This received 93% positive votes out of over 300 the first time this was given away back in April 07 and there were 89 comments which can be seen by following the link below:
http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/atlantis-quest/#comments
Installation:
Installation is a breeze; with only one file (apart from the read me) to worry about when installing the game as the activation and executable modules are combined into one file. For those those have only just discovered the giveaway project please read the instructions that unzip with the set up module before installing the game. The downloaded zip file is 9.77Mb in size and once installed is 29.9Mb. Once the wizard has completed you can either allow the game to be started, which it will b default, or uncheck the box on the final set up window that says Launch the game.
Introduction & Game info:
There have been lot’s of this genre given away over the past year, all with their own merits but this is one of those that has several additions to the game play that makes it a cut above the rest apart from Treasures of Montezuma, which in my opinion is the best and also the very similar The Rise of Atlantis) The latter one is remarkably similar, but not the same game.
Apart from the interesting story line the game play is enhanced by the use of artifact pieces that you have to clear from the playing area by moving them to the bottom of the field. This is accomplished by matching three or more symbols that tie in with the particular story line of which there are several that include Greek, Roman, Carthage, Babylonian and Egyptian. Once they are moved to the bottom they are fitted into a puzzle placed at the side of the main puzzle, and slowly build up a picture of the particular artifact that you are collecting. The aim being to find the lost city of Atlantis and the Golden Chimera, which I presume will be the last artifact to be built. Each artifact reveals a map showing you the way. The game is very linear in that you progress from one empire to another without being able to start where you wish, though this takes nothing away from the game play.
As well as the artifacts, you can collect several power ups to aid you in your quest. These are collected in the same way that you collect your artifacts. The power ups can be used to destroy particularly difficult to get rid of tiles, for example the hammer removes one tile and the shovel removes a whole set of tiles below an artefact, or the clock gives you extra time to accomplish your task. They can be saved until you really need them which is later in the game; these can accumulate from one empire to the next. . There are five power ups in total; these are:
• Hammer
• Shovel
• Oil Lamp
• Timer
• Money Bag
There are also tiles that are locked, which are introduced once you’ve played the first set of levels which is based on the Greek empire. These locked tiles require you to create two sets of matches using the locked tile. The first match unlocks it and the second clears it away. I didn’t check to see if these locked tiles could be removed by bonus items such as the hammer or shovel.
There is a third incentive to play; which is against the clock. The quicker you remove the artifact pieces from the playing field, the greater the time bonus you get. Additional points can be gained by creating more combinations with just one move of a tile, however the more of these you make, the less of a time bonus you will get because whenever you create a set of three or more a slight time bonus is actually added to the timer; this bonus is the same if you destroy 3, 4 or more tiles in one go. I haven’t worked out the difference yet. You get three lives to start with so I can only think that you have to clear the artifacts within a certain time to retain your life. The further into the level set you progress, the more artifact pieces you have to remove from the playing field, and the more difficult it becomes. The longest board (in the first empire) took me just over three minutes (with three artifact pieces), the shortest 22 seconds (with one artifact piece). I seemed to get quite high bonuses for both. There is an indicator of the amount of time bonus you have accrued below the playing field that looks like a thick line of molten gold. I would presume that as you progress through the different empires that the game gets progressively harder.
You can save the games progress at any point, even half way through a game which is an added bonus as with many arcade games you have to start from the beginning of a level, and is especially good if you are suddenly taken from the game for whatever reason. You don’t have to worry about having to cancel the level and having to start from the beginning of that particular level again. You can set up multiple profiles or if you‘re not satisfied with your progress through the game you can cancel your progress and restart from the beginning again.
The options menu has the usual items such as changing sounds and music. The music is quite pleasant, but as with any music can become annoying after a while unless it’s turned down to a very low level. You can change the method of changing the tiles from a drag to a drag and drop. The left mouse button is used to move tiles. There is a difference as I’m sure you’ll discover when you play around with the options to find what’s best for you. The drag option seems the best to me, which is the default setting. It is here also that you can turn off the helpful hints menu and a separate help menu as well as change from full screen, which is the default setting, to windowed mode. Whenever there is a new tile introduced, a small info window pops up telling you what the power up does, or what the new tile does. You can see examples of these by following the links to the screen captures below, although I suspect I don’t have all the different types of tiles that you’ll find in game, because I only played the game to the first level of the second Empire which is Babylonian.
On starting the game you are introduced to the game and given a brief history of the particular Empire level you’re playing via several screens, and then a levels map that shows you your progress to the end of the section; though you can’t replay earlier levels unless you start the game from the beginning.
The animated help page is shown whenever you start a new level unless you uncheck the box to the lower left of the screen. Once all the artifacts have been collected the level ends and you get a stat’s window that tells you such things as the number of matches and chained matches you have made; the number of bonus items you have collected and the number of artifact pieces you’ve collected as well as the time it took, your score plus any additional scores for bonuses and time bonuses.
To exit the game in between levels you can just click on the menu button which brings up a window that enables you to save and exit the game. You can create new user accounts by clicking the here link at the top of the main menu. On returning to the game you are given the opportunity to return to your previous game or starting afresh, though if you choose the latter all progress will be lost in the game you played.
Whenever you start afresh, the levels are always unique, that is they are randomly generated, so there is never the same level to play; also there are many different shapes to the playing arena, which adds to the difficulty in each progressive level. There’s no difficulty settings though.
Other information:
• You get three lives
• When a new level starts, the timer doesn’t start until you’ve made your first move.
• The boards become more complex as you progress
• In each set of levels, the number of artifacts to collect increases as you progress through the level
• The game is fully mouse controlled
Screen Captures:
All on one page:
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/Whiterabbit_01/gaotd/Atlantis%20Quest/?start=all
As a Slideshow:
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/Whiterabbit_01/gaotd/Atlantis%20Quest/?albumview=slideshow
Googled:
http://search.msn.co.uk/images/results.aspx?q=Atlantis+Quest+game&go=Search+Images&form=QBIR#
System Requirements:
Operating System…………………… Windows ME/2000/XP/VISTA
CPU……………………………………. 600MHz or faster Processor
Memory………………………………….RAM: 128 MB
Conclusion:
I would have given this game 10 out of 10 if they had included the ability to be able to place the artifact pieces yourself rather than it being automatically done, perhaps making it into a jigsaw puzzle of sorts. As it is, this is only a minor thing so I give this game 8 out of 10. For excellent game play as well as lots of re-playability. The game play is remarkably similar to The Rise of Atlantis. I originally scored this 9 out of 10, but having scored Treasures of Montezuma less, I have amended my score as I think Treasures of Montezuma is a more captivating game; though today’s giveaway is also an excellent game; it just seems lacks a little something I can’t quite put my hands on tha Treasures of Montezuma has. I think adding a few in game bonus levels would improve this already excellent game as it seems all the best games are adding such levels, for example, Luxor 3, Action Ball 2 as well as Atlantis Sky Patrol and several others.
Thank you very much Terminal Studios for a great take on this genre and to the GGAotD team for providing it free for us again. :)
