Sights and Sounds of Multimedia
By George Harding
Crime Stories …
This is another game from The Adventure Company, continuing the saga of detective Martin Mystère. This time, he has been called on to investigate the murder of Professor Eulemberg.
He starts out at his house where he gets a telephone call to meet Travis, who advises Martin that the Professor is dead. Martin has to fiddle around to get a couple of things he needs. To do this he has to deal with Java, his prehistoric assistant. Java is completely incomprehensible, but he will do things you want. Of the many things Martin must do before he can meet Travis are find the cell phone and his car keys. Once these are found, he can proceed to the villa.
At the villa, Martin talks with Travis and explores the villa for clues. A policeman stands guard, so there are some areas he cannot explore. Well, go back home to get the ID and then back to the villa.
The cop accepts the ID and Martin can now explore the Professor’s bedroom. A sealed envelope identifies and address in Mexico, where Professor Uben’s home is located. Martin goes to Mexico with Java
Martin has to solve a few problems to find a key to Prof. Uben’s house. When he does, he explores there and finds a map, showing a dig site in Mexico. Next stop – an Aztec archeological site. Professor Uben is there, but does not let Martin look around, so back to New York and the Professor’s villa. He finds an unfinished letter to a curator at the Donovan Museum. He goes there and talks with the curator, who has a medallion given to her by Professor Eulemberg.
She gives Martin the medallion, but only Professor Uben in Mexico can explain its significance. So, back to the Aztec ruins. Martin solves a riddle of opening the door in a wall covered with hieroglyphs and he and Uben enter the room. The door closes, trapping them inside!
Martin’s wife figures out that Martin needs help, goes to Mexico and finds the secret exit from the room. They go back to New York. A parcel has arrived.
Martin goes to the villa and finds another parcel. He uses the medallion and the parcels to create an Aztec scepter. This is the key to the safe room in Eulemberg’s villa.
From here, the plot gets really complicated! Suffice it to say that Martin encounters more difficulty but is able to solve his problems and prevent Professor Eulemberg’s discovery from falling into the wrong hands.
The art work in the game is really quite good, with vivid colors and detailed drawings. The sound is also excellent, varying in theme by location, It sounds as if a full orchestra was used to record the sound track.
The character movement, while better than in other games, still suffers from a lack of reality. Walking is a sort of gliding and mouth movements do not coordinate with spoken sounds. These are minor quibbles, though.
The plot is complicated, involving several locations, many people and the solution of many logistical steps. There are few of the types of puzzles usual in games of this sort.
Crime Stories by The Adventure Company About $20
Requires WIN XP, 1.8 GHz P4, 512 MB RAM, 32 MB video card, 1 GB hard disk space
ESRB rating T (Teen) for blood, mild language, mild violence, sexual themes, alcohol
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