In 2001 Detalion and L.K.
Avalon developed Schizm: The Mysterious Journey. Thinking of Schizm I remember the great storyline, the amazing
graphics, sounds and not in the least the difficult logic-based puzzles.
Check the review
on Just Adventure if you need further proof. No wonder I was thrilled
to hear Detalion was developing a sequel: Chameleon.

November 2003: the mailman finally delivers my review copy of Mysterious
Journey II. I quickly install the game and am immediately enthralled
by the music emitting from my speakers. You should really wait a
moment here, before selecting an item from the start menu, as the
accompanying atmospheric composition will certainly sway you in the
correct mood to experience this game to its fullest.

Overall, the sounds of
this game are excellent. Many music chords of its predecessor are
duplicated in the sequel, but now surround
effects have been added to give them more depth. Birds and sea waves
are very realistic and even voice-overs – more often than not
a major source of annoyance in many games – are rewarding.
It is obvious that the developers paid much attention to the ambient
sounds of this game.

The same can be said for
another important factor as well – graphics! While the graphics
of the cd-version of Schizm were considered a
bit ‘course ‘ (though the hard-to-get DVD version was
a huge improvement), Mysterious Journey II sports top-notch, high-quality
graphics and animations. Besides attention to minute’ details
such as leafs, grass and flowers, impressive skies and wavy seas
are set in full 3D landscapes. Many scenes are bright and colorful
and achieve the necessary surrealistic atmosphere.

The graphics are balanced between organic (or natural) and mechanic
(or technical) environments and devices throughout the game. In fact
the essence of this game is entirely based on either a perfect harmony
or constant battle between the two.

Mysterious Journey
II begins aboard a small space station as Sen, our hero, awakens from
a 200 years sleep in cryogenic device. We
soon learn that he has no recollection of the crime for which he
faces punishment. Finally, he commanders a shuttle to escape from
his floating prison and return to the planet Sarpedon. Utilizing
chameleon technology to disguise himself as different members of
the planet’s tribes, Sen undertakes to infiltrate the tribes,
uncover the truth and clear his name.

In short, that’s
the entire story. While naturalist and technocrat visions are always
an interesting contrast in the philosophy of our
global environment, Sarpedon seems to need a much thinner story-line
to solve the matter in dispute. So, while the story elements might
seem a tad thin, the real focus of Mysterious Journey II is on the
puzzles.

The puzzles of this game are a diverse lot. As in the previous game,
many clues are comprised of symbols, numbers, colors and sounds necessary
to solve the numerous puzzles. But maybe there are a bit too many
as you often seem to be hopping from puzzle to puzzle. Every passage,
every bridge, every door is a puzzle and it soon becomes an annoyance
rather than a challenge. I filled nine pages with notes while playing.

Just like the first game
most puzzles are logic-based so be sure to have a calculator close
at hand. Fortunately, with some hard thought,
most of the puzzles are doable and it is only towards the last fifth
of the game that the proceedings become more complex. Most clues
can be handily found nearby and the game is completely linear so
you needn’t be worried that you overlooked an important piece
of evidence in another part of the game.

Dialogs can be viewed
during cut-scenes. A big help is the ‘transcript’ feature
that allows the option to re-read all dialogs. In case you don’t
know what to do, you probably must search for a clue in the transcript.
The characters are very colorful and fanciful and, while not to my
taste, fit in well with the story. Sen seems to be wearing red boxer
shorts on his head and other characters are even weirder and have
sprigs sprouting on their heads.

The gameplay of Mysterious
Journey II is intuitive. With the exception of some puzzle screens
that zoom-in for a close-up, it is not a point
and click interface. Similar to some other recent adventure games
(Broken Sword Sleeping Dragon and Uru), it allows for a 360 degree
view and navigation is done with the keyboard. Though I can’t
remember using it, you can even jump using the spacebar. Still Mysterious
Journey II has first person viewpoint that, in my case, was a relief
since boxer shorts on Sen’s head would have distracted me for
sure in third person.

In conclusion, Mysterious
Journey II is one big graphical and phonetic experience. If you
like to solve logic-based puzzles and didn’t
play hooky during your math lessons then this game really is a must.
But be aware; besides your own calculation skills, this game requires
quite some capacity from your computer and video card as well.

It is also difficult to
identify with the characters, and though the graphics are breathtaking,
the story of Mysterious Journey II is not. Even an unexpected twist failed to remedy this situation.
But most of all, I would have preferred less, but more complex, puzzles.
I too often found myself asking, ‘why on earth is this puzzle
needed? Just to keep me busy?’ Or… was it to keep me
from finishing this review in time for the deadline… who knows?

Final Grade: B-

System Requirements:

• Windows(r)
  98 / 98SE / ME / 2000 (with latest service pack)/ XP
• Pentium(r)
  III 1GHz or Equivalent (Pentium(r) III 1.6 GHZ Recommended)
• 128 MB RAM
  (256MB for Windows XP)
• 64MB Direct3D compatible
  video card with HARDWARE T&L, 32-bit
  color support, and DirectX 8.1 compatible driver (128MB Recommended)
• DirectSound(r)
  compatible 16-bit sound card with DirectX 8.1 compatible driver
• Windows(r)
  compatible keyboard and Mouse
• DirectX(r) 8.1 or higher

Copyright © 2003
Jerome for http://www.justadventure.com/,
all rights preserved.