Comer Review

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Comer

Review by Jen

In these dark ages of adventure gaming, a beacon did shine into my eyes and draw me forth into the Renaissance, in the form of this small game from a small company, Shine Studio. Shine Studio is basically a one-man operation located in Hong Kong. Kyle Choi, that one man, loved the game Myst and set about to find its equal. Despite the plethora of Myst clones, he could not find anything to compare in his estimation and so set forth to create his own game.  In so doing, the student surpassed his master. (I know how sappy this sounds, but I am always full of admiration for people who are talented in so many different areas: computers, graphics, music, writing …)

You start off on a high platform overlooking a group of buildings far below. Your first task is to find your way down from the platform and into the buildings, and after solving a couple of puzzles, you are able to view a diorama depicting a maiden being sacrificed to an angry being inside a volcano and being rescued by another being.  Hmm, you say, what does it all mean? You soon learn that you are the 28th “Comer” to these strange places, and some of the illustrious personages that have come before you are Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and Sinbad. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you much about the rest of the story without spoiling the game for you because half the fun of the game is watching the story unfold, or at least your own interpretation of it. The story is deeply philosophical, dealing with creation mythology and evolutionary theories, and throwing in a dose of science fiction for good measure. While it built slowly, it was immensely satisfying by the end.

The graphics are achingly beautiful. All of the buildings are a mix of traditional Chinese architecture and the modernist, Frank Lloyd Wright style, with an open, airy feel and blended into the landscapes. (One of the things I really enjoyed about Comer was this cross-cultural blend of influences.) The landscapes are varied and fanciful, from a dry, brown village, to a lush green pine forest, to a volcanic lake—all are lovely. And although there is not much animation in Comer, it being a slide-show style of game, what there is works very well. Even though the graphics are not the height of technology, they are captivating, elegant, and imaginative.  (I played Comer on my laptop, which has one of those active matrix LCD screens that lent the graphics a luminescent quality.  Makes me wish I could get one of those screens for my regular monitor.)

The music in Comer is among the best game music I’ve ever heard. It is a mix of European classical music from the Romantic era and original compositions, all arranged or written by Kyle Choi with a distinct Oriental flavor. Mostly it is small, light music to fit the small, light places, but occasionally it opens up into powerful crescendos at exactly the right times. (A separate CD can be purchased containing the Comer music.) The sound effects are also well-done. What little voice acting there was is pretty marginal and hard to hear over the ambient sounds, but since there were probably two minutes total of voice acting, it did not really detract from the game.

Gameplay is point-and-click. Just like Myst, there is no inventory, but there are a couple of spots where you hold something and your cursor changes to that item (think: pages) until you use it. There are few or no hotspots, but you usually get directional arrows indicating where you can look next, and sometimes the cursor changes to a hand if you can manipulate something. However, other times the cursor gives no indication that you can do anything, and so that is part of what you have to puzzle out. The puzzles are of two types: mechanical and what-the-hell-is-going-on-here, some easy, some hard. Comer comes on four CDs, and the game unfolds very linearly such that you only have to change CDs five times total in the game. There are a couple of instances where I had to trek back and forth multiple times over the same long path—move something, go back and look, go back and move it again, go back and look again, etc.—which I didn’t particularly care for.  Comer is easier than Myst, and shorter—you will probably only get ten to fifteen hours of play out of it—but it is also more fun and prettier than Myst.

Shine Studio warns right on its web site that you will not like this game if you did not enjoy Myst, and I would say that probably is true. However, I did like Myst, and I really liked Comer. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Shine Studio Publisher: Shine Studio Release Date: July 1999

Available for: Windows

Four Fat Chicks Links

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Screenshots

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System Requirements

Windows 95/98 100 MHz Pentium or faster 16 MB RAM minimum 10 MB hard disk space 8x CD-ROM drive or faster 800×600 display, 24-bit True Color preferred 640×480 display, 16-bit High Color acceptable Windows-compatible sound device

Where to Find It

Playing Games 24.95Prices/links current as of 11/10/02Links provided for informational purposes only.  FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies).

      Copyright © Electric Eye Productions.  All rights reserved.  No reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission.

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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