After enjoying Physicus so much, I was looking forward to other Tivola games. These are 'edutainment' games, and in this one, all the problem solving involves principles of Chemistry. Chemicus is a first person, slide-show type game with beautiful graphics. It is point and click and there is a substantial amount of inventory to carry around. It ran well on my Win 98 in 32-bit color and 800 X600 resolution. There are 2 CDs, but I did a full install, so there was no swapping of discs. As the game progressed, I found a bit more hesitation, and the games seemed to take longer to load and save. Otherwise, it ran smoothly.
You start off hearing a desparate plea from a friend who has been kidnapped by the inhabitants of Chemicus. You must get to Chemicus to help him, but that is the extent of your knowledge at the start. You have access to an incomplete data base of Chemistry topics. As you explore the surroundings, you pick up more data chips to fill out the topics. These range from the basics of chemistry (atoms, elements, molecules) to the more specific disciplines (inorganic, organic, electrochemistry, etc.)There is also a reference appendix of the periodic table and the physical properties of the elements and molecules.
The puzzles are inventory based, but often you will have to deduce how to synthesize the item you need out of the items you have. Along the way you will learn about chemical applications as diverse as ore smelting to perfume distillation.
There are other clues given to you in the form of books and journals, as well as some short communications with your kidnapped friend.
The game is fairly linear, and as you solve things, you will gain access to new areas with more data chips and raw materials for you to work with. Many items have multiple uses, and thankfully they replenish themselves when this is the case.
I found all the puzzles logical, though you have to think outside the box for a few of them. The game comes with it's own Walkthrough accessible through the program file (not while you are playing the game).
I confess to having a university level background in Chemistry, but that was a very long time ago, so I made use of all the tutorial material. Even so, I found this to be a very challenging game, more difficult than Physicus was. I remembered things I had long forgotten and learned things I had often wondered about. I highly recommend this game, not only for its information value, but for the beauty of its graphics and the challenge of its puzzles.
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