Dust: A Tale of the Wired West Review

|Tap-Repeatedly|FFC Archives

           

Dust: A Tale of the Wired West

Review by Orb

Dang, Buck, Sometimes You’re Dumber Than a Knobby Headed Ox

Dust is one of the few of the adventure game genre that steps outside the usual formulas of mystery stories, ancient civilizations, et al., to do something better known to the likes of Hollywood: tell a good old-fashioned Western tale.

You are dropped into the edge of a small but densely populated western town, Diamondback, which is set in 1882 New Mexico. The game gives the player five days to discover and solve the mysteries found, including the secret behind a local silver mine and what some of the townsfolk are hiding. There are some lighthearted things built into the story—the name of the town saloon is the “Harddrive;” a family in town is named “Macintosh.”  Hillary Rodham (Clinton) is the doctor, and this is used for some partisan shots at her proposed health plan and opponents, which is the first time I’ve ever seen someone’s political stance built into an adventure game.

The graphics are dated but not entirely unpleasant. Rooms and street are nicely designed—they give a real air of an old western town with 3D rendering. The interface is an easy-to-use combination of keyboard to walk and mouse to take and use inventory items and move objects. The design was something fairly new for the time period in which the game was produced; it allows the characters to move freely throughout the town in real-time and to recall conversations and have later reactions based on these.  There are some nice, well-designed animations, including the intro sequence and pieces that show the passage of time.

The biggest problem I had with the graphics was repetitive talking heads. When a character is clicked on, the view moves in, and the player is treated to the head of a live actor and conversation strings to choose from. There are several problems with this.  Firstly, the sound does not even attempt to blindly match the mouths, and apparently the head jerking and rolling is not the designer’s attempt at a campy execution of an Exorcist remake—it’s actually supposed to convey the idea that real people are talking to you. Secondly, the acting, if it can be called that, is so odious that it looks as though Saturday Night Live is doing a skit skewering the subject of adventure games. The game docs boast a total of 35 talking characters, an absolute cornucopia of bad acting, and one gets the idea that “talking characters” was a “newfangled contraption” to these designers, just as “talking pictures” was to the makers of movies in the first portion of the 20th century, and in that grand tradition everyone was more interested in hearing the sound itself rather than concerning themselves with the quality of performance.

Puzzles in Dust are actually fun, mostly inventory-based, and are one of the highlights of the game. Unfortunately, they often must be used with the talking heads, and the only good thing about this is that in many instances, it shuts the actors up, a true boon to the sanity of the player. There are good clues given to game goals throughout. There is more than one spot in the game where you have a gunfight, and while these are not terribly undoable, there are no cheat codes for this part of the game, fella, so you just have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get tough.

One aspect of the game puzzles is that occasionally the player has to pay for things and will continually need more money to do so, and money is earned by gambling in the saloon. It fit into the motif of an old western town, but truthfully, I dislike gambling, so this soon became tiresome for me. Also, I don’t know if I’d be able to give this game to a kid in good conscience knowing he’d come out the other side understanding fully all the aspects of how to play poker, blackjack, or a slot machine, and it seems to me someone did not think things through very carefully here.  Some of the characters in the saloon are very obviously hookers, so this definitely sounds the death knell on this being a game for the family/children.

A plus on the design end of things is a built-in help area, designed seamlessly into the game as an old curiosity shop, run by a man called … “Help.” I’m assuming the name was chosen so that the player will not mistake the purpose of this game area.  Nevertheless, it is a well-designed aspect, only giving clues if the player has been stuck for a while, and clues are given in two different degrees: a hint or a blatant solve for the next action to be done. There is also a nicely designed built-in mapping feature.

The music fit the game well—it’s old-west style player piano music, a strumming guitar, harmonica music. The intro piece had the proper Gunsmoke affiliations, all of which worked fine in setting the tone. Sound is also well-designed and well-integrated, with noises getting louder as the source is approached. I’ve covered the actors above, but just let me add that the sound of their voices themselves I found for the most part to actually be grating on my nerves, and the idea that I had to have multiple conversations throughout the game with the same characters over and over in order to progress was almost more than I could bear.

I think it’s a pretty safe call to say this game is not going to make my top 10 list any time in this new century. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Cyberflix Publisher: GTE Entertainment Release Date: September 1995

Available for: Macintosh Windows

Four Fat Chicks Links

Player Feedback

Screenshots

Click to enlarge Click to enlargeClick to enlarge Click to enlarge

System Requirements

Mac: System 6.0.7 or greater 68030 or faster processor 8 MB RAM Color Mac Power Mac native 2X CD-ROM drive

PC: Win 3.1, 95 or NT 3.51 486 or faster 8 MB RAM 2X ROM drive or faster Super VGA with 256 colors 100% Windows compatible sound card

Where to Find It

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

Pages

Top

Category Archives

Top

Blog Posts

Top

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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.