To base a game around art is a bold move indeed. There is a very fine line between daring entrepreneurialism and futile bravery. No doubt Ascaron have done their homework and decided that there is a market for a game based on art, but whether it can generate enough appeal to lure the masses away from their rocket launchers is a moot point. I for one am certainly pleased, and indeed impressed, to see game publishers and developers broadening out to explore fresh gaming formulas. Such innovation demands respect, even if the attempt itself is not entirely successful.
The story of TGAR runs that Uncle Walter has had his art collection stolen. Poor fellow, particularly with his terminal health condition granting him only a few short years to live. Thus, he promises to bequeath his entire estate and possessions to whichever family member can retrieve the most of his pilfered paintings before his untimely demise. Not a very fair way to draw out a last will and testament, but that’s enigmatic old Uncle Walter for you.
So playing as one of his avaricious family members attempting to selfishly earn themselves some easy loot, you have to travel the globe, attending auctions to buy back the valuable artistry. Naturally, such famous works as Picasso, Monet, and Caravaggio are going to fetch quite a hefty price, so you’ll need to engage in business ventures to generate some substantial income.
Gameplay focuses primarily on this necessity to make cash, and despite the various ways of doing this, there is only really one reliable source of income – plantations. There are fifteen available spots on the world map for you to erect your plantations, which allow you to yield indigenous crops from the land using local cheap labour. You then sell these crops for huge profits in the
The other methods of accumulating wealth are far more unpredictable, and infinitely less remunerative. Firstly you have the option to invest in a simplified version of the stock market, investing in various companies. This is uncannily erratic though, and even successful ventures will rarely generate enough money to fuel your auctioning expenses. Horse racing is another way of making a quick buck, but once again is purely down to chance, so you are more likely to lose your bet than make a profit.
Every month or so, art auctions will be held at various places around the world, and all who wish may attend them. The daftest thing about the auctions is that there is never anyone there except your family members. So if it is just yourself who manages to get to the auction, you’ll get it for the minimum asking price. Also, the auctioneer has never heard of the word ‘incremental’, as he raises prices by up to £50,000 per bid at times. As forgeries are not uncommon, you are also able to take art classes so you can identify which paintings are genuine, and which are not.
And basically, that’s it! Make cash, attend auctions, and that’s about the limit of your activities in TGAR. The formula is simple, but it works reasonably well to create a simple, albeit engaging experience. Of course there are plenty of finer details that add extra character to the game. Random events occur frequently, whether for better or for worse, such as strikes in your plantations, or unexpected events to boost your reputation. There is also a mysterious stranger in most of the cities that can be hired to perform unlawful tasks. He can ‘acquire’ forgeries for you, and can make ‘unfortunate incidents’ occur to your rival family members.
Possibly the greatest appeal of TGAR is the multiplayer element which allows up to six human players on the same PC to take up the art quest. As a family-orientated title, it simultaneously teaches you all about the paintings you acquire, so serves as an art lesson at the same time. This can get a little tedious on longer games though, so fortunately the victory conditions can be tailored to adjust to different lengths and victory conditions.
For those who don’t have the benefit of friends or family who want to play an art game, the AI characters are pretty proficient at building up their own financial empires, and will prove worthy challengers to you, particularly on the higher difficulty settings.
Sadly, the game’s low production values are delineated by the repetition throughout the game. Each location is represented by a 3D snapshot, which pretends to be animated by small pieces of 2D animation within it. The problem is that these snapshots are re-used for several different locations each, even across separate countries. Also, the warehouse buildings and banks right across the world are just identikit clones, not bothering to change in the slightest.
The musical score is very pleasant at first, changing with each location, but the tracks are too short, so it will loop long before you have finished your turn. The rest of the sound effects are reasonable, but a special mention must go the horrendously foulsome snoring sound clip. I don’t usually mind the sound of other people snoring, but this particular snore is so putrid, so soul-spearingly antagonistic, so brain-scythingly infuriating that I ended up turning off all sound effects just to get rid of it. I shudder even remembering it.
So when you when you have finally laboured, sweated, auctioned and bought, the winner who has accumulated the most paintings inherits Uncle Walter’s assets and estate. When you have spent such a long time toiling to attain your goal, you want to finish on a high note, to be rewarded amply for your labours. But sadly, TGAR has one of the most anticlimatic game endings I’ve ever seen. A few fireworks go off, and you get to read your uncle’s will. The end. Pathetic! And to exacerbate matters, his assets only add up to a paltry sum compared to the wealth you will have accreted, so that fails to satisfy either. I was left feeling distinctly hollow.
Possibly TGAR’s greatest failing is that it simply should not have been a videogame. I kept getting the nagging feeling right the way through that I was playing a boardgame, which in essence I was. The game’s simplistic nature makes it far better suited to translation as a traditional style of boardgame, rather than using the PC’s considerable power to accomplish very little.
A disappointment certainly, but an innovative disappointment, which isn’t quite so bad. Keep them coming Ascaron!
Adam Shirley
