Review Adam's Venture Episode 1: The Search for the Lost Garden Developer: Vertigo Games Publisher: Iceberg Interactive Genre: Mystery/Adventure/ Episodic Release Date: October 2, 2009 (UK) Later in Q4 2009 (other countries) Platform: Review by Robert Washburne November 6, 2009		Buy this game at Trade for this game at:

When I first heard about Adam's Venture, it sounded like a fun concept. You play the part of an adventurer named Adam who, along with his side kick, Evelyn, go looking for the Garden of Eden. This is a location which hasn't been played to death and had potential. As it turns out, I was probably the worst choice of a person to review this game. Or maybe the best. You will have to decide.

Yes, this is going to be another of my frequent “I didn't enjoy the game, but you might” reviews. And to be fair, my tastes are not in touch with the main stream of gamers. Half of Americans drink Coke, half drink Pepsi. I drink Moxie. (Google that one, I dare you.) So my preferences should be taken with a grain of salt.

What was my problem with this game? In short, it was written for a console, but played on a PC. This means that navigation is accomplished via the classic ADWS keys with space bar, ctrl and shift adding to the cast. The mouse is not used. Oh, and there are no save games. There are only checkpoints and if you want to start a new game you lose any progress you may have made the first time around.

Now, if you play on a console – Nintendo, X-Box, Sony, etc. – and played through the Tomb Raider games, then the controls will be second nature for you. But I don't own a console and I was fighting the controls every step of the way. I won't bore you with the details, but I wasn't having fun.

So, with that having been said, how was the game? Would a console-oriented gamer enjoy it? I believe they would.

As you can see from the screen shots, the graphics are professionally rendered. The water effects are nice as are the sand falls. And while the guys may not find Adam to be as interesting to watch as Lara Croft, he still gets around quite admirably.

The music and audio are quite nice. Nothing to complain about here.

The puzzles are easy to medium and the exploration potential is good.

And the story line... Well, let's just say that you will have to suspend a lot of disbelief. For starts, you are looking for the Garden of Eden. You know, that place which was completely destroyed in the Great Flood of Noah? Well, apparently, some French knight discovered it almost a thousand years ago. The professor has found his ancient writings and has asked you, your girl and your dog to join him in the search.

The game begins with you finding the gates, which are securely locked, but can be opened with the right key. Wait, wasn't there supposed to be a cherubim with a flaming sword to stop that sort of nonsense? Oh well, it doesn't matter because there is large cave formation just around the corner which heads back in the same direction.

These are the caves discovered by the French knight and all the torches and charcoal braziers he left are still burning nine hundred years later. And all the mechanical doors and locks and puzzles he build are still working. And all the notes and messages he left behind are written in modern English, which didn't exist at that time.

Did I mention that you have with you a smart girlfriend, a learned professor and your loyal dog? Well, never mind them. You are the Great Adventurer, so you just waltz into the caves alone and let them cool their heels outside.

But does all that really matter? Probably not.

Tomb Raider used the same navigational system and it was thoroughly enjoyed by thousands of gamers.

Super Mario had a story line even sillier that this and it was a joy to play.

So, just what do we have here? We have a nice little adventure game with a bit of exploration, some nice puzzles and no shooting. But beyond that, nothing extraordinary. If you can handle the navigation system, then you should enjoy this game.

I should also mention that Adam's Venture is intended to be the first in a series of games. Hopefully, the other characters will get more to do in future games.

Leaving my personal idiosyncrasies behind, I would have to give this game a B-.

Final Grade: B- (find out more about our grading system)

If you liked this game, then Play: Dead Reefs Watch: Angels and Demons Read: Tomb Raider

Minimum System Requirements:

• OS: Windows® 2000/XP/Vista™
• CPU: Intel® Pentium® 2.0 GHz or equivalent AMD®
• RAM: 512 MB RAM (1 GB Recommended for Windows® Vista™)
• Video: Nvidia 6200+ or ATI R520+ *
• Hard Disk Space: 600 MB
• Sound: DirectX® 9.0c compatible sound card
• Other: Mouse, Keyboard, Sound Speakers

*All laptop models were not tested and some may not provide features adequate to meet the intense hardware requirement. You need a pixel shader 3.0 compatible card.

Recommended System Requirements:

• OS: Windows® 2000/XP/Vista™
• CPU: Intel® Pentium® 2.4 GHz or equivalent AMD®
• RAM: 1 GB RAM
• Video: Nvidia 7800GTX+ or ATI 1300+ or better
• Hard Disk Space: 600 MB
• Sound: DirectX® 9.0c compatible sound card
• Other: Mouse, Keyboard, Sound Speakers