I don’t usually write reviews of games that I haven’t
finished but A Quiet Week-end in Capri (Italian title: Un
Tranquilo Week-end a Capri) is one I am unlikely to finish in the near future.
This game is part of an initiative of the Capri Tourist Board and
as such, the game is quite difficult to complete. This game was,
amazingly, the work of Silvio and Gey Savarese, a two-man team, who
designed every aspect of the game. This is a banner biennium for
independent developers.

It is a simple procedure to set up the game-one disk is for installation
and the other is for play. The game requires a 1024×768 desktop resolution,
which, unusually for games these days, does not change automatically.
It is a minor hassle for someone like me who tends to favor the 800×600
resolution. Perhaps building this in to the game engine would have
reduced my minor complaints about getting started with the game.

The game itself is a delight.
It is comparable to Myst in that it uses a sideshow technique to
further movement, but there were three
games that it reminded me of while I played. Overall, the game is
like CITY 2000 London, from the photorealism to the huge area of
gameplay. This makes it very easy to get lost even with the built
in map. A “jump-to” feature certainly would have meant
less confusion for me. Second, the game’s story of mystery
slowly revealed in an enchanting and seemingly straightforward environment
reminded me of Golden Gate. Lastly, the photorealism and tourist
potential of the product reminded me of The Sydney Mystery. All three
of these games were enjoyable experiences so, in my opinion, they
were on a winner with this title.

You play a tourist visiting Capri for the weekend but quickly it
becomes apparent that someone is trying to stop you enjoying your
weekend. You move around the island through a series of landscape
and portrait oriented picture postcards that are simply breathtaking.
Although I have never been to Capri, the impression I have after
my cyberjourney is that I spent many a weekend there! Not since Byzantine
the Betrayal have I felt this way. The game can be played in Italian
with either English or Italian subtitles. This further increased
my enjoyment because the people in it were neither English speaking
actors (with awry accents) nor Italians struggling to speak a non-native
language (as was the case in Byzantine the Betrayal). Admittedly,
the actors were photographed only and not in FMV but I forgive the
makers this one wrong step for having put so many feet right.

The game is clearly designed
as a promotional exercise and even features a competition to win
a weekend on Capri (excluding airfare).
There are literally thousands of photographs, many of which serve
no purpose in the game but to offer perspectives of the beauty that
exists on the island. You can elect to take a tour of the island
but the game has so many opportunities to see the views that while
playing the game I often felt the need to stop and stare out over
the sea or town in the distance. Scenes are numbered which allow
easy record keeping of areas that need to be investigated at a later
time in the game. A Quiet Week-end in Capri fact: over 4,500 photos
were used. No, I did not type an extra 0! Such is the magnificent
detail of this game…

Sound effects are lush
but subtly add to the atmosphere. The game is primarily one of
observation, searching, and discovery, which
can make for a lonely experience. I thoroughly enjoyed almost aspect
of this game. I haven’t completed the game yet and look forward
to returning to it in the near future. It is quite a challenge to
play (and rightly so, considering they are offering a substantial
prize).

This game is great in almost every way. It enthuses me that such
quality adventures are being marketed despite the so-called absence
of a market. Perhaps the independent adventure creator is the way
of our future? We can only hope with quality titles we see at the
moment. This game deserves an award of excellence.

Final Grade: A

A demo
and screenshot from A Quiet Weekend in Capri is available.

System Requirements:

• Windows 98, ME, XP, 2000 (95 and NT likely supported)
• Video card capable of resolution 1024×768, 32-bit color
• 700 MB free hard drive space
• CD-ROM
• 64 MB RAM
• SoundBlaster or equivalent sound card