Golden Gate Review

|Tap-Repeatedly|FFC Archives

            Golden Gate

Review by OrbFebruary 2002

Golden Gate is an old-fashioned, point-and-click, slide-show style adventure. But before you write it off as just another Myst clone, take a good look. Golden Gate is a very simple, albeit classy, game that has aged well, and it has a style that is not seen in other adventure games. For this fact alone, it’s worth playing.

Golden Gate contains the usual suspects as far as story goes. The player is on a lonely hunt to discover an ancient treasure that has been sequestered away somewhere in the city of San Francisco.  As the city is explored and searched, the player uncovers pieces of the story of a treasure that is keeping a demon beast from surfacing, as well as the people who have owned and interacted with the treasure and beast down through hundreds of years’ time.

As the game progresses and sections are solved, the player is treated to scenes from the stories of the lives the treasure has affected. All of these are done very competently, the acting is acceptable and not over- or underdone, and the stories themselves are entertaining. Because these clips are pretty brief, the remainder of these stories are meted out in a variety of found pages or books that turn up as the game progresses. Because of this, there is a bit of reading required during the game to fully understand all the aspects of the story.

But the great thing that sets Golden Gate apart is not the run-of-the-mill story. It is the fact that it is set in San Francisco. And this is not an idealized artist’s rendering of what the city might or should look like. Instead, the designers ingeniously took actual locations of the City by the Bay and layered beautiful watercolor paintings over the top of the photos. For anyone familiar with the city, the locations will be instantly identifiable, from the Peking Duck in a Chinatown shop window to the curves of Lombard Street. Those who are not acquainted with San Francisco will get a wonderful, picturesque view of it and a clear idea of the city’s rich culture. What the watercoloring adds is a dreamy otherworldliness that is at once striking and draws the player in.

The look of the game is not the only highlight, however. The game has some very well-planned design choices that actually make it timeless and fun. The cursor, in the shape of a hollow navigation symbol, reacts clearly to hot spots, shows possible directional movements, and changes to guide gameplay in a way all games should emulate.

The game also has a main map feature that allows the player quick access to previously visited locations and an unheard-of secondary map feature that allows the player to jump to a chosen location on Angel Island, which is a fairly expansive area in the game.  This keeps the story moving and the fun up and reduces the sensation of trudging back and forth in gameplay areas in a redundantly boring manner. The game is also wide open from the get-go, so virtually any area can be traveled to and examined. This of course means the game stays very entertaining, and it is impossible to get bogged down or stuck in any one particular location.

Puzzles in Golden Gate are challenging, but not overly so. One interesting aspect is that the designers decided to have the puzzles never reset. If you move out of a puzzle screen then return to it, you will find the puzzle as you left it. This actually serves to increase the difficulty level of the puzzles—and the enjoyment of them, really. There are some chestnuts here, such as magic square and sliders, but many also rely on gathered information, which makes note-taking a must. There is some inventory, but these items, for the most part, forward story progression and completion of the game rather than being parts of puzzles.

There are minimal ambient sounds, mostly things like creaking stairs or crying seagulls. It is actually a quiet, languid game, and this is really part of its charm. Music is pretty and unobtrusive, similar to the music in Pandora’s Box or the Kyrandia series, mostly lilting, sometimes quietly ominous.

As for the San Francisco depicted in Golden Gate, despite the fact that it has the real SF as a foundation, there are no people on the streets or in the park, and anyone that knows the city at all will find this a little unnatural. Another interesting thing is the choices made as to which locations were included.  Pacific Heights, the Cliff House and the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park are here, while North Beach, the De Young Museum and the Haight are not. The Old Mint is used, but not the Tenderloin.  Okay, expecting game designers to use the home of the porn-king Farrell brothers is probably way over the top, but you haven’t seen everything ’til you’ve walked through the flashing lights, bizarre street people and club hawkers down there. It’s a part of SF—just a little bit of the underbelly.

No, what the player gets is the nickel tour of what the uninitiated would like to see if they traveled the city, which is probably the best move the designers could have made.

As for drawbacks, the game is slowed down measurably by the fact that it is played directly from the disk, and each movement must be read from the disk. But then again, the whole game is built to have a serene, leisurely gameplay style, so this is not completely out of character.

Golden Gate is a solid, if simple, game that is mostly forgotten but certainly worth playing. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: IX Entertainment Publisher: Panasonic Interactive Media Release Date: 1997

Available for: Macintosh Windows

Four Fat Chicks Links

Player Feedback

Screenshots

Click to enlarge Click to enlargeClick to enlarge Click to enlargeClick to enlarge Click to enlargeClick to enlarge Click to enlargeClick to enlarge Click to enlargeClick to enlarge Click to enlargeClick to enlarge Click to enlarge

System Requirements

PC: 486/66 MHz or higher (Pentium recommended) 16 MB memory Windows 95 SVGA 2X or higher CD-ROM drive (4X recommended) Sound card

Mac: 68040/50 MHz or higher (Power PC recommended) 16 MB memory System 7.1 (OS 7.5 recommended) 256 or thousands of colors 2X ROM drive (4X recommended)

Where to Find It

Links 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.

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.