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Review

Jack Keane

Tuesday, 25 Mar 2008 10:01
Fingerless leather gloves were all the rage in the 19th century
First of all, I would like to congratulate the developers of Jack Keane for not resorting to the recent "innovation" of shoe-horning ridiculous logic puzzles into their game. Recent graphic adventures have been marred, plagued even, by the inclusion of these vile creations. Look, an ornate chest. Perhaps I need to find a key or something along those lines? Ah no, I have to solve a ridiculous logic puzzle that is so utterly atmosphere-shattering as to make the player gouge out his or her eyes in frustration. Why would anyone place a device they themselves might not be able to solve on something considered vital to them?

Anyway, enough of that little rant, I think. Ostensibly, Jack Keane is an old school adventure, full of random objects, kooky characters and situations which could easily be bypassed by conventional means but, in-game, require a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle. Veterans of the genre will know what they are getting and revel in that. I certainly did, despite a near game-breaking problem discussed later. The plot initially revolves around the evil Dr. T planning to monopolise the global tea market by breeding carnivorous plants that only eat his competitors' crops. Hardly classic, but it could have been worse, especially as things get better later on.

Some might argue the game is too easy. Certainly, I got a substantial way into the game on my first sitting, despite not being the sharpest tool in the box when it comes to adventure games. However, in today’s gaming environment, a high level of difficulty could potentially be detrimental to a game’s chances in the market. The last thing the developers would want is for less hardcore players to run into brick walls every five minutes. Jack Keane manages to achieve, at least for this grizzled campaigner, a good balance between challenge and accessibility.

The game world is vibrant, colourful and interesting. Graphically, the developers have infused character into the surroundings, giving locations a genuinely "fun" feel to them. A lush colour palette helps matters, with positive hues and tones giving the game a feel-good factor lacked by more recent titles.

After graphics comes sound, and after hearing the voices of Jack Keane’s characters most gamers will want to pour liquid nitrogen into their ears to dull the pain. The voice-acting is diabolical and, as mentioned above, almost game-breaking. The first scene involves Jack being beaten by two hired goons, demanding payment of an outstanding loan. Perhaps they were employing psychological torture with their ghastly accents, who knows?

Things don’t get much better as the game goes on. The British secret agent, Jack’s crew, a French shopkeeper, the evil scientist – all have some of the worst accents in gaming history. One might argue they were stylised, stereotypes done for comic effect. Regardless of motive, they are horrifyingly bad and enough to put a lot of players off in disgust.

The main protagonist’s voice isn’t so bad, although it does make it difficult to empathise with him in the same way one would have done with the ever-hapless Guybrush Threepwood. Also, I don’t know if I missed something but he claims to be from London, raised there since he was two years old. The strong American accent he sports throughout the game would tend to raise questions about this story.

On the whole, Jack Keane is a pleasant game to play. It won’t be breaking any new ground, but with the lack of old school adventure games around (that don’t feature execrable logic puzzles) it is a welcome addition to the current market. Light-hearted and not taking itself seriously, gamers could do worse than Jack Keane. If only the voice acting hadn’t been so abominable…

7/10

David Brown

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