Runaway: A Twist of Fate (PC) Review

Runaway: The Dream of the Turtle's finale was an annoying cliff-hanger; therefore, the sequel is supposed to start where the previous one ended, right? Wrong. There is no connection between those two whatsoever, at least in the beginning of this story. Fortunately, this doesn't make it harder for newcomers to the series to follow the events of the third episode, although some of its finer details will escape their eyes and ears. The thing that will surprise even veterans, however, will be the different feel of this one.

Runaway: A Twist of Fate is, undoubtedly, the darkest of the three. It's still humorous, it's still quite wacky, but it's also far more serious in tone and concept. Another change is the fact that the whole deal starts, not with Brian, but with Gina, the character who always served as the damsel in distress. This time around, Gina is a playable character, and the initial chapter throws quite a tough nut to crack at her hands. Brian has been buried alive in a grave, and she must find a way to dig him out.

The audio-visuals have also changed, and, thankfully, it's mostly for the better. The third Runaway is the first that has a widescreen aspect ratio, and is probably the prettiest one; retaining the wonderfully detailed and colourful 2D backgrounds, along with the cel-shaded, cartoonish characters, and vastly improving the cut-scene quality. Those coming from the previous adventures might hate the new voice actors of Brian and Gina, yet they are actually far better - still a little bland, but also less irritating at the same time.

One thing that many gamers complained about was how bad the main characters were, with the second title making Brian, the unpleasant smartass, even more repulsive than the egotistical and uncharismatic Gina of the first one. Unfortunately, and while they are not as bad this time around (especially Gina), not much has changed, especially when it come to the humour, which is still pretty bad. Luckily, the plot is generally much better, and the gameplay has fixed most of the flaws that plagued the first two.

A Twist of Fate is, once again, a simple point-and-click adventure, with most of the problems that are thrown at the main character having a solution that involves the use of the various items that can be found, mixed, and altered throughout this quest. Great news, though; no more pixel hunting! Pressing F2 reveals all clickable hotspots, and while this might feel like cheating, it makes the whole deal less tedious, letting gamers focus on puzzle-solving instead of trying to find that tiny pebble that hides somewhere in the background.

The main flaw with the previous instalments, however, is still here, although to a lesser extent. Gina and Brian must still find a reason to take or use something, which means that if, for instance, they want to mix two items together they'll have to first find a location where the resulting object can be of some use. On the bright side, the puzzles lean more on the logical side, and less on the cartoony one. Note, however, that despite the overall fine-tune of the gameplay and the improved story, this is still just a mediocre to decent experience that won't really quench the thirst of the more demanding adventure game fans - and even if it could, its surprisingly short length will surely disappoint quite a lot.