Runaway 2 - E3 2005 archived preview
Runaway: A Road Adventure was one of those games—you either loved it or hated it. In spite of the simplistic storyline, the pixel hunting, the strange game logic (especially when it came to combining items), and the developers' apparent misunderstanding of Northern California geography, I loved it. Runaway had a unique cartoon style and a quirky magical realism that set it apart. Best of all, it felt complete, as if the developers really understood this environment they'd created. Two years later, Pendulo Studios has done it again. If you aren't a fan of the first game, get ready to rehash all those old gripes. But if you are, start packing. It's time for another trek across this striking, surprising world.
Christopher Kellner of dtp, the German publisher of Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle, demonstrated a segment of the game at E3. The demo started with the game's lengthy introduction, which makes use of the same sleek, stylized cinematics as the original. As the game opens, Gina—the stripper who won our dorky hero Brian's heart the first time around—is being thrown from an airplane flying over a lush jungle. She falls screaming for a few moments before her rainbow-striped parachute bursts open, sending her drifting through the vivid blue sky toward the lake below. The intro cuts to Brian's computer, where he is private messaging with his hacker friend Sushi, another Runaway alum, about his latest predicament. "You're not gonna believe this," he writes, "but I'm in a big mess again..." The cinematic then flashes back to a hotel room in Hawaii, hours before that ill-fated plane trip, where Brian and Gina are just waking up and we almost get to see her you-know-whats. ("This scene is really cruel for the guys," Kellner joked, as Brian and Gina shifted positions Austin Powers-style to keep the player from glimpsing her chest.) And the opening movie isn't even half over yet.
The couple sets out on a day trip to a Hawaiian waterfall and the intro ultimately ends where it began—with Brian pushing Gina from a sightseeing plane that is about to crash. The player takes control just after Brian has managed to land. Gina is nowhere to be seen. The player's first task, which I played through in about fifteen minutes with Kellner offering hints over my shoulder, is to get Brian past a pit of quicksand so he can set out to look for his missing girlfriend. Pendulo has been tight-lipped about the sequel's plot, so where Brian's search takes him from here remains a mystery for now.
Runaway 2 features the same stylish art as its predecessor. The first game was grounded in a nostalgic fondness for American pop culture and kitsch, a sentiment that has carried over into the sequel with details such as a dancing hula girl clock on the hotel's bedside table, and a bobble head Elvis on the plane dashboard. But Brian himself has changed, almost as if being with Gina has made him more of a man. His bare arms are muscular, his hair tousled, and he sports sideburns and a soul patch. A lot of fans balked at this "new" Brian when Runaway 2's first screenshots were released, but in the context of his new life—in love with a girl who has surely broadened his horizons, on vacation in this tropical, laid-back setting—the changes feel right. Although it's hard to comment on their personalities after only this brief glimpse into the game, Brian and Gina seem more comfortable with each other and a bit more rounded out as characters than the first time around.
The interface hasn't changed, so if you liked it in the last game you'll probably like it in this one. As before, Brian appears in the inventory window to comment on the items he's carrying, but the screen now has a jungle motif to fit the locale. The cursor changes into a magnifying glass when you can inspect an item, and into a hand when you can take it. Right-clicking toggles through these options. Like in the first game, there will be some pixel hunting, but by changing shape and providing a textual description when you roll over a hotspot, the smart cursor helps to locate hard-to-find items. Once again, items may become available only after you know you can use them, which will mean revisiting areas and taking a second (or third) look to make sure you've found what you need.
Runaway 2's puzzles promise to be just as quirky and illogical as in the first game. For example: Brian can't get across the quicksand until he does away with a mischievous lemur that keeps jumping across his path. The puzzle solution involves a mechanical toy dog that distracts the lemur by barking, walking around, and lifting his leg to—well, you know. If you couldn't stand the puzzling in the original game, you'll probably have the same complaints about the sequel, but if you enjoyed hobnobbing with drag queens, making coffee with Mayan relics, and finding creative uses for tubes of lipstick, Runaway 2 will be right up your alley.
I loved the techno-themed music in the original, so my sole disappointment during the demo was learning from Kellner that the Runaway 2's music will be "a little different." Considering how well the spirit of the first game has carried over into the sequel, though, I'm willing to give Pendulo the benefit of the doubt.
According to dtp, Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle will be released in Germany in October or November of this year. No English localization has been announced, but we did speak to one North American publisher who mentioned that they'd be thrilled to publish it if the opportunity arose. Adventure Gamers will let you know as soon as we hear anything more. In the meantime, replay the original, and gear yourself up for a trip to the tropics.
