has that I'm better than everyone else attitude and a constant smug expression on her face that invites you to hate her even more. From the beginning of the game I found myself feeling that the "evil professor" in charge of her class is justified in trying to get her thrown out. I'm guessing I'm not the only person that hates her since they added a narrator to chapter 2 of the game who jokingly tries to say he's there to offset her abrasive personality. I didn't have much of a problem with the other characters. The design aspects are ok for the most part, though again the main character is designed with some fairly exaggerated proportions. All characters are fully voiced and the actors did a decent job on the lines. Sometimes the subtitles have weird errors. Speaking of the subtitles, there's several times that the text goes by way too fast to read comfortably, so you'd better listen close to the spoken words.
The user interface just plain feels bad. You have an inventory bag that holds your items like most point and click games, and you have the ability to join some items together with each other. The problem with the inventory system is you have to click and drag everything instead of just clicking on an item and having your mouse pointer change into that item so you can click it onto things. It feels incredibly clunky to have to hold the mouse button down on something, press a key to get out of the inventory while still holding the mouse, then drag it onto what you want to use it on. Also, I would have liked some kind of text description of what's in my inventory instead of having to guess what some of these weird things are. In chapter 1, you can right click on inventory items to get the main character to say what it is. For some reason that didn't seem to work in chapter 2, so it was back to guessing what I have.
Now for the puzzles. The real core of any point and click adventure. This is a major downfall in this game. Nearly every puzzle is incredibly obtuse on what the solution is. You'll probably spend 80-90% of the game just clicking every item on every interactable thing in the game over and over and over again until you accidentally find what you're supposed to be doing. This is more heavily noticed in chapter 1, so they did make things SLIGHTLY better in chapter 2, but only slightly. The Narrator in chapter 2 is supposed to also be able to offer hints and tips, but it's apparently only for items in your inventory that you drag to it. At some point in chapter 2, the Narrator stopped giving hints entirely, so I ended up giving up on trying to use things on it for clues.
The story felt pretty meh to me. Maybe that's largely because of the hate I feel for the main character, but I never felt super engrossed in the whole "I'm in trouble because this weird sphere was given to me" thing.
The chapters of the game each feel fairly different. Chapter 1 is what I'll title "Trial and Error", since you just run around guessing what you're supposed to do pretty much the entire time. Chapter 1 is also very short. I think with all of the solutions, it's less than 1 hour to finish, though I didn't time it. Chapter 2 is "Backtracking: The Game". I didn't count them, but there's something like 10-15 screens for chapter 2 and you pretty much spend the entire game walking back and forth through all of them repeatedly for what feels like 100 times to get that 1 thing that's changed since the last thing you managed to randomly clicked on caused the game to progress. There's a few puzzles in chapter 2 that seem at least kind of logical, but most of the puzzles are beyond wtf for the solution, let alone why you're even doing what you're doing in the first place. Chapter 2 did feel significantly longer than chapter 1, but I'm guessing that's at least in part because of the constant backtracking. Chapter 3 is a separate purchase that I think I'll be passing on based on my experience with chapters 1-2. Supposedly there's also a 4th chapter coming out, I'm not sure if/when though.
In the end, there's other point and click adventure games out there that are far better than AR-K. I recommend passing this one up.
This is not a good game. The graphics and animations are so amateurish and ugly they could be mistaken for renders from a late 90s CGI TV show. The writing is... poor, to say the least. Right off the bat there's tons of exposition dumps with no attempt to endear the player to characters or setting first. There are tons of areas with no functional purpose other than to pad the game by a few seconds as the player moves their mouse around in search of where to click to go to the next area. All in all, this is not a well-designed game, and no matter how many chapters come out, it won't be worth $8, or whatever the final price ends up being.
These first two were entertaining but they were worth it to get to AR-K: The Great Escape!
I recommend playing all 3 in order, they start off a lot more budget-quality in production and evolve so you can see they've taken player feedback seriously (and clearly bigger budget with the third) but the third one (which note you buy separately to these 2) made these definitely worth it to me, (and from starting the first one a few years back they seem to have smoothed out the older ones out lot since then!)
The UX, graphics, puzzle flow and storytelling quality definitely improve over the 3 games but particularly the third which is leagues better!
The price of the third one is very reasonable for the quality I got so it's worth it to play these other two first (the stories follow in sequence and only make sense following each other) and I really hope the fourth one comes out soon!
Even if it doesn't, still worth playing them to get to the third one, the quality gets way better, clearly the studio and their budget evolved by that point!
Also the first two have definitely smoothed out bugs they used to have a few years back, a lot better.
I've played the first two episodes and have absolutely no desire to spend money on the third and last (albeit third out of a planned four chapters - they never even finished the story... go figure) episode.
The writing is pretty bad, the puzzles make almost entirely no sense whatsoever, there is no button to highlight hot spots, you can't turn off the subtitles (at least no way I found), the translation in said subtitles is missing words, the spelling is not always correct (including the name of one of the characters - who happens to have the same first name as me),, the narrator introduced in episode two is completely useless as none of the items I dragged onto him produced any response other than the generic 'this doesn't make sense'.
I could go on but it's all in all a pretty bad game (even for a small studio) and there are much better and less frustrating adventures available on Steam to spend your money on this.
Not a great game, but also not really bad. It was never finished and even the finished parts don't feel very polished. Story is weird, puzzles feel strange and random. Game itself is slow and tedious, controls could be better. It's just a forgetable experience.
Firstly, be sure to check the reviews of the follow up games. I wouldn't recommend this game alone, but if you're interested in the follow ups I suggest just to play these for the story.
I found the first part to be mostly random clicking, and even if it is fun with the mixed 3d-animations the main character is a bit too much drawn for teenage guys (but they make fun of it in the game).
But the story is fun and interesting enough to make me hooked, and the game gets much better with each chapter.
Obwohl ich oft ein Fan von Point&Click bin, sagt mir AR-K dabei weniger zu. Die Ideen verschiedene Gegenstände auf vielfältige Art und Weisen einzusetzen, ist durchaus schlau und die Kombinationsmöglichkeiten schier endlos. Hier ist allerdings schon das Problem: Manche Kombinationsmöglichkeiten tauchen erst ab bestimmten Zeitpunkten auf, obwohl man genau weiß, dass es nur diese eine bestimmte Möglichkeit geben kann in dem Moment, aber eben irgendwo noch einen extra Dialogpfad vollenden muss oder etwas mit einem Gegenstand tun, was dann oft zu sinnlosem Ausprobieren führt. Und hier der zweite negative Aspekt: Manche Kombinationen und Hinweise sind absolut absurd und ohne Anleitung praktisch unmöglich zu vollziehen und verstehen.
Deswegen leider nicht zu empfehlen aus meiner Sicht.
Divertida aventura gráfica gracias a sus salidas de tono y diálogos mas o menos fuera de lugar.
Sus gráficos están bien incluso ahora para este tipo de juego, y la música acompaña sin desentonar.
Este juego son los dos primeros capítulos y la verdad es que te dejan con ganas de ir a por el tercero, cosa que voy a esperar, creo, hasta que salga el cuarto.
Si a esto añado que son una pequeña compañía y paisanos, como no lo voy a recomendar.
Sobre W10 no he tenido ningún problema ni bug, aunque es cierto que algunas veces como que se congelaba el puntero, pero sólo un momento, nada insoportable.
Вообще я не очень люблю истории, книги и игры на Sci-Fi тематику...Но эта серия игр мне почему-то понравилась. Несмотря на далеко не самую качественную графику, немного непонятный в начале сюжет (потом всё становится понятнее), вульгарность главной героини и медленность её передвижений, в целом в игру стоит играть из-за интересного развития сюжета, чтобы дойти до третьей части. Это настоящее поинт-энд-клик приключение, без всяких пазлов и головоломок, зато со множеством принятий решений.
Estamos frente al primer proyecto de un desarrollador independiente y pequeño, por ende es perdonable que haya algunos bugs y animaciones un poco cutres. El juego te pone en el papel de una joven con una personalidad muy divertida que después de una noche de alcohol y s-e-x-o no recuerda nada, durante el día debe tratar de recordar lo que pasó y descubrir el secreto de una misteriosa esfera dorada; todo a través de la resolución de puzzles.
La historia no está mal, los diálogos te harán soltar más de una carcajada, pero la resolución de la mayoría de puzzles no tiene lógica (debes combinar todo por si acaso, hasta lo que no crees que pueda llegar a ser porque puede que termine siéndolo). Solo lo recomiendo porque espero que el siguiente título sea mejor que este, si les interesa probarlo lo mejor que pueden hacer es comprarlo cuando esté en oferta.
I enjoyed this game years back on the cellphone app. The graphics is nice and bright. The story is good. Progressing through the story at times can be challenging. At certain spots, I needed to consult a walkthrough. All in all, great game. I'm looking forward to episode 3 and 4.
The puzzles are awful and make almost no sense, I used a guide because I wanted to see the story but the story is also not good.
The main character tries to come out as smug and clever but she is just a really horrible and irritating person.
не плохая задумка продукта
реализация геймплея и графона для своего времени не плоха , хотя для 2К18 уже выглядит немного топорно
из минусов : нету руского языка
итог : рекомендую для прохождения
The first two episodes of the AR-K series don't raise up to the potential of the story, but having played the third episode (The Great Escape), which was a huge step forward, I would recommend to give it a go.
Pros : good voice acting, interesting characters, some funny moments
Cons : some puzzles that don't make a lot of sense, the story doesn't manage to keep you hooked up and wanting to play the next episodes.
No hay sustento. Carece totalmente de fundamento, solidez, imaginación y cooncordancia. Es como una salpicadura de planteamientos que ha sido mezclada con lodo, todo metido en un bote de cristal opaco y herméticamente bien sellado . En el segundo capítulo el bote se abre para añadir un moho que parcialmente se encargará de alimentarse, absorbiendo gran cantidad de lodo para, seguramente, intentar conseguir algun tipo de disolución entre el lodo y los planteamientos, el problema es que ahora tiene moho.
Para colmo la jugabilidad está mal designada y ha sido expuesta de forma cutre, y el desarrollo artístico es banal. También es argumentalmente cortísima, y técnicamente mal hecha.
La protagonista es una falsa y una mentirosa que en todo el juego no dice nada con el corazón o con sinceridad. La síntesis y empatía entre jugador y protagonista es deprimente. Y el supuesto humor que cataloga a este juego queda transformado en decisiones y eventos irracionales, es como hacer las cosas porque si.
No se saca nada positivo de forma jugable o interpretativa. Es la peor aventura gráfica que he jugado, o por lo menos no recuerdo una tan mala.
Lo único positivo es observar que la mentira y la falsedad sobre la medriocridad carece de solidez alguna. Si carece de solidez, y además de imaginación, cooncordancia y fundamento, no existe nada en lo que pueda sustentarse. No recomendado.
AR-K is a mystery point-and-click adventure game. This is a two episodes, Gone With The Sphere and The Girl Who Wasn't There, out of 4 series. You play as Alicia Van Volish, a former academy cop kicked out out for being sat up with a golden sphere of unknown origin and importance. She lives on the AR-K, a space station with a long range of species. Alicia became a journalism student who is currently failing due to a teacher hating her. While Alicia doing a story to not fail class, she ran into the golden shpere again, and now she wants to get to the bottom of it. The voice acting isn't that bad, and the graphics have it's own charm. Like any point and click adventures, some solutions to the puzzles arn't as logical as you think, but still not as bas as others I played. I anjoyed the story, but I think the narrator in the second episode is unnecessary. And I give this a 7/10.
Ne yalan söyleyeyim bende önermek ve önermemek arasında kaldım çünkü oyun kendi kendinin iyi yönelerini sıfırlıyor. Daha sadece birinci bölümü bitirmiş biri olarak oyun hakkında konuşacağım.
Hikaye cidden sağlama benziyor. Gerçekten hoşuma gitti sırf merakımdan bitireceğim oyun. Çizimler de idare eder gözümü rahatsız eden bir şey göremedim.
Fakat oyunda yapmamız gerekenler o kadar belirsiz ki. Sıfır ipucu. Yani ilk görevim verildi mi, verilmedi mi onu bile anlayamadım. En sonunda işsiz işsiz gezmeyle olmayacağına kanaat getirip internetten araştırarak ilerledim. Sorun şu ki, bir şey yapmanız gerektiğini anlıyorsunuz çünkü oyun bir duraksama yaşıyor. Fakat örnek veriyorum; Longest Journey'de karakterin size o öyle olmaz şuna benzer bir şey lazım lafı burada yok. Burada sadece o öyle olmaz var. Resmen bir sonsuz belirsizlik girdabında bir çözüme ulaşmanız bekleniyor.
Bir de bana daha bitirmediğim halde kısa geldi, ayrıca neden üçüncü bölüm ayrı satılıyor anlayamadım.
Yine de sırf hikayesi için oynanabilir tabi onun yerine film izlemeyi de tercih edebilirsiniz.
[i][b][h1]AR-K[/h1][/b][/i]
Anmerkung: Das Spiel ist in vier Episoden aufgesplittet. AR-K enthält nur
die ersten beiden Episoden, die anderen Beiden werden separat verkauft.
Daher behandelt dieses Review nur die Episoden 1 und 2.
AR-K ist ein Point & Click-Adventure von den spanische Entwickler Gato Salvaje S.L.
[i][b]Episode 1[/b][/i]
AR-K spielt auf der gleichnamigen Raumstation.
Über die Lage eben dieser sowie das Jahr in dem die Handlung stattfindet erhält man keine Auskunft.
Man übernimmt die Rolle von Alicia Van Volish, einer jungen Frau die aus einer traditionsreichen Polizisten-Familie stammt.
Natürlich strebte Alicia danach in die Fußstapfen ihres geliebten Vaters zu treten und begann eine erfolgreiche Ausbildung als Polizistin.
Ironischerweise wurde sie jedoch von eben jenen Polizeiapparat verraten, als sie eines Tages ein mysteriöses, kugelförmiges Artefakt in ihrem Spind entdeckte. Fälschlicherweise des Diebstahls an diesem Artefakt bezichtigt, ließ man Alicia die Wahl entweder um ihre Unschuld zu kämpfen, mit dem Risiko einer drohenden Haftstrafe oder die Polizisten-Ausbildung auf Lebenszeit abzubrechen und dafür ungeschoren davonzukommen.
Alicia entschied sich für den einfachen, sicheren Weg und brach ihre Ausbildung ab.
Es musste also eine neue Ausbildung her. Unsere Protagonistin entschied sich den Weg einer Journalistin einzuschlagen, denn wenn ihr schon der Weg als Polizistin versperrt ist, dann will sie in ihrer zukünftigen Arbeit wenigstens dafür sorgen die Wahrheit ans Tageslicht zu fördern. Doch das ist leichter gesagt als getan, denn aufgrund ihrer "kriminellen" Vergangenheit, legt ihr einer ihrer Dozenten, ein Kotzbrocken namens Professor Reitherman, fleißig Steine in den Weg.
Um ihren Frust und die Verbitterung zu überdecken verbringt Alicia ihre Freizeit mit wilden Partys in denen viel Alkohol fliest und die in der Regel mit einem One Night Stand enden.
Und genau nach solch einer Nacht beginnt auch das Spiel.
Dadurch steht Alicia nun vor zwei Problemen. Erstens hat sie verschlafen, was dazu führt, dass sich Reitherman weigert ihr die dringend benötigte Recherche-Prüfungsaufgabe auszuhändigen und Zweitens hat sie letzte Nacht ihre Handtasche inklusive Familienerbstück verloren.
Außerdem will sie wissen, wer eigentlich der Typ war, mit dem sie letzte Nacht im Bett gelandet ist und ihr verkaterter Zimmergenosse muss auch wieder auf Vordermann gebracht werden.
Und so verbringt man Episode 1 mit eher unspektakulären Aufgaben, die nicht viel mit der Vorgeschichte zu tun haben.
Doch wie es der Zufall so will, stolpert Alicia während ihrer Eskapaden über eben jenes Artefakt, welches für all ihr Unglück verantwortlich ist - die goldene Sphäre!
Obwohl die Hintergrundgeschichte um Alicia's unglückliche Begegnung mit der goldenen Sphäre recht spannend wirkt und somit einen guten Anreiz für den Spieler bietet der Protagonistin zur Gerechtigkeit zu verhelfen, verlaufen die ersten beiden Episoden in eher zusammenhanglosen Situationen des alltäglichen Lebens.
Dem fiesen Professor Reitherman ein Schnippchen zu schlagen und die Geheimnisse von Alicia's neuem Lover zu ergründen sind die tatsächlichen Aufgaben, mit denen sich der Spieler abgeben soll.
Das Mysterium um die Sphäre und die Geheimnisse der Raumstation AR-K geraten über weite Strecken leider zum absolut vernachlässigten Beiwerk und das kann wohl kaum Sinn der Sache gewesen sein.
Das die Protagonistin nicht übermäßig sympathisch herüberkommt, macht die Sache auch nicht besser.
Ja, es ist verständlich das Alicia ob der ungerechten Behandlung durch die Polizei verbittert ist, doch ändert dies auch nichts daran, dass man es mit einer waschechten Schlampe zu tun hat, die selbst ihre Freunde und Kumpels zu ihrem eigenen Vorteil benutzt und einen Großteil ihrer Probleme auf rücksichtslose, lügnerische und kindische Weise zu lösen versucht.
Im Endeffekt bekommt man da eher das Gefühl, dass es Alicia nicht besser verdient hat.
Ich mein, wer ist auch so blöd vorm Tag einer wichtigen Prüfung Party zu machen ...
[i][b]Episode 2[/b][/i]
Seltsamerweise sahen sich die Storywriter dazu gezwungen Alicia in Episode 2 Gossensprache in den Mund zu legen. Ich will gar nicht wissen wie oft sie dort das Wort "♥♥♥♥" rausgehauen hat.
Wirklich sinnvoll in Bezug auf den Handlungsfortschritt war diese Maßnahme übrigens nicht und da Alicia in Episode 1 größtenteils ohne Schimpfworte auskam, wirkt dieses neue Vokabular zudem auch noch unlogisch.
Letztes großes Manko ist dann noch die kaum vorhandene Hintergrundgeschichte um die Spielwelt.
So erfährt man beispielsweise erst im Abspann von Episode 1, dass das gesamte Spiel auf einer Raumstation namens AR-K stattfindet und nein, ein PDF-Handbuch wo man diverse Dinge nachlesen könnte wird nicht angeboten. Auch sonst wird einem nichts groß erklärt. Die Anwesenheit anthropomorpher Aliens ist z.B. etwas, was einfach als alltäglich angesehen wird und gut. Dadurch bleibt einem die Welt oder besser gesagt das Universum von AR-K absolut fremd, was natürlich dafür sorgt, dass man sich nicht groß darum schert. Für ein Sci-Fi-Szenario ist so etwas tödlich!
[i][b]Interface & Rätzel[/b][/i]
AR-K ist ein typisches Point & Click-Adventure. Ihr klickt euch mit den Maustasten durch Renderbilder um Gegenstände aufzusammeln, Hotspots zu untersuchen und mit NPC's zu tratschen. Gesammelte Items können freilich untereinander kombiniert werden um hierdurch neue Objekte zu kreieren. Die Items wollen dann auf bestimmte Hotspots oder NPC's angewendet werden um somit diverse Problemstellungen zu lösen und erfolgreich in der Handlung voranzuschreiten.
Wer mal solch ein Adventure gespielt hat, weiß was ihn hier erwartet.
Besonderheiten oder Überraschungen sucht man in AR-K vergebens.
Es gibt nur sehr wenige Aufgaben, die über die typischen Inventarrätsel und Dialoge hinausgehen.
Größtes Manko in Sachen Komfort ist jedoch das schlechte Menüinterface.
Per Betätigung der Leertaste wird das Item- und Themenmenü aufgerufen. So weit so gut, aber um einen Gegenstand oder ein Gesprächsthema anzuwählen um mit diesen die Hotspots und NPC's zu beackern muss man die linke Maustaste gedrückt halten, dann das Menü wieder per Leertaste schließen und besagten/s Gegenstand/Gesprächsthema dann auf den Hotspot/NPC ziehen. Und nicht vergessen: Während dieses Prozesses immer schön brav die linke Maustaste gedrückt halten. Das liest sich jetzt vielleicht nicht so schlimm, aber glaubt mir, es fühlt sich beim spielen extrem unbeholfen an und kostet auch nur unnötig Zeit. Die gute alte Inventarleiste am unteren Bildschirmrand hätte das alles vermeiden können.
Mir ist auch absolut schleierhaft, wieso bestimmte Gesprächsthemen als Items behandelt werden.
Es wäre doch viel bequemer gewesen diese stattdessen direkt als Anwahlpunkt in die Dialog-Themenanwahl einzubauen.
Aber wie gesagt: Warum einfach wenn's auch kompliziert geht...
[i][b]Sound[/b][/i]
Zum Soundtrack hab ich nicht viel zu sagen. Die Titelmelodie bemüht sich um eine futuristische Atmosphäre und geht mit etwas guten Willen in Ordnung.
Dann gab es in irgendeiner Zwischensequenz auch noch ne traurige Melodie die ebenfalls gut gewirkt hat.
Abgesehen davon ist mir nichts im Gedächtnis geblieben.
Die englische Sprachausgabe ist dafür recht gut gelungen.
[i][b]Fazit[/b][/i]
Ich finde das Spiel O.k, aber ein muss ist es nicht.
Es gibt hier auf Steam bessere Point & Click spiele.
Ich habe das Spiel von Humble Bundle kostenlos bekommen.
'아-ㅋ' 라는 우주도시에서 살고 있는 앨리샤 주변의 이야기를 다룬 [b]《아-ㅋ》[/b]다. 전형적인 어드벤처 포인트&클릭 장르이긴 한데, 타 게임들에 비해 컷씬이 생각보다 볼 만하다는 게 특징. 아마 앨리샤의 섹슈얼리티를 강조한 몸매 때문인지도 모르겠다. 아니, 그런 표정으로 보지 마. 확신하는 게 아니라, 그럴지도 모르겠다는 거지 하하.
+ 컷씬 스킵 버튼에 손이 가질 않음(관련 도전과제 없이 컷씬 다 본 포인트&클릭은 처음인 듯)
+ 공략이 있어서 누구나 엔딩을 볼 수 있음
+ 따라서 도전과제 올클리어 역시 아무나 가능
+ 트레이딩 카드 존재(플탐 대비 파밍시간 긴 편)
- 영어가 미숙하면 스토리를 제대로 이해하기 힘듦(그냥 화면 보면서 스토리 각색하자)
- 관련 도전과제가 없기에 '챕터 3'은 솔직히 할 의미가 없음
음, 나름 시각적으로 구경할 맛 나는 포인트&클릭 게임이다. 컨텐츠 볼륨을 생각하면 가격이 다소 창렬스러운 느낌도 있으나, 그래픽과 레벨 디자인을 보면 또 적절한 가격 같기도 하다. 어··· 그래도 역시 할인 기간이 아니라면 썩 구매할 생각은 들지 않는 게 팩트이긴 함.
Игра содержит в себе 2 эпизода, которые можно пройти за 1 час каждый. 3 эпизод покупается отдельно, и вроде должен выйти 4 эпизод. Игра средняя, на любителя.
Fun Little Point-and-Click mystery in a very interesting Sci-Fi setting! You guide the protagonist, Alisha, through a series of increasingly rediculous and seemingly unconnected tasks in the hopes of figuring out what the golden sphere that ruined her chance of becoming a detective is. The UI in the first chapter is a little clunky, and the graphics are a little dated, but the humor, writing, characters, and the challenge all make up for these small problems. the second chapter introduces a narrator and several new UI funcitions which make gameplay more streamlined and more challenging all at once.
I tried, I really did. Twice. But I can not get into this game. What I'm sure was conceived as an innovative interface actually ends up being tedious and completely non-intuitive. It's a case of dragging and dropping everything onto everything else until something works, and while the game looks great and the voice acting for the part I played was well done, it just became too frustratring.
Smaller, more personal gripes; the story, at least at the beginning, struck me as a bit sketchy and certainly didn't endear me to the main character. Also, unless I missed something, there is no way to increase the painfully slow pace at which she walks. Lastly, the "How to Play" guide references a narrator who is accessed via the inventory, but unless he shows up later he was nowhere to be found in my game.
As an old fan of point-and-click adventures (actually, I started with text parser games and kinda miss them) I hate to give a negative review to one, but I don't see another option.
出生于警察世家命中注定会成为警察的少女Alicia在中学时在柜子里发现了一个神秘金球，然后迅速被逮捕，连位于警界高层的父亲都无能为力，她的人生履历因此沾上了污点。多年后，阿丽莎考上了一座和侦破完全没有关系的大学，不过心里其实还是对当年的事耿耿于怀。就在这时，她遭受到了系主任的刁难，为了抓住系主任的小辫子，Alicia打探他的私人信件，却在秘密地点再闪发现了那个神秘的金球……
这个金球是什么？为什么警界对它极为小心？为什么是Alicia而非别人遭受这一切？
这一次，Alicia决定不再简单地放过真相，而要自己把一切都查个水落石出……
就算看着讨论区的提示，坑坑绊绊，第一章也才完成了大概一半。传统点击解谜游戏，应该算小众类游戏吧，喜欢的特别喜欢，不喜欢的瞬间爆炸。买或不买，见仁见智。
游戏画风可爱，配音齐全，对话文本较多（可以按ESC跳过），只有英文，不过有对话字幕。
另外游戏BUG较多（讨论区BUG的帖子占了很大一部分），优化不太好，不支持F12截图，成就无提示。
游戏只有一二章，第三章要在STEAM上另买。
部分攻略：
[spoiler]1.在酒吧问牛头人包和项链的事-去大学问门卫包和项链的事-得到包和里面的砖头-砸坏咖啡机-教授会离开；
在大学楼里自助售货机买三种饮料-其中的一种可以倒在公寓门前下水道-得到瓶子-在大学楼里用瓶子里的咖啡把门卫放倒-得到有密码的DV和门匙-进二楼教授办公室-（取得漏斗）得知教授的秘密地点。
2.在酒吧问牛头人醒酒剂，得知需要各种配料：
-在酒吧前台取得番茄（？）酱；
-在酒吧向牛头人买汉堡-把其中一种汉堡给狗吃-得到狗吐出不知名糊状物；
-在大学楼里自助售货机买三种饮料-其中两种可以混合-上楼把混合后的饮料倒给清洁机器人-机器人故障-得到清洁内部清洁液；
-在酒吧问牛头人包和项链的事-去大学问门卫包和项链的事-得到包和里面的砖头-砸坏咖啡机-（教授会离开）得到咖啡；
四种配料都交给牛头人，得到醒酒剂，与漏斗配合使用，叫醒室友，DV可以用了。
3.在衣柜换露胸装-搭地铁-让狗吸引守卫注意力，进秘密地点-在门口捡绳子和棍子（挡门）-绳子拴架子上-让狗拉-得到金球。
4.？[spoiler]
AR-K is a pretty interesting game, though some of the puzzle elements are complicated enough I wouldn't have thought of them myself. That seems typical of most point and click games, however, so don't let that stop you. I'm still working on getting the achievements, especially that speed run one. Definitely a good challenge, and one that makes the game replayable, so I applaud the efforts of the devs there. The storyline is pretty good, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are some twists and turns that you don't quite expect in some places, which makes the game much more immersive in the story.
Hallo,
also sowas schlechtes habe ich ja noch nie erlebt....
Habe es gerade mal geschafft, mir das Game für 3 Minuten anzutun, dann musste ich abbrechen,
weil die Qualität einfach sooo miserabel ist.
Hiermit meine ich das komplette Paket; Grafik, Gameplay und Storyablauf...
Die Grafik entspricht dem Standard von vor 15 Jahren, einfach nur mies, grobkörnig.
Die Bewegungsabläufe sind sowas von asynchron, dass es echt peinliche Ausmaße annimmt.
Die Sprachausgabe überlagert sich permanent und wirkt trocken abgelesen, es kommt einfach
mal keine Stimmung auf...
Ich bin froh, dass ich dieses Spiel im Angebot für € 0,79 gekauft habe, aber dennoch bereue ich
diese Investition. Selbst auf mobilen Geräten bekommt man heute sehr viel mehr für dieses Geld
geboten...
Erschreckend finde ich, dass ich soviel negatives innerhalb dieser kurzen Spielzeit zu berichten habe.
DEFINITIV KEINE KAUFEMPFEHLUNG!!!
Das Grundkonzept des Spiels war vielversprechend, die Umsetzung eine unglaubliche Enttäuschung. Dieses Spiel kann ich leider nicht empfehlen, dafür aber seinen Nachfolger, die dritte Episode. In AR-K The Great Escape haben die Entwickler alles noch einmal neu aufgerollt und aus der Grundidee das gemacht, was es hätte werden sollen: Ein Spiel mit Herz und Verstand. In den ersten zwei Episoden merkt man davon allerdings nicht sehr viel. Dieses Spiel hat einige Probleme, die im Nachfolger glücklicherweise behoben wurden. Die Lösungen der Rätsel sind selten ohne Walkthrough zu erschließen, selbst durch viel herumprobieren und hin und her laufen. Die Bedienung war nicht gerade intuitiv. Die Charaktere wirken leer und oberflächlich. Der ganze Dialog ist grauenhaft. Nun zum Positiven. Die Schauplätze fand ich sehr schön gestaltet und die Geschichte ist durchaus interessant und gesellschaftskritisch. Es macht Lust auf mehr, aber irgendwie wird man von der Umsetzung ständig enttäuscht. In der zweiten Episode wurde zumindest versucht dem Spieler eine Hilfestellung zu geben, die aber zumindest bei mir technisch nicht funktioniert hat. Gut gemeint, aber nutzlos. Trotzdem lohnt sich ein Blick in die ersten zwei Teile, um die Geschichte des Nachfolgers besser nachzuvollziehen. Denn AR-K The Great Escape, die dritte Episode, ist unglaublich gelungen. Also am besten einfach ein kurzes Let's Play der ersten zwei Episoden angucken oder mit einem Walkthrough spielen. Dann hält sich der Frust einigermaßen in Grenzen und man wird dafür im neuesten Spiel der Reihe belohnt.
I feel bad writing a bad review becuase I know a lot of heart has apparently gone into this game, but my experience playing it was terrible. I like the skin tight clothes and big graphic tits lol, but the game is FULL of bugs and it's boring. The puzzles aren't exactly intuitive. There's logic errors as well. The storyline is extremely boring and having to reach over and press ESC to skip convos gets annoying quickly. The inventory looks like it's half finsihed. Sometimes you'll pick something up and forget what it actually was, but theres no way to find out what it is again! The narrator in the corner which appears in episode 2 is supposed to be there to help, but when you drag items to him for advice it doesnt work (except for 1 or 2 times)! I'm glad part 1 and 2 are over. Apparently part 3 is much better - let's see how that goes.
Strange game. I enjoyed it though. Point and click adventure game with a few annoying little things like not being able to skip dialogue you've heard before and the main characters tiny legs and thigh gap in the artwork and she does do some pretty messed up things to advance the plot but overall I did enjoy it. It is definitely an intriguing story line and I can't wait for the last episode to come out I will be buying it. Overall for this one? 6.5/10 a not disappointing start with the potential to be a really good overall story.
Voulant jouer à AR-K : The Great Escape, j'ai fait l'acquisition des épisodes 1 & 2 afin de ne pas être perdu dans le scénario.
Malgré le caractère dynamique et moqueur d'Alicia, Bimbo attachante, on fini par s’ennuyer tant on se perd en raison des actions à faire qui sont floues et sans vraiment de sens.
Si en plus on s'arrête de jouer quelque temps, de retour à la partie, il nous est difficile de savoir où reprendre et les objets de notre inventaire ne serons d'aucune utilité puisqu'un clic dessus n'apportera aucune description.
Jeu dispensable à réserver aux amateurs de Point'n'Clic coriaces.
This has the potential to be a fun game, but one thing makes it horrible: You cannot skip dialogue. So you are forced to sit and listen to the same dialogue over and over. If the developers added a way to skip hearing things you've already heard, this would be much more tolerable. But I can't stand playing it.
¡Una verdadera obra maestra! Está muy bien planificado y elaborado, lo cual demuestra que la creación de juegos geniales no es solo cosa de los estadounidenses y de los japoneses. ¡Una maravilla `Made in Spain´!
Atmósfera divertida, personajes con personalidades únicas, historia llena de emoción... ¡Es perfecto! Bueno... hay algún que otro pequeño bug, pero son errores insignificantes y que no perjudican a la hora de superar el juego. Y en caso de necesitar salir y volver a entrar al juego, se guarda solito cada vez que se cambia de escenario. ¡Nada que temer! Y muy cómodo, sin duda.
La historia completa se supone que se componede cuatro capítulos, aunque por ahora solo han realiado tres. ¡Y este son dos capítulos a la vez! Y eso sumado a su buen precio, ¡Este es un juego altamente recomendado!
Bár közel sem hibátlan játék (néha nem ugyanaz a kiírt és a mondott szöveg, néha elmaradt a hang), de nekem nagyon bejött a humora, története is egész jól ki van találva, bár van egy-két logikátlannak tűnő lépés amihez kellett segítség. Viszont ez igazság szerint 2 rész, van egy 3. része is, ami jobban néz ki, bár nekem ez is tetszett. Egész gyakran leárazzák, ezt lehet érdemes megvárni azért.
AR-K is a point & click adventure with a interesting mystery that you need to solve. Your character once a student to become a law enforcerment officer ends up taking some heat and being pushed out of the academy. She now tries to clear her name and find out what truly is going on.
Like any point & click adventure you focus more on the story and puzzles then anything else. The game paces the story nicely with a decent mixture of story telling and puzzle solving. There is a few glitches here and there but nothing too game breaking (a few clipping issues). The style is a bit of a hit or miss, some may not like the 3d type art style and others will enjoy it. Overall another point & click to try if your into those types of games.
Fortunately this game has its third chapter (The Great Escape) which is brilliant! I really recommend it!
Instead these chapters 1 & 2 I played after it and I feel my Saturday wasted. Game is quite frivolous and puzzles were finally incredibly silly so I ended up looking for walkthrough. There were also some difficulties using an inventory and asking about items; it's not told what they are, or that narrator's subtitles run quickly past. And why the soundtrack is N/A?
But I'm happy this game serie stayed alive.
This is a classic point & click game with short but interesting story. I'll sum up the game in following points:
[b][i]Pros:[/i][/b]
[list]
[*] Good voice acting
[*] Some dialogues were really funny
[*] Interesting game setting
[*] Game quality overall increases in episode 2
[*] Some interesting puzzles
[/list]
[b][i]Cons:[/i][/b]
[list]
[*] Some minor bugs (so far in episode 1 I think, but nothing game breaking though)
[*] Short game length
[*] Game has somewhat unfinished feel as if it was released in a hurry
[*] Game renders look a little low resolution
[/list]
It feels like the idea for game was really great but technically it wasn't executed that well. This game has 2 episodes. Episode 1 had a slow start, as I didn't exactly knew what exactly was happening around or where exactly I was but as I ended episode 1 and started episode 2, things started to make sense a lot more. And as I already mentioned episode 2 is actually far more interesting than episode 1 with a teaser ending. Now I would be starting the episode 3 to make comparison between these two and third.
P.S. I purchased this game on sale, I would suggest others to do the same. Its a good game but with its own downfalls!
Jesus Christ this game makes me so angry. I'm glad I wasn't one of the kickstarter supporters who paid for this. I paid around £0.50 for this and it was still too much. Bear in mind: this is after the supposed fixes so I can't imagine what a collosal ♥♥♥♥ up it must have been before.
There are STILL glitches (inventory clicks on the wrong thing, no audio when there is meant to be), and most importantly the puzzles are pretty terrible; not only are most puzzle stages complete non-sequiturs, some stages can be completed before you've received any hints/instructions about them, so you end up with a load of stuff in your inventory with no idea what you're meant to do with it - or even what it is.
If it wasn't for all that I MIGHT be able to overlook the terrible, repetetive, unhelpful dialog and frustrating interface (non-intuitive controls with no tutorial; controls help is located in a menu that you access by exiting the game; controls change location from chapter to chapter; inconsistent 'hint' mechanic that even the game itself admits was introduced in chapter 2 because chapter 1 was "confusing" - ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hell). But as it is...
DO NOT BUY THIS GAME.
AR-K tries really hard to be edgy with its snarky, hipster female lead, but the script and the voice acting are hokey. I know that might sound unfair, since this is a point/click with limited NPC interactions, and I like Greg Rucka's comics, but I think maybe this isn't his medium. Every time the main character curses, she sounds like when your ten-year-old little sister tries it out to sound cool around the older kids, but it sounds really unnatural. Frankie's "accent" is terrible.
Worse, it's a puzzle game in which too many of the puzzles don't make sense even in hindsight, and you're just combining things with other things at random to get something to happen. Episode 2 was worse than the first in this regard, which is likely why they gave you a "narrator" that you can drag things to for hints. Ultimately, I don't care why she has the sphere, which is why I probably won't play episode 3. It seems like it's supposed to be a focal point of the story, but the intrigue never really develops. 4/10
Una buena aventura gráfica, historia divertida e irreverente con una protagonista que puede llegar a ser un poco borde. El apartado gráfico me pareció excelente en su momento, con unos personajes perfectamente integrados en los fondos que a veces cuesta creer que no todas las aventuras se hagan así.
Utterly, amazingly, BAD!
Only played it to the end (if following a guide from beginning to end can be called "playing") only because I had already bought the third chapter, which people seem to like.
Actually, chapter 1 is not THAT bad, just some puzzles are illogical. But, chapter 2... Oh!!! That's a new level of craziness! Completely wacko, illogical to the 10th power!!!!! Alicia pokes fun on you on the first chapter for combining everything with everything, little did she know that you would have to do this on chapter 2...
I've played through chapters 1 and 2 twice each, and grew up playing old Sierra Adventure games. If I could, I'd give this game a rating of "meh." It just doesn't really click. Here are 10 issues I had with it:
First, it doesn't really have any kind of tutorial. You're left trying to figure out how to use the interface. Which could use some tweaking. Specifically, the way the inventory works. Getting in and out of the inventory is simple enough, but trying to drag an item out to use in the scene is annoying. Many... many... times I've got the object off the screen, shaking my mouse around, trying to get the inventory to dissappear so I can use the item. The interface was improved slightly for Chapter/Game 2, but it still left me wanting.
Second: When you click to move the character across the screen, all your controlls are locked up. You cannot do *anything* until she stops moving. No changing direction, or bringing up inventory, or even the menu. Not to mention the character is so slow to move about. Some games let you adjust the movement speed, or double-click on an exit to just jump there.
Third: The game is incredibly short. There's even an achievement for beating the first chapter under 10 minutes.
Fourth: In the second chaper/game, the devlopers introduced a narator in order to add a bit more color to the game and offer some support to the gamer. Neither really worked out. The narator rarely was funny, nor did he offer any help. Despite claiming I could drop objects on him for hints. Only a few and very specific items could be used in this manner. A poorly implimented feature.
Fifht: The developers claim this game contains humor. I didn't see any. Anywhere. Not a single joke.
Sixth: Scene exits are not clearly marked. In several scenes I was left randomly clicking about trying to find the exit.
Seventh: Character Development. I'm gonna assume this game was made by guys. Especially development of the female characters. It just screamed of guys writing for women who think they know how a woman behaves. For example, her language. I feel like they were trying to make her "edgy" and down-to-earth. And she just comes across as empty.
Eight: Voice Acting. Empty. Dead. Phoned in. No emotion.
Nineth: Background Story. Where are we? Are we on a planet? A space station? What are we doing there? Where did these aliens come from? You've created this world, but you don't tell us anything about it.
Finally: The plot is confusing and difficult to follow. The story jumps, leaving my wondering what I missed. Example, in chapter 2, after launching the table out the window, when you return to the University, you can hear someone screaming in the background and the lead character (I can't even remember her name. Even with 4 play throughs.) commenting on how he must have flown here. WHO? Who flew there? There are other points in the game as well, where you're left wondering what you missed.
Overall, I can't really recommend this game. Clunky controls, poor character and background development, and a jumpy storyline. If you pick it up for a buck or two, maybe. Just remember, you'll probably beat the entire thing in an hour.
Por el momento sólo he jugado al capítulo 1 y 2, pero en general me ha gustado.
Lo recomiendo, aunque tiene bastantes fallos que, en vez de eliminarlos el capítulo 2 que salió, si no me equivoco, tres años después, siguen estando. Quizá no tantos bugs como en el primer capítulo, pero algunos siguen apareciendo. Como por ejemplo, al menos en mi caso, el doble click que era para pasar de un escenario a otro a veces no me funcionaba, y cuando tenía que pasearme de un lugar a otro repetidas veces era un auténtico coñazo esperar que Alicia se moviese de un lado a otro.
Algo que hay que tener en cuenta, exceptuando lo anterior dicho, es que el capítulo dos es muchísimo mejor que el primero, y la interfaz del inventario/agenda es mucho más claro gracias también al narrador, que de vez en cuando te iba recordando por qué tenías x cosa. Me ha dejado un buen sabor de boca y estoy deseando seguir la historia en el tres.
Debo decir que fueron mis $0.79 mejor invertidos de este último tiempo. AR-K es una aventura gráfica de corte clásico que recuerda mucho a las de Lucas Arts de aquella maravillosa época dorada, utilizando un sistema de point & click con el que controlamos las acciones de Alicia, una talentosa joven estudiante de periodismo, aunque algo soez en sus formas y un poco casquivana. La acción transcurre en un mundo futurista en apariencia utópico, habitado por humanos y alienígenas, sus calles son limpias y no hay crímenes, allí Alicia junto a su perra de nombre Ámbar perseguirán la verdad, tal como su homónima lo hacía con el conejo blanco, para descubrir que es lo que yace bajo esa calmada superficie y confrontar su pasado que aparentemente se niega a quedar atrás.
La narración combina intriga, sexo y un poco de drama universitario, movilizado por un desopilante humor, aunque algo autoreferencial, que con frecuencia rompe la cuarta pared mediante fabulosos diálogos. La historia avanza conforme se resuelven los numerosos rompecabezas que caracterizan al género o que al menos solían caracterizarlo, algunos son lógicos, otros conllevan algo de pensamiento lateral y observación para resolverlos.
El único aspecto que encuentro deficiente es el Técnico, puntualmente la animación, Alicia camina de un lado a otro haciendo moonwalking, cosa que desluce el precioso diseño artístico de los escenarios y el bonito modelado de los personajes.
En lo personal, recomiendo este juego y aunque la situación económica de mi país es complicada, lo que a su vez complica la miá propia, aun así espero poder jugar pronto a la tercera parte, esta vez pagando el precio completo para apoyar a sus creadores que se lo merecen.
Juego clásico de aventura gráfica con una dificultad normal tirando a fácil. Está dividido en varios capítulos, que necesitan ser jugados en orden, pues es una historia dividida. En este juego están el capítulo 1 y el 2. El segundo es algo más largo que el primero, y que no es el final de la historia.
La historia va mejorando según se juega y está llena de tópicos e historias típicas universitarias que hay que ir solucionando. Es gracioso y divertido, aunque tiene unos cuantos bugs gráficos en el primer capítulo, los cuales se reducen en el segundo, que mejora gráficamente un poco.
Las soluciones de los puzles son muchas veces probar todo con todo pues carecen a veces de sentido o bien por algún pequeño bug que hace que no funcione bien el sistema.
Si tienes ganas de un juego de aventura gráfica y tienes poco tiempo, puede ser una buena opción, pues merece la pena, aunque no te puedes esperar la mejor del mundo, pero si ofrece pasar un buen rato.
65/100
SHORT REVIEW:
- Score: 80/100
- Great Story, loved the setting and the characters.
- Centered around investigations and murder mysteries (instead of purely puzzles)
- Duration: about 3-4 hours for the first two chapters (using walkthrough) and 4 hours for the third chapter.
- I highly recommend playing chapter 1 and 2 using a walkthrough. Item combinations are sometimes hard to guess.
- Important Tip for Chapter 1 and 2: to use stuff from the inventory on the scene, you have to drag it to the lower left corner in order to get back to the screen (the inventory will close itself). At that point, the item can be dropped on the scene target to complete the action. This wasn't obvious to me and got stuck. I learned it thanks to a walkthrough.
- Chapter 3 is the best and most mature part of the game. Has the best game design and mechanics. Can be played without a walkthrough. Very enjoyable.
- I still recommend playing first two chapters first! However, it is possible to skip those and watch a story summary provided in the Chapter 3 game menu.
LONG REVIEW:
The Great Escape is the third chapter in this story. At the time of this writing, chapter 4 has not yet been released, but seems to be in the works as there is a reference to a fourth chapter in the story itself.
I've played the first three chapters consecutively so I'm going to review them all in one shot to give a better idea of the whole. Note: Chapter 1 and 2 are sold in a single package called "AR-K".
Summary:
The story is set in the AR-K, a giant autonomous space station on which a utopic society lives.
In Chapter 1, we meet journalism student Alicia and her dog Ambar and follow her in an investigation surrounding odd deliveries around the university campus. We learn that she originally intended to become a cop like her father, but had to resign due to unfair charges regarding a mysterious ball. It is during this investigation that she will cross path again with people that have a serious interest in possessing that ball. The chapter ends when the investigation article is submitted to the teacher.
In Chapter 2, we learn that the teacher has published the article under his own name. Although this is clearly unethical from the teacher's part, this comes as an advantage since he becomes the victim of uncomfortable attention from those seeking the ball. Alicia will use this opportunity to continue her investigation and track down who's behind this. During this investigation, she will uncover the existence of a society unknown to her called District 8 and she will eventually fall prey to a trap.
In Chapter 3, "the great escape", we uncover the harsh reality of District 8: it is a hidden part of the station where people live essentially as slaves so that the rest of the AR-K can live in utopia. As Alicia is forced into labor herself, she meets people that have been trapped there for a very long time. She will help them in order to gain their trust and will eventually escape District 8 with the intention of revealing its existence to the public living on the rest of the AR-K.
Chapter 4 has yet to be published, but I would expect a climax ending where Alicia finally reveals the truth to the world despite mass media manipulation by key members of the ruling class.
Game review
The story itself is great! I think the summary I wrote above pretty much shows how it is neatly broken down and is building up some momentum. This is, for me, the most important part of a game.
I think what I liked the most about the game storytelling mechanics was the cutscenes. The game stands apart from many point-and-click titles that i've played by using cutscenes whenever something important happens rather than relying solely on textual dialogue. We get a much better feeling of our characters that way.
Across the chapters, I also found that the game has evolved in terms of user friendliness. For example, in Chapter 2, a fast travel terminal system was added as well as a narrator designed to help the player by providing some clues. In Chapter 3, the inventory system has been reworked, dialogues can be skipped, a fast-travel map system has been added and the narrator has been replaced with a PDA. I think those were great improvements that were much needed. Chapter 3 has the best game design in my opinion.
Also in terms of design, I don't think I could have done Chapter 1 & 2 without using a walkthrough. I highly recommend playing those with a walkthrough. Chapter 3 was a lot easier to follow in my opinion. I still used a walkthrough but I didn't read it as much. I had fun walking on my own and trying the puzzles without peeking at the solution. My favourite part was the murder mystery we need to solve in order to get the trust of a District 8 policeman.
All in all, I think this was a great game and recommend it to everyone :)
I bought these 2 chapters on sale. It was less than a dollar so I can't complain that I got what I paid for for chapter one at least.
Chapter 1 feels like it was a broken game. The How To menu was kinda broken and there also this fetch quest that initially asks for 4 items but when you ask the npc again, he ony describes 3 to you so I forgot completely about the fourth. Also, some items have descriptions, some items just have names, and some don't have any at all other than an image in your inventory.
Chapter 2 starts out with an introduction of a new character that directly says its function to clear up the confusion of the first. This chapter breaks a lot of the fourth wall and I guess that's appealing, but I would much rather they go back and fix what was wrong with the previous chapter rather than make this one about mocking their old mistakes. Chapter 2 wasn't bad. It functions the way a point-and-click should with concistent interface and the right amount of hints.
The only reason why I don't recommend this is because chapter 1 was bad. I see other reviews comment on the story, but I say the story is okay. If you don't mind struggling through a bad beginning to get to good part, be my guest.
Игра весьма спорная, со странным юмором и специфической графикой. Но если вы собираетесь пройти третий эпизод - AR-K: The Great Escape (а я рекомендую его пройти), то первые два эпизода, cобранные в этой игре, вам тоже придётся осилить =)
This modern take on classic point-and-click adventure, developed by Spanish studio Gato Salvaje, is able to make you spend some quite entertaining hours.
The story is a fundemental thing for any good adventure game. The one you find unfolding as you play AR-K may not be the most original or complex, but definitely an interesting one. It also has a nice little touch of humour to it that, while will not make you roll on the floor laughing, still will give you some smiles.
Another important ingredient is memorable characters. While the main character seems more like a typical adventure protagonist, there are still some characters worthy of attention, like her manic depressive roommate, nasty alien ticket vendor or a politician that only uses streamlined phrases.
The music and the voice-over are nice, but nothing special. Still, the actors do their jobs well.
The only real downside is the interface that is not very comfortable and gets some getting used to. I highly reccommend you to choose "How to Play" in the menu before starting the game.
All in all, AR-K is a very nice game. Though, nowadays the point-and-click adventure lovers suffer not from the scarceness of good games, it still deserves its place in your collection.
I can't ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ start the game after I go talk to the professor I have try everything and I am not able to continue and when you block at the beginning of a game this is because this game is bad as phuck and that it.
I don't really know how to explain how I feel about this game. Though straight from the beginning it isn't being much of a fun ride but I do plan to finish it since I sadly spent money on this thing.
I'll probably amend this later with better written out information but I just had to make sure I remember how much I disliked this game over all.
The characters are not fun, the hero is terrible, disgusting, abusive, but let's forget that. The main thing that bothered me was voice acting, character design [how does the hero even work? She doesn't even stand like a human], and the terrible programming of the game itself.
I don't know if I am the only one with the issues but the game itself has a lot of glitches I experience. The tutorial little help section didn't even load. It doesn't actually tell you how to work things otherwise. The character will walk in cycles for some time before they actually transition to the next screen. I don't even remember what I was having issues with yesterday.
Terrible puzzle "logic" coupled with a horribad UI, and then throw a dash of typos into buggy subtitles... The colors are colorful, at least. If you like female protagonists who are so "sassy" as to almost be mean, you'll probably enjoy this -- but only if you play it with a walkthrough because of the terrible "logic" employed by the creators of the game. I would recommend ONLY buying this when it's on sale, and even then only if it's 75% off, or more.
(note: I only got it because I had a bunch of money in my steam account from selling trading cards, and I like point-and-click style games, and it was heavily discounted on sale.)
Oyunu önermekle önermemek arasında kalmış durumdayım. Ama gerçekçi olmam gerekirse oyun bir çok adventure oyununa göre kötü durumda. Oyun içerisinde 2 bölüm var ve 3. bölüm ayrı olarak satılıyor. 1. bölümde neredeyse hiç puzzle yok ve genel konu ana karakteri tanımak gibi birşey. 1.bölümü bitirip 2. bölüme geçtiğinizde ise neredeyse herşey puzzle ve puzzle'ların bazılarını tam çözümüne bakmazsınız 3439042 tane kombinasyonu var rakamlardan oluşan bu da çok sinirinizi bozabiliyor. 3. bölümü oynamadığım için birşey diyemeyeciğim. İlk 2 bölümde sanırım tek güzel şey seslendirmeler.
AR-K Episode 1 & 2 sind eine Zumutung für jeden Fan von Point & Click Adventures.
Der Steuerung fehlen alle Annehmlichkeiten: Doppelklick zum schnellen Ortswechsel, Ausblenden inaktiver Gesprächsoptionen oder auch das Hervorheben von Personen und Gegenständen mit denen man interagieren kann.
Dazu sind die meisten Rätsel sinnlos und nur durch rumprobieren zu lösen. Eigentlich sind es nicht mal Rätsel, da man selten weiß, was man als nächstes machen soll oder erreichen will.
Die Grafik ist nicht schlecht, aber von gut weit entfernt ^^
Sound, Sprachausgabe und Handlung sind ok, aber mehr als 1€ sind Geldverschwendung.
Ich habe es zum grossen Teil mit Komplettlösung gespielt, da mir meine Zeit für sinnloses Rumprobieren zu Schade ist.
Игра прикольная, интересная, но в ней дохренища багов! Меня спасла торрент версия (кстати круто отличается от того, что тут визуально, но не прохождением и без багов )
Девушка тут далеко не такая милая, как кажется на первый взгляд хддд. Играем за Алису бывшую ученицу полицейской академии, которая нашла как-то раз у ся в шкавчике непонятную золотую сферу. Не успела она и опомнится, как ее схватил омон хд и начали допрашивать, что и как она ее достала. Никто ей не поверил, ее вышвырнули из академии, но благодаря папе ее взяли в академию журналистики и там она пытается доказать свою невиновность..Собственно так и начинаются наши приключения хддд . Кому интересно бери по скидке или качай с торрента хд
-1 балл за баги, которые не дают пройти игру и получить ачивки (такие вещи надо проверять)
8 сфер из 10 :3
There's a character in AR-K who force-feeds her roommate vomit, sics her large dog on the same depressed roomie while he's perched on a second story window so that he falls, sleeps with a guy in order to ransack his apartment and kill his pets, and tricks her friend into getting arrested. The villain, you say? Actually, no. It's the protagonist.
Another reviewer described the main character, Alicia Von Volish, as unrelatable, but for me it's worse than that. She is manipulative, narcissistic, destructive, petty, condescending, smug, crass, and cruel. The protagonist is a monster.
AR-K is an enjoyable game for fans of Point & Click Adventures. This is a decent effort for an indie developer with a limited budget. While you may encounter the occasional glitch, there is nothing insurmountable. There is some nice humor and the amount of mayhem that can be caused through simple actions is amusing. I'm looking forward to future games from this developer.
This game, or at least episodes I and II, suffer(s) from nonsensical puzzles -- e.g. stealing large letters which the narrator explicitly admits, in the dialogue, is not motivated -- and from things that have to happen in order with no link between them -- e.g. using a magnet on a table must happen after picking up a crowbar, but with no logic to dictate why this should be so. The dialogue needs to be tightened up and things need to be described as e.g. "stuck fast" if you can later pick them up, because currently it's not at all clear what is a useable object and what is window dressing.
I'd like to recommend this game -- it's nice visually, the characters are fun -- but I can't. I'm sure the next game this studio makes will be great.
The worst experience in a point-and-click game I've had. The humour is cheap and manufactured, and things are either predictable or don't make any sense.
★☆☆☆☆
AR-K es una aventura gráfica clásica en tercera persona estilo point & click.
Pros:
- Buena historia.
- Diálogos divertidos y personajes carismáticos.
Contras:
- Controles lentos.
- Corta duración. Sólo dos capítulos, el tercero se vende por separado, y los demás también lo harán.
- Algunos fallos gráficos y sonoros, leves pero existentes.
Conclusión: AR-K es una buena aventura gráfica que gustará a los amantes del género. La historia, ambientación y el carísma de sus personajes os harán pasar un buen rato el tiempo que os dure.
Puntuación: 6/10
This game contains both parts 1 and 2 of the series. Being the first two installments, they establish the setting and characters, though the game mechanics are not polished. You will find the puzzles troublesome more on account of the user interface being clumsy and non-intuitive, and this is in addition to the puzzles being somewhat obscure (i.e., just keep rubbing items together until something works).
There is also a Q/A issue with respect to translation. For example, (in English) after some styrofoam cups call to the ground, they are identified as "glasses," which was confusing in context. Poorly translated words just adds unnecessary difficulty.
In part 2, there was additional problem with not being provided information or tooltips for inventory items, which again made things unnecessarily difficult.
Part 3 is a more satisfying, polished experience, in terms of plot structure, character motivations, puzzle logic, artwork, and user interface. If you want to skip parts 1 and 2, then all you need to understand for part 3 is the following:
-- SPOILERS --
[spoiler]The lead character (Alicia) was framed for having stolen a golden sphere, about the size of a softball. The sphere is a piece of high technology that can hold an electric charge. The origins of the sphere are unknown, though more is revealed in part 3.
Alicia has a love interest (Blaine) that works for a corporation that has an interest in the golden sphere.
Blaine has an ex-love interest whom also works for the corporation.
Alicia has a friend, Franky, who is essentially an alien minotaur. Though Franky was a minor supporting character in parts 1 and 2, he takes on a more important role in part 3.[/spoiler]
Every game has it's flaws; well, most of them do anyway. This game definitely isn't an exception. The big one is this: some of these puzzles are just not at all intuitive; and if you absolutely refuse to use any guide then you might end up walking away from the game in frustration. I'd definitely wish the game was a little better about the puzzles' being intuitive.
In episode 1, it's that clues are really vague and don't really tell you what you need to know... In episode two, some of the puzzle solutions are even less intuitive, but the developer thought it could solve that by adding a narrator. You can ask the narrator to comment on quests or items, but in some cases he'll have nothing to say and in others it kind of remains vague. What's worse though; "asking the narrator" takes you out of the flow of the game, it's not fun and it's the wrong solution for the problem of the first episode.
So, that's the big problem with this game... But despite that I still recommend it. Why? Well, the game has a ton of "charm". I really like the visual style, the voice actors/actresses are good, the game has a really good sense of humor, the characters are fun and all different, it has funny references and the short videos are well placed, humorous and don't take too long.
Heck, you know what? In a lot of aspects, this game reminds me of Day of the Tentacle. If you're not familiar with that game, it's one of the best classic games in this genre. The fact that this game (AR-K) reminds me of DOTT I think is indicative of the great atmosphere this game creates with it's scenes and characters.
I might not recommend this game if it were an expensive game; but let's be honest. The game is cheap enough that, even if you don't like it, it doesn't hurt the wallet too much. Personally though? I really enjoyed / enjoy this game (am currently playing through episode 3).
This honestly was a nice little game. It forces you to use your brain not only to figure out how to solve a puzzle but also kinda think about what you may have to do later on to go further on. I am not gonna lie, some of the puzzles and questioning that you do to some of the characters can be dificult at some times. Missing one little clue or not seeing one little thing can mean you being stuck for hours :P (im joking about that) You can get stuck on what to do and sometimes the hint isnt always there so it makes it that much more challenging for a point and click.
I would indeed reccomend this game again if you are a great thinker and like to investigate or use your mind a lot more than youd think for a normal game. Another thing that made it interesting was the dialogue. It has its funny parts and can definitely make things seem a lot more fun in the game.
This honestly was a nice little game. It forces you to use your brain not only to figure out how to solve a puzzle but also kinda think about what you may have to do later on to go further on. I am not gonna lie, some of the puzzles and questioning that you do to some of the characters can be dificult at some times. Missing one little clue or not seeing one little thing can mean you being stuck for hours :P (im joking about that) You can get stuck on what to do and sometimes the hint isnt always there so it makes it that much more challenging for a point and click.
I would indeed reccomend this game again if you are a great thinker and like to investigate or use your mind a lot more than youd think for a normal game. Another thing that made it interesting was the dialogue. It has its funny parts and can definitely make things seem a lot more fun in the game.
Over all I'd gave this game an 8 out of 10.
Over all I'd gave this game an 8 out of 10.
He jugado bastantes juegos del género de aventura gráfica aunque no me considero un experto puedo decir que ar-k me a resultado una experiencia que he disfrutado bastante, historia original, música increíble, personajes divertidos, diálogos increíbles y con bastante humor además la protagonista me ha resultado muy carismática y bastante simpática, lo recomiendo para todos los amantes del point and click que quieran probar algo nuevo y fresco.
Bought it on a sale. Wasn't worth it. Game gives no sense of direction & the UI is glitchy. You can't cancel actions or skip conversations that you've already seen. The only good thing about the game is the voice acting. Everything else is abysmal. I can't even progress through the game because it gives you no sense of direction of what you're supposed to do at all.
All I know is I gotta wake up some dude in a bar but the bartender says to bring him 3 things that he vaguely describes in a way that makes no sense so he can make something to wake him up.
The game's world is so small you'd think it'd be easy to find these things but nope. There's pretty much nothing except a vending machine & I thought that was it but nope. I bought all 3 drinks, none of which did anything. I mixed 2 of them together, still nope. Tried buying the drinks again, but couldn't. A purse with a brick? Well, you can't wake someone up with that. Then my game froze after picking up the brick. So I restarted the game & went back to the bar. Then I had the bartender make me 2 nasty looking burgers & tried to give them to random people. Nope.
After wandering back & forth for a half hour trying to find something I missed I realized what a complete waste of money this game was even on a sale & uninstalled. I might come back & play this game again at a later date but right now it's just not worth the headaches.
Enjoyable point and click adventure game full of humor.
Similar to the old Monkey Island games.
I really enjoyed playing the game and can't wait for the next episodes,
Audio and visuals fit together very well and has a good storyline.
Excellent game and well worth the Crowdfunding and Steam Greenlight to get it going.
Pra quem gosta de point´n click esse jogo e recomendado.
Você joga como uma ex-cadete da policia, agora se formando em jornalismo pois foi expulsa da policia por falsa acusação de ter roubado uma misteriosa esfera dourada, mas acaba encontrando a esfera novamente...
Com graficos legais e uma jogabilidade ok, o jogo possui bons dialogos (a voz da sua personagem e da tali zorah de mass effect) e algumas partes engraçadas, o produtor do jogo e amigavel e voce pode adiciona-lo na steam se achar bugs...
enfim, recomendo =)
I actually played this for quite some time, even though Steam apparently stopped counting after 0.4 hours. As much as I wanted to like this game and get into the comedy side of it, I just couldn't. I came into the game expecting a point-and-click adventure like my childhood game Grim Fandago, maybe I was aiming too high. I didn't really find much of the witty comments or any of the jokes that funny, I actually only remember giggling once in the game. Obviously this is a personal opinion of the game, some people will like it, some will not. Cannot recommend a game that relies on comedy, but is not funny.
I didn´t think ARK could be interesting from my game playing genre but i have to say
its really brilliant making your children laugh and get fun.
it has a good aestethic perfomance and decent bso.
Very intuitive controls and a good polish history
Good to buy if you have a 90% discount on it like me,otherwise you should wait to buy it on sales
I like the resurgence of quest genre, and the game is one of.
The game is quit simple. I mean, there are only simple activities which can be solved via mouse-brute-force. Likewise, the content is not so big, maybe 10-20% of one Space Quest V, and without little puzzles. Developers go on with the content (here are only 2 episodes, and they're going to add 2 more).
The story is intrigued (I like it). The ambience and style definetely is for teenagers, and style is quite strict and you can feel the uniquness of the game and joy.
I'm looking forward to the next two episodes. I hope that they will be enriched.
If you remember good old quests, you should like it.
Слабенькая, коротенькая адвенчурка.
+ Играть легко, для тех у кого нет проблем с инглишем
+ Карточки
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- Поддержка только 2х языков
- короткая и не слишком замысловатая история, не затягивает совершенно
- для этой игры дорого
Брать только для прокачки значка под скидку в 90%
5 AR-Kов из 10
After I saw the intro video I was sold, I got the game and really wanted to experience the story.
This is just another of these, "move the mouse until the cursor changes" and "try each object with each object" adventures.
The story is told in a wonderful way, the protagonist is funny and kind of cool but the puzzles are not really straight forward.
The voice info about hotspots is not smart, when you get the 20 seconds joke about some hotspot, do something and click the hotspot again because you hope you changed the behavior, then you get the 20 seconds joke again. And again.
You can interrupt these infos with escape, but it is not funny to always have one finger on the escape key.
This should be a story where sometimes there are puzzles because of the story.
This IS a series of puzzles and the story is there "too", they are not really integrated, at least it feels that way to me.
- interesting story start
- some cool dialogs
- some puzzles
- lots of running and trying
- hoping for more story
- still running and trying to solve the puzzles
- exiting the game because there was 10 minutes story in 1 1/2 hours of gameplay
sorry, I say: only buy if you really like these search the pixel adventures
(this is kind of not fair from me, it is NOT pixel searching, the hotspots are large, I am just very angry because I WANTED the story)
There are two types of games I really hate to review: criminally mediocre games that you can't really say anything interesting about and games like AR-K, a game that has a lot of heart, but is like a busload of burning orphans careening off a cliff; a terribly executed, tragic waste of potential.
[b] Update [/b]
Within the day, I was contacted by one of the developers to tell me that they read my review and are working hard to make sure the next episodes live up to expectations. That's great to hear! By actually talking with me about my criticisms it reflects very well on AR-K's team and gives me even more reason to hope that it might come together and I can recommend it to everyone. The review remains the same for now, but those interested in the community behind a work in progress may find that here.
[b] Back to the review [/b]
How shall I start to explain the trouble that is AR-K? I know. Look around your computer and try and find a belt or length of rope. Just trust me. I'm going somewhere with this. Got it? Okay, now fold it in half, grab it firmly by each end and pull it taut. Now rapidly move your fists inward and outward. The flapping movement you are seeing is quite similar to how the main character's mouth moves in the first episode of AR-K; outside of cutscenes, anyway.
You might think this is a minor gripe and adventure gamers have always had a knack for looking past poor and peculiar graphics. And you'd be totally right. But I'm only pointing out one teaspoon in an ocean of technical issues and bad presentation. The volume of the spoken dialogue hasn't been normalized, there are a couple of misread lines, the subtitles have been poorly edited, you can't save on your own initiative or have multiple game files, the voices of characters are prone to change once or twice (probably artifacts from old voice actors), there's been some weird scaling when characters interact with each other, it took me about fifteen minutes to figure out how to get items from the inventory screen to interact with objects in the world, and the English localization has a few wrinkles. That isn't even an exhaustive list.
Alright, alright. So that's all really quite terrible, but like I've said, we're fans of point and click adventure games. We can forgive any kind of presentation in the name of good puzzles and and a good story. Let's start with the puzzles then. So, you've got an object on a high shelf that you want to get, a length of rope, and a large-breed dog. What do you do? Obviously, as an adult of average physical ability and a functioning brain, you ignore the rope and dog and climb the shelves, get a nearby box to stand on, or you just wedge your arm behind it and push it over. But you're playing an adventure game so you're probably already conditioned to ignore logical brevity and will do exactly what the game expects you to do: combining rope A with dog B. That's a puzzle in this game I found intuitive and logical and solved within seconds of its presentation. So, dear god, what kind of anti-backwards madness-dimension logic must be employed for me to call this game a completely illogical mess that demands a walkthrough?
Well, let's examine one puzzle from episode one that I like in theory, but was so horribly implemented it was unsolvable. In AR-K, you play an investigative journalist and there was a puzzle based around you asking other characters about a policeman so that you could create some sincere-sounding flattery to get him to help you. That's a totally awesome thing for a game about an investigative jounalist! However, the hints you actually get don't correlate to the actual dialogue options you're presented with during the flattery, at best. At worst, they're totally misleading. For example, you're meant to get his first name from a bulletin board where various people have left posts. Now, the names on the board include three of the four choices you have in the dialogue and absolutely none of the bulletins suggest character traits specific to an officer or to anything else you've learned about him. In fact, the closest logical leap I could find is that one of them mentioned a feature of the specific area he was patrolling, so I assumed that must be the one. Nope. So to solve the puzzle you have to choose one of four dialogue options correctly four times. The game will not tell you which you have gotten correctly and none of your hints are better than my example. Oh, yeah, and in episode one you can't cut off dialogue you've already heard (at least I couldn't find a way).
That's exceptionally awful. And it's doubly bad, because that's such a neat idea poorly done. But it's not the worst. Actually, episode one wasn't too bad. There was one other highly questionable moment that I only solved by clicking everything I had on everything else for long enough to get a result, but only that dialogue puzzle sent me to a walkthrough. Episode two, though.... Did I somehow kill your family without knowing it, episode two? Is that why you tortured me so? The first half was perfectly logical (well, dog-rope-shelf logical), but then there's a bit with a rat, and a trap, and you have to shoot it, and you have to... and you have to *rocking back and forth while crying*. And then you're taking exams for some reason!? WTF!?
Okay, so the puzzles are half okay and half unsolvable moon logic. That does not a good adventure game make. But, hey, we've still got the story, right? It's a noir thriller, with the cartoony charm of Sam & Max, and it's set in space - the best setting! There's no way this could be bad, right? Well, hmm. It's okay. Episode one starts off with a good noir hook involving a mysterious MacGuffin and ends with the uncovery of a sinister plot, a betrayal, and ominous forshadowing. I even like the simple touch that we're playing a female investigator under the influence of a "homme-fatale" in a typically masculine genre. However, episode one is just a lot of screwing around on a college campus with very little movement in the story. It also doesn't help that the main character is kind of rough around the edges and performs some unlikable deeds. And it's not so gut-bustingly funny that you can forgive the character's misanthropy like with your Sam & Max. That said, episode two fixes all of those problems. The plot thickens and things happen. The protagonist actually appologizes for, say, maiming her mostly helpful roommate. And, most importantly, a disembodied narrator is introduced that only the protagonist can hear. There's some wonderfully funny lines between them and the narrator is able to voice our concerns with the protagonist's actions and manners.
The narrator is also supposedly there to give you hints, but these are as helpful as the aforementioned clues with the policeman puzzle.
So we've got a badly designed, technically messy game with a story that's all over the place. No, I can't recommend this game. I really wanted to. If you had told me last week that I'd be playing a noir-themed adventure game in the style of Lucasarts or Telltale set in freaking space, I'd have said, "Yes! All of this! Melt it down and inject it right into my eyeballs!" I want AR-K to be the video game equivalent of the underdog kids in an 80s sports movie, where after a synth music montage with a robot, the devs crank out an adventure game that beats down the big bully Triple A teams that give adventure games wedgies.
Maybe it still can be that. There are still two episodes that haven't been released and episode two was mostly an improvement over episode one. In recent history, Tales of Monkey Island went from a mediocre first half to an adventure worthy of its pedigree. I'll keep an eye on AR-K's upcoming episodes and maybe I'll have the good fortune to erase my work here and tell you how badly you need to play this game. For now, though, I wouldn't.
Suelo ser benévolo con los juegos hechos en España, sobre todo si tienen poco presupuesto, pero estaría faltando a la verdad recomendando este juego.
No quiero decir que no tenga virtudes y que haya gente a la que le pueda agradar. El trailer no engañaba respecto a sus gráficos y animaciones, a pesar de intentar disimularlo, dando a entender sus recursos humildes. Por eso mismo sólo le pedía al juego unos buenos puzzles, buen diseño y un guión decente con un buen sentido del humor, es decir, la parte más creativa, la que no depende entéramente del dinero, pero ni eso.
Hay unos cuantos puzzles bien hechos, pero la gran mayoría están pobremente diseñados, su resolución es demasiado aleatoria, carecen de la más mínima lógica, no están nada bien expresados, como sobreentendiendo cosas que obviamente el jugador ni sabe ni puede saber.
La trama no está bien medida ni bien estructurada. No se puede empezar una aventura con un prólogo tan nefasto con una atropellada cinemática como guinda. La premisa inicial no genera ningún tipo de aliciente para que te quieras interesar por la historia salvo la esperanza de ver tetas. Lo haces por pura inercia, porque te has comprado el juego. De la misma manera hay cinemáticas que no dejan claro tu siguiente objetivo o que son innecesarias. Hay problemas con la sensación de continuidad.
Hay fallos garrafales, que denotan descuidos graves, como erratas, faltas de ortografía, o incoherencias en cinemáticas.
El proyecto en sí está pensado sobre la marcha. No conozco el kickstarter y no sé cómo estaba planeado, pero una cosa es una saga y otra un juego episódico. Si hubiese estado bien planeado no haría falta cambiar interfaces, algunas mecánicas, etc. de un episodio a otro, aunque por otra parte se agradece la intención de mejora.
Como virtudes lo único que puedo remarcar es el doblaje, la banda sonora (que está bien cuando aparece), algunas líneas de diálogo/conversaciones están bastante inspiradas y se les coge cariño a los personajes.
Para terminar diré que una cosa es engrandecer y apoyar a la industria española del videojuego y otra cosa regalar. No estoy dispuesto a regalar nada como consumidor, sobre todo teniendo antecedentes de estudios españoles indies (o de poco presupuesto) como Pendulo Studios, Alcachofa Soft, etc, que han sacado grandes aventuras, en las que primaban, como en toda aventura gráfica que se precie, buena trama y buen diseño de puzzles y conversaciones, además de un apartado gráfico vistoso.
Although this game had potential with its storyline, the puzzles were illogical and too many glitches occurred. One scene i used an item and it completely disappeared and i was stuck in that scene. I even followed up with a walkthrough on youtube where it showed me i have done the correct step and a cutscene was suppos to occur. So all in all i just quit playing the game.
At the time of posting this, the game is pretty fail and its only at E2 of 4. Finding my character stuck in front of the graphics for amongst other things, Ambar and buildings, the dialogue and written script conflict a lot and such simple things as gorge and gored are somehow beyond the QA of the company, episode 2's pointless narrator addition basically leaves the woman looking like shes lost her mind and all he does is serve to slow the game down even more. The games window is somehow synced about 5% off the screen of a monitor in fullscreen leaving you with clicking around in the dark outside of the visable screen or sitting in an otherwise terrible windowed mode.
Voice acting itself is overall fairly mediocre with a lot of the people sounding disintrested in everything they say. The "use this with this" system is horrendus and finding the right part of an object the game wants you to click is increasingly problematic as the game goes on even area transisitoning gets fickle and that just involves clicking the sides of areas.
Dont set ya sights too high when going in to this and you might barely feel like you got your moneys worth, barely.
En el momento de este análisis existen los capítulos 1 y 2 y han realizado una actualización solucionando bugs importantes.
Me he terminado el primer capítulo y voy bastante avanzado del segundo.
AR-K empieza con una historia sencilla donde te presentan a los personajes pero rápidamente te pone en materia. La protagonista va cogiendo fuerza y sientes la necesidad de seguir jugando porque los puzles son divertidos, las conversaciones tienen mucho carisma y sobretodo porque la trama te tiene totalmente enganchado.
Se debe hacer una mención especial a las voces del juego que son espectaculares.
Si te gustan las aventuras gráficas vale la pena que le des una oportunidad a este juego.
I felt compelled to write a review about this game because I have such mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I think the story is wonderful--very unique and interesting with really good voice over work, especially for a kickstarter funded project. On the other hand, this game is so full of bugs that it is barely playable. I have just encountered a game-ruining bug in Chapter 2 that is going to require a complete restart. (Bugs are a really big problem because there is no way to save manually, the game just saves continuously so the only options are "start at the beginning" or "continue.") I just hope the developers will take the time to patch this game or find a way to remedy the bugs that ruin the plot because I think it has potential to be awesome. I'm going to give this a thumbs up because that's how hopeful I am. :)
It's a pity to see how a game with potential gets ruined by the story designer.
Pros:
- the game looks good, although there are a few peoblems with the animation
- it's got a decent length for the price
- potentially interesting story
Cons
- boring gameplay. Chapter 1 is really bad, Chapter 2 improves a little, but...
- absurd, annoying puzzles (ex: how you get the information for the chat sheet, the CINCO letters, the way you use the mouse to scare Nuno - there is no crack in that door!!!)
Actually, the story would be acceptable, but the puzzles take out all the fun. They generally feel artificial and do little to improve the gameplay.
Changing my review since the last update. The bugs that I had playing the game have been resolved and achievements seem to be working. The game is very pleasing to the eye, with well-rendered cartoon-like characters and an interesting world in which to explore. The voice acting is well-done, though there are a few instances where the subtitles don't match up, which is a little strange because they are mandatory. For future episodes, I would like to see the puzzles telegraphed a little better, since there were a few times where you had to take the try-everything-with-everything approach. The ending of ep. 2 sets up a nice cliffhanger, where you want to see where the story goes next. Props to the developers for taking the time to listen to players and doing everything they can to make them happy. Bring on Ch. 3!
PREVIOUS REVIEW: Until this game receives some MAJOR bug fixes, I cannot recommend it. It is probably somewhat telling that [b] 0% [/b] of ALL the people who have played this have gotten the "complete episode 1" AND "complete episode 2" achievements! I have run into multiple bugs in both episodes and so am unable to finish the game. The funny thing is, I played the first installment before it was on steam and did not have this happen. It's great to have Steam achievements and trading cards, but if you cannot play the damn game to completion, it means nothing! Don't even get me started on the screen resolution problem...
This game takes you back to the old Sierra Online games like the Leisure Suit Larry games. Sadly though, the game also has the graphical features of those (extremely) old Sierra Online games. This while the publisher had a kickstarter campaign to overhaul the graphics (think I don't wanna see how bad they were in the original 1st episode of the game :D).
When I look at the game itself it TRIES to be funny, but it feels extremely forced and therefor becomes ALL BUT funny :( This is a real let down, certainly when you look at the awesome and funny trailers for the game here on the store and the greenlight campaign.
Gameplay is also an issue. It's an adventure game with point & click features (it's not a hidden object game!), but most of the time you just move your mouse over the screen in the hope that the cursor changes form so you can do something. With that, the adventure is set in the distant future, but there's not even a journal in the game. You 'pick up' your quests, your objectives are told right away, but you don't have a notepad of any kind to look back what you have to do. This is the main feature that made me turn away from the game. I mean, I'm not playing a game like Morrowind (release around 2001) where you have to keep track of your objectives by physical pen & paper.
In short, this game is not worth the €10 asked for it. Better wait till it drops dramatically in price or is dumped in a bundle if you're REAL curious about it...
Me alegra que juegos de este tipo salgan a la luz en Steam, ya que se lo duro que es hacer un juego así.
Tiene algunos fallos, pero con un poco de paciencia y algo mas de trabajo creo que puede llegar a ser un juego bastante bueno, también agradecer que el equipo esta haciendo todo lo posible para solucionar los errores muy rápido.
As of writing this review, acts 1 and 2 are available.
AR-K is a point and click adventure game starring Alicia, a young journalism student living on a space station. She was barred from her dream career as a police officer after being framed for a crime that she barely even understands, and when she finally decides to move on with her life, the past rears its ugly head again. So she's on a mission to figure out what's going on, clear her name and hopefully pass a class taught by a professor who hates her. Just another day in the life of a college student.
This is very much a point-and-click in the classic style, with dialogue and inventory puzzles. There's no combat, and your character can't die.
I wouldn't call it a comedy game, but there are a lot of jokes here, and thankfully most of them hold up. Not a huge fan of the whole "Alicia hates the ex-girlfriend of a guy she doesn't even like that much with an unholy passion" angle, but otherwise I did find myself smiling a lot throughout. The addition of the fourth-wall-breaking narrator in the second act was a bit jarring at first, but I really enjoyed the interplay between the two as the game continued. Most of the characters are silly archetypes of the various characters you'd expect to see in a college-themed story, but with a bit of a sci-fi twist to them. The game is fully voiced and the voice acting ranges from "fine" to "excellent".
I've encountered a few bugs so far, but the developer has been excellent about working to address the problems that I've had so I expect that on that front the game will only improve.
El juego en si no está mal, pero tiene mucho fallos en la interfaz. A veces desaparece el puntero y no se puede hacer nada. Otras veces no aparece ni el menu de opciones y hay que salir cerrando el programa a lo bruto.
Lo bueno es que el equipo de desarrollo está muy pendiente y enseguida se ponen a solucionar y pulir los fallos. Asique perfecto!
*Update: I have just been able to finish chapter one, so I've decided to update my review*
Having just finished chapter 1, I can say I am pretty happy with this game. If you enjoy older style Point and Click adventure games then this is likely up your alley. It seems very much an homage to the Monkey Island games. I can't directly compare the two, but it has some puzzles very similar to some in those games and even a direct reference in the dialogue at one point. I will say that in comparing it to that, it is very much in the older style point and click games. If vague clues, and running around just trying to combine every item with every other item, or trying to interact every item with every interactable part of the world isn't your thing then you may not enjoy the game.
My only real compaints would be it's a tad short, but I've yet to play chapter 2 which is also included so we'll see what that adds to the playtime. As well as mentioned in my original review, that I would of prefered a way to skip through dialogue with the mouse, instead of having to use the escape key. As well as the dialgue ending up being a little hokey at times, with humor being slightly heavy handed. There are still some technical issues I'd run into, the occassional game freeze with certain interactions, the sound sometimes skips or repeats itself or animations could be a little funky but if none of that is deal breaking, i'd say the game is definately an enjoyable experience.
As a footnote, I'd like to say a thank you to dev team. One of them had been in contact with me the past couple of days, taking information from me and giving me updates on fixes they had been working on that pertained to my issues. He found the issue with my anti-virus and the games engine, that was causing all the crash issues I was having and got me a workaround so I was able to play. Any dev team willing to help out the playerbase like that deserves recognition.
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Keeping my original post here, though most technical issues are no longer appliciable. Ended up being an issue with my anti-virus and the Unity3D engine.
*Update: One of the devs has been in contact with me, taken information from me on my issues and said they will be working on trying to fix what they can as soon as possible.*
Wish I could recommend this game, but as it currently stands for myself I cant. When it actually works, its a pretty fun retro style point and click adventure. The story seems interesting, the graphic styling is pretty good. Solving things so far hasn't been too over the top as far as I've been able to play. The only real non technical complaints I'd have for the game is the inability to skip dialogue without having to use the escape key, I prefer to play these types of games with only the mouse, so it's a little bit of a pain. As well as the writing being a little hokey, tries a little too hard to inject humor and it falls flat at times.
But when it works is not very often, between the game straight up crashing or freezing during interactions. Or the inventory UI becoming totally uninteractable without having to quit out of the game and then restart it, trying to get anything done is super frustrating when almost the entirety of the game is randomly trying to interact objects with things in the environment and its a crap shoot on whether or not the game is going to just freeze or crash every time you do. If they can fix these glaring technical issues, and the game is actually playable I'd be willing to update my review.
