Post Mortem Preview – Welcome to Just Adventure +

You know how when you compare adventure games to the recent classics, you invariably use the titles The Longest Journey and Syberia? Well, get ready to add a third title to that elite list: Post Mortem by Microids.

Randy gave me the opportunity to play a pre-release version of Post Mortem and I was blown away by the experience. Very simply stated, I predict this game will become another instant adventure classic. It is that good.

Post Mortem presents the harrowing tale of the brutal murder of an American couple vacationing in 1920’s Paris. The introductory cinematic is every bit as awe-inspiring as Syberia’s opener. Wow! Just like sitting in a movie theater. The animation, music and SFX synergistically contribute to drawing you into a “cinema noir” feel of the locale and era. A word of caution, however – Post Mortem involves a brutal and ritualistic murder. There is one graphically gruesome scene in the intro which may not be suitable for young teens. Beyond that, however, the game is delicately presented as a crime investigation (at least as far as I’ve played).

Okay, we’ve got a double murder in a Paris hotel room. The protagonist is a sometimes private investigator named Gus MacPherson. He awakens to a knock on his door. A lovely young lady, Sophia Blake, appears asking Gus for his help. Turns out that it was her sister and husband who were murdered. She feels that the police believe that the crime was simply a botched burglary attempt and that they are trying to sweep it under the rug. In fact, she specifically encourages Gus to stay away from the cops.

Post Mortem is played in first person mode, but presents third person NPC conversations and cut scenes. The cut scenes are of the highest quality – as in Syberia. Microids is using a new technology in this game which they call the “natural dialog engine”. Depending on the dialog your character employs, different “trees” of available conversation lines are presented. In fact, I haven’t even clicked an inventory item on a “hotspot” or NPC. Once puzzles are solved or required conversations take place, new opportunities are presented and new destinations become available. So far, for me at least, Post Mortem is totally dialog driven. Microids promises twenty 3D real time characters, non-linear play offering different paths to solving the case, and multiple endings. Sounds like lots of re-playability potential, huh?

Post Mortem does have a few in your face “puzzle” puzzles. Think 7th Guest (read TOUGH!). One puzzle has you sketching a picture of the suspect based upon information garnered in your investigations. Another has you discerning differences between an original painting and a fake copy. Then there are lock picks – four per door lock – each placed in a different key hole location and each having three orientations (up, down, left, right, etc). Trust me, the puzzles are very challenging! The “puzzle” puzzles, however are extremely well woven into the storyline and are very sophisticated and well designed. You’ll love ‘em.

The Post Mortem interface is a snap. Simply right click, and your stuff pops up at the bottom of the screen. Each item is named. The game stores cinematics, documents, and conversations for your review. Unlimited save games also.

Hold on – I’m in the middle of the game and something very strange just happened. Nope, I’m not gonna tell ya…………. Okay, if you insist! I just became a different character. I’ve gotta quit writing now – I need to get back to this enjoyable and addictive game!

I surmise you’ve figured out that I love this game. JA will have a full review soon. But for now, I strongly suggest you put this upcoming adventure on your “must have” list.

The game home page is located at www.postmortem-videogame.com