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Here at Avid Gamer, we’ve always had a soft spot for adventure games, and there’s always been space for them in our hearts. This is mainly due to the fact that before the days of Counter Strike and Call of Duty 4, we would spend countless hours playing through adventure games, solving their puzzles and completing nonviolent quests. So when a copy of Agon landed on our desk, it was difficult to contain the excitement. To ground Agon in your minds, please be aware that this is the fourth game out of fourteen which will eventually make up the entire Agon story. Its predecessors have been well received, but the developers have made sure that you don’t need to have played the first three to understand what is going on, as well as knowing what to do. It’s arguable that it should be a game in its own right, and that the inclusion of the episodic format is just to stretch the game out more.
As soon as this game loads you can tell instantly, that despite the size of the developer studio, they’ve put a lot of time and effort into the game, making sure that everything looks and sounds the part. You can tell the level of commitment by simply glancing at the game, as the graphics may not slick as Crysis, but have been completed to a respectable standard. They’re good enough to immerse you into the game and help bring the story to life. Since our preview the look / performance hasn’t changed and is at the high standard that was set before. Character models are well rounded and the environments have a definite charm to them. It’s a good effort and nothing to be sniffed at. The map of the city is detailed and is used to navigate through the game. It slowly unlocks, stopping you from going too far ahead and therefore skipping important sections / clues. All the speech from characters is clear and crisp, with no muffling and a distinct lack of straining to hear what people are saying to you.  Controlling the game is pretty much like any other adventure game. Click and ye shall receive. A pad of paper is always handy to have next to you, because most puzzles will require you to remember things from an earlier date. The menu bar in the top right hand corner is the only form or HUD / Interface. The story is told from a first person perspective. The subsequent result is near total immersion. After the brief introduction (telling you what you character has already been up to) and what your overall aim is, the game leaves you up to your own devices. Gameplay boils down to dialogue, exploration and the puzzles. The puzzles in Agon are complex and you will be required to use your brain. There is an easy mode which gives you more clues and a bit more help, but this won’t help any newcomers to this genre. It’s easy to say that Agon should be left to the people who have been playing adventure games for a while. Using the mouse to look around lags sometimes causing annoyance, as we’ve found that some objects will not let you use or even look at them unless you are directly above them. Movements around rooms are easy enough as they simply require a point and click. Again, the system works brilliantly but your clicks can be delayed. The main grievances I have are the transition scenes between one area of the city to another. They seem fine the first time as they show you what your character is doing, through three or four comic book style scenes, but the frustration begins when you have to go and back and forth from one area to another to keep picking up objects to use. It is incredibly maddening but it is heightened by the fact that your inventory only allows you to have one type of object at a time.  The storytelling is great and there is lots and lots of dialogue to get through so to wean out what information is relevant. This is where the final nag of Agon comes into play. While you talk to a person, what they say is in a text box on the screen. This is fine but if you’re a fast reader, you’ll be constantly waiting for the next string as there still isn’t a skip (despite our complaints in our preview). It all comes down to your preferences. Agon is a solid adventure game but unfortunately has a few flaws which make the game hard to play, (think the Krypton Factor on crack) and what’s worse it’s delivered at a snail pace. We’re not asking for fast pace adventure games, but something that doesn’t make us moan every time we initiate a character in dialogue. Score: 6/10 (Agon is out on PC)
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