--A HUMOROUS JOURNEY--
"EYE OF THE KRAKEN"-THE REVIEWYOUR MISSION"Eye of the Kraken" is the first adventure game from canadian developer Absurdus. You will find yourself tackling diverse and engaging puzzles on a ship within a five day time period within this game. You are on the Glutomax, a ship on its way to Hyade Island. You believe this to be a regular trip at first but you will soon find yourself in search of a vile criminal who plots world domination through the awakening of a mystical beast from the seas. You will have to find the eye of the kraken before you arrive on the island, for it is an object of great power that can summon the great kraken. Whoever controls the great kraken controls the destiny and future of mankind! It becomes a great mystery that the player must solve on this ship. Who can you trust, who is telling you the truth and who is lieing? You will begin an investigation upon this ship and its passengers, and do your best to find the criminal and the eye of the kraken before all is lost.
THE CHARACTERSHumour is at the heart of this game, as you will come across varied characters, such as Odysseus, the classic greek figure, Ingrid, who sings operas, Fitzcarraldo who is an inventor and plans to build a ski resort on tropical Hyade island and many more varied characters in your search for the criminal. You play as an ottoman official named Abdullah who must discover the location of the eye of the kraken and the criminal who stole it. You will find the characters you encounter very interesting and fleshed out quite well as you begin to try to understand their lives and any connection they may have to the stolen eye of the kraken. You will even come across a well-known character that has lived over a thousand years. Who could this be as well as the rest of the interesting characters in this game? Buy this game and you will be treated to a varied and quite humorous assortment of characters that will make this trip a memorable and invigorating experience.
THE HUMORThis game is splashed with so much humor that I found myself laughing on many occassions. There is no voice for the conversations within this game as everything is done through text. As recent adventure games have proven, sometimes voice does not help a game but make it worse. Voice is not needed though as you will find reading the text very entertaining, hilarious and sometimes very intellectual. In one occassion our hero is carrying a cannon ball which another character replies is symbolic of all the burdens that we must bear in our lives. Although, your intent for this object is something else, it was nice to read these lines which are serious and funny at the same time. Wait until you try out a certain ring late in the game, and you will laugh at what transpires. You will also laugh as you learn that Abdullah as well as other passengers have brought their own full-sized beds onto the ship for one hilarious reason or another. Such details and scenes in the game are very memorable and appreciated. There is some minor profanity in certain scenes but this is only in a few occassions and is used in a limited fashion for the joke involved with the character or scene. You will even find both the intro and ending cutscenes of "Eye of the Kraken" to be very humorous when you watch them. Humor is at the center and heart of this adventure game, and the player will enjoy the many hours of laughter and enjoyment offered by it. The ending of this game along with many other moments within it, found me laughing like no other game has in recent memory. Each game has a certain magic that it uses to attract gamers, this one relies on its humor to do the job, and it does that quite well.
THE PUZZLESThe puzzles and conversation routine involved in this game will be very familar to adventure gamers. You must talk to all the passengers on the Glutomax often to know what to do next and what is required of you. The puzzles are not difficult but are all very logical to solve and by following the conversations with characters, your notebook and the clues you find in the game, you will be able to solve them. You have a notebook which keeps information on the various passengers on the ship and when you find out valuable information about each of them. Some puzzles involve finding certain items scattered through the ship to make a needed potion or item while others involve searching the passengers cabins for clues to the mystery. One puzzle involves making ice with a sausage. If that does not start you thinking about the uniqueness of this game, its humor, story and puzzles, nothing will.
THE GRAPHICSThe graphics are also quite stunning in the way that the environments and characters are depicted. You do feel as if you are on a ship with a surprise around every corner. Go up to the main deck and you will hear the sound of the waves crashing upon the ship as well as the sounds of birds flying somewhere in the distance. The colors used for the different areas are very bright, colorful and vibrant, that you feel quite at home on this ship. I loved the style of graphics used in this game and the way the objects were modeled, everything from the design of the ship to the bed our hero sleeps on. If you get the game or have it, just look closely at many of the objects in the game, and you will see the detail to be found there. I complement the artists who did such an excellent job in this area.
YOUR MISSION AWAITS YOU-DETECTIVE ABDULLAH!I can easily recommend this adventure game to others who are looking for a unique game that is humorous, full of unique puzzles and gameplay. The music was nice, as different tunes played throughout the game. At first I did not like the music but it is the kind of music that grows on you when you listen to it for awhile. You will eventually find that the music playing is actually coming from one of the passengers rooms in the game, and you will also be able to play any of the music selections with a device in that room. The writing which could have used some minor editing is done very well throughout this game as I was impressed with the writers who gave us such memorable, intellectual and humorous characters and story. This game is one of those unique ones that comes at us with such energy and spirit that presents situations, story elements and puzzles one who would not usually expect but leaves its memorable impressions upon the gamer. Expect over 15 hours of enjoyment and fun in this game if you take the time to enjoy it instead of rushing it.
One interesting feature missing from many adventure games today is that you can click on virtually anything and be given some information on what you clicked on, which adds to the ambiance and atmosphere of the game. In one memorable instance, clicking on a barrel near the captains room will result in a coin being released along with appropriate music and comments from Abdullah, that will have gamers remembering the classic Nintendo Mario games. The developers put in many such details throughout this entire game if the gamer takes the time to look for them. Please take the time to explore and click on everything as often it will be something interesting that you will find out. How many games out there allow you to take part in cockroach racing? For $15, an adventure gamer can't go wrong in purchasing this unique game. It should be worth your every dollar, if what I have written interests you. Put on your detective gloves, as a mystery needs solving. I will be waiting for any future games from Absurdus as they have created a game to be remembered and cherished in "Eye of the Kraken".
Final Grade: A (RECOMMENDED) You can purchase this excellent game by following the link below. It will take you to the official website of "Eye of the Kraken", where you can purchase this game as well as find out further information on this great adventure game. $15 for the game and $3 for shipping and handling. You can purchase the game through paypal or by sending a money order located at the order page.
UPDATEIn May 2005, the developers of Eye of the Kraken made the full game available to download for free. You can find a link below.
DOWNLOAD EYE OF THE KRAKEN FOR FREE EYE OF THE KRAKEN WEBSITE FIND OUT ABOUT THE NEW GAME FROM ABSURDUS, CARTE BLANCHE
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