El Obscuro Files Alert! This time it's a lovely 1995 Cryo title called Lost Eden.

I expected this game to be a sort of "Lost World" story, but it really took me by surprise. It's actually an ambitious fantasy and was quite a charming way to spend a few hours with my PC.

The story of Lost Eden is captivating: It takes place in a time when various tribes of humans shared the world with intelligent dinosaurs. You play Adam, a young prince who's the heir to a not-particularly-admirable dynasty of human kings. Yes, your great-grandfather was a great builder and peacemaker, but your grandfather was an evil butcher, and your father is a weak do-nothing.

At the beginning of the story, you are sent out into the world to help the humans and dinosaurs deal with a deadly common enemy, the Tyrans (think smart T-Rexes, eek). You are sent out from the safety of your father's citadel into the dangerous world.

The format of the game is first-person point-and-click, with many instances of fully animated movement. The game is DOS, but it loaded on my machine with no problems.

Lost Eden is very much an adventure, but it contains mild RPG and even strategy elements. The way your character travels with an ever-changing band of allies is very reminiscent of RPG gameplay. These characters help you in your quests, either by actions or by providing information.

The strategy element involves the care and management of building strong fortresses in several different areas around the world. To do this, you must charm and cajole many different types of humans, as well as brontosauruses, herds of triceratops, velociraptors, and others. Each is important, and each must be won over in a different way.

The game if full of enchanting cutscenes, most of which deal with traveling from one place to another. Whether it's in a caravan of brontos fixed out like imperial elephants, or soaring through the sky on the backs of friendly pterodactyls, these scenes are always great to look at.

The game's puzzles are pretty simple but diverting. They mostly deal with the above-mentioned challenges with getting all the various groups to work together. But there are also mysterious mirrors, talisman eggs, embalmed corpse gateways, and other exotic elements to add spice to the proceedings.

The game does have some problems. For one thing, it has only three game save slots--sacrilege! Also, the gameplay does allow you to get into some dead ends, which I'm never fond of. After making a couple of mistakes, I had to go back to a saved game from much earlier in the story to be able to successfully complete my missions.

However, this is a charming, offbeat little game that I recommend you get your hands on if you can.

Final Grade: C+

If you liked Lost Eden:
Watch: Baby: Secret of a Lost Legend
Read: Dinotopia
Play: Death Gate

System Requirements:

Macintosh:
68030 processor or better
Double speed CD-ROM drive
4 megs of RAM
256 color display

This review is copyright Ray Ivey and Just Adventure and may not be republished elsewhere without the express written consent of the author. Republication of said review must also contain a link back to Just Adventure.