Introduction

If you have been reading
Adventure Game reviews for any length of time, then you have come
across a reviewer saying that such-and-such
a game is a “Myst clone.” This is inevitable as Myst was a huge success and set a new standard in the industry.

The influence of Myst on Sentinel is obvious and the comparison
unavoidable, but Sentinel is much more than a clone. The folks at
Detalion have taken those things which made Myst a success, refined
them and done the job even better. They have out Mysted Myst.

Sentinel is a Triple Threat – it
has a great story, enjoyable puzzles and gorgeous graphics. And
it balances all three so that
you are left wanting more of everything. It is as if Maciek of Detalion
ignored the fan sites, the forums and the marketing droids and just
did what was right.

But enough gushing. Let us take a close look at why I loved this
game and why I suspect the average adventure gamer will love it as
well.

Story

From the web site:

“The Tastan civilization
succumbed to extinction many years ago; their only legacy being
the mysterious Tastan Caverns. Some
believe the caverns hold an invaluable treasure, while others say
great wealth is attained through the knowledge and technology left
behind by this advanced race.

“Take on the role
of Beni and search for the truth as you enter the Caverns on a
dangerous quest for riches.

“As you begin your
strange and perilous journey, a female sentinel, a holographic
image with advanced A.I., positioned there
by the ancient Tastans to guard their sacred caverns, awakens. She
appears throughout your quest with a sometimes benign purpose, but
other times with calculated intentions. You will soon realize that
behind the mask of illusions, the sentinel is much more than she
appears to be – her dark purpose will threaten your very existence.”

When
I first read that Detalion was using Terry
Dowling, the popular Australian Sci-Fi
author,
to write the story for Sentinel as they
had for Schizm,
I had my reservations. Schizm basically
dropped you onto an alien world with no clue as to what happened,
had you solve a bunch of puzzles and
finally told you at the end what was going on. There was no story,
no plot advancement – nothing – during the actual game. Looking back,
I can see where Schizm‘s story had potential,
but it felt like an afterthought just tacked on at the end – a
total waste of Mr. Dowling’s talents. Would Sentinel be
a repeat performance? (22-DEC-2004 Note: I have been told
that one reason for my experiance with
Schizm is that I played the CD version
which had about 40% of the storyline
removed. The DVD version included many FMV sequenses which provided
background to what was hapening. So be sure to get the DVD version
if you
want to play Schizm.)

Thankfully, no. They did
it right this time. The “A.I.” confronts
you and converses with you on a very regular basis throughout the
whole game. Like a good detective story, you are constantly fed new
clues and presented with new trains of thought. I felt like I was
continuously on the edge of a breakthrough. If only I could speak
with the A.I. one more time… but it only got deeper and the stakes
got higher.

My only complaint was that you and I are not part of it. The story
is between Beni and the A.I. You and I are little more than voyeurs
whose only job is to walk Beni through each Realm and solve the puzzles.
But then, the same could be said of any good novel.

The story was gripping and held me captive for the entire game.
The concepts were intriguing and had me thinking for days later.
And while the immediate conflicts are resolved, there is much more
of the story to be told. I want the sequel, NOW!

This was truly a class “A” effort.

Navigation

Detalion used the same Jupiter engine which they used in Schizm
II (aka Mysterious Journey II). It is a full 3D environment and you
can travel to any pixel you wish. Navigation was effortless with
just the mouse. The space-bar allowed you to jump a couple of game
inches, but it was never needed in the game. No action sequences
here.

The cursor is a tiny dot in the center of the screen. This is fine
as the only time it is needed is when it is on a hotspot, and then
it grows a ring around itself becoming large enough to be noticeable.
And since the hotspots are only found with puzzles, I never had trouble
finding them.

There is no danger of falling off cliffs. If you shouldn’t go somewhere,
then you aren’t allowed to. This was sometimes frustrating as there
were places I would liked to have explored (aren’t there always),
but it was a fair trade for not having to worry about perfect steering.

I had only two minor criticisms with the navigation. First, the
mouse was a bit too sensitive for me. I had it on the lowest setting,
but I still felt like I was swinging wildly. I eventually got used
to it, but it would have been nice if the game were kinder to the
old folks out here.

Second, you needed the keyboard to move backwards. It would have
been nice if the third mouse button or two button chord had been
mapped to backup.

But
overall, the engine did its job without getting in the way. A good
solid “B”.

Puzzles

The puzzles in Sentinel are some of the most enjoyable I have encountered
in a long time. They are well thought out and logical. The clues
to their purpose and solution are near at hand. They were meant to
solved by the average gamer.

They were all of the Logical variety and could be rated as Easy
to Medium in difficulty. It usually took me about ten minutes to
figure out how to solve each puzzle, although it sometimes took over
an hour to implement my strategy. This was perfect for my temperament
where I want to enjoy the puzzle, not make it a career. If you are
the type who likes to spend hours deciphering obtuse clues, then
this is probably not the game for you. Schizm or Myst
IV would be
more up your alley.

There are several audio puzzles in the game, but they were done
right. Instead of having to tell the difference between a C-Sharp
and an E-Flat, you must be able to hear the difference between a
saxophone and a fog horn. No matter how tone deaf you are, you should
have no problem with these puzzles. Kudos to Detalion for doing it
right.

There is also a built-in
hint system. If you turn it on then a single line of text appears
at the top of the screen when you approach a
puzzle. This text explains the purpose of the puzzle and might say,
for example, “Make all the lights come on at once.”

Between the logical nature of the puzzles and the occasional nudge
from the hint system, I found that I never had to resort to a walkthrough.
This is rare for me and a testament to the thought put into the game.

Can I find anything to criticize? Well… there were a couple of
puzzles which were based on color and would have been difficult for
people with color blindness or cheap monitors. Also, I am still having
trouble seeing how the puzzles connected to the story. Are they intended
to be traps? Then why aren’t they deadly? Are they intended to test
the character of the intruder? Then why do they only test the player’s
ability to solve logic puzzles?

But they were wonderful
puzzles that left me wanting more. So, for me, they deserve an “A-”.

Graphics

Graphics were right up there with the quality you have come to expect
from Detalion and The Adventure Company.

I was concerned that using a 3D engine would compromise the graphics
quality, but I needn’t have feared. The graphics were beautiful without
any hint of blockiness anywhere.

Take a look at the screen
shots. The environments are wonderfully varied and captured. It
is snowing in the winter world and it feels
cold. Magma bubbles and spurts in the volcano world and it feels
hot. Smoke and fire billow majestically. At times the worlds feel
small, almost like a shadowbox of the real thing. But even that is
intended – the A.I. tells us that all it could save were snapshots
of the worlds it loved.

Sentinel may not have
the artistry of Syberia nor the environmental complexity of Myst
IV, but it nailed the technology it was using.
I give graphics an “A-.”

Sound

The sound effect were all that would be expected. Nothing spectacular,
but nothing disappointing.

The background “music” was
very nice and set the mood. I say quote-music because there was
no real melody to it. It was
more of a series of chordal progressions. Very nice and pleasant,
but nothing you will hum in the shower later.

The voice acting was very good. It is apparent the the actors knew
what situations they were in (they aren’t always told) and the characterizations
were always appropriate. My only frustration was Beni who was portrayed
as a late teenager. His conversations were usually sophomoric. That
was appropriate for him, but I would have said things much differently.
But, as I mentioned above, this is Beni’s story. Not yours.

Sound gets a solid “B+.”

Playability

I cringe whenever I see
a game advertised as “non-linear.” This
is supposed to be a good thing, but usually ends up meaning “Good
luck figuring out what to do next.” Fortunately, this is not
a problem with Sentinel.

There are seven Realms to visit. Up to three are available at any
time and it does not matter what order you do them in. You may also
jump back and forth and do several at the same time. But there is
no question of what needs to be done within any of the Realms. You
explore, listen to the A.I., and solve the puzzles you run across.
Solving the puzzles opens the way to new areas.

Completing a Realm opens another Realm up for exploration until
all are finished.

Also, you may notice some mysterious arrows in the screen shots.
These appear as you get close to a puzzle and point to it. So you
always have a clue as to where the important stuff is.

I found that I always had something fun to do and was never frustrated.

Conclusion

I liked this game.

There was always something
new to see, a fun puzzle to solve or another comment from the A.I.
to mull over. I never felt frustration
or the need to “get it over with.” I want more.

The overall balance of
the game and its total playability puts it in “A” territory.
Unfortunately, it falls just short of being a classic. What does
it lack? Puzzles which fit the story.
The puzzles are great and the story is great, but the two have nothing
to do with each other. Is the A.I. trying to weed out greedy people?
Then we should have a test which a greedy person would fail but a
generous person would pass.

Come on, Maciek. You and the team at Detalion have proven that you
can create a superior game. Now prove that it wasn’t an accident
and that you can do it again. And then take that next step and give
us a classic!

Final Grade: A-
(find out more about our
grading system)

System Requirements:

• Windows® 98SE/ME/2000/XP
• 800 MHz Pentium® III (or Higher 1.6 GHz recommended)
• 128MB RAM (256 MB
  recommended for XP)
• 64 MB 3D Video Card
  128 MB recommended)
• DirectX 8.1
• Mouse
  and Keyboard