I had thought about buying Dark Earth when it first came out, but the info I read on it just wasn't compelling enough for me plunk down the cash they wanted for it. A few months later, I ran across it at one of those "mart" stores for ten bucks, so I snatched it up. The game could suck and I still wouldn't be disappointed because I only paid ten bucks for it. As it turns out, I got the bargain I thought I did. Despite its problems, the game is worth playing if you can find it for a right price.

Plot: No big surprises here. In Dark Earth, adventure gamers can take part in the good versus evil/fight to the death plot that we don't see enough of. The seventy-page manual that accompanies the game provides background info on the current circumstances of the earth, but most of what you need to know is in the opening animation sequence at the start of the game. The earth has been covered in darkness after the Great Cataclysm, and sunlight is the most precious commodity. You are Arkhan, super-buff Guardian of Fire, who lives in the Sparta stallite, an enclosed city which is one of the few places where the sun shines. The light becomes threatened by evil forces, and it's up to you to save the stallite. Never mind all that though because, oddly enough, it seems to be only a subplot. The main story seems to focus on Arkhan's fight for life after he is contaminated with Shankr Archessence by the same villainous forces that threaten Sparta. This Archessence stuff eats at your body and soul and will eventually make you a really bad person if you don't find an antidote. The story starts out as intriguing and mysterious, but it becomes rather tedious with Arkhan running around asking everybody for help in curing his varicose-vein affliction. Don't worry though--Kalhi, your main squeeze, still loves on you despite your decomposing appearance.

So while attempting to find yourself a cure, you uncover clues as to who is trying to destroy the city. Once you've gotten past badgering people for a cure, gameplay picks up again. At one point, the plot separates, allowing you to take one of two paths. One involves killing your best friend and has a lot more combat. The other doesn't. Either way, you end up at the same place. As the story continues, you find yourself on mini-quests for certain objects that are needed for the game to continue. I don't think I am spoiling anything by stating there is a heavy battle at the end that is almost impossible to win if you haven't got the right weapon (or a cheat code).

Although Dark Earth's main theme of good versus evil is entirely unoriginal, the game itself is still mostly entertaining in one form or another. Gameplay lags momentarily after the start but picks up again after you enter the lower city. The plot receives a grade of B.

Features: Dark Earth is a great game to look at. Its 3D environment, complete with lighting, shadowing and texture management, is the best feature of the game. However, video options are limited to either 256 or 32k color run in 640x480. Animation sequences are blocky but adequate. The controls are primarily keyboard with mousing abilities limited to inventory and main screen menu. This is a huge drawback in the game. Essentially, it means that you have to walk up to everything of interest and space bar it in case it's something you need to complete the game. Even worse, you have to be really close to an object for it to work, which means you have to inch your way along a shelf or table or whatever to find what you think you may need. I found this very time-consuming--a hot/cold pointer would have been much easier. Game pads are supported, but you can't customize the controls.

The voice-acting in this game is the lamest ever. Arkhan's guttural battle cries ("arrrrggggghhhh"?) are worth a giggle at first, but then it becomes painful. The options menu allows you to turn the voices off and use the text feature, but by turning off the voices, things just don't make as much sense because it is harder to tell who is speaking. So basically, you have to grin and bear it. The sound effects are good and add a lot to the whole experience. Music is scarce but satisfactory. Another drawback to the game is saving--you have to find a "Rahal" symbol on a wall so saving can be done only at certain areas. The features receive a grade of A.

The Action: Dark Earth requires you to talk to everybody. Most of the information you need is spoken during dialogue, and you frequently have to speak to them more than once. Sometimes, they'll draw their weapon and you have to kill them. Dark Earth has about as much combat as an adventure game will hold. When you want to kill someone, you enter combat mode by pressing "C" and then holding down the control button until either you or your enemy is dead. The combat mode can be set to normal or automated. The normal mode is supposed to allow you to control your weapon with the arrow keys, but it does a poor job of it. When not conversing or killing, time is spent looking around for next place you need to be for the game to progress. The action receives a grade of B.

Puzzles: There aren't that many true puzzles in this game, but the ones that are there fit nicely within the storyline. One involves playing a board game with another character in order to get info from him. The other puzzles require decoding symbols and determining the right combination to get something to happen. There is also a deadly maze along the way. The puzzles rate about a medium on the difficulty level since they can take numerous tries to beat. The puzzles receive a grade of B-.

The Bottom Line: Several changes would have made Dark Earth a better game, but as it is, it still isn't too bad. As an adventure gamer, I could have done with more puzzles and less combat. Mousing capabilities throughout the game would have made it less frustrating and time-consuming. I might note that it did win a CNET Best Adventure Game Award for 1997. Recommendation levels are inversely proportionate to price--i.e., the cheaper the game, the higher the recommendation.

Final Grade: B

System Requirements:
Pentium 75
8 MB RAM
4X CD-ROM
Windows 95/98
DirectX 5 supported sound and video cards
60 MB hard drive space