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I just finished playing through this game, and found it quite a "page-turner" as far as following the plot goes... but I still can't honestly say that it compares visually with TLJ the first time around, or even with the gorgeous backdrops of Grim Fandango or Zork Nemesis. It seems that 3D is still just a bit clunky, even in the most well-designed games (which this isn't always, although it's mostly very nice looking). Plus, the great leap from Stark to Arcadia, and April's surprise and delight at the new world with all its amazing people and animals, which lent so much charm to the first game, just don't seem to happen here. So the visuals, whilst good, still lose out on both clarity and impact.
Having adjusted to the pirouetting camera-angle and shopping-trolley controls (very common in adventure games), I found the game was stable and very straightforward, guiding the three protagonists along a rather set series of paths. There is a basic inventory (the "combine items" is only used three times in the whole game). Puzzles are not very challenging, although they fit fairly well and are quite enjoyable to do.
It's a very filmic game, with many cutscenes and lengthy dialogue. It dragged a bit for me, to begin with, but I warmed to it once Zoe, the lead protagonist, went to the now-decayed location of Venice, which has been faithfully put into 3D in about the same proportions as it was in the original game. Even April Ryan's old home is revisited, and the transition from a rather beautiful and prosperous locality (where April Ryan's home and art college were) to a completely rundown no-go area is quite striking. This is interesting, as is the return of one of the nicest characters from the first game, in the same location as he was before.
The introduction of fight and action scenes is not a success. The fight scenes have very basic controls and some attackers are impossible to overcome, whilst others are very easy. There is a lot of sneaking and hiding so as not to rile ornery monsters, laser-guns or guards, and quite a bit of dying (don't worry, it reloads from a save just beforehand and there are loads of save slots). It can cause uncomfortable nervous moments throughout the game, but without the sense of achievement that comes with developing fighting skills. Not likely to please anyone therefore...
Conversely, characterisation is excellent, but that has its frustrations: in most cases we just don't see much of the best characters, and the vast majority of their storylines are never resolved. In other words, the plot is mostly unfinished, at least in my humble opinion. I will probably want to play the sequel if there is one, because it's a great story, but it's a bit irritating when a game's developers have such a blatant assumption of this. After all, it's not billed as a "part 1".
I'm glad I had a go at this game because it has many qualities, but I can't pretend it has much replay value compared to its predecessor. The fact that some website reviews have given it a raving 100% merely indicates that adventure games which are even moderately good are few and far between... because this definitely isn't a ten out of ten. Perhaps a seven.
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