GOG has just added “Heart of China” to their game catalog. This game has been on my radar for some time now, because I was quite impressed by its visual style.
Trouble is: it’s a typical Sierra game containing dead-ends and several ways to die, at least according to Wikipedia and this review, so it’s likely that I wouldn’t enjoy it very much.
Nonetheless, I might consider to buy it if some of you would say to me that the dead-ends and the ways to die are an acceptable quantity or unlikely to happen.
Has somebody played it? If so, how much would it be frustrating to a person who doesn’t like to be killed just for trying stuff and experimenting with the environment?
Dynamix was under Sierra but they made adventure games that are very different than regular Sierra adventures. Sierra was just the publisher. Willy Beamish (it was one of the few games I wrote a review in a video game mag), Rise of the Dragon and this game the 3 adventures I played from them. All 3 looked great but was hard to play and beat. Rise stands out if my memories do not fail me. It has been too long and I don’t remember specifics but it’s frustrating to play but still a good experience for adventure lovers.
I have re-read some reviews in German magazines and they state that the puzzles were very easy and that advanced adventure gamer (like us ) can solve each adventure within a few hours/at a weekend. Both games have action sequences, but you can skip them without any disadvantage.
I played it in the early 90s and found it pretty difficult and boring. Also, I can’t remember that there was any animation. Everything seemed so motionless. Monkey Island felt so much more modern to me!
I abandoned this game very early. Though, be aware of the fact that I was very young back then, hence this opinion doesn’t add up to this discussion. Maybe I would love this game nowadays. Who knows! However, I wasn’t the only one who found it boring. So, be warned!
I played both Dynamix games back in the day and enjoyed them (despite the occasional action arcade sequence). Although visually attractive, the thing that would date them for me now would be the lack of voice acting (just speech bubbles). You come to expect that these days.
If I recall correctly, Rise of the Dragon had something like a clock ticking in real time. You are not at the right place at the right time and you are in a dead end. Similar to Colonel’s Bequest.
apart from this, the two games look very appealing. (I like first person adventures, I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the camera position. It feels more like “I am there”.)
I really like that the actors won’t look like an “alien element”; they match perfectly the hand drawn backgrounds (at least in the screenshots shown above).
) can solve each adventure within a few hours/at a weekend. Both games have action sequences, but you can skip them without any disadvantage.
