DeVuego

WANTED: A Wild Western Adventure is a good solid adventure game, just make sure you get the patch for those horrid clipping errors I mentioned earlier.

Ohne Frage - The Westerner ist das derzeit beste Adventure auf dem Markt. Witzige Animationen, eine große Prise Humor und knackige Rätsel lassen euch die Stunden vor dem PC vergessen. Wer dem Genre nicht abgeneigt ist, sollte The Westerner nicht verpassen!

Tout est réuni pour combler le fan d'aventure et lui faire vivre une grande épopée au coeur du Far West. Sans toucher aux bases même du point & click mais en revoyant toute la partie graphique pour lui faire gagner une dimension, The Westerner ouvrira sans nul doute la voie à de nombreux autres titres que l'on espère aussi bons que celui-ci.

The Westerner hält die Fahne der Adventures siegessicher in den Wind, und beweist überdeutlich, dass sich »3D« und »Maussteuerung« nicht ausschließen – der Dank der Oldschool-Adventure-Garde dürfte den Entwicklern sicher sein.

Ein Spiel zum Totlachen: Die Humor-Mixtur aus herrlich überzeichneten Film-Parodien, stimmiger Musik und dem geschickten Spiel mit Wildwestklischees hat mir ein langes Wochenende mit Zwerchfellschmerzen beschert. Etwas unglücklich machen mich nur zwei Dinge. Zum einen die Kameraführung: Steht man zum Beispiel schräg neben einer geöffneten Schranktür und wählt dann „Betrachten“, so starrt Fenny einfach gegen die Tür, statt automatisch direkt vor den Schrank zu laufen und von dort aus zu schauen. Zum anderen vermisse ich bei der Story die Originalität - zwar wird die Geschichte um ein paar Farmer, die sich gegen den garstigen Erzschurken auflehnen, mit einer netten Lovestory garniert, insgesamt bleibt sie aber zu durchschaubar. Nichtsdestotrotz: Wer Runaway oder Die Flucht von Monkey Island mochte, kommt an The Westerner nicht vorbei.

I grew up with Sierra and Lucas 3D adventures, and in a day where adventure games have become synonymous with the point-and-click slideshow style made famous in Myst it was refreshing to “come home” to a true 3D adventure that mixes entertaining characters, charming dialogue, a great story, and old-fashioned adventure gameplay. Kudos to Revistronic for keeping the genre alive and a big thanks to The Adventure Company for bringing this game to America where we can all have a taste of the Old West.

In a few words… If you miss playing an adventure that makes you laugh out loud and that gives you the feeling that you are starring in a comedy movie, then make sure to not miss out on Wanted: A Wild Western Adventure. I have not played The Moment of Silence yet, so I cannot say with all certainty that The Westerner is the best adventure this year, but it is definitely the best comedy adventure I have played since The Curse of Monkey Island. Adorable characters, luscious graphics with fluid animations, a 3D interface that lets you enjoy the game while you lie back on your couch instead of fighting with the keyboard and a witty scenario with a great ending will make you remember this game long after you finish it. It is not perfect but it is damn right close to it. Revistronic and The Adventure Company deserve congratulations for delivering such a great title to the adventure fans.

Overall, Wanted is a fairly polished and comical game. It’s too bad It didn’t emulate Toy Story a little more though, and provide a better plot arid stellar acting.

The Westerner ist ein gelungenes Point&Klick-Adventure welches durch seine 3D-Umgebung nichts vom ursprünglichen Charme des Genres eingebüsst hat. Die gebotene Story wird schön erzählt und spart nicht mit Seitenhieben auf unsere Zeit und aktuelle Ereignisse. Die Rätsel sind sehr logisch und lassen sich ohne viel Herumprobieren lösen, besonders wenn man viel und oft mit den anderen Personen spricht, was man schon wegen der hervorragenden deutschen Synchronisation nicht unterlassen sollte. Einzig an der Kameraführung kann man etwas mäkeln sowie dem Unwillen Fenimore´s manche Aktionen auszuführen. Ob einem das "Mohrrüben-Feature" gefällt hängt wohl stark vom eigenen Geschmack ab, schließlich soll es ja Leute geben die auf ihrem Computer gerne mal etwas anpflanzen.Damit können wir resümieren, dass eigentlich kein ambitionierter Adventure-Spieler auf The Westerner verzichten kann, wo sich Crimson Cow nicht lumpen lies und auch den Vorgänger 3 Skulls of the Toltecs mit in die Packung legte.

In other words, Revistronic missed all sorts of opportunities for humor in the game, and so Wanted ends up being pleasant and occasionally funny, but it’s hardly a knee-slapper. That description isn’t exactly a death sentence for a game, but when you combine it with the easy puzzles, a certain lack of polish, and several minor issues (like Revistronic’s decision to force you to feed Fillmore’s horse over and over again throughout the game), Wanted misses the mark just enough that it’s a little iffy for me to recommend.

He aquí el ejemplo más claro de lo mala que puede hacer la presión de una distribuidora por tener sus juegos a puntito. Quizá este es el caso que más nos toca de cerca a los aventureros, pero esta práctica es por desgracia muy habitual, como el reciente caso de la mala calidad de los juegos para Wii distribuidos por Ubisoft. Si hubiéramos podido disfrutar de este juego sin contar un solo bug, las opiniones acerca del mismo serían muchísimo más favorables, ubicando a "The Westerner" en una de las aventuras con mejor humor de los últimos tiempos.

Wanted is an odd game: In many ways it's geared toward kids, yet it can require the patience or intellect of an adult. It's hurt by many sloppy or ill-conceived gameplay mechanics, some major bugs (save often near the end), and a lame finale, with the two main characters almost randomly babbling on about an irrelevant issue. On the bright side, Wanted sports a lighthearted presentation that offers a welcome change from all the dark, gritty games out there. It also features puzzles that should appeal to both nostalgic old-school adventure fans and genre neophytes. Wanted is subtitled "A Wild Western Adventure," and while it's hardly wild, it does have its share of fun moments.

It’s very hard to call Wanted a failure, because it’s truly not. The wit is recognizable and even humorous, but you won’t find yourself laughing or terribly engaged. The scenery is distinguishable and easy on the eyes, if a little wobbly (I deemed the inertial movements of the human characters “breast physics” as I watched their heads wobble while they spoke). Puzzles are laid out in simple forms, but the bag of crap you tote around as a player couldn’t be hauled around by a fleet of Pony Express couriers. There are a few timely moments here that inspire the sort of entertainment video games are supposed to elicit, but the long periods of bromidic plodding are the problematic spurs that leave Wanted wanting.

I really think this could have been a title to be talking about--a great adventure game. The story was really well done and they had some obvious talent behind the game. However, the oversights involved in not allowing cut-scenes and dialogues to be skipped and allowing many bugs to slip through take this game down a few notches. At the end, all I can talk about with this title is what could have been. It could have been a contender.

The graphics, characters, cinematics and other high points are unfortunately pulled down by an over-reliance on busy work gameplay and a shortage of fun challenges. The end result is a great game that might have been.

Better options might be to stick with other, more notable WiiWare point-and-clicks like The Tales of Monkey Island or Strong Bad series, or, if you really wanted to walk a mile in Fenimore's boots, just order a copy of the 2004 PC version of this game. It was budget-priced back when it launched six years ago, and now just a quick consult of your favorite search engine will let you find it new for around two dollars – a fifth of the price you'd pay here on Wii.

Wanted had a lot going for it, including a lot of very clever puzzles, many of which that can be solved in a non-linear fashion, a coherent storyline, and nice graphics. Unfortunately, desktop crashes, the need for money and carrots, some annoying sound effects, and a few frustrating puzzles mar what could have been one of the better adventure games to come out in years.

Wanted is far from a complete failure -- as mentioned earlier, some of the visual humor is well-done, although it's hard to spot between all the head-scratching dialogue and comatose voice acting. If this adventure came out ten or twelve years ago, it'd be the sort you'd play because you have nothing better to do before the next Sierra title. Nowadays, however, the only reason you'd buy Wanted is in a (possibly misguided) attempt to support The Adventure Company with your game-buying dollars. Which is fine, of course, but if any TAC game is skippable, this is definitely the one.

Being six years old may be this cowboy's biggest crime, and the bevy of “Adventure Awards” that the debut WiiWare trailer shoots across the screen are obviously outdated. The cheesy music, dull story and lacklustre graphics complete an uninspired package that is guaranteed not to win any in its second time around. To ask 1000 Points for a port this lazy is surely a stretch, and fans of adventure games can find plenty of better choices on WiiWare.