Return to Mysterious Island 2

I've waited a long time for this game to make it to GOG after having played the original a few years back. The story picks up right where the last game ended, and we're thrust back into the same island, which has been faithfully recreated and expanded upon. The inventory management system is basically the same. The big difference is that now we control both Mina and Jep separately, even though they share the same inventory. At first I didn't like that this was the case, it seemed unrealistic, and it is, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. The fact is that this new game tries to re-invent a wheel that was working just fine a few times. The result is a lot of busy work, such as switching from Jep to Mina to Jep to Mina (forcing you to watch a very short cutscene every time) , making every single piece of pottery you require, or playing mini-games that can be very hit and miss. So, not having to trade inventory items between the two protagonists was greatly appreciated. This is compounded by a fatal flaw that I'm not sure is the game's fault. It may be a technical issue that gets resolved in a coming patch, I hope so, at least, , but at the time that I played this game, and am writing this review, the game feels laggy. The mouse moves slowly and choppily, the camera rotation moves slowly and choppily, and to be honest, that takes a LOT of the fun out of the game. I have oscillated between giving this a flat out one star, because I hated that choppy feel so much, to giving it a five star, because in the end the story did grip me and deliver a satisfying conclusion that stuck with me. A three star would be the fair rating for me to give it at this time, as the technical issues are balanced out by a game that mostly works from the puzzle and the story perspectives. Not always, but mostly. I ended up with a 4 star review rating, because in the end, I did enjoy the journey, frustrations and all.