Preview Legacy: Dark Shadows Developer: Razbor Publisher: Tri-Synergy Release Date: October 18, 2004 Platform: Preview by Randy Sluganski September 30, 2004

Futuristic science fiction adventure games have been rarer lately than a Particle Beam Molecular Reconstructor, but that is about to change with the Tri-Synergy’s North American release of Legacy: Dark Shadows.

Set in the not-so-distant future of 2020, Legacy actually begins in the past during World War II. Anyhow, here is the official developer’s storyline that you may have seen elsewhere:

In the year 1930 Japanese scientists discovered an unusual substance which when injected in human body starts to regenerate body cells stopping the process of aging. However, with the first few volunteers it became clear that something has gone wrong: after ten days the rejuvenation was so intense that a body couldn't take that much of a shock. All of the subjects died of a stroke. In 1936 Japan and Germany sign the Anti-Comitern Pact. Hitler's leading scientist Josef Mengele negotiated the terms of the cooperation with Japanese concerning the research of the regenerative substance.

These negotiations lasted until 1941, when Germans realized that their soldiers aren't able to bare the cold Russian climate. Japanese, concerned for their interests in Russia, decided to help them unconditionally. In December, 1941 the Institute for Hereditary Biology with its leading scientist dr. Mengele received a mysterious package from Japan. Only the chosen ones knew that it contained all records regarding the creation of the regenerative substance...

This was only the beginning – The effects of their actions would echo through two centuries

Well, believe it or not, the above synopsis actually does inventively lead into a nice science fiction story. The game opens with a black-and-white sequence (much like Van Helsing did) during WWII that then segues into a colorful futuristic soap opera.

Legacy is an old-fashioned, point-and-click adventure that is extremely reminiscent of Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy a TAC adventure released in 1998. Set in a futuristic dark, cold Blade Runner/Big Brother atmosphere, the game shifts back-and-forth between bleak, neon-lit cities and barren Martian landscapes dotted with space outposts.

The protagonist is a comely, young lady named Ren Silver. Now if Ren were to hear me speak so of her, she would be quick to label me sexist, for one thing Ren is consistent in is her proclivity to point out any male sexism that still exists (although, my personal vision of the future is a world were all men have been eliminated by women, and I am the only male left alive - oh, sorry, I meant to say that’s my personal vision of Hell, as every single one would probably be assigning me chores :) ).

As Ren, you undertake a mission to unearth the mysterious disappearance of your boss, which of course, leads to the discovery of even more disappearances and eventually some curious corporate involvement. No, it’s not Dick Cheney and Halliburton, but I don’t want to give away any more of the plot either.

The game features an eclectic cast of characters the most notable being Hacker, a computer expert who is conducting some interesting experiments with dolphins and Gunman, a gruff prison guard. Razbor has done a fine job of creating distinct, familiar characters.

The graphics have that prerequisite Blade Runner look to them and feature some memorable rain scenes and nice lighting effects. The cut-scenes are well done and used effectively to either advance the story or show the aftereffects of one of your actions.

One thing that is different in Legacy, is that there are some ‘boss’ monsters you will have to defeat. Now before you stodgy, old adventure gamers begin having conniptions, have no fear for to defeat these ‘bosses’ you only need to use your wits and not your trigger finger.

Puzzles for the most part consist of finding inventory items and then using them in the most logical places. There was not, as far as I remember, any obscene pixel hunting nor were there any puzzles that I would consider unfair or illogical. It’s the basic, you have wire cutters, use them to cut a lock type of game. If you can’t solve a puzzle, it’s usually because you’ve not found the necessary item.

Probably my favorite feature in the game – very mild spoiler ahead – is when you finally visit the surface of Mars. If you’ve ever seen the videos of Neil Armstrong walking across the surface of the Moon with that slow, bouncy motion – well, Ren does the same thing and it left me laughing.

After playing through Legacy: Dark Shadows, I think the most important feature is that you can just feel the ‘love’ and dedication involved. Razbor seems to be a group of developers devoted not only to the adventure genre, but also to ‘pure’ adventures. In this way, they remind me a lot of Frogwares who keep getting better which each progressive game. This is also a game in which the story and characters take precedence over the puzzles and that makes it my type of game.

Look for Legacy: Dark Shadows to be released in late October in North America just in time to be a treat for Halloween. Fans of adventure science fiction won’t want to miss this opportunity to explore the future as envisioned by Razbor.