Reperfection – Volume One
is the first in a series of point and click adventures from indie
developer Tinnitus Games.
Ben Freeman's life is shattered
when his wife Sarah is tragically killed in a car crash. Faced with the
prospect of bringing up their young son Danny alone, the two attend
Sarah's funeral where Ben discovers that he is capable of altering his
personal history by time travel. But by ultimately saving Sarah's life,
Ben faces yet more tragedy. He must now attempt to negotiate his
new-found powers and destiny in such a way that his family – and others
– might make it through.
Twisting fate
Reperfection
carries an intriguing conception: that of the protagonist's ability to
time travel simply by looking into the eyes of the deceased; to visit
locations and situations from days before and to work out a way somehow
to save that life. Strands overlap. There are dreadful events and some
retrieval, all contained within the style framework of an Art Noir
graphic novel. The third-person gameplay is carried out between static
black and white panels, with the player moving from one panel to the
next as each is unlocked and the story progresses. I've played
adventures in the Noir style before, but nothing quite like this.
As might be expected, the story
is a dark and thoughtful brood, although there are moments of levity in
interaction with minor characters. The player will encounter a road
crash spectacle with mangled vehicles, and look upon dead bodies
(although there is nothing gory or macabre depicted here). One panel
depicts a torture chamber where Ben must rescue its distressed captive.
The scene carried a genuine tension and shifting outcomes. In rescuing
one character, another may perish, and so back again in time to another
area. It becomes necessary to replay certain scenes and perform
different actions. This is either a potential monotony given the
repeated dialogues and triggers, or an engaging repetition – for each
player's tolerance will vary. Character development is non-existent, for
we never really get to know much of Ben and his family, for all we have
is the Now and the need to fix things, fast.
There is appropriately subtle
background music throughout much of the game. Speech bubbles appear when
each character speaks, although there is no spoken dialogue. Language
can be occasionally fruity. Bubble text can be fast-clicked through. A
diary icon at the top left of the screen provides menu options. Saves
are unlimited, but it is not possible to load any individually, for the
game will always continue from where you left off. The game cursor will
turn red at any interactive spot, with the action chosen by holding down
the left mouse button and selecting the appropriate icon. Inventory
usage will also operate in this way. The P button will pause the game,
whereas M draws back the viewpoint to bring all game panels into view.
The puzzling in Reperfection
is delivered by way of inventory usage and scene interaction. There are
no standalone puzzles or mini-games.
I did encounter one technical
issue while playing. A remote control unit ceased operating and
necessitated my briefly leaving that particular area. The problem
cleared when I returned and tried again.
Playing time is somewhat short
at just two and a half hours.
A promising beginning to a new
series, regardless, with a genuinely unexpected conclusion and an
enjoyable time spent getting there. I shall look forward to further
instalments.
Grade: B
I played on:
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1
AMD A6-3650 APU @ 2.60GHz
4.00 GB of RAM
Radeon HD 6530D
Graphics
GameBoomers Review Guidelines
December 2012
design copyright©
2012
GameBoomers
Group
