(Dave made a massive error here because they don't sit in correct order in your games library - he should have committed to naming them so the release order was also in correct alphabetical order!).
Played a fair amount of Unbound. It's definitely better. There's a bit more polish, though still some issues. The music is good, it's jazz that matches the 70s NY setting well, and it's more consistent (if still too damn loud). The art is all by Ivy Robinson, and it's a little more cartoony but it looks nice and it's more consistent as well. I think I prefer it. And no portraits, woohoo! Just need to get rid of that stupid egg timer. The storytelling is better (though I still have my nitpicks) and so are the puzzles. The only problem really is that it's still a detective game which mainly revolves around pinging back and forth between a handful of characters topping up your conversation topics. It's also a bit silly when your optimum path involves walking into someone's office in the middle of the night (for some reason everyone is still awake and at work), asking them a single question and then leaving again, about ten times in one night! But there is other stuff thrown in there, like controlling Joey and going snooping around for clues, using the phone book to look places up (it was ace calling up a newspaper and saying "have you got a reporter called Mitchell there?" and getting the info, just like they do in the movies), and honest to goodness use of inventory items.
Finished! I hadn't realised how short these games were. Not in a bad way, just that I'd imagined they were 8 hour games rather than 4 hour ones. And this one was only $10 on release and more polished, so it feels a lot more reasonable to me (if I try to set myself back to a 2007 mindset!). So yeah, still some clunkiness in most areas but holds together a lot better. One thing that's annoying me a bit is how much of a prick Joey is. He just does not want his 'mediums' to have lives at all, constantly makes snarky or shitty comments, and he still gets angry at ghosts for not knowing they're ghosts which is, like, The Whole Thing. There's no 'he's frustrated at the situation, but he has a strong bond with his medium and can be a positive supportive presence in her life'. He's a dick and they're all depressed. They could make the most of this situation - help ghosts, have a good friend who can use his powers to benefit you, and still have some sort of life because he can go float 30ft away from you in other rooms and watch tv or whatever. I guess I've been spoiled by Ghosts!
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