Call me crazy, but since
their closure due to bankruptcy, I for one am going to miss those
quirky Cryo games (loosely) based on historical
and mythical figures. Sure they weren’t all classics, but name
one other company that had the audacity to publish games based on
the legend of Faust,
the travels of Ulysses
and author Phillip Jose Farmers classic Riverworld series. Who else
but Cryo would have the impudence to purposely misspell a famous
author’s last name for an entire game – Time
Machine?

Back in the early days
of computer and adventure gaming – before most of you whippersnappers
were even born – it was cause to be ecstatic
to find a dusty copy of Dragon
Lore
or Atlantis
hidden in a dark corner of the local software shop. There were no
Internet stores from which to purchase these gems, nor was it yet
possible to pursue overseas trades. Usually my only option was to
jet to Paris to purchase the newest releases firsthand. Sure it was
an 8-hour flight, but gas was cheap back then. In North America,
either Mindcape or Interplay were usually the Cryo distributors and
these graphically beautiful games were often praised by the American
gaming magazines. Surely I jest you exclaim. Well, how about this
quote from PC Gamer circa 1994 – “Dragon Lore is the
first fantasy role-playing game to really exploit the capabilities
of CD-ROM for an eye-popping 7th Guest-style graphics environment
with which you can actually interact.” Whoa, steady my racing
heart.

As twitch gaming became
more popular, Cryo also endeavored to broaden their fanbase and
fatten their pocketbooks by including ‘action’ sequences
in some of their games. Who could ever erase the memory of that ‘magical’ sequence
in Odyssey when you had to slay Medusa in her lair? Why, it only
took me a measly thirty or forty attempts. Or, earlier in the same
game, using your keyboard to have Ulysses literally run circles around
the Land of the Lotus-eaters simply to induce a character to appear – la,
la la? And believe it or not, I actually loved Odyssey
and still do! Now The New Adventures of the Time
Machine,
there’s a game you don’t want to mention in my presence.
H.G. Wales (sic) himself is rumored to have risen from his grave
to spit on this abomination.

But enough of my reminiscing. If I continue to wax nostalgic any
longer, then I will be able to write this review with a Q-Tip.

Curse of Atlantis is one
of the last of a dying breed – a
point-and-click, third person adventure chock full of frustrating
hot spots and silly action sequences. It is also representative of
the best and the worst of Cryo.

Curse
of Atlantis is a
computer game version of a popular European series of graphic novels.
The game shows its roots by implementing
detailed comic book pages that graphically portray important events
from your journey. These pages are also an invaluable resource if
you become stuck, for reading them will often provide a clue to your
predicament. The main character – Thorgal Aegirsson– is
a Viking warrior whose ship has been blown off-course by an ill wind
and, much like General Maximus in the movie Gladiator, wants nothing
more than to be reunited with his wife and children. To do so, all
he needs do is cross to the opposite side of the island and board
another ship. To make matters worse, a mysterious old man has shown
Thorgal a vision of him killing his own son. Now he must journey
through time and space to dispel the curse that has been placed on
his family.

To be honest, the puzzles
don’t always make sense and can
often be solved by the process of elimination as the game is extremely
linear. Still the most frustrating part is discovering that you need
a specific item to solve a puzzle, but not having it in your possession
as it was that one small pixel that you overlooked on the previous
screen. The developers though have done their best to ensure that
the puzzles and inventory items maintain that Viking flavor. But
an attempt to make the gamer actually feel like a Viking warrior
by incorporating poorly implemented action sequences into the game
often leads to frustration rather than a feeling of achievement.

Easily half of these action sequences involve using a bow. At times
it is as easy as slicing a rope with your perfectly guided arrow,
but other times it is frustratingly maddening such as when you must
prove your skill at archery by hitting targets on a revolving wheel.
This dilemma alone elicited some new Viking oaths from my mouth.
A Simon-like puzzle that you can only beat by memorizing a pattern
of deadly light wisps never did jell for me and I only completed
it by pure dumb luck. I later replayed this sequence and did determine
that there was indeed a pattern to the lights, but it took at least
fifteen attempts on my part.

Thorgal’s
adventure is beautifully and colorfully rendered and the cut-scenes
are as nice as I’ve ever seen though the
in-game graphics are occasionally murky and seem to sink into low-res.
Sequences late in the game when Thorgal travels between the lands
of the living and dead, could and should have been memorable but
instead appear to have been painted with a bottle of pink Pepto-Bismol.
The music and sound effects are sparse, but effective, and there
is a catchy refrain that lingers long afterwards. Has anyone else
noticed how important music has been in recent adventure games? The
wonderful score of Syberia was
the first time I ever wanted to purchase a cd of game music and recently
Post
Mortem
with its jazz riffs and the seductive lounge song from Pharoah’s
Curse both managed to exquisitely add the appropriate atmosphere
to the gaming experience.

As anyone who has ever
played any Cryo game is aware, normalcy is not par for the course.
Just as you begin to settle into the storyline
and have your sandals rooted on good old terra firm, its off you
go to not only the Land of Shadows – which I found acceptable
as it fit the Viking mythology theme – but also to a *sigh*
starship replete with robots and lasers. As ludicrous as this sounds,
even worse was the criteria The Adventure Company used to include
the word ‘Atlantis’ in the title. Three quarters of the
way through the game, there is a brief flashback of Thorgal’s
parents escaping from a crumbling Atlantis. That’s it, that’s
the curse of Atlantis. Huh? And don’t even get me started on
the starship.

Curse of Atlantis is a relatively short game and can be completed
in under 8 hours. Still, it is a worthwhile purchase and recommended
for anyone who is a fan of point-and-click adventures. Solid gameplay
and a character you can empathize with outweigh the occasional pixel-hunting
and action sequences. Give it a try as Curse of Atlantis may be among
the last of a sinking breed.

Final Grade: C+

System Requirements:

• Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP
• 450 MHz Pentium® II or Equivalent Processor
• 64 MB RAM
• 12x CD-ROM Drive
• 16 MB DirectX® Compatible 3D Video Card
• DirectX® Compatible Sound Card
• Subtitle option available