The Daily Click

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Author:	Hill Gigas
Added:	28/02/2008
Overall:
Average:	7/10

So here is an interesting game called Ransom. I say it's interesting because it will be very difficult to review! The game is simplistic in many aspects, but other parts are extremely detailed and elaborate! This is a game overflowing with rich details. I played it for a quite a while and I still didn't see the whole city!

This game is presented very well. Characters are introduced: There is a good guy, a bad guy, and a girl in distress. What else do you need? There are small missions at the beginning to help you get the hang of playing, and other clever gimmicks (test driving cars) that help you get the feel for the game.

Gameplay is a bit... rubbery, but works well enough. The movements are default movements, so you may bounce around a bit, but it doesn't mess with gameplay too much. It's easy to get around the city, and there are a lot of good options for finding your way around the city. There is a GPS system, including a very handy arrow to always point you in the right direction! :) I encountered a few glitches early in the game, both involved the Car Rental store. First, I tried to test drive the green car but as soon as I got outside it became invisible for the duration of my drive. :P After that, I drove a black car and I could see it fine, but when I tried to leave the store later, it initiated a second (unwanted) test drive!

Graphics in this game are pretty simple, but there is just such a HUGE world to explore that it more than makes up for it. There are stores, restaurants, malls, car dealerships, parking lots, apartment complexes, and even cows in the field! This is a huge city! In fact, I kept thinking of the huge New York "level" from those Spiderman games. There is so much detail here that it's amazing. Well done!

Sounds and music could use some work. :P I don't think there is any music, at least I didn't hear any. Sound effects are here and there, I heard a lot of crickets in the city! For the most part this is a pretty silent experience, which isn't always a bad thing, but a bit more music may have helped.

Lastability has a lot of potential. There is simply a LOT of game here. There are many things designed in this game that I never even got to see! Maybe for the next game, there can be a few more indicators here and there on how to interact with the environment more. I read that there are many things to do, but as I walked through the city I didn't see ways to interact other than the goal of the mission. It may be fun to add extra "indicators" scattered around the city so players can have more freedom with what they do next.

This is a very well made game. It suffers only from the authors lack of experience with certain elements of game design, such as custom movements. But that just means that every game from this author will get better with each release as his skill in those areas develop. I think there is a huge amount of potential with this series, and I really hope that there will be a sequel. Good game. Excellent work.