| Review
Twinsen's
Odyssey (US)
Little Big Adventure 2 (European)
Developer:
Adeline Software
Publisher: Activision
(US)
Release Date: 1997
Platform: 
Review by Bob Freese
December 2, 2002
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 In
the mid 1990’s, there was an action-adventure game developed
by Adeline Software of France. The game was Relentless (called
Little Big Adventure in Europe). Being the adventure dweeb
I am, I played it and was astonished at the quality of the game. Very
little marketing was done for the game in the US and the word just
didn’t get out ……it was a colossal hit in Europe.
It was so good that one PC game magazine in the US named it Adventure
Game of the Year. Rightfully so! The game was terrific and exuded
a lot of old fashioned charm.
 Twinsen’s
Odyssey picks up pretty much where Relentless left off.
Twinsen (a cute cartoonish character) is now married to his Relentless
girlfriend, Zoe, and they’re expecting a bundle of joy. When
starting the intro you’ll know you’re in for a treat…the
animation is first rate and the music is enthralling. Just leaving
Twinsen’s house and walking into the rain, thunder and lightning
clues you into the quality of this game. Give your mouse a break…this
game is played with pure keyboard. The interface is very user friendly
and you’ll be rockin’ and rollin’ in short order.
 As
much as I liked Relentless, I thought it’s save game
feature was horribly complicated. Fortunately, the save feature is
now a breeze. The game also has an autosave feature at major scene
changes which you may prefer to use. The interface includes a large
inventory, bars representing life points and magic power; and slots
for coins, keys, and clovers (extra lives). Although the game automatically
changes “camera angles” on the fly, the player may use
the backspace key to manually change views, and a zoom in / out option
is available. As in the original game, Twinsen may change behavior
modes at the stroke of a key…normal, sporty (for jumping and
running), aggressive (for wasting the bad dudes), and discreet (for
trying to remain unseen). A holomap is found during the game which
provides for mapping and pointing out ongoing required destinations.
A magic ball is also available which Twinsen tosses at the bad guys
and this ball increases in power as the game progresses.
 As
the game begins, Twinsen’s pal, Dino-fly (a cute flying reptile)
gets injured by a lightning bolt and the poor fella needs help. Since
Twinsen needs to travel to numerous destinations aboard Dino, curing
his buddy becomes the first quest. Hmmm Twinsen needs to take the
ferry to a nearby island but can’t because of the weather conditions.
What now? Well, find and release the captured weather wizard, of course,
since he can clear the skies. Don’t fret, you’ll get the
needed clues in chatting with the town’s NPC residents. Once
the storm clears, Twinsen proceeds to Desert Island where he enrolls
in magic school and must pass three tests in order to win the stuff
needed to cure poor Dino. On Desert Island Twinsen gets to drive a
really rad car around the dunes. In fact, the buggy’s use is
essential in passing one of the required school tests.
 Ultimately,
Twinsen cures Dino-fly. Yipes, aliens are beginning to arrive on Twinsun
(Twinsen’s home). They “come in peace”, so they
say. Yeah, right! Turns out they’re really evil (you knew that)
and the wizards and children of Twinsun are disappearing! Zoe expecting
a child, and children are being kidnapped? Ain’t gonna happen
if our hero, Twinsen can help it! Twinsen’s ultimate quest is
to stop this outrage and waste the head honcho in charge of this force
of aliens - a wretch called Dark Monk. In order to do so, Twinsen
must travel to many locales and overcome many challenges. Favorites
for me were finding 4 fragments of a key needed to “off”
the Dark Monk, gambling in a gaudy casino (slot machines have nice
payoffs!), and using a very cool and effective laser pistol. I consider
this an adventure game, but it does have some challenging action sequences
– thank goodness to unlimited saves! Oh – there are “cheats”
out there, but this reviewer would never use anything like that. Heh
heh.
In summary, this game is
FUN and enormous in scope. It has wit and charm and the graphics,
music, and SFX are wonderful. If you’re an adventure nut like
me, find a copy of this gem! Twinsen’s Odyssey is truly one
of the best adventure games of the past decade.
  
  
Final Grade: A
Minimum System Requirements:
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