Again

To say that Again: Eye of Providence is a unique game for is a bit of an understatement. I've never seen a game that has marketed itself as an interactive crime novel before, and the concept of seeing both the past and the present to solve a mystery is intriguing in its own right. Therefore, despite lackluster reviews from Gamespot and Gametrailers, and of course the funny QL (quick look) from the Giantbomb staff, I still was interested enough to try out the game once I could get my hands on a copy.  
 
I've recently purchased and finished "Again" in about 9 hours, using a guide 75% of the way through. I actually found the game to have some really strong points, but I could also see why gamers would be hesitant to pick the game up. This is a game that personifies the definition of a mixed bag, with each facet having good and bad points at equal measure. Unfortunately, for the overwhelming majority of gamers, the bad outweighs the good, resulting in a very clunky package only reserved for people who are willing to accept some key design flaws.  
 
"Again" is the story of Jonathan Weaver, the sole survivor of the unsolved Providence Murders (killing spree). Fast forward years later and Weaver, now a member of the FBI, reopens the case when a killing spree resembling the Providence Murders takes place. One advantage Weaver has is his ability to see the crime scene of the original crime 19 years ago, and with that gift he tries to piece together the puzzle to determine who Providence, the alleged perpetrator of both killing sprees, is. 
 
Now, the level of enjoyment from the story really depends on how familiar you are with the crime fiction genre. Many reviews have criticized the story for being overly cliched. I for one, however, have never cracked open a Sherlock Holmes novel, and rarely watched any crime-related TV shows. Therefore, my impressions on the story are actually very positive. I actually thought that Providence (when I figured out who the person is) is a very convincing villain, truly capable of killing while leaving no trace of his dirty work. The fact that the person is still running circles around the FBI for such a long time only enhances the person's reputation of being untouchable. The story also has some good twists from start to finish, and so the story is not as bad as the reviewers made it out to be, in my opinion. However, if you are aware of crime fiction conventions, you'll probably enjoy the plot less than I did. 
 
What hampers the good story are the characters. They are one dimensional, have insufficient character development. and so are not easy to be attached to. For example, Weaver is the obsessed-to-bring-the-villain-to-justice agent. His co-worker, Kate Hathaway, is the laid back counterpart. Lane Martinez is the policeman who (of course) is suspicious of FBI activity and the rest is history. Compounding this problem is the dialogue; characters do too much ham-fisted exposition and do little to emote, making them even more robotic (could I even say "non-human"?). However, despite these problems, I still think the plot and the concept is enough to outweigh the characters and dialogue, thus the story remains to be a strong point for the game.  
  
The playing, the execution of "Again" is where things fall flat because it is simply very tedious. Besides the fact that there is a lot of reading to be had (and I cannot overstate this enough, THERE IS A LOT OF READING), much of the game consists of pressing buttons to move around, talk to NPCs, ask them questions or present them items. The lack of good dialogue makes the process more unbearable. Sometimes, you need to go to one specific character without knowing who the character is, resulting in the tedious trial-and-error process of meeting up with every single NPC. Even the interface is a bit problematic; pressing the buttons to performs actions is delayed. In a world where smooth interface is possible, like those found on the iphones or ipads, the delayed reaction from the game's interface could be an irritating issue. In short, if you aren't a big fan of reading loads of text, the gameplay in "Again" could feel like a boring hassle. 
 
Thankfully, the few moments where Weaver investigates the crime scenes are noticeably better. In this part of the game, you move Weaver around the scene with the Directional buttons while controlling the camera with the stylus. While moving around, one screen shows the modern crime scene, while the other showing the same area 19 years ago. To progress through the story and see the murder with his vision, Weaver needs to make the two crime scenes similar (eg. opening the shower curtains in the modern crime scene to match the scene from the past". Contrary to what the Giantbomb QL of the game might imply, this part of the game isn't a brain-dead simple "find the differences between the two pictures" gig. In fact, the game throws numerous differences in each scene except for the first one and could be a challenge. And it is not as easy as pointing at everything; the game forces you to be picky, because making too many mistakes would spell Game Over. The game further complicates things by making some segments impossible to solve unless you leave the scene to interact with certain NPCs. Luckily, those types of interactions are more straightforward. The only problem that I could find with this part of the game is that the camera control is not as responsive as I have hoped; the camera simply doesn't move where the stylus goes; rather it gets dragged to where the stylus is pointing. Perhaps it is to make sure that the camera doesn't get out of control, but moving around with the stylus is nevertheless a bit cumbersome for my tastes. 
 
While "Again" is not a powerhouse in terms of its presentation, it more than compensates due to its graphics. The 2D graphics have a photo-filter effect that reflect on the detective theme, while the images there are sharp. The 3D graphics aren't that good, but still are drab and gloomy to echo the game's hard-boiled nature. The soundtrack is not too bad, but it suffers from a lack of variety. Pretty soon, the minimalist tracks would've worn out its welcome, which is a big shame.  
 
The bottom line is that Again: Eye of Providence lacks enjoyable gaming to justify its slow, deliberate pace. This alone would probably scare off most gamers. But if you think the plot is good enough to tolerate those gameplay flaws, I strongly recommend a rentral, since the game offers nothing outside of the 9 hours you'll get from finishing the story. It also helps to have a handy game guide if you want to enjoy the story without getting bogged down by the countless interactions with NPCs. 
 
Breakdown: 
 
Story: 3.5/ 5 
Strong plot is crippled by a sub-par cast and dialogue 
 
Gameplay: 2/5 
The few and far between investigation stages are the only saving graces in the gameplay; it makes you think a little.  
Same can't be said of the interrogation process performed on NPCs. 
 
Presentation: 3.5/5 
Solid-to-good graphics, but the soundtrack suffers from a lack of depth. 
 
Bonuses, Alternatives and Replay Value: 1.5/5 
Once the 9 hours is over, the game is done. Period. 
 
Overall: 10.5/20 (around 2.6 stars, round it to 2.5 stars) 
It has some redeeming qualities, but it is best enjoyed as a rental. Those who rent, though, REALLY must be aware of some flaws, as mentioned in this review.