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The Mystery of the Druids

Score: 65%
ESRB: Mature
Publisher: CDV
Developer: House of Tales
Media: CD/3
Players: 1
Genre: Adventure

Graphics & Sound:

The graphics in Mystery of the Druids are better during the game than in the cutscenes. The low quality cinema scenes seem emotionless and uninspired, and will have you longing for them to end. On the other hand, the in game graphics aren't bad at all. The polygon characters look decent enough, with a slew of animations for each person. The backgrounds are also nicely done, and usually have colors and moving things to keep your from falling asleep.

The sound is pretty adequate for the nature of the game. The voice acting is well above par, possibly due to the actors being British, but that's only a guess. The occasional sound effect will usually accompany a background action, or during the cinematic cutscenes, but are apparently missing during most of the game. The lack of such effects can't really draw a complaint, though, due to the fact that there really aren't that many places to use them. Instead, the music, while not award-winning but good enough, is always playing, making up for this absence of the ear candy.


Gameplay:

Basically, the point of the game is to solve a series of problems and puzzles to get from the beginning of the game to the end. This is accomplished through character interaction and the use of objects; the most basic and long lasting formula for all adventure games. For some it works, and for others it doesn't. Mystery of the Druids just doesn't have the right ingredients to pull this off.

Not since the days of Sam and Max and Monkey Island have I really played a great adventure game. Such classics are hard to beat, and for good reason. First and foremost is the storyline, which must be interesting enough to get someone to sit through the entire game. Mystery of the Druids tries, but fails miserably. A druid cult that travels in time to Stonehenge seeking some sort of Godly power is neither unique nor intriguing. I prefer escaped circus freaks and perverted rabbits.

Overall, the game's attitude seems to be caught in limbo, unable to decide whether to be serious or funny. The serious side is apparent from the ominous music and lack of adequate comic relief. A few witty remarks here and there might draw a chuckle from the player, but nothing memorable. It's not going for hilarious jokes, either, but it doesn't seem to meet the standards of games like the King's Quest series.

A lot of the characters you'll meet along the way won't be memorable even a few weeks down the road. There might be a couple of people that will bring a good memory along with them later in life, but there are definitely no LeChucks or Threepwoods to be found anywhere within the boundaries of this game.

Most of the problems you'll face in the game will be generic, and you'll usually figure out what you have to do before you even get there. The few puzzles thrown in will get your brain going a bit, but there are really no interesting solutions to them. It feels more like you've completed part of a job than solved a harrowing problem.


Difficulty:

Old fans of the genre will have few problems finishing this game in a matter of hours. Newcomers, however, might want to steer clear. There is no difficulty setting, leaving you to rely totally on figuring out what the developer was thinking at certain points in the game. A few of the problems will have you tearing your hair out, and your scalp will suffer even more after you figure out the ridiculous solution. Most of the puzzles can be completed if you don't think too hard (how many times have we heard that one), but some might have you spending your free time wondering what the hell was going on in the designers head.

Game Mechanics:

Controlling the main character is done in the old fashion of point and click. Wherever you click, he will go. Depending of the object there, different things will happen. A scene could change, he could pick something up, character dialogue could ensue. The pointer shape will inform you of the resulting effect. Not a deeply complicated interface, and the only problems to be faced will be trying to find small objects or other objects you misinterpret to be something else.

A day late and a dollar short, Mystery of the Druids will fail to impress avid adventure game fans. It will probably fail to impress even casual samplers of the genre, and they would do better to stick with the classics. But someone looking for cheap thrills (or members of a druid cult) might get a kick out of it. Play at your own risk.


-Snow Chainz, GameVortex Communications
AKA Andrew Horwitz

Minimum System Requirements:



Pentium 200 MHz, Windows 95/98/2000, ME, 32 MB RAM, 2 MB video card, 16 bit sound card, 150 MB hard disk space
 

Test System:



Windows 98, 1.4GHz AMD Athlon, GeForce 2 mx 32MB video card, 40 gig hard drive, 56x CD-ROM, 256MB DDR Ram, Sound Blaster Live! sound card, T1 Internet connection

Windows Morrowind: Bloodmoon Windows Mystery of the Mummy

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated