Technobabylon (parts 1-3)

Technobabylon is quickly becoming one of my favourite AGS series; And with three games already released in a little under eight months it is also quickly becoming quite a prolific series. Not that this has impacted its quality, if anything the series is only getting better. These games are being made by Technocrat and are moderately conventional but well polished and excellently well designed graphical adventurers; And are named, in chronological and release order, The Prisoner of Fate, The Weight of the World, and In Nuntius Veritas.

Technobabylon is set in a dystopian future where a tyrannical government is fighting a underground resistance group ans mysterious forces work from the shadows over Trance, a virtual world replacement for the Internet. Thus far we have been encountered two main characters; Latha Sesame, a unemployed, Trance addicted woman who seems completely insignificant but is being targeted for assassination by some unknown enemy; And Dr. Charlie Regis, An investigator working for the establishment and a technophobe to boot, who is being blackmailed by a mysterious stranger intent on controlling Dr. Regis's actions and using him to perform special tasks. Tecnobabylon starts when their worlds collide. It is also worth noting that the game seems moderatly inspiered by eXistenZ (1999) and copies a few of the main elements from the movie, though this does not seem to be mentioned by the game developer.

This series starts with Part 1: The Prisoner of Fate, in which you play as Latha who discovers that she is locked inside of her room and completely unable to contact that outside world; After which the entire game is her trying to escape from this one room improvised prison. The next game, Part 2: The Weight of the World, puts us in the role of Dr. Charlie Regis as we solve and prevent crimes as well as preform any duties required by our blackmailers. And then finally in Part 3: In Nuntius Veritas we are again in control of Latha and must again help her escape, but this time it is from a prison cell/waiting room of the city's law enforcement, CEL.

My mini-reviews of The Prisoner of Fate, The Weight of the World, and In Nuntius Veritas.

The local Trance in Latha's apartment as shown in The Prisoner of Fate.

A murder scene that you have to investigate in The Weight of the World.

The CEL holding area in In Nuntius Veritas.