Release Date: 03/11/2010
Played On: Win
Available On: Win
Time Played: 4h 15m
Progress: Completed
Developer: Centauri Production / First Reality
Publisher: Bohemia Interactive
Not going to lie, I 'm pretty happy to get back to a good old point-and-click adventure again. This is one of my favourite genres, as it has the potential to combine gameplay elements and story-telling in such a satisfying way. Besides, there's nothing that makes you feel smarter than finally hunting down the perfect pixel, or solving that maddening moon-logic puzzle once and for all.
Alternativa came out in 2010, which is unfortunately that era where things really didn't hold up in the long run. Much like its contemporaries, this is a game that has not withstood the test of time on a technical level, but it manages to bring in some interesting world building and plot substance that makes it worth a look. Just remember this is from the awkward 'teenage' era of 3D graphics when animations were a little stiff and everything took a lot longer than it ever needed to.
It's almost as if the animators and artists at the time were so amazed with the 3D technologies they had access to, that they forgot to keep things snappy and concise. This isn't the only game where the pauses between dialogue lines are a little too long, and animations are a bit more involved than they actually need to be. This is definitely one of those games where you need to remember that the tech was still new enough that everyone thought it would be okay to dwell on it a little too long. Of course, these days it just seems clunky and old because we've moved on in a big way, but such is the way for cutting edge graphics in so many cases.
My distaste for this era of 3D graphics is so palpable that I will always argue that an excellent 2D aesthetic will always be the better option. Advanced technology has only ever made improvements to 2D graphics, but there are too many awkward stages for 3D graphics that have been brought on by time, budgets, even accessibility. Apparently it's really easy to make 3D graphics look bad and dated, but so many 2D versions still hold up to this day.
That aside, Alternativa is nothing more than a victim of its time, which can easily be forgiven. Not enough to make it better than it actually is, but enough to forgive many criticisms that I would otherwise have of the game itself. Suffice to say that there are plenty of clunky interactions, fiddly explorations, and more than on time where I got stuck because I hadn't clicked on the exact pixel I needed in order the move on.
Oddly enough though, the puzzles in this game are actually quite reasonable. Some might even say that they're relatively easy, as there are only a few instances where moon logic even begins to be a reality. Instead, most of the answers are readily found where you would expect them to be, and some of the more creative solutions actually make enough sense to be able to figure out on your own. To that end this is actually a plus for Alternativa, as it doesn't get bogged down in bad puzzles and lets you get on with the story.
Our main character lives in the cyber future of 2045, where post-war life is controlled by an oppressive dictatorship. Robots are everywhere and act as the new security force in town, leaving no room for empathy or reasonable discourse. The world is cruel and dirty, while those in power live their bourgeoisie existence. It's a pretty standard futuristic sci-fi world, but it's realised excellently with the amount of detail that's been put into every little element.
Considering the entire game takes place on pre-rendered backgrounds, it's nice to see that a lot of effort has been made to really makes those backgrounds tell a story of their own. Each scene is a feast for the eyes and I found myself spending a bit of time just looking at what was going on in some of the larger areas. After all, this is the kind of sci-fi future I really get interested in, as it's the dystopian filth of what the other side of consumption and exploitation looks like.
The plot itself is actually a little forgettable and I don't remember all of it in detail, but it has something to do with the powers that be who are up to no good and the resistance who are trying to stop them. As the protagonist in the story, we quickly get caught up in a plot where secret agents and resistance fighters cross and double-cross us along the way. Ultimately though, we figure out what the big conspiracy involves and set about bringing it down. There's really not a lot to the story that actually interested me, but it was a fine enough vehicle to keep me moving from place to place.
Oh, and get ready to move from place to place! Alternativa has an insane amount of backtracking and revisiting the same areas, talking to the same NPCs, and basically extending the life of the game by all the travelling needed to get the job done. It's partly a limitation of the game's engine, seeing as each area is connected by a loading screen, rather than being seamlessly connected to each other.
Later on in the game I did get a little frustrated as i had to continuously backtrack from one place to the next. It got the point where I'd say something to someone, travel to another location, say something to someone else, travel back to the original location, say something else to the original person, then travel again... and so on. I would have preferred to have a few things to knock off at a time in each location, but for some reason the game has you jumping back and forth like a frog on a hot plate.
Don't get me wrong though, this is still a point-and-click I would recommend to fans of the genre. I just don't think that it would be all that appealing to anyone who's a bit on the fence about the whole thing. Having said that though, Alternativa is much better than some of its contemporaries, and it's managed to develop a reputation for being one to check out, so I suppose other people kind of agree that it's a worthwhile experience to have.
I just can't quite express enough how much this kind of point-and-click needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Maybe I'm being too harsh on the era, but whenever I've gone back to play these kind of games, I'm always surprised at how clunky they are to interact with. Like other point-and-clicks, you can double-click to perform an action faster, or to skip animations, which is always a relief. Except when the game decides that an animation is necessary and you have to sit through the slow movement and stilted dialogue. Some of the longer sections like this can be infuriating, especially when you're a fast reader like me and tend to read subtitles much faster than any lines are actually spoken.
Anyway, enough complaining about something that really can't be helped. After all, my frustrations with Alternativa are all stemmed from the era it was made in, which can't be helped. Much like architecture or design, there are just some eras that haven't aged very well at all and this is one of them.
What you do get from Alternativa is a wonderful science fiction world that has really been thought out and given a lot of detail. It's all the little things that I really dig about this kind of futuristic vision, as it combines old and new in such an interesting way. Most things are recognisable to us, but certain things have been changed or enhanced. The buildings might be old, but perhaps a door has been repaired, so it's mechanical and has a keypad and security camera. Perhaps a derelict storage room has a bunch of old robotics equipment and futuristic computer technology, but it's still arranged like an old messy warehouse.
These kind of details are what kept me interested in Alternativa, simply because I'm a fan of sci-fi worlds and how creative minds manage to construct believable fictions for us to explore. If you're the kind of person that always relishes a good science fiction world, then this is definitely worth a look.
It may not be the best point-and-click ever, which is as much a fault of its time as it is one of execution, but especially when positioned beside others of its type, Alternativa does a good job to deliver what it attempts to create. There are definitely games similar to this one that I would avoid at all costs, but thankfully, this isn't one of them. It's the kind of game that would have me welcome a remake, as it would be infinitely better served by modern approaches to 3D rendering and design.