Traitors Gate is crown jewel of two companies

When Daydream (the makers of Safecracker, one of my all-time favorite puzzle games) and Dreamcatcher (the publishers of Cydonia, one of my all-time favorite puzzle games (notice the pattern?)) got together to bring us a new puzzle game, I thought I’d be in heaven. And mostly, I was. Traitors Gate is a totally brilliant game with beautiful art, a fabulous interface, engaging sound, and best of all – ingenious puzzles. It is marred only by some loading and startup problems that I will get into later. In the game, you are Raven, an agent with the CIA. The head of … Continue reading Traitors Gate is crown jewel of two companies

For all you McGuiver wannabes: Nightlong is here

Don’t remember McGuiver? The guy that could break out of any situation with the mere everyday items around him? You might want to check into some of the cable rerun networks to find out just how fantastic this guy was. However, if you like to solve problems, and enjoy a good graphic adventure, perhaps Nightlong, Union City Conspiracy is for you! Nightlong was nominated for a GiN Award this year. And although it did not win, the game is nonetheless impressive. Set in the near future, you take on the persona of Joshua Reev, a close personal friend and former … Continue reading For all you McGuiver wannabes: Nightlong is here

Ancient Conquest combines historical gameplay and style

You have to love games with a big history. The history of the world spans over five ages. In the first age, the Golden Age, the ferocious overlord Cronos was leader of the immortal gods living on Mt. Olympus. He created the first mortals. But it was in the Silver Age that Zeus rose up among the gods, slaying Cronos, and becoming their leader. However Cronos’s mortals began quarreling among themselves and turned their backs on Olympus. In his anger, Zeus wiped them out leaving the earth empty and ending the Silver Age. The gods then made a new race … Continue reading Ancient Conquest combines historical gameplay and style

In the Valley of the Giants…

Music and art make Cydonia a memorable experience. Mars. Exciting and new. (I would continue substituting lyrics to the "Love Boat" theme, but none of us really needs that, do we?) Mars has been a lofty, and sometimes thought of as an unattainable goal for us meager humans for decades and decades now. And now, with Pathfinder still in our thoughts and the International Space Station actually underway, an adventure game that takes place on Mars seems only logical. Cydonia more than fits this bill. Cydonia is set in a somewhat-far-ahead-but-it-could-happen-to-us-if-we-don’t-watch-out sort of future. The Terran League [the governing body … Continue reading In the Valley of the Giants…