Gamer Grrlz

At Long “Last”, Screen Shots Of The Last Crown Emerge

Oh, I’m so spoiled! Today we have a treat in the form of long awaited screen shots from The Last Crown - Haunting Of Hallowed Isle!

Created by one of my favorite game makers, Jonathan Boakes of Darkling Room, The Last Crown: HoHI is sequel to The Lost Crown, a ghost hunting adventure that was one of my highlights 2010 (check out 45 min. of footage on my YouTube page, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2). If you enjoy horror, this man’s work is one to keep an eye on, as his projects only get better as time goes on. Playing Darkfall: The Journal, followed by the stunner that was Darkfall: Lost Souls (first 70 min. footage Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, and the best Pt. 5), is an experience I think no gamer should miss. As I told Mr. Boakes, it’s interesting that my career is built on my skill at reporting games industry news, especially Nintendo, but my interest in indie point and click horror games has gotten me a bigger following than anything else I’ve ever written about. That really started once I began hearing things about Boakes’ work. Darkfall: Lost Souls continues to have a strong effect on me, even in memory. The contrast between the Dowerton of The Journal and Lost Souls is so stark and striking that I’ve yet to find a horror experience since to match it. I spend most of my days playing, watching, or reading horror in some form, and despite the dilution of the genre by my repeated overexposure, Lost Souls continues to have an effect on me, many months later. In many ways it helped to reignite an interest in horror as a whole, which has enabled me to transition from technical to creative writing, a switch that I’d yet to be inspired to make. That he has accomplished so much without the support of a big publisher is also very encouraging—as such I’ve been brave enough to start work on my own project for iPhone and Droid, with the idea that maybe mobile phones are the next place for point and clicks to go.

In addition to these screen shots, I’m also happy to point out the little-known news that The Lost Crown is now actually a trilogy, with a third already in the works. At my persistent barrage of endless pestering (lol), Boakes also tells me that there will soon be a place holder on the official site for this new installment in what is now undoubtedly a series. More news on that shortly.

On to the snaps!

This shot of Saxton seems to show that The Last Crown- Haunting of Hallowed Isle will have a better camera angle on the ghostly port town than its predecessor. Boakes has gone and re-shot much of the town of Polperro in order to get the needed footage.

Nigel’s character model has much improved, and as a whole the graphics look softer and smoother, while retaining the original black and white photo aesthetic. I’m pleased to see an on-screen mini map. Boakes notes that given the game’s non linear and quest based structure, the map will now serve as a record of sorts, reminding you of what you’re doing and why. In the corner is the GhostGadget, combining the various paranormal activity gadgets from The Lost Crown into one for ease of use. It can also be customized and upgraded, with help from your old acquaintance Bob Tawney (more on that at Boakes’ blog).

“They’re not migrating. They are leaving. Forever.” Something’s got the birds all stirred up.

Good to see Lucy, even if she does look a bit different. I love her in the role of the skeptic. In The Last Crown: HoHI, Lucy unsurprisingly takes on the more detective side of the investigations, while Nigel taps into his psychic abilities.

This haunting screen shot is accompanied by the text:

Guardians can take many forms. They serve to protect that which is precious. As Halloween approaches, it is the crop of pumpkins that needs guarding. They will be needed to protect people’s homes, during Samhain, when dark forces descend upon the town. The scarecrow was created for this very task, oh so many years ago. The crows never linger when he is present. Is it the crude half formed face, or the ragged coat? Or, do the crows know something more, about the scarecrow, which we dare not?

The crows don’t seem to like this fellow.

Saxton was flooded with high tides when we first visited her, in the spring. It will be interesting to visit in the fall.

Dare I say it? I find Nigel kinda cute now, even when he’s peeping on Nanny Noah. Speaking of her, what’s she up to? While the matron-saint kept a watchful and concerned eye over Nigel in The Lost Crown, it was unknown exactly what, if any, her powers were. Now described as a “white witch”, Nigel and Lucy’s advisor in all things ghostly is pictured here leaving for a secret meeting before Samhain, details of which she refuses to share with her proteges.

Other entries on The Last Crown detail the game’s use of the supernatural concept of psychometry, and it’s definitely worth a read, giving some new insight into the dynamics between Lucy and Nigel as they continue their ghost hunting adventures together, all under the tutelage of Nanny Noah. Be sure to check it out!

Exploring The Lost Crown: A Ghost Hunting Adventure

The Lost Crown is another PC point and click from Jonathan Boakes, creator of my latest obsession, the Darkfall series. Set in the harbor town of Saxton, the story focuses on the exploits of Hadden Industries’ Nigel Danvers, who flees to the sleepy town after incurring the wrath of his employer.

Unlike the Darkfall series, the backgrounds and scenery are taken from actual photographs of real locations, including a famously photographed house known as Harbor Cottage. While in Saxton, you’ll not only encounter the local spirits haunting locations speckled throughout the town, but also investigate the presence of Harbor Cottage’s past owners, a Spanish couple from the 1950s.

Below are about the first forty five minutes or so.

On the left, a section of The Fens, the wetlands of Sedgemarsh that surround Saxton, bringing floods in the spring time. The high waters seclude the town and erode the cliffs, exposing artifacts and treasures with each tide in early May.

Nanny Noah, seen here on the Saxton Shore, acts as your advisor as the supernatural going-ons in Saxton continue to heighten, the high waters desecrating the resting spots of those who died violently or unnaturally.

The Harbor Cottage, a prominent feature of the town is your dilapidated home away from home, and it has more than a bit of ghostly baggage.

Left, a path above Saxton, right, the first time you see co-hort Lucy Reubens, as she tip toes through The Fens.

Left, one of my favorite locations, in the woods on Raven Lane. On the right is the train at the station, the indigo of a poisonous and invasive flower species shining brightly from a corner.

My favorite photo, a spooky one of the moon rising over the haunted train tracks as Nigel makes his way to the cemetery and church hidden in the woods.

I liked the game; it offered up some good scares and definitely delivered on the ghost hunting experience. The use of equipment was much better than that of the original Darkfall: The Journal (in which Nigel was a secondary character), and made the process of finding, recording, and photographing apparitions more of a thrill. I thought the story was mostly good as well, but I took issue with a few loose ends.

{SPOILERS} For instance, Nigel at first seems expected in Saxton, as the one who “might change everything”. Ultimately, he finds what everyone else is looking for, The Lost Crown. The townspeople hate him for this, having warned him of the dangers and suffered the consequences of Nigel’s refusal to listen. If he wasn’t supposed to find The Lost Crown, then why was he expected? Why did the townspeople know his name and want him there? Nanny Noah said “all would become clear” but it in fact never does.

The cats and Mr. Gruel was another issue. The town weirdo was ultimately responsible for the disappearance of the poor creatures, and seemed somehow connected to the menaces and guardians of the Crown, The Agers. Was he related? Would that be why he’d carry out some sort of rituals in their honor? Why eviscerate the cats? Is it simply madness passed on through the generations (as seen in the journals), brought on by psychosis? Is it symbolic of the Agers’ association with crows? I can’t figure that out. Nor can I figure out why they burned Mr. Gruel’s doll/”wife”, or if he was in fact the same Mr. Gruel from Edward Molina’s diaries from fifty year’s past (he certainly didn’t look that old).

And the inhabitants themselves. Are some of them dead? All of them? None of them? Clearly, the residents at the Ager resident have passed, but what about the others? At the end, when all of them are present while you restore the Crown to its rightful owner, are they there in spirit? Or ARE they spirits? Nanny Noah and Lucy seem real enough…

The vicar at the church said the Agers had no living relatives left, yet when he pointed to a picture of the Agers, he referred to them as his ancestors. What the? Does that mean….? And what of the oldest Ager brother, who obviously lived longer than any human being should? How does that even work? Clearly, the spooky part was supposed to be that he’d lived for so long, and obviously supernaturally so…but wouldn’t that make the Ager parents even more impressive? I’d love to see the Ager mother that gave birth in the mid 1800s AND 1900s.

{END SPOILERS}

It will be interested to see if some of the questions get cleared up in the sequel, due out this Easter.

Some complaints: the ending seemed rushed. After pouring so many hours into Saxton, it’s almost a cop-out. 20 hours deserves more than a 30 second ending. 20 hours deserves at least a follow up and one last good bye with the characters you spent so very much time with, not a hurried “Well we’re all done now, see you next game!”.

The voice acting: laughably bad. In fact, when I went and looked up the acclaimed JustAdventure.com review that Boakes linked heavily when promoting the game, I was embarrassed for them. They said the voice acting started out poor, but improved as the game went on. Untrue. The dialogue is halting and awkward throughout. Additionally, there’s no way to speed up or through dialogue trees with speaking characters, making any mistakes lengthy and interminable.

Nigel also walks unbearably slow. I understand the need to make the pace a bit slower in order to help the player absorb the scenery, but given how many times you have to return to each location during puzzle solving, I think it’s unnecessary. It makes the game twice as long and adds all new meaning to the phrase “painfully slow”. I’m mixed on the visuals, too. The concept of using photographs of real locations is appealing, but at times the combination of photo and rendered items and characters looks like a bad Photoshop job. There are times, however, it’s executed masterfully well.

The puzzles weren’t as convoluted and (at times) asinine as some of the more obscure ones in earlier Boakes titles, and I wasn’t nearly as exasperated as Darkfall: The Journal and Darkfall: Lost Souls made me. He’s getting better at this! I feel the clues as to your objectives could be a bit clearer though. Notes are written in your book daily, and change as the day progresses, but only offer a vague outline as to what Nigel needs to get done. It’s not perfect, but it sure beats the blind groping involved in aforementioned early Boakes games. I also feel that maybe I should have played this one before Darkfall: Lost Souls in that the sound in The Lost Crown shares many of the sound effects and music from Darkfall: The Journal and Darkfall: Lights Out. It was very disappointing after the award winning audio experience of Darkfall: Lost Souls.

I know with all these complaints, it may sound like I’m not recommending this game. I’m not. I mean, I am. I am recommending this game, because it’s $10, a fairly good title, and is sure to only get better now that Boakes has better resources (which he does). But prepare yourself for walking…and walking…and walking…some halting stutters, recycled audio, insufferably long dialogue trees, dead story ends, and…more walking. On the positive, you’ll get a good mystery, some well timed scares and disturbing imagery, and a beautiful and intriguing experience at a budget price.

Solid B+.