Admit it, a good point-and-click adventure game is hard to come across these days. A decade ago, things were completely different because games like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Full Throttle were just two of the many adventure games that came out during the time and kept gamers entertained for hours upon hours with mind-numbing puzzles and entertaining plots. Of course, there are many who miss the golden days of the genre, but luckily it’s not dead, and fans are surely going to be pleased when they get their hands on The Moment of Silence. Developed by House of Tales, The Moment of Silence is without question one of the best adventure games to be released in recent years.
For those unfamiliar with the type of game, a traditional point-and-click adventure game is a dialogue-heavy title which emphasizes on plot and puzzles, and which restricts complete 3-dimensional movement, allowing characters to only move in "lines" from one point to another by clicking on various points on the game
"The Moment of Silence is without question one of the best adventure games to be released in recent years."
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screen. The types of puzzles run into in these types of games involve a great deal of thought and, at times, even note taking. It requires the careful analyzation of the game’s setting and picking up all objects that are available to players. These objects are often combined with other objects acquired in order to pass obstacles, or given to certain non-playable characters to trigger conversations and progress the game’s plot. An interesting way to think of a point and click adventure game is to imagine a Resident Evil game without any the action, just the puzzles (if you don’t know how Resident Evil plays either, then you’re one disadvantaged gamer).
The Moment of Silence, in all truth, doesn’t present players with anything new or innovative to the genre. However, this is not to say that it doesn’t use the staple gameplay elements to the best of its abilities. For instance, the game’s puzzles are extremely challenging. There will be many times when players will be running back and forth between locales, using newly obtained items on every person, in every seemingly applicable area until they find something or someone that works. However, these are just instances were trial and error can solve things. There will also be times when players will have to take note of their surroundings, paying careful attention to items on a counter, numbers on a wall, and things of the ilk, and even then things will not be that obvious. There are times when the answer to a certain puzzle is nowhere to be found. This, of course, can test one’s patience, since a number of hours will be spent trying to figure out solutions that seemingly do not exist, but they do, and with this said, The Moment of Silence will give even the most seasoned adventurer a challenge.
Unfortunately, there are a few things that can be complained about in the area of gameplay. You see, the game uses pre-rendered backgrounds. Everything you seen in the game, whether it’s in a wide shot or something from up close, is meant to be seen that way, and let me tell you that wide shots are used more often than they should. When trying to analyze your surroundings, these wide shots aren’t too helpful when in search of smaller objects that cannot be easily seen.
In addition to this perceptual problem, the game also has this minor controlling issue which becomes a nuisance in the latter parts of the adventure. In narrow corridors the game seems to get confused to what point the character should go. Instead of moving forwards, he may trail backwards. Instead of going to another room, he may walk through a wall and disappear, keeping the game on the same image, same room, when the character may just be somewhere else.
The length of The Moment of Silence is very satisfying for a game of its nature. While it’s a 15 hour or so adventure, it never gets to the point where things begin to feel dragged on for too long. The length of the game is just right for telling the game’s plot. Unfortunately, there’s not much of an incentive to go back and play the game after it’s been completed once through. However, things may change if players find the game’s plot compelling enough to experience multiple times, and there’s quite the possibility that they may just do that. Why? Well, the game’s plot is without question the game’s best trait.
If you’re a fan of science fiction, you’ll love The Moment of Silence. The game is set in the near future, 2044 if I’m not mistaken, and the world is literally controlled by computers. All forms of communication must be digital and monitored. All printed and hand written materials must be scanned and made available to everyone.
"If you’re a fan of science fiction, you’ll love The Moment of Silence."
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Privacy hardly exists and when attempting to hold onto such things as newspapers and journals, it’s considered breaking the law.
The game’s protagonist, Peter Wright, works for an advertising agency promoting the sharing of data, but he soon finds out that not everything is what it seems. Peter’s world has been turned upside by an unfortunate “terrorist” attack on an airplane coming from London to NYC, and then when things seemingly couldn’t get any worse, his apartment neighbor is mysteriously taken from his home. Wanting to help out the man’s family, Peter gets thrown into a huge mess that sends him chasing after alien conspiracy theories and questionable statements from old “crazy” men speaking of a corrupt government.
In order to keep things enjoyable for players, other details about the plot will be spared. Just let it be known that solving the mysteries of the game’s plot is what makes The Moment of Silence an incredibly satisfying experience. Also, the chances of technology taking over our lives like it does in the game’s setting, more than it does now, is very likely and this game presents us with
"...this game presents us with a “what if” scenario that is interesting and at the same time scary."
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a “what if” scenario that is interesting and at the same time scary.
As you can tell from the game’s plot, the atmosphere of the game is pretty grim. Of course, in order to depict this believably the game’s audio and visual components have to believable as well, and they are. The game’s pre-rendered backgrounds are beautifully drawn to give a lifelike look to every one of the game’s areas, whether it’s the streets of Brooklyn, NY, JFK airport, or a barren wasteland of snow in Alaska. Thankfully, these pre-rendered backgrounds aren’t static. They feature swaying trees and other similar movements that make everything seem believable. Couple that with decent character models and you have a video game that is pleasing to watch.
The game’s audio portion is even more impressive. As you can imagine, because the game is so dialogue heavy, The Moment of Silence features hours upon hours of dialogue, and with that said, the voice acting in the game is superb. The emotion is there, and that which I found entertaining in particular were the poetic shouts of a madman called the "Guru." The evil shriek of his voice is eerily disturbing, yet fun at the same time. Although, there’s one issue I would like to address, and that is the fact that, despite taking place in New York City, a handful of characters sound too British for their own good. For instance, a young boy named Tommy doesn’t sound anything like a normal child growing up in NYC would. Instead, he comes off as sounding like one of the freaky children featured in Pink Floyd’s "Another Brick in the Wall." Aside from voice acting, the game’s soundtrack is just excellently well done. It features this epic Splinter Cell-esque trait that fits perfectly with the game’s subject matter.
It’s because of its subject matter that The Moment of Silence is a must have for point-and-click adventure fans in search of a great plot and, along with it, entertaining gameplay. It’s rare to find a title where gameplay plays second fiddle to story, but The Moment of Silence is definitely an exception we can all make. However, it’s difficult to suggest this type of game to gamers who have yet to experience the genre, but if these gamers are willing to try new things, House of Tales’ The Moment of Silence would be a great place to start.
