NETGHOST

[h1]《Netghost》：帕鲁计算机打工仔际会黑社会犯罪是不是搞错了什么[/h1] “科学ADV”，这个名词相信对于广大的视觉小说玩家来说并不陌生。当作者在将自己天马行空的想象融入科学这个凭依时，无论是空间穿越抑或是时间旅行在玩家们对于科学的信仰与未来的设定下一切似乎都变得合理起来。十三年前发售的《命运石之门》不仅将这个题材带到一个新的高度引起后来的争相模仿，后来其动漫化的成功更是该作品名扬于ACG三界，一时风头无量。然而该题材后来的优秀作品却是少之又少，例如《机器人笔记》、《匿名代码》等作品虽制作精良但评价却是好坏参半 科学ADV的剧本实在难以把握……于是放低科学元素的要求呢？于是由DRAGONFIRE STUDIOS制作并发行的《Netghost》便是这样一部作品。游戏名中“NET”是网络的意思，而“GHOST“即为鬼。在这样一部幻想元素缺乏的故事中，玩家将从一名大厂网络安全职员的视角开始一段游走于危险边缘的犯罪故事 [h1]高科技犯罪懂不懂[/h1] Ian Newfield作为一个科技天才一直在超大型科技公司保护伞的分司地下工作……作为一名网络安全工程师的他每天的主要工作便是对母公司授予的绝密软件的加密（其实这不太像是网安干的事）。他有着高昂的工资、严格的老板、以及某些只会复制粘贴的同事……然而生活不会永远平静下去：一天，他们的加密被破解了……这绝对不会是外人——有内鬼，终止交易！于是为了找到泄密者，Ian Newfield生活开始天翻地覆。他与黑社会有了联系、也从中获取了赚大钱的机会。只要Ian Newfield愿意就可以享受更好的生活、治疗自己病患的妹妹。但是一条犯罪的道路的尽头究竟是什么呢？Ian Newfield徘徊由于最终做出自己的选择。而那便印证游戏开局的记录：听着…无论什么人…我现在会说出真相 [h1]邮件系统改变分支[/h1] 一如现在大多数的视觉小说，《Netghost》也采用了多分支多结局的设计。这样的多线设计主要的作用是活化故事情节以增强玩家的代入感，玩家通过不同的选择改变故事剧情就像是游戏中主人公一般。而似乎是迎合游戏的题材和主人公IT天才的身份，制作组将传统的选项分支舍弃，转而设计了一个电子邮件的功能来改变游戏进程。是否回复、选择进行，制作组说是从西方和自家媒体中找到灵感，但本质上还是换汤不换药新瓶装旧酒，无非还是玩家更有代入感觉得新奇罢了。不过这里也要提及下《Netghost》的分支改变做得非常有逻辑，不像某些视觉小说中选项信息与剧情之间根本没什么关联……更何况本作带有的科技、犯罪元素使其带有了些严谨的氛围，一个选择不慎就会误入歧途才是作品要表现的吧 [h1]游戏是难以阅读的[/h1] 如果说《Netghost》这款视觉小说我自己到底推不推荐的话，扪心自问回答一定是否定的。因为游戏有个很大的问题就是游戏没有中文。不仅没有中文，它其实作为一款非常传统的视觉小说也缺少配音（不过日语反正听不懂）……这就导致了我的阅读困难，只能说本作现在在平台上没有任何的评价不无道理。而且碍于游戏的科技、犯罪题材，游戏文本 中还充斥着大量的高级词汇（毕竟涉及到计算机、公司、商业这些元素）、多数的俚语表达……所以咱英语会点也不行，总是读起来一卡一卡的，个人表示长达八小时的阅读几乎完全是靠翻译器挺过来。干涩机器的语言伴随了我整个游戏时光，所以就阅读体验来说《Netghost》极其不推荐英语薄弱者！ [h1]故事人物画面感受[/h1] 其实就出场的几个人物、以及救妹妹从而深陷阴谋危机中的这个桥段其实非常像是《命运石之门》，特别是我看到胖子MIKE以及女主（伪）HOPE（妹妹：我才是女主）的时候我立马就能想起来桥田至和红莉栖（发色、神态都极其相似）。再有就是游戏那稍显割裂的画面：它的人物CG较为朴质古早，然而其很多背景又趋于写实，这些两个东西合成在一张图上真的微妙奇怪~总之就是游戏CG、UI方面没什么特色 题材为科技、犯罪的视觉小说，除开邮件选择支外并无其他特色，硬要说的话就是主人公在犯罪与欲求之间的行事求索值得思考。但作为一款游戏来说，单是无中文这方面还是比较劝退的 [quote]欢迎关注鉴赏家: [url=store.steampowered.com/curator/37196866/] 稻荷窝 [/url] 只写我们喜欢的游戏 欢迎加入Steam组: [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/daohewo] 稻荷的小窝 [/url] 来一起感受游戏的乐趣 喜欢这篇评论，也是可以顺手点个赞哟[/quote]

[h2]From cyber security to criminal fugitive.[/h2] I always find it difficult to recommend a game from an unknown developer. This being DragonFire Studios first game, it does very well, much better than expected. Even though the graphics are perfect and the story is very intriguing, you can see how amateurish the game is at times. I don't mean that in a negative way, I'm just saying that the game has that feeling that it was made by someone who was trying to do something good, but at certain moments did the opposite. Fortunately not to the point of making the game unplayable, but just with that strange feeling... [quote] This review was submitted for [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44762845/][i]Arcane Burajiru™[/i][/url] [/quote] [b][u]Story[/u][/b] We are abruptly introduced to Ian Newfield, a cybersecurity engineer working for Daikon Industries. After some explanations, we discover that someone has leaked important company data onto the Dark Web. The data is so important that many powerful companies and entities are interested. We're back to a week ago, when the leak happened. Your boss tells you to find out who inside the company leaked the data. Ian must then solve this major problem that could put his life at risk, while trying to help his sister who is ill in hospital. A well-crafted story, but one that seems confusing and simple. I don't want to go into detail and give away spoilers, but in a few times, a lot of things don't make sense, something you can ignore. NetGhost goes to great lengths to make a story that wins you over, but the more you read, the simpler it seems. At first you have your doubts, but with a few hints that appear throughout the game, your doubts start to become truths, making everything very predictable. Even with all this in mind, NetGhost is very profound in terms of story, even ignoring parts where everything is explained in the smallest detail, done just to make the reading longer, since it's not important to the story itself. [b][u]Gameplay[/u][/b] There's not much to say about the gameplay of a visual novel. One thing I didn't like was how everything was very separate. NetGhost was made in the Ren'py engine, so I'm normally used to a few shortcuts, but it seems that everything has been modified. Not much has changed, but the most annoying thing is that you can't go back to the previous text by scrolling the mouse wheel. The rest can be ignored. [b][u]Graphics[/u][/b] What stands out most in visual novels are the graphics, and there is no exception here. Even though a lot of the game's art is very attractive, this is to be expected from a game of this price, so there's not much to talk about. The best thing here would be the backgrounds, which have a quality almost better than many large games, being very well detailed with a quality above what is expected for a first game from an unknown developer, well done of a job if I must say. [b][u]Audio[/u][/b] It has some decent music that goes well with the style of the game, but the ones that stand out the most are the suspense/action songs, which are very well done by the way. One of my favorites would be the nightclub one, which I might download later haha. The rest are here and do their job well, they're good, but they don't stand out too much. Sound effects are used throughout the game, helping immersion as well as hindering it. Many effects are strange and don't match the place we're in. A good example would be at the beginning of the game, we're on an avenue in front of Daikon Industries, and instead of hearing cars passing by, you feel like you're stuck in a room with a bunch of people talking right at your ear. [b][u]Verdict[/u][/b] Being DragonFire Studios first game, they've done a phenomenal job, better than they should have, in fact. Even after 5 hours, I still haven't managed to finish the game, and it feels like I'm not even halfway through. If need be, I'll update this review as soon as I've finished the game. It's well worth it if you enjoy a long, well-constructed story and beautiful graphics. Even if you still have your doubts, there's a demo on the developer's website with 3 hours of content, as well as some videos on Youtube... [b]Score:[/b] 8/10 [b]Strong Points:[/b] + A great, compelling story. + Beautiful graphics for a 'small' game. + Charming, well-crafted music. [b]Weak Points:[/b] - Not important stuff being described in detail. - Strange sound effects that don't match the environment. As with all reviews, this is my opinion on what I thought of the game. If you find it interesting, I recommend you buy and play it to see if it's worth it or not... You can also download the demo, that's up to you. [quote] Follow our curator for more: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/44762845/][i]Arcane Burajiru™[/i][/url] Check these out if you can: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Liphisbus Steam: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/NankainaBurajiru [/quote]

Really nice artwork for an indie visual novel and the plot is pretty good with plenty of twists and tense moments. There are four endings to get, and the choices are pretty obvious. A few things are left unexplained at the end and it sort of feels like it's setting up for a sequel or something, but for the most part it's a satisfactory conclusion. On the negative side, some characters aren't really explored much and there is no CG gallery unlocked at the end, even though some of the CGs are really gorgeous. Overall, I definitely recommend it if you're in the mood for a short thriller VN about hacking and crime, all the while protecting your sickly sister from harm.