Wanadoo’s Loch Ness
is a traditional point-and-click adventure set on the shores of the
storied Scottish lake. And while the story doesn’t have much to do
with the lake’s most famous resident, it’s still a good-looking, atmospheric,
and fun game.

The
first thing you’ll notice about Loch Ness is the terrific music.
Music, like voice acting, is a department with troublingly few highs
when it comes to games. So it really stands out that the game uses
a robust and dramatic Highland-flavored score. Each chapter heading
is accompanied by this vivid music, and it was so nice to listen to
that it actually stopped me from plunging immediately forward. And
let’s just say than when a game has music you want to stop and savor,
it’s a good thing.

The game begins with an
excellent cutscene in Chicago that frames the entire story as a flashback.
Our hero is a 30s detective who has roots in the Loch Ness area. He’s
summoned to the Highlands to help with a series of mysterious happenings,
including the disappearance of a family patriarch.

Much of the game takes
place in the drafty old Scottish family castle. You’ll meet the creepy
old dowager of the family, though she won’t be much help to you as
she’s virtually out of her mind with grief. There’s also an exotic
Indian valet, a gruff handyman, a mysteriously out-of-sight daughter
and a hearty neighbor who may or may not be up to no good.

Soon
you learn about a mysterious artifact of great power that long ago
was split into three different pieces. Each element – actually a jewel
– has been carefully safeguarded by each of three different families.
Your major mission in the story is to find the jewels and recreate
the artifact.

The format of the game
is first person, and the engine is that same tried-and-true 360-degree
scrolling, center-cursored warhorse that’s served well in many recent
Gallic games, such as the two Draculas, Amerzone, The
Messenger, and others. As with all games made on this engine,
careful exploration of each environment is an absolute must, because
one missing item can cause annoying stuckness. As in most traditional
point-and-click adventures, more areas both in and around the castle
open up to you as you progress through the game. You’ll get to explore
a musty old attic, a secret study, a creepy old chapel, a mill, and
several other entertaining environments.

The puzzles in the game
are entertaining and intuitive. This isn’t one of those brain-spraining
games where you’ll depend on the walkthrough to save your sanity.
The variety of brain ticklers is excellent as well. The puzzles play
fair with the player, and don’t get in the way of an entertaining
story. I must warn the reader that the game does contain a few timed
puzzles, but they are actually fun and pretty forgiving, as timed
puzzles go.

Graphically,
the game is attractive without being spectacular. The prerendered
depictions of the castle and surrounding coutryside create a lovely
mood, but you’ll wish they had a more impressive resolution. By the
end of the game I wondered if our main character was near-sighted.

There are a few preposterous
things to swallow as you uncover the secrets of Loch Ness, though
nothing as outrageous as the howlers in the recent Mystery of the
Druids. And as I mentioned before, if you pick up this game hoping
to have a meaningful close encounter with Nessie, you’re in for disapointment.

Additionally, it would
be nice if there had been just a bit more attention to geographical
veracity. Toward the end of the game you have an exciting excursion
below the depths in Loch Ness itself, and it’s pretty distracting
that the game suggests the lake is quite shallow. You don’t have to
know much about Loch Ness to know it’s remarkably deep, so deep that
it contains far more water than all of the lakes and rivers in Britain
put together. Playing the game makes you wonder if any of the creative
team have ever been to Scotland.

All
that having been said, the story is generally absorbing and servicable,
if not remarkable.

The voice acting is adequate
but nothing to write home about.

Considering Wanadoo is
the same studio responsible for the loathsome Cryptonomicon, I’m pleased
to report that if Loch Ness is any indication, the team is back on
the right track. Like Road to India, Loch Ness is a mild, solid, atmospheric
and entertaining bit of manna from heaven for the adventure faithful.

Grade: B

See: The Private
Life of Sherlock Holmes
Play: Clandestiny
Read: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

System Requirements:

WINDOWS CD-ROM
WINDOWS 95/98/ME/XP
Pentium 166 MHz (200 recommended)
16 Mb RAM (32 recommended)
4 x CD-ROM Drive
3D Accelerator Video Card