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By oldmariner
Demetrios: The Big Cynical
Adventure
Requirements:
MINIMUM PC:
OS: XP,
7, 8.1, 10
Processor: 1.2 GHz Dual Core
Memory:
2 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics, Nvidia or ATI card with at least 256MB VRAM
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Hard
Drive: 600 MB available space
Sound
Card: DirextX Compatible Sound Card
MINIMUM Mac:
OS:
Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or later
Processor: 1.2 GHz Dual Core
Memory:
2 GB RAM
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics, Nvidia or ATI card with at least 256MB VRAM
Hard
Drive: 600 MB available space
Somewhere in my
first look at this game I wrote, “My First Look found the game to be
very well constructed, suggesting it may be worth the time to play.” I
must confess I found a brief sample of this game to hold promise for
what I believe is a first effort for an independent studio. What I saw
in the promotion file caught my attention. In that First Look I also
said the game reminded me of the first Broken Sword. In graduate school
they teach you to qualify everything. With that in mind a First Look
should be reserved when issuing praise because you never know.
A few days ago I received a full DRM free
version of Demetrios. I must say the subtitle, may I call it that, hits
it on the head. The Big Cynical Adventure is all of that. If cynical is
not your idea of the game’s humor then perhaps sarcastic, wry, or off
color could be your descriptor. Fabrice Breton from St. Etienne, France,
created this game in a one man shop demonstrating both his talent and
determination. The questions are, did the game live up to its promise?
And what is it all about?
Nuts and Bolts
There are a full range of
settings that include Display, Sound and Gameplay. I did not tweak them
as the defaults ran well in my Windows 7 64 bit machine. I encountered
no bugs or glitches everything ran smoothly. On the top left of the
screen you will see a small icon. Clicking on it brings up the menu
graphic page providing access to Options. To be brief you may set the
display for 1080p or 720p. Choose full screen or windowed view. My
review copy offered a choice of English, French, German, Spanish or
Italian as the displayed language. From this screen you can Resume,
Load, Save, alter Options and Exit the game. At the bottom of that
screen you can view Cookies, Game Overs, (How many times you died), your
Achievements to date and Extras. There appear to be unlimited saves and
they are found hiding in your system at Users/User name/ AppData/ Local/
Demetrios/ Saves.
It is doubtful the requirements will be a
challenge for most systems. They are listed above for Windows and Mac,
however the developer’s site claims the game is playable on Linux, I
could not find requirements noted anywhere for that OS. The game is
available from Steam or directly from Cowcat’s website where you can
purchase a DRM free version + a Steam key for the same price! For a
limited time they offer a disc version for those of you who miss
physical CD and DVD copies you once held in your hands.
Graphics & Audio
Background scenes are HD drawn stills in a
cartoonish style much in the form used in the first Broken Sword. Do not
let stills lull you to sleep because you might miss something. The
motionless backgrounds are a misnomer you will discover if you pay
attention. You will see things that are easy to miss. It is subtle and
artfully done, adding a nice touch to the game. If you narrow your view
to the actors, you could miss a ship sinking in a lake or a bird flying
by. The game is loaded with tiny tidbits you can miss if not paying
attention. This first person game may be off-putting for gamers who’ve
grown accustomed to professional voice acting upon discovering there is
no voicing at all. It is an expected component item you’ll notice at
once. Take heart your system is running just fine. The story is carried
by speech printed in bubbles with a close up portrait box of the speaker
on the screen. It is presented as Sierra had in Gabriel Knight: Sins of
the Fathers. Quality background music with ambient sounds are heard
throughout the game.
Navigating the Adventure
You play as Bjorn Thonen, an antique dealer
living in Paris, who wakes after getting hit in the head to discover he
was robbed during the night after coming home drunk. He receives no
sympathy from the local police who refuse to conduct an investigation.
It is not a high profile crime and according to the police, it’s too
unimportant for them to waste their time. Determined, Bjorn, who appears
to be a laid back underachiever that reached his limit, is spurred into
action. In spite of the fact he does not know what he is doing, he
recruits his friend Tom and a reluctant neighbor, Sandra to help. On the
trail of a criminal, a naïve hero steps forth to begin our adventure.
A touch I specifically enjoyed is the help
system for when you confront a puzzle which confuses you or you simply
don’t know what to do next. How do you get help? The answer is simple,
have Bjorn eat three cookies and he will come up with a solution. But
where do you get the cookies? Each screen has three cookies hidden
somewhere in the background. They are not always easy to find. It is
possible, if you apply due diligence, to amass a pile of cookies. Heaven
knows you may need them. The puzzles are primarily inventory based with
a few logic or thinking requirements thrown in for good measure. Your
inventory is located at the bottom of the screen, represented by a small
icon at the lower left edge.
Tapping the space bar locates interactive
items at each screen. Take your time checking everything. There is a use
for everything you can pick up. There are no shortages of items to
examine and plenty of locations to visit. Yes, most puzzles use
inventory items and logic, demonstrated at times by a need to say the
right thing to get a proper response, and taking actions to get people
to leave, allowing you to go through a door and the like. For you fans
of Nancy Drew the developer tossed in several mini games. You can go the
fair, or fishing and so on, in fact to advance in the game you are
required to do so. Instant death is also programmed in but you are
returned for another try at no cost. For the fun of it, try turning on
the water while sticking your finger into a wall outlet. There are lots
of ways to die, some funny, some not. Never fear, they all provide
instant return and free do overs.
I've already mentioned Sandra, Bjorn's
neighbor; well she has a daughter who is absolutely entertaining in this
game. If for instance she was your kid, you’d be tearing your hair out
trying to deal with the brat. This game does not miss a beat when
applying lighthearted humor. In a later chapter you switch characters to
play Sandra, but it is a brief occurrence. Caroline, the eight year old
street smart daughter of Sandra comes to Bjorn’s rescue in a humorous
scene. Yes, there is an ample supply of cutting edge smart remarks from
this quarter.
Just when you think you've resolved your quest
by catching the bad guy, Cowcat throws you a curveball. There is much
more to this adventure because you are now about at the halfway point. A
twist occurs, sending our hero and Sandra with her daughter to Africa.
There is far more to this story than we knew, including conspiracies,
aliens, and the survival of the world in the balance.
Summary
Demetrios is a pleasant surprise, as it’s far better
than I expected when reviewing a partial game for a first look. My
greatest concern was the lack of voice acting. I found shortly into the
story that it does not matter. Yes, you have to read, but the script is
entertaining and not demanding, like you’d find in a David Baldacci
novel. The story, written by the developer Fabrice Breton, is well
crafted. It does not have the depth or length of a Syberia or Longest
Journey but the game is of reasonable running time and longer than I
expected it to be. There are enough twists and turns to keep you
guessing. The puzzles are well done and varied. The help system alone,
with its creative cookie adaptation, makes this game worth a look. Mini
games often wear thin with me, but I found them well done and continued
on through twists and turns. By all means take a look at this game. I
found it far better than some games by big production houses .
GameBoomers Review Guidelines
June 2016
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GameBoomers
Group
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