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Diamonds In The Rough The Story You play the role of a 20 year old American called Jason Hart. Jason is a high school dropout who works as an office boy. All that is about to change in the beginning of our story, when he is approached by a mysterious man who seems to know more about him than Jason does himself. The man claims to represent an organization that recruits people who are believed to have "special abilities". Those abilities could be telepathy, telekinesis, or other extraordinary powers. Jason has had such an ability all his life, fearing to admit it to himself, let alone others. He accepts the job offer for this organization, which is called Diamonds in the Rough . The story begins as soon as Jason moves to a town in the Midwest, where he will be employed doing this mysterious "work". He will soon start to wonder who he is really working for, and what the purpose of the organization is. Introduction: Diamonds in the Rough is the second game from Alkis Polyrakis. His first game was Other Worlds , a freeware game praised by many gamers. For those of you who have read some of the things posted around the internet about Diamonds in the Rough , you already know that the beginning of the game is the end of the game. You might ask what is the purpose of playing a game if you already know what the conclusion is. But be aware that surprises are still waiting for you. A bunch of misfits are recruited by the Diamonds in the Rough company. They all know they are part of a bigger plan, but don't really know what the plan is. They do as they are asked without any questions; after all the salary is more than generous. Soon Jason finds out this mysterious organization has some skeletons hidden in the closet. Clues are everywhere for someone who knows where to look. Why were they recruited? What is this secret organization? Is it a secret branch of the government or a private company? Why do some find it strange they are all kept together in a secret city without any contact with the outside world? Are they all connected somehow? Are they doing the right thing? Puzzles You won't find any puzzles that will give you a headache. Most puzzles are dialogue oriented, inventory based and a combination of thoughts in the thought panel. There is one exception. When you need to crack the password to enter two computers, those puzzles were quite challenging. Graphics and Gameplay Interesting facts about the game: Dialogue Diamonds in the Rough is a game where the dialogue is an important part of the story. Almost everything has something important to the game. Actors were chosen well and the voices fit each character well. There isn't much unneccessary dialogue or things to read. Even if the game is very mysterious, some humor is present, so don't hesitate to click on whatever you want to get a few funny replies. Bugs and/or patches I didn't encounter any bugs. There was a bit of pixel hunting, but not enough to drive me away from the game. Computer specifications Minimal requirements: My computer specifications Windows XP SP2 Closing statement I won't spoil the ending, but all I can say is that is was very surprising. Nothing in the game can predict the ending. A well driven story, a good mystery and enough clues will help you find out what you should do next. A good mix of dialogue, music, sounds and puzzles makes the game very interesting. This is the first commercial game from Atropos Studios and I'm sure the developer will hear and read all the feedback he finds on the internet to make his next game even better. |