How many games have you played which display “Loading, Please Scream”. Well, this one does and that is just a hint of what’s to come. There’s a bunch of whacko (and I mean that in a very complimentary way) and talented people up there in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada who call themselves Alternative Games, Inc (AG). They have produced their very first PC game entitled Full Moon in San Francisco - Adventure 1. This is a full-blown adventure game with a twist – it’s twisted – and proud of it! This game is different, folks.

Okay, as the game starts, it looks like an RPG. You get to select your character (male or female) and your pet (yep!), assign attribute points to your character, and get some money (the amount is random as each new game is started). Your pet accompanies you through the game, and pops up here and there to insult you, or crack a joke. Too many insults or knee slappers and you may deselect the pet pop ups. This is a mouse driven first person game with what AG calls a “spider conversation system” which allows for your choice of dialog with NPCs. Your choice may affect your relationship with that NPC.

The 2D graphics in Full Moon are definitely “retro”. Randy suggested that they were purposely minimalist in order to help the player focus on the story line and not the “eye candy”. I think he’s right. Remember the Beavis and Butthead games? The graphics in this game are very similar. I found most of the graphics downright nostalgic – remember this is a different kind of game. As you can see by some of the screenshots, however, some of the background art is really quite sumptuous. The interface is decidedly different as well. Move the cursor all the way to the bottom of the screen and up pops your operational stuff (goal, quit, save, personal notebook, etc). Move the cursor to the extreme right of the screen and up pops your (very conventional) inventory. Way over to the left of the screen will pop up any weapons you may have bought. Okay – did you catch that word “goal”? This is way cool! Anytime you need a little nudge (DUH), click on the “G” for goal and you’ll be told what to do next – free of charge. This obviates the need for any walkthrough and I liked it – a LOT! What, me a dweeb? Hey, whatever works!

I found this game “strange” – just the way the developers intended, I’m sure. The first part of the game really emphasizes humor, but I found that as the game progressed, it became a lot more cerebral. Most of the puzzles are fairly easy, but a couple are incredibly tough. The good news here is that the AG team’s game website has a forum with a special hint section (questions and moderator answers). When I played the game, I usually got a response from the moderator within ten minutes. Not too shabby. Kudos, AG team!

Okiedokie, you start the game looking for work and land a temporary position with a private detective agency. The staff there is leaving town for a few days and they put you “in charge” of an easy, simple case. Yeah, right! That case leads you down some very complex and dangerous paths and ultimately to the Full Moon Killer. See what I mean about cerebral? Shoot, you can throw in horror, humor, the occult, magic, police dispatching, and even time travel. Different (alternative)? You bet!

The beginning of the game is absolutely hilarious. As you enter the office building for your important interview, you have to tangle with a computer and eccentric elevator in order to get to the detective agency floor. The computer essentially demands a keyword (easy), but you won’t get it perfect. Then it gives you a hint to solve “the puzzle”. You’ll get it correct and be laughing out loud. I sure did. Then you must defeat the elevator at tic-tac-toe. Go figure! Finally, you get upstairs. Unfortunately, I didn’t think the humor was maintained at the same level as the game progressed. I wish it had. But on the other hand, as I mentioned earlier, the game got more “serious” as it progressed, so I guess you can’t have it all. You’ll be talking to yourself throughout the game (much like Tex Murphy). And speaking of talking, I believe most of the voice-overs were done by the production crew members. With all due respect to these very talented designers, programmers, beta testers and the like, the voice acting was (let me whisper here) not real good. In some cases, arghhhhhhh.

This game pokes fun at just about everything, including you, and its own production team. I even found out that some of the game’s most difficult puzzles don’t have to be solved at all (the joke’s on you!). This game does not march to the cadence of “other” adventure games – it dares to be different. It also deserves your attention. Alternative Games has a second Full Moon adventure planned as well – as they so unabashedly point out during your game play.

This game is cool. Thumbs up!

For more information on the game, you may visit:

http://www.alternativegames.ca/fullmoongame/adventure1/

Final Grade: B+

Reviewer’s note: At the time of this review, Full Moon in San Francisco is available only through the above game website. Retail store purchases may be available soon, in which case the game website will be updated.

System Requirements:

• Pentium II 300 MHz or equivalent
• Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP