If you like a good sci-fi story, and don't mind a little puzzle solving, this is a must buy
Gameplay: The only real problem with this game is the gameplay. Honestly, there isn't any real gameplay. This may sound stupid. I told you this is a must buy video game without any gameplay? Honestly, its not that the gameplay is bad, its just acts as kind of a bridge to tie the plotline together. Curiously, this never really gets annoying at (except for one mindlessly stupid part of the game that thankfully, isn't difficult at all and just takes a little time.) Basically, you walk around and find the right trigger to activate the next cutscene. There are two exceptions. One, you find yourself in one of the games, very few battle sequences. These are just kind of stupid. They threw this in so as to make the game seem more appealing to action game fans. No... It's just terrible. Basically, you have quick attack with A, Strong attack with X (which breaks guard but its slower) and guard with B. All of these feel horribly sluggish and annoying but this would only be a problem if the AI weren't complete idiots. You will never have a problem with any of the battles throughout this game. The hardest one is the training fight which you don't have to win anyway. Second, there are a few stealth sequences. You usually have to avoid a red beam in front of opponents or simply stop them from seeing you. I can think of 4 throughout the game, 2 of which are mindlessly simple. The last one, literally the enemy simply goes around in circles with his view clearly labeled by a red triangle thing in front. You don't even have to sneak. Other than that, a few puzzles are scattered throughout, most of which are pretty pointless. However, the puzzles that they have are relatively simple and if you get stuck, its only because you aren't looking in the right place. If you have all the pieces of the puzzle, they will fit together pretty quickly. Story: Here's the real meat of Dreamfall. The story takes you into the role of Zoe Castillo, a 20-year old, college dropout from Casablanca. Zoe is feeling rather bored with her lifestyle, until her ex-boyfriend/best friend/top secret, conspiracy journalist Reza dissapears and Zoe decides that she has to do something with her life and goes off to find him. Along the way, you find that there are two worlds, Stark and Arcadia. These will be very familiar if you played the original Longest Journey (which isn't required but highly recommended. I played Dreamfall first and there was a lot of stuff i didn't understand. Most of it, you can understand enough to get by, but it would be nice to have the knowledge of the characters and story of the first game) and you will run into some very familiar faces *cough cough April Ryan cough*. You get thrown into a horribly twisted, destroy both worlds plot and have to stop a corrupt corporation from releasing an evil... thing upon the world. You also have find your ex-boyfriend which seems to be way more important to Zoe than saving the world. It's amazing how often her priorities change throughout the game, but it remains pretty consistant. The only thing that can, and most likely will, bother you about the story is that it ends as a cliffhanger. And not just any cliffhanger. If you have played the .hack games for the PS2, think about finishing the first 3 games and never finding out what happens. Yeah, that kinda cliffhanger. Most likely, they will make a sequel but it's been almost a year since Dreamfall has been released and a sequel has yet to be announced. Not encouraging. This, by no means, should stop you from playing this game. It is an incredible game and even with the cliffhanger, you will love the story.
Graphics: With the next-gen systems and all, the graphics are a little dated but are far from bad. The only somewhat poor aspect of the graphics are the character models. Some people like them, I personally, didn't. Maybe it's just me. The landscapes, however, are amazing. They depict both the futuristic Stark and the magical Arcadia perfectly. I can't think of any way they could be better.
Sounds: The background music... hmm... thats a tough one. Everyone seems to think they are fantastic but for me, they just kinda fell into the background. But I guess thats why they call it background music. It's not bad. Just not soundtrack quality. The voice-overs, on the other hand, are spectacular. All the key characters throughout the game are perfect. Most of the supporting cast are perfect too, with a few exceptions. A couple of the voices are really, really bad. None of them are the worst I've ever heard but compared with the amazing main characters, you notice.
Value: A little on the short side but it took me a good 20 hours to beat. Some people beat it a lot faster, it depends on how easy/hard the puzzles are for you I suppose. The story makes it worth any price though. Definitely a great buy.
Overall, there are a few somewhat major glitches. I encountered 2 that made my game unplayable and I had to reload from my last save. There are also a few clipping problems but nothing unforgivable. The story eclipses any of the problems throughout this game and with the gameplay as bad as it is, thats pretty amazing stuff. Honestly, you will never hear a story this intense, this amazing again. Don't miss this chance.