Hands-On Preview 80 Days Developer: Frogwares Publisher: Focus Home Interactive (France) dtp Entertainment (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) Tri Synergy (North America) Genre: Adventure Release Date: November 2005 Platform: Hands-On Preview by August 22, 2005

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Jules Verne does not need any special introductions. Born in 1828, he has written some of the most popular fiction stories worldwide – stories like Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 Days and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. His stories are exciting and adventurous and are an excellent ground for adventure games to be built around. But somehow this perfect opportunity has not been properly taken advantage of. At least not until recently, with the releases of Journey to the Center of the Earth, Return to Mysterious Island and Voyage (previously known as Journey to the Center of the Moon).

Now Frogwares, developers of the pretty good, yet not flawless, Journey to the Center of the Earth, bring another Jules Verne story to the adventure crowd: Around the World in 80 Days. But this time, things have changed. Mr. Verne seems to have taken a huge technological leap, and Frogwares appear to have one the biggest and most technologically advanced adventures in years in their hands. But while it will satisfy the tech aficionados, will it be up to par to sate the substance-oriented adventure crowd? After playing the demo my answer is “It sure seems like it!”

It’s the year 1899. Oliver Lavisheart, a young adventurous Englishman, has accepted to help his uncle Mathew win a bet. The bet: go around the world gathering proof that Mathew has created 4 different inventions in 4 different cities in Egypt, India, Japan and America. That could be fairly easy if there wasn’t a catch. Oliver has to accomplish this feat in just 80 days and you must help him.

The game is presented in full 3D and is keyboard controlled. To be honest, after I saw the first screenshots of the game I was expecting an Action/Adventure game, in the Tomb Raider fashion, but after playing the demo I realized I was mistaken. The controls are simple – walk/run around and jump. Also there are keys to access the inventory, use/operate items and see the current objectives – which, along with the on-screen mini-map, proved very helpful during exploration. There are no buttons to attack or defend, which simply means, no fighting! 80 Days promises no jumping, fighting, timed actions whatsoever, although there will be a few non-timed arcade sequences. The player will also be given the opportunity to choose which way they want to do things. For example, a situation that will be able to be resolved using stealth will have an alternate solution if someone is not the sneaky type.

In his attempt to find proof of his uncle’s inventions, Oliver will have to roam the four different cities, exploring and solving all kinds of puzzles. Exploring the city of Bombay (which was the one in the demo) was a great experience. The city is alive. People are walking and talking, animals are wandering in the streets and the weather constantly changes. You see 80 Days is played in real time, and the weather will change from sunshine to overcast to rain, while day and night will take turns. Oliver is also “alive”, which means he can get tired and will need to eat and rest. And all that come coated with a nice frosting of good humor (just see the poster of the Bollywood version of Star Wars!)

The big 80 Days innovations though are the methods of transportation. Oliver does not have to walk/run everywhere. He can use all kinds of vehicles he will find parked in the streets. From tricycles to weird “one-wheelers”, even flying carpets or elephants! At times I found myself just driving around with no care in the world! Also, there are different methods of transportation from city to city, and the player will get to choose which one they want. Going from city to city will not just be a cut-scene though, since Frogwares promises more adventures during travel!

Visually I have to say that 80 Days impressed me. All characters are very detailed, with even their clothes flailing while they walk/run, while the areas and the whole environment are plain gorgeous! Add some beautiful ambient sounds and nice voiceovers and you have a result of top class presentation.

In a nutshell, playing the demo of 80 Days was sheer fun! The game is certainly innovative and very different than what the standard in adventure games has been so far. Unlike other games that have tried to innovate and failed, 80 Days seems to have found the magic recipe to combine pure, fun adventuring with top notch technology, and if what I experienced playing the demo is any indication of what the final product will be, we are talking about a definite winner!