Destination: Treasure Island

Destination: Treasure Island is a 3D point and click adventure game by independent developer Kheops Studios. Story wise, it is a sequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 Treasure Island novel; And as such it is a tale filled with pirates, hidden treasure, adventure, danger, and romance. The presentation is very well done, with great graphics, engaging voice overs, and memorable music. And the gameplay is very enjoyable and a good challenge.

Four years have passed since Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver marooned the mutinous crew on a island. Since then they have parted ways and lost contact. The crew have escaped the island and are on a quest for revenge against Jim and Long John. The game starts with them attacking Jim’s ship. As Jim is escaping he encounters Captain Flint, Long John’s parrot; Who brings a message from his master. The message says that Long John has died and left his substantial fortune to Jim, and contains directions to Emerald Island and a series of riddles he must solve if he wants to obtain this treasure.

The gameplay is very entertaining and varied. Their are inventory puzzles, logic puzzles, riddles, and even a knot tying mini-game. Additionally the game is moderately non linear and even allows the completion of some puzzles in multiple ways. The logic puzzles are pretty standard fare, and in general are tied in with the riddles. The knot mini-game happens whenever the player uses a rope in a way that would need him to tie it to something; It is not really interesting, but I like how they tried to add some additional pirate elements to the game. The inventory puzzles are a staple of the developer and as always are very enjoyable and complex. The use of objects are always logical and often require the user to combine or dissemble objects. But the riddles are what really make this game stand out. From they very beginning you are given a series of riddles, called enigmas, that will guide you on your adventure and give you the needed hints to allow you to attempt to solve the puzzles in the game and reach the treasure at the end. No longer are you blindly solving puzzles and picking up objects simply because they are there and you can; With the enigmas you now have a guiding goal in mind to validate your actions.


Positives:
The enigma was very well done and added uniqueness to the game.

Negatives:
The feather puzzle required a strict order of feathers, even though all information points to a order not being required.

Summery:
A solid polished adventure game.

Nostradamus – The Last Prophecy

Nostradamus – The Last Prophecy is a 2007 adventure game from Kheops studios. It has great graphics, an interesting story line, and challenging puzzles. Unfortunately, it just did not hold the same magic as many of Kheops's other titles for me.

In Nostradamus you play Madeleine, Nostradamus's daughter. Nostradamus who is, of course, the most famous seer in all of history and a prolific creator and publisher of prophecies. As Madeleine you must investigate a string of deaths connected to one of her fathers prophecies. It is 1566 and a series of unsolved deaths around Queen Mother Catherine de Medicis has lead her to believe she is cursed. Madeleine has been sent to investigate the crime, but the only problem is, as a woman, she is not considered capable enough to conduct it. So not only does she have to investigate the deaths and put a stop to them but also hide her real identity, as she masquerades as her brother César.

The game plays very much like a murder mystery with you examining crime scenes, bodies, and evidence with your ever handy investigation kit, or talking to witnesses and suspects. The main difference from other murder mysteries is the setting on Nostradamus. Nostradamus is set in medieval times and as such the player is not taking finger prints or analyzing evidence in a laboratory, instead the player will often be taking astrology readings of people and making alchemy potions.

But their are some things that I did not like about the game. For one, the entire game takes place in a small village that only includes two buildings you can enter, a castle and Nostradamus's estate. This causes a lot of backtracking and reduces the number of interesting places in the game to only a few (and this did not appear to allow more work to be put into the included areas). Additionally, a few astrology puzzles seem to require a working knowledge of astrology to even attempt to complete without a walkthrough. These issues combined with a general lack of polish really brings down what could of been a great game.

Good Points:
The graphics, as always, are very good and add a lot of enjoyment to the experience.

Bad Points:
Some of the puzzles seemed to require a working knowledge of astrology to complete without a walkthrough.

Summery:
Another solid adventure from Kheops Studios.

Rating:
3.5/5

Developer:
Kheops

Publisher:
Elektrogames, Kheops Studio, Mzone Studio, TOTM Studio, MC2, Encore

Release Date:
November, 2007

System Requirements:
OS: Windows 98SE or newer
CPU: 800 Mhz
Video Card: 64 MB
DirectX: 9.0
Hard Drive: 1.6 GB

Official Game Web Site:
http://www.kheops-studio.com/game/nostradamus-the-last-prophecy