So, here I am, just finished playing Black Mirror 2 (a great game), and I find myself looking for the next adventure. I'd spotted 15 days for quite sometime, and I was waiting for the final release to play what seemed to be a very promising game. Well, the game is finished and I must admit it was (for me) a very disappointing experience.
- The strong point of the game is the story. In fact, the story is split into 2 different stories evolving at the same time, and are starting to connect together as the game progresses. On one hand, we have our 3 Robin Hood robbers who steel famous art pieces and offer their reward to charity. On the other hand, we have an American agent who is investigating the murder of England's Foreign Office Minister. These two stories will finally connect on a remote island in Africa, where everything will be revealed.
- Yes, the graphics were overall good. There is also a good amount of details in the environments of the game. It is obvious that the developers tried to present a game that would be pleasant to the eyes of the player. The game supports high display resolutions something that offers in some points the advantage of zooming with very good results.
- Yes, the sound is superb. Excellent music and sound effects add a positive tone to the atmosphere.
- The same goes for voice acting also, which was very good. The game does not fall into the trap of having over-dramatic dialogues (I personally hate that), and offers a good experience in that aspect.
-Yes, the end is satisfying, offering an overall tone of originality to the whole atmosphere.
So, what's wrong with this game, then? What's wrong, is that "15 days" is NOT an adventure game. An interactive story, YES. An adventure game, no way.
- The one-button point-and-click system the game uses is rather cumbersome, and in some cases confusing (to your nerves, not the plot of the game:-).
- The games has NO riddles!! Yes, there are some things need to be done, but guess what!! If you can't solve it, the game solves it for you!! A countdown starts, and then the solution is provided. This was extremely disappointing for me, as I was spending my time listening to the characters, and connecting dots that a 10-year old would do as easy as I did. The only elementary challenge I faced in this game was the part when you visit the catacombs in Paris. But even there, you have a map to show you where to go, a compass, and only a few tunnels to visit (they must be the smallest catacombs in the world!!). In another instance, the agent goes into his van and searches 3 leads on the internet. When he finishes he says something like "I should call these 2 people and visit this company". You expect to make these calls, visit the site mentioned, question people and make some conclusions. Alas, the good detective has already done it by himself, and he just announces to you his findings. You have just interrogated 2 murder suspects, and
you as a player have done nothing!! The game is full of this type of scenes, a very disappointing feature.
To summarize, the only thing I seemed to be doing in this game was finish some short chores with minimal use of inventory items, do some fetch quests, and just visit the right locations. That's all there is to it.
- The game could compensate for this lack of riddles by offering choices on game progression. This is exactly what "Heavy Rain" did, and avoided the trap "15 days" fell into. But, if you remove the riddles, and you don't give other choices to the player, there is not much left.
-The characters, although extremely interesting as people, seem to be trapped into lifeless ("wooden") models, something that leaves a taste of an incomplete job in this area of design.
-Finally, the bugs. I've been "kicked out" to my desktop 3 or 4 times, but since this is a new game and a patch will most probably come out, well... it didn't matter too much to me. Actually, there was a really funny part where I had to search some names in a particular order to avoid the crash.
In the end, everything positive this game has to offer, cannot make me forget it's biggest problem. That in essence, it's not a game. "15 days" offers minimal challenge to the player and it literally guides him/her to a very original, but linear story.
For those players who just want a good story to spend their time, and value script more than the challenge, this game is an excellent choice.
For all the others who seek a good challenge and an adequate level of difficulty, I would suggest you avoid this one.
That's it, thanks for reading this review, and I hope I didn't bore you too much