I’m not sure whether the Webmaster is posting a game today so thought I’d step in with a few point and click adventures, all of which are around 10 to 15 years old, but remarkably good graphically for their age. I’ve forgotten which of the following require the DOSBox, so if you can’t get them to work without it you’ll know they need it. I’ve got 12 of the things and know a couple don’t need them, but didn’t make a note of which. I’ll add those details later after my Hydrotherapy etc.
Cruise for a Corpse: (3.06Mb)
The year is 1927 and you play as Inspector Raoul Dusentier, a Frenchman… but don’t let that put you off, it’s a good game! Right, one day you receive a letter inviting you on a cruise. It seems some rich man named Niklos Karaboudjan has refurbished an old pirate ship, yar! Not only that, but it’s rumored that an old pirate treasure is still hidden somewhere on board… a sunny cruise, a treasure hunt and… a murder!
Yes, shortly after you arrive, your generous host Niklos is murdered and found dead in his room by his butler. When you arrive at the scene of the crime, you are knocked out by someone. After a few hours you wake up again and you can start investigating.
This is truly an adventure game for those who love reading Agatha Christie. The characters are deep, they all have secrets and everybody has an opinion about everyone else. As you walk around the vast cruise ship you’ll discover numerous clues and motives. It seems everybody has a reason to kill poor Niklos; from his son-in-law, up to the gambling priest.
It won’t take long before you really get immersed into the storyline and get the feeling of being some sort of Hercule Poirot… right down to the silly moustache.
Graphically the game has a charming feel to it. The backgrounds are pretty and detailed. As for the characters, while not being as detailed as the background, they move fluently and have a 3D feel to them. While interrogating characters you’ll get a more detailed view of their face, which is also rich in detail.
I won’t tell you any more of the story because if I say too much I’ll ruin it. So I’ll move on to the weaker points of the game (oh goody!). As with all games ‘Cruise for a Corpse’ has some flaws, but I'm happy to report that they hardly hamper the game play.
Firstly “cruise for a corpse” was originally made in French and was called "Croisiere pour un Cadavre". Translations never work out that well, so it is no surprise “Cruise for a Corpse” has a few vocabulary errors here and there. For example, at the beginning of the game the clock says ‘tomorrow morning’ to indicate one day has passed. While this is a correct combination of words, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out this isn’t done. But saying the game is bad just because of a few linguistic errors would be nitpicking (and I love to nitpick).
Secondly, when I say “Cruise for a Corpse” is just like an Agatha Christie book, I mean it! There are quite a few characters and initially you’ll be having a few problems figuring out who is who and remembering who did and said what. There is also a hefty amount of talking to do, and the list of dialogue options is ever growing. Eventually you’ll end up asking characters questions you’ve already asked. While this can be frustrating, it's avoidable if you concentrate (it’s still not exactly Tolstoy's “War and Peace”).
Thirdly, the last (and biggest) flaw: As time progresses items will appear in certain places. This means you’ll have to check places often. Just because a cupboard was empty last time you opened it, doesn’t mean it won’t contain an item later on in the game. Combine this with the fact that you can interact with almost every object you see on the screen… and you’ll often find yourself stuck and quite annoyed.
But there are two small mercies:
The game uses a map, so you can easily move around from one part of the ship to the other to avoid long walks (if only life were that easy). The game also uses a clock, whenever you find a set amount of clues the clock progresses a few minutes. This lets you know when new objects can be found. While this doesn’t seem like much, it can be quite handy.
Well, there you have the facts. Now it’s up to you to decide if you are in the mood for a good, but often difficult, whodunit adventure game.
http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/285/Cruise+for+a+Corpse.html
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Bermuda Syndrome: (115Mb)
Most games tend to be inspired by previous titles, and if you had a list of every game out there, you'd see how some inspired far more than others. Bermuda Syndrome, however, doesn't copy any of the big boys like Doom or Command & Conquer. Oh no; instead, it went for a unique game called Another World (aka Out Of This World), with a hint of Prince of Persia thrown in.
Similar to Another World, Bermuda Syndrome starts with you being teleported to a different dimension. Instead of ending up on a barren rocky world, however, you crash your plane into a lush jungle filled with dinosaurs, thereby accidentally saving a princess from a rather morbid fate. From then on you move through the jungle, where nearly every screen is a puzzle on its own. You can jump, climb, duck, talk, use items, shoot, stab, roll - all of which you'll need to get to the end of the game.
Bermuda Syndrome is not very forgiving, though. Make a wrong move or a bad decision and it's Game Over, and trust me, you'll be seeing those two words a LOT so save often. It really is a case of trial and error, and while some common sense will get you through to the next screen, most of the time you may come across situations where a clever solution doesn't work simply because the developers never thought of it. Still, it's not quite as bad as Another World, which doesn't let you save and where dying often leads to frustration. While Another World may be a classic, time has moved on and being forced to replay the same bit 50 times is really no longer acceptable (unless you own a console, it seems, where certain developers still have the nerve to pull this trick).
The graphics are also a big improvement. No vector graphics here, but instead very colourful backdrops in high resolution (well, 640x480, which was considered 'high' compared to VGA at the time). The game just feels right and creates a convincing atmosphere. I would have liked some more ambient sound, though, to bring the jungle more to life. The animation is smooth as well and may remind you of Prince of Persia at times.
Bermuda Syndrome does mess up in certain areas, though. To start with, the interface isn't as smooth as it could have been. Even after an hour I still kept accidentally shooting my gun instead of using an item. Also, the world itself doesn't feel as real as that of Another World. Every screen poses a puzzle to solve, but this comes at a cost since the artificial tone stops you from feeling as if you were really inside and part of a vast jungle. Some empty screens with nothing to do would have helped here, instead of cramming them full of dinosaurs and other obstacles. Because of this it also makes you feel as if every screen is a separate isolated location; it would have been cool if you had scrolling screens instead of fixed backdrops.
Despite these flaws, it remains an entertaining game - it's colourful, fun, challenging at times and it's a nice alternative to anyone who enjoys Another World. Go on, give it a try!
This is a 16 bit Windows game which means it will not work in Vista 64. It does, however, work in Windows 3.1, 95, 98, Me, XP and Vista 32. Every other Windows in other words.
People who want to play this game but are running Linux or Mac OS X need not dispair. You could just use Dosbox, install Windows 3.1 and play it that way.
Make sure to read the readme.txt in the game archive though. It contains info on how to run the game and also has a list of the game's controls.
http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/24561/Bermuda+Syndrome.html
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Cirque de Zale: (3.05Mb)
The fact that this very funny game was created by a woman is surprising enough, and the fact that it was created by a free games engine makes it even more interesting - well, to me, anyway, as I've always wanted to produce an adventure game. You can get the games engine from the abandonia site.
I was constantly surprised by this game and chuckled at the dialogue, something that doesn't happen often while playing computer games. The interface is similar to the Lucasarts Monkey Island and Indy games, with the usual quest thing going on; but something about Cirque De Zale struck me as unique and more life-like than the usual game plots. The main character, Zale, wasn't on a heroic quest to save anyone or anything. This cheeky Simon The Sorcerer like character just wanted to create his own circus.
I've been looking around the web at other reviews of this game, and there were mixed opinions to say the least. Some have gone so far as to suggest that it's a work of genius, while other reviewers were disappointed by the graphics, simple puzzles and the ending.
However, Andail, of the AGS site (which hosts the games engine that created the game), made this game the pick of the month for July and said that even though 2004 was a strong year in the games department, this might be the favourite title so far.
The game is very easy to set up and run: just double-click 'cirque.exe' and you're portalled into the zany world of Cirque De Zale.
http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/187/Cirque+de+Zale.html
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More Point & Click adventures to follow in a few weeks
regards
Whiterabbit
