FMV Resurgence?

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VideoGameCritic
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FMV Resurgence?

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 18th, 2020, 12:11 pm

So I received the latest Limited Run newsletter with my Streets of Rage 4 package, and the topic was full motion video games. Apparently they are making a comeback. Who knew?

I've purchased several re-releases like Night Trap and Dragon's Lair, but apparently there were a few more released recently I had never heard of, like

The Bunker
Late Shift
The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker
Shapeshifting

Should I be reviewing these? Have you heard anything about them?

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ASalvaro
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Re: FMV Resurgence?

Postby ASalvaro » July 18th, 2020, 2:06 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:So I received the latest Limited Run newsletter with my Streets of Rage 4 package, and the topic was full motion video games. Apparently they are making a comeback. Who knew?

I've purchased several re-releases like Night Trap and Dragon's Lair, but apparently there were a few more released recently I had never heard of, like

The Bunker
Late Shift
The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker
Shapeshifting

Should I be reviewing these? Have you heard anything about them?


used to LOVE fmv games..not as much now

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Retro STrife
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Re: FMV Resurgence?

Postby Retro STrife » July 19th, 2020, 2:14 am

It is definitely making a mini-comeback. I haven't played the games you mentioned, but Late Shift is supposed to be good. Telling Lies is another new one with decent reviews.

Check out the game Erica on PS4 too. It's free for PS+ members this month, and normally $10. I haven't played it yet, but I got very interested and downloaded it after seeing the trailer. Check out this trailer and see what you think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28iBP_kkpdI

The gameplay seems like it might be minimal, but still, if the story is good then it might make for a fun game to play with a gf, spouse, etc.

.
P.S. For an old school FMV game you're missing, you might have interest in The X-Files game for PS1. It's a point-and-click adventure game done with FMV video. Both genres were dead when the game came out in 1998, so it totally bombed with critics. To be honest, I didn't think it was that good either. Still, it was among the last of a dying breed.

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Re: FMV Resurgence?

Postby velcrozombie » July 19th, 2020, 10:08 am

A few years ago there was a FMV game called Her Story by the maker of Silent Hill: Shattered Memories that ended up on some Top 10 Games of the Year lists. I own it courtesy of a bundle of PC games but haven't played it yet. The idea behind it from what I can tell is that you watch a series of interviews that a woman gave to the police about a crime and then use the resources at your disposal to try to make sense of what happened. It's only available for the PC, Mac and Android though.

After looking around a bit more, Telling Lies is by the same man (Sam Barlow) and is said to be a "spiritual sequel".

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Re: FMV Resurgence?

Postby Marriott_Guy » July 19th, 2020, 12:21 pm

I actually have all four games mentioned in your initial post. There are a few others as well that fit into this genre (FMV / story). I have played through Late Shift, The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker and Shapeshifting (the Bunker is still in the queue). Another great one - Telling Lies (with Kari Bische, Logan Marshal-Green, etc.).

These games are all about the story, presenting choices to the gamer that ultimately determine the outcome of the game's ending. These all present multiple options / paths to completion. Most have timed sequences, where the gamer has to pick an answer / make a decision that triggers the next sequence of events. Absent are 'QTE' - these are dialog driven affairs. Choices are not that easy to decipher or obvious in their intentions (hence multiple endings).

I rather enjoyed these games since they were not overly time consuming (1-2 hours) plus it was a little blast to the past for me (FMV). Netflix released a few movies like these games where you were prompted on the screen to make a choice to continue the movie (can't remember the exact movie titles ATM). These games are basically the same thing, but many more choices being offered throughout the course of the game.

I would recommend Late Shift (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBrfvJoY7s4) to start - it has action, a great story and is easy to get engaged with.

Terry

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Re: FMV Resurgence?

Postby Wehrwolf » July 20th, 2020, 5:31 am

The writer from Danganronpa is behind a newly released Japanese live action horror/thriller FMV game Death Come True. I have it on the Switch, I think it’s also out or coming out on PS4 and Steam

Notable for the story and writing, the protagonist wakes up in a hotel room, finds someone unconcious in their bathtub, and sees a tv report claiming he is a serial killer.

Then a policeman knocks on the hotel door, and from there, at least the beginning of the game unfolds as a choose your own adventure type with a time-rewind function.

...But I don’t know much more as I’ve avoided spoilers and am waiting to play the game until I can play it at a friend’s house where we had played through the Danganronpa series (yes, all of these games are 1 player, but the rest of us are just watching for the story)

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Re: FMV Resurgence?

Postby VideoGameCritic » July 20th, 2020, 8:58 am

Terry,
I took your advice and picked up Late Shift. Depending on how that goes, I might goes after the others too.
Dave

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Gentlegamer
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Re: FMV Resurgence?

Postby Gentlegamer » July 20th, 2020, 4:32 pm

This new FMV game must be reviewed!

Gamer Girl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mFHRlVNP3Q

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Marriott_Guy
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Re: FMV Resurgence?

Postby Marriott_Guy » July 20th, 2020, 7:09 pm

That 'Gamer Girl' looks cheesy as all get out - right up my alley! Thanks for recommendation!

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Re: FMV Resurgence?

Postby VideoGameCritic » August 1st, 2020, 3:21 pm

Played Late Shift last night and it was pretty good. The production values are just about as good as a random movie you'd watch on Netflix. Of course, being a PS4 title there was an annoying installation process. I thought it was ready to go but it said "Copying language data..." which took TEN MINUTES. WTF? This is why I play Switch games. Playing a Playstation 4 game can be a real chore.

Anyway Late Shift is a good interactive movie that runs about an hour. You're some kind of parking attendant in a garage who finds himself in the middle of a heist. You sit back and watch and every now and then it gives you a few seconds to make a choice, like "go along" or "resist". It's all very seamless. The thing is, after one play I'm not sure how much impact my choices were having. Like one times I chose to "run away" but the guy just chased me down and made me go along anyway. Maybe tonight I'll play again and try to make the opposite choices to see what happens.

When I was done it said I had reach 1/7 endings. I must have found the worst possible ending because the game ended abruptly before I really knew what was going on.


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