Jules Verne revisited-in an up to date setting: You are Mina, stranded on a deserted island when she washes up on the beach, shipwrecked on a round the world sailing expedition.
After trying out your cell phone, which of course dosn't work,you realise you must start exploring and use your wits to get off this beautiful but mysterious island. The main focus in this game is finding things-tools, plants,chemicals, dirt, well anything you can pick up and put in your huge inventory. And then putting them together to form useful things that will advance you along in the story.This is definitely an inventory based game in the truest sense of the word. The other challenge is to find all the hot spots that the things will interact with.
Later on Mina acquires an assistant-a helpful monkey named Jep-who can also combine with inventory items and do handy things that Mina can't do. She will also gain access to an "encyclopedia" feature which gives additional information and hints about things in the inventory and how they can be used. This is especially helpful when dealing with chemicals for those without a degree in Chemistry.
The environments in the game are beautifully presented, colorful, imaginative and varied. You really feel as though you are on a deserted island and are experiencing the exploration of hidden pathways, figuring out how to get to inaccessable places, such as over a huge pile of fallen logs or over a deep chasm.
As the back story unfolds you will encounter evidence that Jules Verne's story of the Nautilus and the mysterious island are connected, adding a deeper dimension to the puzzle of why Mina can't reach the outside world.
The game ran and installed smoothly on WIN XP. I played it as part of the "Adventure Collection" that includes 4 other games.There were no crashes and the interface worked well.There are no slider puzzles, no timed puzzles, no mazes, no intricate mchines.There is a tricky safe cracking puzzle and a music puzzle with organ keys that I found challenging.(Thanks to MaG I got past them!) Most of the things you have to put together are logical and make some kind of sense. You can meet your demise 2 or 3 times but saving regularly solves this problem.
I enjoyed this game and thought it well worth playing, especially now that it can be had for a small price.
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