When we last saw Kara, protagonist of the Covert Front series, the turn-of-the-century badass espionage expert had just escaped a Zurich prison compound, and hijacked the plane that would take her to her next destination: Lisbon, Portugal. She remains hot on the trail of Karl Von Toten, the German scientist whose discoveries could tip the balance of this alternate universe’s World War. It’s time to save the free world. Karol Konwerski, Mateusz Skutnik, and the rest at Pastel Games bring you to the climactic finale of Kara’s mission in Covert Front 4: The Spark of Life, another episode of wonderful point-and-click adventuring.

Use the mouse to interact with the scene, clicking on an area when the icon changes to a hand to indicate you can do something there, or that there is something to be picked up. Some scenes are wide, and can be scrolled over by moving the cursor to the sides of the play screen. Kara’s inventory is stored at the bottom of the screen, and clicking on an item will either activate it, or ready it for use. And considering you’ll have lugged half a Craftsman tool chest of items by the end of the game, it’s pretty convenient.

Analysis: It has been a while since we’ve gone into the world of Covert Front. By our calender, she’s been flying that plane for three years now! Still, the time in development was obviously well spent, since Covert Front 4 is another polished entry in what has become a classic casual gaming series. The style of the installment has clearly evolved with the developers own, creating a work that fits perfectly with its predecessors, while undeniably exploring new, even fantastic, ground. The tone and quality is set in the first minutes of gameplay, as Kara coolly fixes her malfunctioning aircraft and sets down on an enemy airfield without breaking a sweat. Skulking about in rural daylight is a different kind of tension from the dark alleyways and creaking mansions Kara has explored in the past, but you will still look over your shoulder at every chirping bird and creaky door.

All the hallmarks of the series return, for good or for bad… mostly good. The uniquely shaded art-style once again perfectly captures the seedy cloak and dagger atmosphere of a world at war. The puzzles are as deviously conceived as you would expect from the makers of Submachine (and some of the screens late in the game definitely have the feel of that series). They’re heavy on the hot-spot hunting, but having to examine every screen for hidden alcoves and secret compartments is exactly what you would expect from a spy game. Still a little more guidance would have been appreciated, though especially, for one particular puzzle where an action must be repeated several times for an effect to take. Additionally, the sound effects and well-placed sparse bits of music are perfect at keeping things ominous, even if the voice-acting is a little bland.

Covert Front 4: The Spark of Life is not for beginners, either to adventure gaming or to the series. Even those who’ve played the previous installments might want to run through them again to refresh themselves of Kara’s universe and mission. Still, it is definitely the finale that the series deserves and that fans have desired. The only thing missing is “Kara Will Return in…From Lisbon With Love“, at the end of the credits, but perhaps that would be asking too much.

author: tricky

Prologue: Airplane Trouble

1. After the opening credits, you’ll be in the cockpit with Kara. There’s a red light flashing on the console. Try the lever below it a few times and something will fall out underneath it. Not good.
2. Look under the console (click the bottom of the screen). Take three things from the component that fell out, and take the lightbulb-looking thing to the left as well. Now to do some quick repairs.
3. The red resistor goes in the socket with the other two like it. The fuse goes in the hole in the bottom of the device towards the upper right. The radio lamp goes in the socket next to the other radio lamp near the top middle.
4. Now what to do with the blue resistor? Use it to bridge the gap between the two wire ends in the middle right.
5. Now click above and to the right of where you set the blue resistor to return to the console, and trip the switch below the lights again to get things working again.

Chapter 1: The Airfield

1. Scroll back and forth at the long area with the mouse cursor. There are five things of interest here: from left to right, the entrance gate, a tower, the plane you landed in, a tank truck, and the far right wall.
2. There’s nothing you can do at the tower or entrance gate because of all the soldiers around. So let’s go to the far wall at the far right. The fence goes around the whole airfield, good to know. But zoom in on that dumpster-looking thing.
3. Take the paper and look at it. A password! Good to know. Now back out and check out the plane. Zoom in on the propellor, then the hatch to the right of it. Open the hatch and take the rag and handle inside.
4. Zoom out twice, then click near the lower left of the plane to look under it. Take the two wires. Now zoom out all the way.
5. Look at the tank truck now. Zoom in on the hatch on the front of the truck. Two sliders are up, so slide them down, then click the handle to open the hatch. Inside, attach the two pieces of wire to the two terminals of the battery (marked + and -).
6. Zoom out, then in on the hatch on the side near where Kara left the free ends of the wires. Use the spouter handle on the triangular notch to open the spout, then stick the cloth into the hole. Lastly, click the wire ends to make sparks until the cloth is ignited.
7. The tower is now unguarded! Go there. You can’t use the car since they didn’t leave the key, so zoom in on the tower door. Look at the console below the speaker and enter the eight-digit password from the document. (It’s different every game.)
8. Then zoom out and flip the lever. If you got the password right, the door will open. Go inside and up the stairs, then enter the red door to watch Kara clobber a soldier.
9. Take the hat (middle left on the console), the photograph (far left on the console), and the envelope (on the floor). Also, open the top drawer towards the left, and grab the key inside (you won’t see it until you zoom in on the drawer’s interior).
10. Look at the envelope; close it and look at the address on it. Leave the room and look to the right. Take the uniform where it’s hanging. Now go outside the tower and use the key on the car parked outside.
11. You’re on your way out!

Chapter 2: Lisbon

1. Click near the lower left of the city view (it says “R. do Regedor”). Pass through the arch in the middle-right to get to Campo de Santa Clara (“Campo” means “street”, by the way).
2. Approach the green-colored house to the left and click the doorbell to watch a slightly weird cutscene that (somehow) ends with you in a sparse room with four walls and no door.
3. No door… just a weird console. No door no door no door no door… aargh, all I can think about is door. Enter “door” on the console. (Left lever is clear, right lever is enter. Note that it’s missing a T while you’re there.)
4. It did something? Back away and turn around to see a door! But it’s locked. Someone has a weird sense of humor.
5. Maybe it’ll work again. Try “key” on the console to make a key appear on another wall. Take it and use it to unlock the door.
6. Look outside… okay, THAT is weird. The sign above says “Karl von Toten’s study room”, so maybe that’s significant. Also, grab the T key on the ledge.
7. Go back to the console and put the T where it belongs. What can we summon now that we’ve got a T? How about Karl von Toten himself? Type “karl von toten” (don’t forget the spaces) and pull the right lever.
8. It… worked? Talk to him in his chair and he’ll vanish. Turn around and you’ll find the door now leads somewhere sensible. That was really weird… let’s just leave for now. Click the bottom of the screen, then the front door (top middle).
9. Now look at that storage shed towards the right. Open it and take the crowbar; it’ll be very useful. Now backtrack, go inside the green house again, and click the LEFT edge of the screen this time to face a new door.
10. Inside the new door is a rather unremarkable but vaguely familiar room. Look in the pipe on the right; you’ll see something glinting out of reach. Use the crowbar to snag it; it’s a small key.
11. It’s too small to open any door… how about the mailboxes in this room’s foyer? One of them’s got a broken lock, but it’s empty. Keep trying the small key on different mailboxes until you find one that works– more specifically, the cluster of boxes on the right, third row from the top, second box from the right– then take the door handle from it.
12. Back up and turn right again. You’re facing the study door, but you don’t need to be in there anymore. Go up the stairs to the attic door, and open it with the door handle.
13. Climb out the window and up onto the roof. Hey, what’s that weird flickering house towards the left? Click it to look at it, then backtrack ALL the way to the view of the city you started the chapter at.
14. Inspect the nameless green building near the fountain. Go straight through the arches to the end of the chapter.

Chapter 3: Karl von Toten

1. You can’t approach the soldiers, so head down the alley to the right. Take the bronze coin (“cachet”) from the bucket, then back away to the original view. Now turn right and head down that path.
2. When you reach the grating, pry it off with the crowbar and go down that passage. It ends at a lightbulb pointing at a blank wall…? Weird.
3. Go back one screen and note the hole in the contraption. Set the cachet in and watch the new passageway appear as the light turns on. (How does that even…?) Go that way.
4. Go right and stop at the blue force field. Look left from there and you’ll wind up looking at a fusebox. Sever the wires with the crowbar, then back up one screen and enter the doorway. Click on the man at the desk and watch the cutscene.

author:  SonicLover

play

Decyzje, decyzje…

Nie ma na co czekać, trzeba było się na coś zdecydować. Oto nowe Rewolucje, stan zerowy. :D

W dziwnej sytuacji się niniejszym znalazłem. Sam się w nią wpędziłem, pierwszy raz w życiu.

Szkicowałem sobie historyjki krótkie i naszkicowałem w sumie cały kompletny album od A do Z.

Bite 60 stron. Nigdy czegoś takiego nie miałem, tzn tak przygotowanego materiału pod album. Trochę się boję teraz.

Boję się, bo cała TWÓRCZA część robienia albumu już za mną. Teraz trzeba to wszystko po prostu mechanicznie narysować na czysto. Boję się że brak pierwiastka twórczego spowoduje że ten album nie powstanie. Dammit.

Jak widać nie są to rewolucje, za które zaraz się zabieram. To inny projekt, który teraz pewnie będzie musiał swoje odleżeć, jak nie do jesieni to do 2013 roku. Dammit2.

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[edit:2014]

A tutaj jest timestamp rozpoczęcia prac nad czwartym Blakim. Lulz.

A tutaj timestamp zakończenia. 60/43.

W najnowszym albumie “Rewolucji” autorzy po raz kolejny postawili na wyrafinowaną prostotę. Był to strzał w dziesiątkę. Widzimy, jak bohaterowie wchodzą na pokład. „Parostatkiem w piękny rejs”, chciałoby się zaśpiewać. Niestety, muszę rozczarować potencjalnych czytelników – twórcy prezentują o wiele wyższy poziom niż popularna piosenka.

„Rewolucje”: “Na morzu” pokazują, że można stworzyć trzymającą w napięciu historię za pomocą ekspresywnych obrazów. Na dodatek bez posługiwania się drastycznym realizmem czy kłującymi oko kontrastami. Całość, utrzymana w odcieniach szarości i błękitu, gdzieniegdzie ożywionego przez fiolet, jest bardzo spójna wizualnie. W bardzo przyjemny dla oka sposób wykorzystano delikatność akwareli, łącząc ją z czarną, zdecydowaną kreską. Efekt końcowy wzmacnia doskonałe kadrowanie – Mateusz Skutnik potrafi tak operować planszą, by jednocześnie sugestywnie opowiadała pewną historię i była zamkniętą, wyważoną całością.

W albumie zdołano również krótko scharakteryzować każdą z  postaci – gesty, ubiór, relacje z innymi, choć użyte niekiedy w sposób nieco stereotypowy, sprawiają, że bohaterowie przestają być jedynie papierowym fantazmatem, a stają się ludźmi z krwi i kości. Czytelnik może uznać poprzedzające właściwą akcję wprowadzenie za nieco przydługie, jednakże moim zdaniem jest ono fundamentalnym elementem opowieści – dzięki niemu mamy czas poznać osoby dramatu i ich pragnienia, tak by zżyć się z nimi choć przez chwilę.

Szczególnie istotna jest niepokojąca atmosfera parostatku, który zamiast bezpiecznego schronienia, staje się swoistą twierdzą, z której nie sposób się wydostać. Poczucie klaustrofobii wzmaga jeszcze rosnąca z każdą chwilą świadomość, że gdzieś tam czai się niewytłumaczalna siła, przed którą nie można uciec. Początkowo ledwo wyczuwalne napięcie w pewnym momencie zaczyna rosnąć z oszałamiającą prędkością, by doprowadzić do tragicznego finału. Pomiędzy tymi dwoma punktami czytelnik odnajdzie cały kalejdoskop zwrotów akcji, niespodziewanych zgonów, dramatycznych scen, ale pozbawionych tandetnego patosu.

Widać, że współpraca z Jerzym Szyłakiem wzbogaciła inwencję utalentowanego twórcy, pozwalając mu szerzej rozwinąć skrzydła. Niniejsza publikacja stanowi dowód na to, że komiks nie jest prostą syntezą sztuk plastycznych i literatury – tutaj nie można oderwać nastrojowej, przypominającej miejscami marzenie senne oprawy graficznej od scenariusza. Stanowią dla siebie idealne dopełnienie, roztapiając się w sobie nawzajem, przekraczając własne granice i stając się czymś zupełnie nowym. Na myśl przychodzi tylko jedno medium, które można by z nim porównać – kino. I tutaj autorzy puszczają perskie oko do czytelnika, pozwalając nam momentami spojrzeć przez obiektyw jednego z bohaterów, który usilnie nagrywa całość wydarzeń na taśmę filmową. Siła „Rewolucji”: “Na morzu” tkwi również w niezwykłej ilości podobnych aluzji i sugestii, które czytelnik może odszukać na ich kartach.

Zgodnie z obietnicą złożoną przez Mateusza Skutnika  następne tomy “Rewolucji” mają ukazywać się co roku. Z niecierpliwością czekam na kolejną odsłonę intrygującego cyklu.

Ania Stańczyk

One of the best internet game series period.

Submachine as a series started out as a simple escape room game. I didn’t think much of it at the time. But it was well made, the puzzles were intuitive, and you were drawn into it thanks to it’s masterful sense of atmosphere. The visuals were simple but stylish, and albeit being a short experience, The Basement left an impression. But Mateusz Skutnik has ambition. With the second game it was immediately clear that there was more to it. It incorporated elements of science fiction and set the ground work for an evolving scenario revealed in subtle and mysterious fragments via notes sprinkled throughout the locations of the game, left by previous explorers.

The series has kept evolving with every installment, almost always bringing something new to the table, and playing each of them in order (which is crucial for the story) is a mind-boggingly wonderful experience.

There seems to be a general consensus amongst players that the fourth game, The Lab, is the best one of the series. Although I will admit that it is indeed the most complete and the hardest one to finish, mostly due to the player having to navigate a large number of locations, keeping up with a lot of complex puzzles and a lot of inventory items : it will undoubtedly please fans of old school adventure games, but the best one thus far is The Core, the seventh installment.

I will not spoil the scenario for those of you who haven’t played it, but The Core occurs at a crucial moment in the development of the intrigue. The plot by that point has become fleshed out enough that we can keep up with the events as they unfold, but not as much as to know where it will take us next, and it’s fascinating.

The Core showcases every aspect of Skutnik’s mastery in building an ambience with as little elements as possible, helped only by wonderful sets and bright design ideas. The music is perhaps the best in the entire series, and gives the overall experience a haunting and dreadful feeling of a world coming to a turn, or an end.

The world of the Submachine is a lonely and desperate place, but when in the right mood it oozes of estranged beauty in the exact same way the Myst games achieved putting us in a state of eerie bewilderment at a world that seems like it was under the reign of a deity which left a long time ago, and left chaos behind…