![]() It will be up to someone else to save the genre of adventure gaming. Randy: Also, we were terribly disappointed that this was an adventure game that just doesn't work. The playback issues and weird responses from the robots constantly remind you that you are playing a computer game that just doesn't work quite right. And that's where Starship Titanic falls flat. Gary: Part of what makes an adventure game work is if it draws you in and immerses you in the experience. For example, I asked the liftbot, "What's up?" and he responded by saying that if I wanted to go up, I had to tell him which floor I wanted. Randy: Also, while the bots do recognize a lot of what you say to them, they often respond inappropriately. Forget about speech being synchronized, much less transitions working smoothly. Gary: The playback issues were so bad that they really took away from the gameplay. We can only guess that the movies were optimized for PC's and no effort whatsoever was taken to make sure that they played at all on a Mac. Randy: So, we found an external hard drive, and did a full install, which requires a stunning 1.3 gigs of hard drive space. The standard install requires a whopping 650 megs if hard drive space. Gary: I thought the problem was because I had used the standard install, which requires the CD-ROM's (even though I used a beige G3 with a 24X CD-ROM drive). Digital movies play incredibly bad, jerking and sputtering, even if the video is in a tiny window. The main problem is inexplicable playback problems. Randy: But, alas, the game doesn't live up to its expectations. Gary: There is even a speech recognition engine that was developed for the game that allows the player to talk to the bots by typing whatever they want. The comedy is sharp and we did laugh quite a few times. Randy: At every turn, you meet kooky robots that are on the fritz, and a nasty parrot (voiced by Monty Python's Terry Jones) that help or hinder you depending on their frame of mind. ![]() You have to wander around the ship, working your way from third class to first class in order to gain access to more areas of the ship. Gary: And that's where the trouble begins. You are "invited" to board the ship and "asked" to help figure out why the ship is malfunctioning. Randy: The game starts out as you, the player, are at home and a huge spacecraft, the Starship Titanic, crashes into your house. Of course, he would probably say that Monty Python has a Douglas Adamsesque sense of humor. Adams creating an adventure game, because we are huge fans of his Monty Pythonesque sense of humor. Gary: We were really excited about the prospect of Mr. ![]() Starship Titanic is a game developed by Douglas Adams, author of such hilarious books as "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and ? Gary: Man, aren't getting tired of this? We should talk about the game. Randy: Well, I could kick it to you and you could kick it back. ![]() Gary: Hey! That's my box! I didn't say you could kick it! Randy: Can I see the box for Starship Titanic? Gary: Exactly! Especially since we love adventure games and even developed our own adventure game, I was really counting on Starship Titanic to show the naysayers that adventure games are here to stay.Īlright, buddy, let's go to the game room and play for awhile. After all, since the last good adventure game was Riven, everyone has proclaimed adventure games a thing of the past. That game is supposed to revitalize the adventure game genre. Let's go play it for awhile, and I am sure that you will rethink your position. Gary: Yeah, I know and I played it last night. And besides, Starship Titanic is out for the Mac now. Gary: Well, first he claims to love Macintosh, and his game Starship Titanic came out for the PC first. I mean, what are the odds that the projector would break on opening night? After we stood online for two hours in the rain?īut that's not why I am kicking this box around. Randy: Hey, Gary, why are you kicking that box around the cave? Are you still mad about that Star Wars debacle? The Mac Observer: The Name Of The Game-Does Starship Titanic Sink or Swim?
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