Thanks Ana,

In that case I might give it a go.

I just saw on adventureclassicgaming that they have just posted a review on Dracula 4. The writer pulled no punches on what he thought of the game and gave it a 2 out of 5. It was a good review and a fair one I thought. When GameBoomers release a review on Dracula 4,I would like to see the comparisons between them.

For those who wants to know what Callista was referring to, there is the link:

http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/reviews/806/

I have mixed feelings of the review. The review points to the same issues as other posters here about the short length of the game. But I am not sure if I care much that the story needs to be a direct continuation of the previous game. The last game came out a few years ago, so it may be a good idea to reboot the series to a new direction. I think this game was developed by a new developer not involved in the previous games. Thus, it makes sense that the developer would want to reboot the series with a new story.

I agree with Callista that the reviewer pulled no "punches" in his opinion.

Does rebooting mean leaving Dracula out? If this is going to be a vampire saga without the old man, they should leave him out of the title and stop misleading people, especially people who love the Dracula series and were looking forward to a new game about him.

To quote the reviewer: "Even after some substantive time of play, there is not a whimper of the word "Dracula" to be heard in the game. As an example, early on in the game, you find a bust of Vlad Tepes (Dracula) hidden by Professor Vambery in a secret vault. Yet, no observation is being made by any other character—not even Adam, despite being a descendant of Stoker—to ever suspect Dracula to be involved."

Gil.

It was never supposed to be a sequel to the others as I posted Here.

Interesting thoughts, Gil.

It may just be literary foreshadowing that his name is not explicitly mentioned early on. Thankfully, the review did not include any spoilers on how the game ends, so I don't know if the name Dracula will come up later in the game.

I suppose I'm just hot about the way 'Dracula' 4 turns out to be not only short but episodic when no mention was made of that, and so far seems to have little to do with him. Maybe they'll get to him next time...or the time after that.

It really irks me because I loved Resurrection, Sanctuary and Origin, the last markedly different from the first two but a great game on its own even if Dracula didn't appear very much in it and the story was truly a "rebooting". The threat of Dracula was there throughout the game and the protagonist was a well known character from the novel so I, at least, didn't feel cheated. Not to mention that the graphics were beautiful in all three, immeasurably better than what I see in the trailer for The Shadow of the Dragon.

What I've seen of this game and what I read in ACG's review is so disappointing. I really did want to like it and now I'm so glad I didn't have the wherewithal to get it hot off the press.

Arrgh.

Gil.

Money saved, Gil; money saved. Hopefully saved for what we were anticipating some day.

Indeed, Tomato Lady. I watched a ten minute gameplay video on some game site and I can tell you that the price of Dracula 4 could be "Free to a Good Home" and I'd pass.

Gil.

Don't forget that Dracula didn't make an appearance in Dracula 3 until almost the end of the game. And considering what happens at the end of Dracula 4, it's not certain that you haven't already seen Dracula in some form.

Hey, Jenny100,

You'll notice I left Dracula 3 out of my list of wonderful (to me) Dracula games. Dreary hardly describes it and I could honestly have done without the ugliest depiction of Dracula I've ever seen. Squat and brutish doesn't fit my image of Dracula.

That you 'may' have seen Dracula in some form in 4 cuts no ice with me. I want my Dracula out there with fangs ready to puncture my swanlike throat, not cleverly disguised as another character or a vase or whatever he 'might' be.

That was a good review, maybe a tad generous from what I've read and seen, but you did your darndest to be fair. Kudos.

Gil.

LOL. Not mine either. How could he expect to seduce anyone when he goes out to meet them looking like that?


We may see him that way in Dracula 5. Dracula 4 was just the first part of the game. Do you remember if we saw Dracula in the first part of either Dracula Resurrection or Dracula Last Sanctuary? It's been too long since I played them to remember. I vividly remember repeatedly drowning in sewage about halfway through Last Sanctuary, but I can't remember when I first saw Dracula in that game.

It's too bad Anuman/Microids didn't have the resources to make a single game instead of publishing what they had and promising the rest later. That worked out OK for Syberia, but Syberia 1 was much longer than Dracula 4.

"Do you remember if we saw Dracula in the first part of either Dracula Resurrection or Dracula Last Sanctuary?"

Oh, yes, we sure did. He was a constant presence in both, I seem to recall, though I think he showed up sooner in Sanctuary. Aside from the plastic hair, he looked great with a sort of frightening Christopher Lee suavity about him.

Dracula told his ratlike henchman something on a foggy London street early on in at least one of the games and then later, I know, he was talking to Renfield, the little guy in the asylum who liked to eat flies and wore the vampire glasses, before Jonathan got around to finding him. Anyway, Dracula was in and out of both games, even once as a robotic replica of himself.

Gil.

Definitely, what Gil said! The first thing you saw in Sanctuary was Drac and the henchman in the opening cutscene.

I'd forgotten all about that guy eating the flies. I don't remember the vampire glasses at all. I remember the terribly ugly inkeeper in Dracula Resurrection and investigating a snow-covered area at night. And I remember almost falling off my chair laughing when I got attacked by a giant bat early in Last Sanctuary. But I don't remember much about Dracula. Was he as wrinkly as on the box covers?

I like the Frogwares version best myself.

You needed the vampire glasses to do several of the puzzles and navigate the sewers.

Those giant bat thingies were too much, weren't they? Still, they had me for lunch more than once. And yes, Dracula looked exactly like the box cover, as if he still hadn't quite recovered from years in the crypt. Yeeks!

I really enjoyed Origin (Frogwares) but that Dracula was too pretty. There was nothing terrifying about him, no ominous uneasy feeling when he showed up that made you realize this guy was dangerous. So, Resurrection/Sanctuary's Drac is the one for me.

Gil.

Downloading now

Just an FYI: Dracula 4 is now available on GOG and if you purchase before Sunday you will get the trilogy free.

Ana

Good game but far too short

Have you played the previous games, mcc? If you have, how do you think this stacks up against them?

Gil.

Just a heads up for those who haven't played or for those that missed this. If you don't select " Prologue/Tutorial" at the start of the game (as I didn't) you will miss the first part of the game. I didn't realize this until today upon reading MaG's walkthrough to help a friend I noticed the whole first part was something I never played. If you select a new game and skip the Tutorial (I always do) you will be dropped into the game after the first part is over. Seems pretty silly to me for them not to alert the player that if they skip the Tutorial they will skip the first part. Added about a half hour more of game time to complete the first part for me but could take you longer depending on how long it takes you to figure out one of the puzzles.

Thanks for the reminder Greyfuss. Jenny100 posted it earlier in the thread also.

Ana

Sorry Sheriff

I didn't see that little tidbit from Miss Jenny

No problem, it's a good reminder and one that should have indeed been mentioned in the game.