Runaway: A Road Adventure

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 96 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 61 out of 96
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 96
  3. Negative: 8 out of 96
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  1. gietek
    Nov 11, 2014
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU BUY!
    I don't understand why this game has so many maxed out reviews. The storyline is most average, characters annoying and shallow, gameplay is tedious and the puzzles illogical or plain stupid.
    I love point&click games and that's why I gave it 5/10 but compared to, let's say, Syberia, it looks like a stream of bat's piss next to Niagara waterfall.
    Most appaling thing that just kicks you in the face is the lack of properly developed characters. It's just too quick - you move from foreplay straight to orgasm without any intercourse. For example: Halfway through the game the main character (I can't even remember his name) thinks his companion Gina is dead. And there is a WTF cutscene where he recalls all his memories about her. The problem is, those memories are from the last few days and not much really happened, while the cutscene blows it out of proportions trying to make it look like a great true love that will last forever in a sort of Titanic movie style. He barely knew her, there wasn't anything between them - she was actually treating him like a lawn mower while flashing her huge 'bewbs' in front of his nerdy glasses. Why did he bother in the first place?
    Also the change from a book-lusting physicist to a coolest guy in the world is so one dimensional, so obvious, so unoriginal. The first symptom (obviously) of becoming a cool guy is loosing your glasses. That's right boys and girls, glasses make you look and act like a nerd.
    One strange thing - maybe it's just me but the game tries to be sexy. It's all about nice looking bodies, muscles, etc. It's nothing wrong but totally doesn't fit this kind of game. Or maybe just this game.
    The puzzles require you to pick up everything from the map (sometimes it is just one pixel to grab a thing and you can hardly see anything worth noticing) and combining a few things in the inventory. Sometimes you have to just guess what the author wanted to do (basketball and the dancing tranny), sometimes you have to cringe in your chair as you make bullets out of lipsticks...
    Eh...
    Buy this game if you must.    … Expand
  2. eTurkey
    Mar 5, 2012
    7
    If you're partial to a cinematic experience than 'Runaway: A Road Adventure' might just be up your alley. Although on first glances it seems like a standard point and click adventure game, you'll find out that it has a completely different individual element to it that is a rarity in modern day titles. A distinctive charm if you will. The combination of 2D and 3D graphics is neat but alasIf you're partial to a cinematic experience than 'Runaway: A Road Adventure' might just be up your alley. Although on first glances it seems like a standard point and click adventure game, you'll find out that it has a completely different individual element to it that is a rarity in modern day titles. A distinctive charm if you will. The combination of 2D and 3D graphics is neat but alas the characters themselves aren't that interesting. The music is gorgeous but the main story itself is rather weak which is disappointing as it had so much potential.… Expand
  3. Underpants158
    Jan 14, 2013
    5
    There are so many things I dislike about this game. Actually, everything about this game falls under the dislike subheading. So here we go, lets list some problems!

    Cons -The characters are uninteresting and the relationship between the two main characters is unrealistic. Basically in the beginning of the game your guy runs over a lady who is being hunted by the mafia and you must help    There are so many things I dislike about this game. Actually, everything about this game falls under the dislike subheading. So here we go, lets list some problems!

    Cons
    -The characters are uninteresting and the relationship between the two main characters is unrealistic. Basically in the beginning of the game your guy runs over a lady who is being hunted by the mafia and you must help her on her journey. What really bothers me is she always pulls the "oh, so you're just going to leave me? Some guy you are" routine and he should yell "LADY, I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!!" but he never does. Why? Boobs. She has nice boobs. And sultry voice. Sultry yet annoying. Like a lady obviously trying to use the power of boobs to get what she wants. I hate her for being this type of person and I hate him for being stupid enough to go along with it. -Gameplay... is annoying. Being that this is a point and click adventure you have to pick up lots of things off the ground. However it's extremely hard to distinguish what is an option to picked up and what is merely the background. This makes you have to finely go over every screen with your mouse. I've done this and still got stuck and had to refer to a walk-through. It turns out I missed an item I was supposed to pick up. This happens all the time! The logic to most of the puzzles....is sometimes far-fetched. Something I could get over if everything else didn't suck so much.
    -The lip syncing is terrible but that doesn't really bother me so much.

    Positives:
    -I've heard people say they liked the soundtrack. I guess. Sure.
    -The graphic style is ok.
    -All the "ethnic" people are just stereotypes. Which is hilarious. For awhile.    … Expand
  4. akarnokd
    Feb 21, 2014
    7
    It was interesting to play it so long time after release. It is a fun point-and-click game but with the recent "advancements" from the scene such as hotspot-highlight. I missed a lot of objects due to the lack of this feature and had to revert to a walkthrough. It doesn't run in windowed mode nor could I change the resolution (my monitor doesn't like 1024x768).
  5. OdinW.
    Jan 27, 2004
    6
    This game is so buggy for once, I had to find an unofficial patch to complete it :/ I'm glad there is a classic kind of adventure out there, the graphics are quite good but it shows the creators aren't skilled enough to move the videos while somebody is talking...very stupid looking. The audio is pretty good though, and the story isn't so bad either. Good locations but This game is so buggy for once, I had to find an unofficial patch to complete it :/ I'm glad there is a classic kind of adventure out there, the graphics are quite good but it shows the creators aren't skilled enough to move the videos while somebody is talking...very stupid looking. The audio is pretty good though, and the story isn't so bad either. Good locations but illogical puzzles make this a mediocre game, you'll play through it once and then it's surely forgotten quickly. Let's hope the latino crew can dish out another game with less bugs and better puzzles next. Oh, Gina surely isn't hot...… Expand
  6. GolovA
    Jun 1, 2022
    7
    Good Adventure, but i will not suggest it to new players who should look for more friendly staples.

    The story is somewhat strained in the beginning, but past chapter 1 it gets better, and the ending actually remedies the lopsided start. The puzzles are ok for the most part, some are believable, others - well, you gotta stretch your imagination and bend the rules a bit to count them    Good Adventure, but i will not suggest it to new players who should look for more friendly staples.

    The story is somewhat strained in the beginning, but past chapter 1 it gets better, and the ending actually remedies the lopsided start.

    The puzzles are ok for the most part, some are believable, others - well, you gotta stretch your imagination and bend the rules a bit to count them valid puzzles. The main problem is the intentional item hiding on the designer's side. Terrible pixel hunting. Sometimes the protagonist enters an area and covers the item which is already hard to spot by default. I mean, Dev's, this game is oldish, i get it - but why would you hide things from the player in an Adventure genre? Why?

    I played all 3 games of the series. The last implementation is the best and resolves pretty much all my complains for the first two parts.    … Expand
  7. Baltifru
    Apr 19, 2020
    7
    As a point-and-click lover, I really enjoy playing Runaway. The scenario and the universe are nice and the characters are very funny; going back and forth to try to solve enigmas is a challenge I am never tired to take.

    To me Runaway just has one default: some puzzles are difficult to solve, not because they require you to be very intelligent or to think a lot, but rather because the    As a point-and-click lover, I really enjoy playing Runaway. The scenario and the universe are nice and the characters are very funny; going back and forth to try to solve enigmas is a challenge I am never tired to take.

    To me Runaway just has one default: some puzzles are difficult to solve, not because they require you to be very intelligent or to think a lot, but rather because the solutions are quite harebrained. I have found myself in situations where I had literaly no clue what to do, and just started trying all possibles interactions between pairs of objects, only to find one that was magically working in a way I would have never thought of. This kind of situation can be quite frustrating.

    But overall, I really enjoy the atmosphere and the puzzles of the game. If you like point-and-click, you have to play Runaway.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

90
#90 Best PC Game of 2003
73
#73 Most Discussed PC Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. Game Over Online
    82
    The score reflects more the quality of the engine rather than the gameplay, but I liked the game well enough, and there is such a dearth of other adventures out there, that it’s a game worth owning if you enjoy the genre.
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  2. Gamer's Pulse
    76
    Brings the adventure much needed color and style; but in the end it succumbs to the same faults as other games before it.
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  3. Adventure Gamers
    90
    There's no way around it: Runaway is an instant classic, and an absolute must-own for all adventure game fans.
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