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Message: [QUOTE="Clippy, post: 500066, member: 8560"] [JUSTIFY]This one comes with a disclaimer. You'll come across some comic book style depictions of titties and gore so this is definitely not something you want to show your kids or grandmas. Hopkins FBI - 1998 - Point and Click - In 1984 a terrorist group claims to have nuclear bombs and threatens to use them on US citizens unless the country gives in to their demands. As we all know, the US does not negotiate with terrorists. As it turns out, the bad guys weren't bluffing and they really did have nukes which they launched on California. As such, FBI opened up a huge investigation into the perpetrators. Thanks to your work the ringleader, a certain Bernie Berckson, was caught and sentenced to death. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185492[/ATTACH] [I]Somewhat deserved, wouldn't you say?[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] Unfortunately, something goes wrong and Bernie vanishes. I guess it makes sense for a criminal of this caliber to have a trick or two up his sleeve. His Houdini impersonation is so good that he remains at large for years. The game doesn't really address this other than saying that he's been living in disguise. Anyway, the game begins a few years later in your apartment. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185493[/ATTACH] [I]As good a starting point for a story as any.[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] The game is mostly free from the pitfalls that plagued the genre before proper standards were introduced. No list of verbs to pick from and guess your way to the next obstacle. No text parser to hold you back. Just you and your mouse cursor. As you slide it across an object you can interact with it will start flashing. When that happens your right mouse button will switch between actions you can perform on said object and left mouse button will execute them. If there's one holdover from the bad old days here it's that some items are on the smaller side. The issue is far from being as pronounced here as it is in some other representatives of the genre but you'll have to be thorough if you don't want to miss anything. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185494[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185495[/ATTACH] [I]Here are some examples of what you'll have to deal with.[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] Anyway, once you ransack your apartment for items and you're ready to leave you will be railroaded into a case that will require your full attention - some good-for-nothings are holding up a bank and are threatening to blow the whole place to smithereens unless their demands are met. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185498[/ATTACH] [I]We can't exactly have that now can we?[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] This is how you're introduced to the city map. Hopkins FBI is pretty much separated into three parts and this chapter is the only one that's somewhat open-ended but not really if you think about it. You can go to a number of locations but there's no real reason to do so until the plot calls for it. I do, however, suggest that you scour the map thoroughly with your mouse as that will allow you to learn of places like the FBI lab, shooting range or swimming pool. Visiting any of these is pointless right now but keeping their existence in the back of your head for later puzzles will be vital to make progress. Just go to the bank for now. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185500[/ATTACH] [I]As a side note, part of the game's soundtrack is snippets of licensed 60s rock and hot damn this one's catchy even if it's just the first 30 seconds of the song or so on loop. [URL='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vaA4KnsBEo']I was born in a bunk[/URL][/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] The bank heist will pretty much unveil all remaining gameplay quirks the game has such as conversing with NPCs, using items and solving puzzles. Speaking of which, terrorists planted a bomb in the bank so now that you're done with the hostage situation your task is to find and disarm it. It's somewhat well-hidden and chances are you won't be able to find it just by glancing around the location. If you choose to leave the crime scene at this point you'll be directed toward your next destination by dispatch but if you follow through the only thing that awaits you is a game over. Thankfully, this isn't a softlock as there is good reason to go back to the map at this point. The bomb is contained in a box. You'll need a screwdriver to pry it open. Said screwdriver? In your apartment. It's fairly easy to miss if you haven't been thorough when rummaging through your stuff. Good thing this isn't a Sierra kind of adventure game cause if it were you would've been screwed (teehee) right then and there. Once you find and open the bomb box you'll have to make sure it doesn't go kaboom in your face. The detonator has three wires attached to it and if you combed the entire area thoroughly then surely you must've found a note that one of the terrorists had dropped while they were getting away. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185502[/ATTACH] [I]The note says that 'MLR' is the solution here. Could it possibly be Middle-Left-Right?[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] Yes. Yes, it could be. This is another thing I like about this game. There's no moon logic here. Whether it's combining items, handing them over to NPCs or using them, everything is grounded in reality. Of course, some puzzles will be more difficult than others but all of them are solvable if you just think a little and, as we've already established, you won't encounter a situation where you find yourself stuck at a dead end just because you missed a seemingly unrelated item 5 hours earlier. Anywho, once the bank robbery bit is over the game stops holding your hand so it's only fitting that I follow suit. As you continue to investigate the case you'll have a whale of an adventure. Bernie has not forgotten the man who almost ended his subscription to remaining among the living and not only does he have another devious scheme in the works he's also out to make you suffer. This takes on a very literal meaning at one point when one of his mooks manages to shoot you dead and you have to escape purgatory. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185503[/ATTACH] [I]Pretty fancy for a place that's supposed to be a minor stop on your journey to the afterlife.[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY][/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185505[/ATTACH] [I]What can I say, the man likes his killer game riddles. Samantha happens to be your love interest so it's definitely one hell of an incentive to play along.[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] As you follow the breadcrumbs he leaves behind in this game of cat and mouse you'll realize that the man is fairly unhinged and that he's willing to go to great lengths to make sure you understand that the situation is very serious. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185506[/ATTACH] [I]Now that's what I call brutal.[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] This little game will take you to all sorts of places all over the city and eventually you'll discover that Bernie seems to have set up his latest operation on a certain remote island. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185508[/ATTACH] [I]Quite the paradise, isn't it?[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] Perhaps. The dark secrets it holds will be up to you to unveil. I should mention a few interesting things Hopkins FBI does. Late 90s were an experimental time for the point and click genre which was getting pretty stale at that point. Like many of its peers, the game introduces action segments as a means to spruce up the gameplay. Usually this is a very bad idea but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised here. I wouldn't say these bits are worth the price of admission on their own or that they're something you'll be looking forward to while playing but unlike many adventure titles they are at least functional and won't make you tear your hair out in frustration. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185509[/ATTACH] [I]Wolfenstein 3D called and it wants its lackluster gameplay back.[/I][/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] This really goes to show how dire things were for the genre in 1998. Still, as I said, these sections won't stop you from completing the game since, while they're primitive even by 1998, they actually work and can be blitzed through fairly easily. One very unusual thing this game does to give you some variety is that it contains a fully functional little clone of Arkanoid. All you have to do to access it is go to the FBI office and launch it on one of the computers there. [/JUSTIFY] [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" size="640x480"]185510[/ATTACH] [I]10/10 office worker simulation[/I] :loldog [/CENTER] [JUSTIFY] Unfortunately, this is where I segue into negatives. While I was trying to see how far Arkanoid goes I was rewarded with a BSoD about half an hour in. What little I gathered from it seems to indicate that you may have better luck with it if you play on Windows 95 instead of 98 like I did. The game has hallmarks of having been rushed. There are many typos strewn about as well as bits of spoken dialogue that don't match the subtitles. Clearly, QA was an issue. Hopkins FBI is obscure for a reason. The genre was dying. The game has minor issues plaguing it. The writing isn't going to win any awards. The narrative just doesn't have the kind of wit that we love the classics for. It's more of a B-tier affair but it's told well enough. However, it manages to avoid most of the infuriating trappings of its genre. No moon logic. No weird dexterity checks. Some parts towards the end can be confusing but walkthroughs are out there. Experience has taught me that every point and click game requires one at some point but in this case that point is unusually far into the game. Hopkins FBI won't rock your socks off. It's not an overlooked classic but it's worth an evening or two if you have some time to kill.[/JUSTIFY] [/QUOTE]

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