The Pretender: Part 1
Fantastic platform puzzler in which you play a Victorian magician who must correct a mistake by leading poor ghostly souls to a magic door. Including smart and elegant brain teasers that get increasingly more complicated as the levels progress. Altogether a fun and challenging new puzzle game from a promising new group of Flash game developers from New Zealand.
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Is this not browser-based? It says flash but when I click on the link it opens a download box instead. I'm using firefox on a mac, if that would make a difference.
That is the most annoying game ever. I gave up, before even getting to any game play. It stops constantly, and you have to click to continue. Even when you get to the platform part, it stops constantly, and speech bubbles come up.
Jeng: The story mode is only on the first couple of levels during the tutorial. There are a few other optional levels later in the game.
Mac, FF3, it runs just fine. I can play both windowed and full screen version.
The first blue episode is optional and doesn't need to be played and you just need to hit space a few times to skip through the speech, there isn't any speech in the non-blue levels.
It's a good game, the complexity grows smoothly and though annoying now and again when miscalculating something, it's worth playing to the end.
You can use spacebar instead of clicking, and the constant speech bubbles go away quite quickly. I've just starting the medium section, and really enjoying it, although it caused a browser crash on Double Vision (thank goodness for the automatic save!).
Is it just me or is it extremely buggy? Several times already I've tried to start a level and only gotten a black screen.
Also, seems like it would be a good design choice to have the level end automatically when you finish, instead of making the player click "Map" to choose the next level (unless this is also a bug and not intentional).
I felt the game got a bit stale after a while. I would have liked it had I been able to control the powers of water and fire as well
Neddo: I didn't have any problems in Chrome or Firefox, but maybe their servers are getting hit hard with the JIG effect :D
The speech bubbles only appear on the story levels, and there are only six of those, and they don't even qualify as puzzles. They're basically intermissions. And you can skip them entirely. (And the game tells you that directly on the level-select screen.)
It's a good casual puzzle game. The difficulty ramps up gradually, and you only need to beat 4 of 5 puzzles to advance. (A wonderful feature!) The max difficulty isn't too painful, either. It'll get your brain going, but it shouldn't occupy all day.
I wouldn't say the mechanics are all that creative, but man is that some fantastic level design. The final (puzzle) level was truly great.
That said, there were a few levels in which I seemed to have come upon an unintentional solution. For instance on "Precision" (whose subtitle is "Correct placement is the key"), I managed to beat it without pushing any of the boulders. (I guess the initial placement was correct, huh?)
I'm interested to see how fire and water are implemented in the sequels.
Hanoj: LOL,now you tell me! That one took me forever.
A fun game overall, nice visuals, and an interesting story. I would have liked to see more powers, but it seems like more are coming in Parts Two and Three.
Arrrg, any hints on The Tower II? No matter what I do, I'm left with one ghost that I can't get to at the end :(
The Tower II (last level) is hard, but can be done.
Rescue the people in this order:
1. Right most guy.
2. Girl on middle bottom.
3. Left most girl.
4. Guy on the left.
5. Girl on top.
6. Right most girl.
Need more?
Rescue the first guy. Easy.
Go up on the right side as far as you can, but don't knock the ball down yet.
Crush the rock on top right, then glide left.
Drop down and roll the ball right. You'll need to drop it off the edge (getting the girl), then crush the space below you to get on the left side of it.
Keep rolling it right (saving the girl), then go back up and do the glide left thing on top again.
Stand on the very left and crush the rock below you. Only that one, mind, not both of them. The one right above the air block.
Now that you're air, you can rescue the girl on the left.
Repeat the glide and rescue the guy. This time, you can crush all the rocks below you, forming an air bridge to the top of the screen.
You'll have to go through the left glide again to actually use that bridge though.
Save the girl up top.
Finally, last one. The one still trapped behind the ball. Push the ball out, get her, and save her.
Bloody hell. I've spent 45 mins on the level "Rocky Travels" and I am flat uable to beat it. I'm fairly certain it was meant as a joke level to taunt us. This is especially bad considering the whole rest of the game took me only 30 mins to beat.
Besides my current frustration, great game!
Leeksoup, a couple of hints:
Get the woman all the way the right last. And use the boulder to block the 3rd column of air.
Hope that helps.
I love this game. The music is great too.
Some of the levels are designed a little awkward though. Too many red herrings, or different ways to get through them.
I had problems passing Rocky Travels, so I understand your frustration. In the end I got it though. This is my solution:
Go to the top and push the rolling stone over the edge without falling down. Go down the ladder, and push it right over the next edge so it blocks the third wind (from left). Break the small stonefloor without falling down.
Now go back to the beginning and get the windspell. Go up the first two winds and get the woman. Move down the ladder and break both stone floors, and the stone on the bottom level. Then bring the woman to the door.
Go up the first wind and bring the man down to the door
Now go up the last wind to the right, and get the man. Go left so you land on the rolling stone, and continue down to the door.
Go left, up the wind and get the stonespell. Go right so you land just left of the rolling stone. Roll it over the edge WITHOUT FALLING DOWN. Now go left and down and push the stone into the pit.
Save the last woman
I need a hint for Falling Down please.
Reminds me of Nitrome, which is a compliment. The text seems a bit small, and the story slow moving in the beginning, but I liked it.
Isi:
you have to get the boulder down to the woman on the left, before you break through to the woman at the bottom. I got the woman on the left and the man at the top with the monster.
I need some help on Presicion. Can anyone give me a hint please?
Fantastic game! No problems at all with loading and so forth... I'm using Firefox and not the latest either.
I'm shocked no one mentioned it yet: the voice acting is the best! The narrative is engaging and intriguing, though of course it feels like a part 1.
Some of y'all are posting roundabout solutions, so I'll give it a crack... I do want to know how to beat Precision without moving any of the boulders, though. (There is one move I made that needed to be precise and it had nothing to do with the boulders.)
Otto - thank you so much! Frustrated that I couldn't do it on my own, but at least it's done now :)
Hint-through
Beginner
Otherside
All your obstacles are rocks; all your bridges are winds.
Pleasant Stroll
Get that fellow at the top of the ladder first!
A Hindrance
Choosing wind next to a blocked updraft is a bad idea.
Sky Sailing
No trick here. Just remember to leave at least one ship on either side.
The Tower
Only one path is available at first. Sort that out for a bit... Now, you can break bounding stones from above.
Easy
East to West
Make a bridge with the boulders, or you'll be stuck! Walking on top of updrafts is also key.
Wind Walker
Whatever you do, don't box in that fellow in the updraft. Use the rocks to walk through wind.
Vertiginous
You have two options at first. Pick the one that clears the rocks out.
Blocked Way
Clear the middle way first, or you won't be able to get to the top.
After you rescue the left side, push that boulder in at the very top... then unblock the very bottom.
When exiting at the end, keep right!
Double Vision
The boulders go in the holes, and the bounding rocks are broken from the outside.
Medium
Transporter
When the topmost boat is on the right shore, get all your rocky business done.
For the second half, boats ought to stay moored, from top to bottom, right-left-right.
Whatever you do, open the bridge back to the right side *before* becoming wind again.
Nooks
You'll be repeating that manuever at the top left corner quite a bit, so keep it clear.
The bottom right boulder goes in the center hole.
The top boulder goes in the updraft.
Do the bottom-left boulder last, and then ride away, wheee!
The Platforms
You'll be getting the middle chap first, but...
...your objective is the bounding rock at the bottom-right.
Get the spectacled fellow next, since you'll need room to move.
Now you want to end up windy to the immediate right of the rock transformer up top...
...and from there you can escort the lady past the bottom wind transformer, and on home.
Ride the Air
Take the scenic route first, and yes, even with the destruction of the platform, get the boulder to the right of the door down to your starting spot. Take care that walking on it doesn't budge it.
During the ongoing daring rescues, whatever you do, place the boulders in this order:
1) the first one you moved below your first spot and out of the wind
2) the other one by the door directly on top of the towering updraft
3) the last boulder directly on top of that one. ...profit!
No Moss
It's hard to see her, but go get the grand dame first. Then...
Place the leftmost boulder first!
Now escort her home, and ensure that you don't fall in a hole.
Now you may place the center boulder, put your windy clothes on, and rescue the young lady.
Hard
Choices
Work out order of rescue on your own, but here are the keys...
At the top right, become a rock then FIRST jump down from the boat and push the boulder in.
Now whenever you're at that ladder with the wind and the rock transformer to the left... remember that you don't actually have to touch either transformer. Going right is an option!
Rocky Travels
A simple story of a boy and his boulder...
To rescue the lady at the top, roll the boulder just clear of the updraft.
.... now here's the trick....
Before you can escort that lady all the way: stay rocky, and break all the way down -- everything *except* the boulder (and what it's on).
The next boulder move involves fetching the spectacled chap *before* fetching the last lady. Roll it completely or you'll get stuck!
Precision
The no-boulder moving solution!
Because I tried it with the boulder, and it is possible, but it's maddening. This is a good one to work out on your own.
Are you positive you want to know?
Oh, all right. The trick is edging up to the fellow on the left *without* touching him. ...got it?
Now get that lady out of the air, and the rest of it is rock work all the way to the exit, minus that windy elevator up.
Falling Down
From top to bottom, get your boats right-left-right.
Now break everything except the last platform.
THIS IS THE KEY.
Hop back up to the top-right...
...and return the middle boat to the right shore.
Don't waste your trip as you fetch the lady. Break the platform she's on at once.
Fetch the gentleman without using any boats.
Now, in your rock-suit, you may escort the mid-air lady.
The Tower II
Get the spectacled fellow first, and do the following: do not let the right boulder fall. Also you can get the next step done while he's trailing you, or after....
Break that one boundary stone.
Move the left boulder allllll the way over past the bottom wind transformer. Break only the left/bottom platform and nothing else!
Get top hat guy next by breaking the platform directly above the wind transformer... and nothing else!
Only the two platforms should be broken, and the boulder out of the way on the right; now you may rescue the ladies on the left.
Now the rock work...
then the windy ride...
rocky road down...
and one last boulder to move. And you're done!
@Calcifer1:
Here's a hint:
As stated earlier, you don't even have to move either boulder.
You also don't need to use the right half of the map.
Get the ghost in the center of the screen first.
What happened to this game?
It used to open in a nice, pretty, full-screen mode. Now it's in a super-tiny frame and all but unplayable (well, I do have the rez cranked up a bit, but still).
Why the change?
It still opens in a large screen if you use the Play The Pretender: Part One! link instead of the game link at the top.
Gobsmacked: Try clicking the link through the pictures instead of the title. One of the links goes to the competition page, in small screen mode, but there is a full screen icon above the rating on that page.
Shudog: Thanks!
Rework the graphics in 2.5D, put all 4 parts together, some 3D cut-scenes, and stick this on the PSN. Sony have started making it easy for indie developers to make games for their service, you choose your own price point and get the profits (with Sony taking a cut of course).
I think this would do really well on there, especially with reworked graphics to add to the mysterious atmosphere.
Last two levels were the hardest, got through them all though :)
I have to agree with Hanoj that sometimes I felt like I may have come up with an unintended solution--I often didn't move a boulder or break a brick that seemed like an integral part of the puzzle, and I sometimes didn't traverse the entire level in reaching a solution. Typically, this would annoy me in a puzzle game. However, I didn't mind and, rather, kind of enjoyed it here. I'd like to think that the level designer deliberately made multiple solutions or put red herrings into the levels to make us think more critically. If this is not the case, though, then I think this speaks to the game's controls and the implementation of the mechanic, both of which I find very fluid and intuitive.
Actually you can make it through 'ride the wind' ...
using only two boulders, both on the 'towering updraft'
Ending = great cliffhanger. Can't wait for part 2! I guess there'll be 5 parts. (Guess how I got this.)
Wow, I was shocked at all the negative comments. I love this game so far! I haven't encountered any bugs and game play is really smooth.
Can anyone help with Vertiginous?
What sort of help, brokenrecord?
Nevermind, I got it :)
Very fun game! My only complaint is occasionally the character seems to walk at erratic speeds (like it's being bogged down). Hope the rest of the levels go back up soon :-/
I liked this game alot but dang, they just locked down the final two levels in order to work out some kind of advertising scheme.
I was almost done with level 3 when they did this.
I'm a bit disappointed.
No bugs here, I finished the game yesterday and quite enjoyed it, can't wait for the next installment.
Oh ffs! I was almost nearly done, and I come back to find an error message saying that medium and hard levels have been suspended because of sponsorship? :( I understand the need for funding, but this takes the biscuit.
RedRevolver (and all other suddenly disappointed players): I'm one of the two developers of The Pretender, and believe me, suddenly making the game into a demo version was a very hard decision to make.
I want to stress that it's only temporary, and comes as a necessity because we absolutely have to retain our potential sponsor in order to recoup our development costs.
If anyone is interested, I've provided a full explanation and further apology on our blog.
I was waiting to be the last level - absolutely ridiculous! Nice long apology letter or not, I think they should be removed from JayisGames. This site should be reserved for functional games that don't screw over the users.
I work in advertising... temporary typically = 6 months or longer!
Joe C: On our blog, when I said that we were hoping for a one or two week delay at the most, that's exactly what I meant.
I'm sorry you're angry. We stuffed up, and boy do we know it. In retrospect it's easy to see that the game shouldn't have been on the internet at all when we weren't ready for a 'full' release. We're new at this.
But please, do take us at our word. You won't be waiting six months to play the final level.
Tim, from me at least, take it as a compliment more than a criticism - I thought it was a fun game that obviously kept my interest enough for me to want to come back and complete it. :) Thank you for making a good game, and I'm glad it's only 'part one'. :D
Thanks for the response Tim. I was a little disappointed at first but your predicament is understandable. Without your comments here, I would have likely been done with it and moved on, but now I will be sure to get back to it when the period is up.
Good luck to you, I know how difficult it can be to make a living from the web and I applaud any success that might come your way.
Well congrats on the sponsorship, Tim :)
When is PART two coming up?? I can't wait !! I love this kind of puzzle games. Great work ! Just difficult enough and quite brain challenging !!
You have to have a good RAM to play this. I have a 3 gig RAM, and it worked great, no crashes or black screens.
Thanks for the awesome game. I absolutely loved it.
Well, now that part two is out and has been for a while...lol, the magician DOES get a power. Not until midway through the third section, but yeah.
Otherwise, both games are epic. I beat Part 2 and I'm playing Part 1 now. Both are pretty good puzzlers.
I'm stuck on Wind Walker. The hint isn't very helpful.
inheritance.fan
1st
Turn to rock roll the boulders into the holes and smash the rock by the door. Do NOT smash the rock ledge.
2nd
Go back up the ladder and turn to wind drop off the right side of the ledge and float up taking the guy in the wind and walking him off the right side of the ledge with the lady
I suspect it is obvious from there but if not -
Float back up and bring the lady down, then float back up, walk left and drop down onto the rock ledge go up the ladder grab the last guy, and just keep going right you will drop down then float up again so you can bring him down over the right ledge to the door
the single most annoying controls of any game ever.
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Game of the week
Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
Hint-through
Beginner
Otherside
All your obstacles are rocks; all your bridges are winds.
Pleasant Stroll
Get that fellow at the top of the ladder first!
A Hindrance
Choosing wind next to a blocked updraft is a bad idea.
Sky Sailing
No trick here. Just remember to leave at least one ship on either side.
The Tower
Only one path is available at first. Sort that out for a bit... Now, you can break bounding stones from above.
Easy
East to West
Make a bridge with the boulders, or you'll be stuck! Walking on top of updrafts is also key.
Wind Walker
Whatever you do, don't box in that fellow in the updraft. Use the rocks to walk through wind.
Vertiginous
You have two options at first. Pick the one that clears the rocks out.
Blocked Way
Clear the middle way first, or you won't be able to get to the top.
After you rescue the left side, push that boulder in at the very top... then unblock the very bottom.
When exiting at the end, keep right!
Double Vision
The boulders go in the holes, and the bounding rocks are broken from the outside.
Medium
Transporter
When the topmost boat is on the right shore, get all your rocky business done.
For the second half, boats ought to stay moored, from top to bottom, right-left-right.
Whatever you do, open the bridge back to the right side *before* becoming wind again.
Nooks
You'll be repeating that manuever at the top left corner quite a bit, so keep it clear.
The bottom right boulder goes in the center hole.
The top boulder goes in the updraft.
Do the bottom-left boulder last, and then ride away, wheee!
The Platforms
You'll be getting the middle chap first, but...
...your objective is the bounding rock at the bottom-right.
Get the spectacled fellow next, since you'll need room to move.
Now you want to end up windy to the immediate right of the rock transformer up top...
...and from there you can escort the lady past the bottom wind transformer, and on home.
Ride the Air
Take the scenic route first, and yes, even with the destruction of the platform, get the boulder to the right of the door down to your starting spot. Take care that walking on it doesn't budge it.
During the ongoing daring rescues, whatever you do, place the boulders in this order:
1) the first one you moved below your first spot and out of the wind
2) the other one by the door directly on top of the towering updraft
3) the last boulder directly on top of that one. ...profit!
No Moss
It's hard to see her, but go get the grand dame first. Then...
Place the leftmost boulder first!
Now escort her home, and ensure that you don't fall in a hole.
Now you may place the center boulder, put your windy clothes on, and rescue the young lady.
Hard
Choices
Work out order of rescue on your own, but here are the keys...
At the top right, become a rock then FIRST jump down from the boat and push the boulder in.
Now whenever you're at that ladder with the wind and the rock transformer to the left... remember that you don't actually have to touch either transformer. Going right is an option!
Rocky Travels
A simple story of a boy and his boulder...
To rescue the lady at the top, roll the boulder just clear of the updraft.
.... now here's the trick....
Before you can escort that lady all the way: stay rocky, and break all the way down -- everything *except* the boulder (and what it's on).
The next boulder move involves fetching the spectacled chap *before* fetching the last lady. Roll it completely or you'll get stuck!
Precision
The no-boulder moving solution!
Because I tried it with the boulder, and it is possible, but it's maddening. This is a good one to work out on your own.
Are you positive you want to know?
Oh, all right. The trick is edging up to the fellow on the left *without* touching him. ...got it?
Now get that lady out of the air, and the rest of it is rock work all the way to the exit, minus that windy elevator up.
Falling Down
From top to bottom, get your boats right-left-right.
Now break everything except the last platform.
THIS IS THE KEY.
Hop back up to the top-right...
...and return the middle boat to the right shore.
Don't waste your trip as you fetch the lady. Break the platform she's on at once.
Fetch the gentleman without using any boats.
Now, in your rock-suit, you may escort the mid-air lady.
The Tower II
Get the spectacled fellow first, and do the following: do not let the right boulder fall. Also you can get the next step done while he's trailing you, or after....
Break that one boundary stone.
Move the left boulder allllll the way over past the bottom wind transformer. Break only the left/bottom platform and nothing else!
Get top hat guy next by breaking the platform directly above the wind transformer... and nothing else!
Only the two platforms should be broken, and the boulder out of the way on the right; now you may rescue the ladies on the left.
Now the rock work...
then the windy ride...
rocky road down...
and one last boulder to move. And you're done!
Posted by: Shudog
|
June 9, 2009 9:25 AM