Introduction

Are you tired of finding blood, guts, gore, sex, crime, bad language,
maladjusted behavior and anti-social attitudes in your computer games
— or worse yet, in your kids’ computer games? Do you ever wonder
if playing these kinds of games might be turning your children’s
brains into mush? If so, do I ever have some good news for you.

Here, I’ll be reviewing Adventures
in Odyssey and the Sword of the
Spirit, and Adventures in Odyssey and the Treasure
of the Incas —
two games from Digital Praise, a developer of Christian-based, family-oriented
games that promote and reinforce values and virtues rather than encourage
violence and mayhem. These games are the first in a six-product series,
suitable for ages eight and above, based on a radio program produced
by Focus on the Family called Adventures in Odyssey — Odyssey being
the name of the fictional Midwestern town in which the program takes
place.

The first part of this review will cover general information as
well as features both games have in common. I’ll then get into specifics
about each game, and I’ll wind things up with a few final comments.

There’s Much to Like Here!

Although I’d heard of Focus
on the Family before playing these games,
I knew nothing about the Adventures in Odyssey radio series. I subsequently
discovered that the show has been on the air over 17 years and has
a daily audience exceeding 1.2 million. Characters, places, and themes
from the series have also been featured in 16 videos and 20 novels.
How impressive is that?

Fortunately, one need not be acquainted with the Odyssey series
in order to enjoy these games. Players unfamiliar with the show will
meet three of its characters in both Sword and Treasure: John Avery
Whittaker (Whit), discovery emporium proprietor, inventor, and all-around
nice guy; Eugene Meltsner, whiz-kid extraordinaire and intern to
Whit; and Connie Kendall, who works for Whit and dreams of becoming
a teacher, playwright, and director. You alternately take on the
roles of all three characters as you progress though the games.

Whit, Eugene, and Connie are given voice by the same actors who
portray them in the Odyssey radio program. Additionally, each game
boasts a story penned by one of the show’s writers.

In both games our trio’s base of operations is an emporium owned
by Whit, cleverly known as Whit’s End. Here, Eugene and Connie work
diligently in the library and office locating information, while
Whit labors at his workbench and in an area called Invention Corner,
creating unique devices to aid our three characters in their quests.

Now, one might think that games suitable for eight-year-olds might
seem a tad simplistic to adults. Well, not so with these games. Some
of the activities are relatively straightforward, but others present
enough of a challenge that my grown-up (and I use the term loosely)
interest was held quite well. In fact, it’s possible that younger
players may need assistance in completing some of the games’ more
difficult tasks.

Or, on second thought…maybe not. Interestingly, as I was playing
these games I found myself wondering if my cluttered adult brain
might be unnecessarily complicating some of the activities. It’s
entirely possible that younger players — who carry less mental baggage
than we old codgers do — might have an easier time of it.

You may also be wondering — as I was, frankly — whether games
having a basis in Christianity might preach at you, clobber you with
the Bible, or be overzealous in some other way. I was really curious
to see if this type of thing would occur in either of the Odyssey games. I was very pleasantly surprised.

At this point, let me be up front about something: I’m really not
into religion. Nothing of the organized variety, anyway. But I’ll
tell you what: I thoroughly enjoyed playing these games. Neither
gets in your face with fire and brimstone or heavy-handed dogma (not
that I think mainstream Christianity necessarily embraces such things,
you understand). Quite the contrary, in fact. Both games have engaging
stories done in a refreshingly gentle tone. And on top of that, they’re
just plain entertaining.

Digital Praise has put together a team comprised of folks who have
developed games for The Learning Company, Disney Interactive, and
Activision. There’s a whole lot of talent here, and it shows.

One of the interesting
features shared by the two games is that all activities can be
played in two different modes: “Story” and “Practice.” In
Story Mode, one is actually playing the game. However, anyone who
is having trouble completing an activity can switch to Practice Mode,
where skills can be improved through repetition, and where some activities
can even be adjusted to easier levels to get a better feel for what’s
required. Further, the Digital Praise proprietary FunWare game engine,
which was used to create both games, features automatic adjustment
of difficulty levels during gameplay.

Practice Mode also offers players the option of engaging in activities
outside the framework of the games, just for fun. The only requirement
is that the tasks must have already been accomplished at least once
within the actual game. After that, they can be accessed as stand-alone
activities. I think that’s pretty nifty.

Many tasks in both games require the completion of multiple objectives;
some also call for the acquisition and use of certain items. In most
cases, the number of required actions/items is represented by rows
of icons appearing at the lower left-hand side of the screen. As
each action is accomplished, its icon changes color; the collection
of an item causes its icon to vanish. Tasks not using icons illustrate
multiple objectives in other conspicuous ways. In all cases, audible
cues are provided to indicate success.

Inventory items are carried
in characters’ backpacks, which are accessed by resting one’s pointer
over an “0” that appears
at the screen’s lower right. This also affords access to the games’
optional settings panels and navigational maps.

Using the maps, players can track their progress, identify where
they’ve been, see where each character currently is, and access various
activities. Each game also displays prompts at the bottom of the
screen to indicate navigational options and available actions.

Our three characters get to use such high-tech items as scanners,
Internet-capable computers, and specialized software. I always get
a kick out of games that enable me to run programs and do searches
on a virtual computer that’s inside my actual computer. I don’t think
a person can ever have too many computers. (I’m not addicted to this
stuff or anything. Oh no, not me…)

Each game offers cartoon-style graphics that are both colorful and
crisp; animation is smooth and nicely rendered. The music in both
games is pleasant and downright catchy. I had no problem with any
of the voice acting, and some of the dialog is quite amusing.

Alas, I do have one minor issue related to music and dialog. This
occurs more frequently in Sword than it does in Treasure.

While accomplishing various tasks, our characters make assorted
comments, many of which are unrelated to the activity at hand. These
comments are repeated over and over until the task is concluded.
The activities’ background music, which tends to be rather short
in duration, also repeats again and again. Neither of these things
is much of a problem with tasks that can be completed relatively
quickly, but with those that require more time and effort, they can
become somewhat of a distraction.

To Digital Praise’s credit,
both games do offer options of turning off music, dialog, and/or
sound effects. But I found that doing so
left me with one of those “something is missing” feelings.
I would have preferred that music and commentary be more varied and
repeated less often, particularly in Sword.

Each game’s CD-ROM includes
a User’s Guide, which is accessible from the game’s opening splash
screen menu and through the Options
Panel during gameplay. If additional help is needed with either game,
Digital Praise offers tips and tricks on its website.

Some nice extras are included on both games’ CD-ROMs as well. There
are full episodes of the Odyssey radio program, a game called Jukebox
Mixer in which one matches actual dialog from the show with corresponding
background music, a preview of a new audio series called The
Last Chance Detectives, and some game-based wallpaper for your desktop.

Both Sword and Treasure are relatively short in duration; I’d say
they offer around 15 hours or less of gameplay, depending on the
length of time it takes to complete each activity. I much prefer
quality over quantity, however — and we definitely have two quality
games here.

System requirements, identical for both games, are quite reasonable;
even older computers should be able handle the games without any
problems. And, perhaps best of all (from where I sit, anyway), neither
game glitched up on me or had a single bug. I just love that.

Adventures in Odyssey and the Sword of the Spirit

This game highlights virtues such as patience, self-control, and
cooperation. These concepts are presented subtly within the context
of the story, and some of the game’s activities are so amusing that
they had me laughing out loud.

The story, which is set in and around the town of Odyssey, revolves
around the sword of the title — an ancient artifact discovered by
Peter McAlister in the 1800s and engraved with nine Greek letters,
each representing a virtue. After an introductory cut scene, our
adventure begins as Whit, Eugene, and Connie become aware of the
sword and start discovering clues concerning its whereabouts.

Unfortunately, greedy art dealer Gustav Schmidt knows about the
artifact as well. He has kidnapped Marty McAlister, the great, great,
great grandson of Peter, and is holding him hostage. Schmidt will
release Marty only in exchange for the sword. He demands that our
trio lead him to it.

The artifact is reached by way of a path called the Gauntlet of
Virtues, devised by Peter McAlister to insure that whoever finds
the sword will be of suitable character to possess such a treasure.
The negotiation of this path takes up a major portion of the game.

The Gauntlet consists of nine tests of character representing the
virtues depicted on the sword. These are mastered by successfully
completing puzzles and arcade-style games, and navigating through
a series of mazes (which aren’t bad — honest!). Each activity has
multiple parts based on a common underlying structure. All must be
completed in order to advance the game.

My favorite activity in
Sword is an arcade game, tackled by Connie, called “Switch Way Out” (which represents self-control
and alertness, both of which I can always use more of, thank you).
In my opinion, this activity also contains one of the game’s most
challenging sequences. One of the comments Connie makes during this
sequence is, “I could do this all day!” Well, it took me
so long to get through the thing that she (and I) nearly did do it
all day. How embarrassing. Must be that cluttered brain of mine…

Anyway, “Switch” has
Connie in a moving rail car that she can either speed up or slow
down. Connie also has an abundance
of rocks, which she throws at targets while negotiating multiple
levels of tracks in order to switch the rails and successfully maneuver
to the exit. The first few instances of the game are fairly easy.
Then, Connie must negotiate more complex configurations, including
tracks that have gaps. Unless she is going fast enough when approaching
one of these gaps, Connie will fall through it and land on the track
below with an enormous crash (don’t worry — she doesn’t get hurt
and keeps going). The sound effects are just great, and I loved throwing
those rocks. Fortunately, Connie’s rock supply is unlimited, which
really comes in handy for out-of-control, distracted people like
me.

Other activities have Connie floating on air currents; Eugene swimming
underwater and tiptoeing through bat caves; Connie and Eugene teaming
up to maneuver objects through a series of mazes; and Whit unscrambling
letters to form words, rearranging puzzle pieces to form pictures,
and guiding marbles over hazardous paths filled with holes. Each
activity does a very good job of illustrating the virtue(s) it represents.

I do have one problem related to the number of tasks required in
order to successfully complete the game’s activities. These activities
can contain up to 30 different variations. Some can be a little tricky,
necessitating a lot of repetition, even in Practice Mode. This seems
a bit much to me, particularly for young children — especially considering
that each part of an activity must be mastered in order to proceed
with the game. It’s possible this was done deliberately by the game’s
designers to reinforce such things as patience and perseverance,
and I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. But I would
have preferred a more reasonable number of tasks in each activity.

Overall, I found this game to be most enjoyable. By the time I finished
playing it, I felt as though I’d even learned a thing or two about
myself — and I’d actually had fun doing it. You just can’t beat
a combination like that.

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

Adventures in Odyssey and the Treasure of the Incas

Here we have a game that addresses faith, determination, and redemption;
it also emphasizes the skills of logic and reasoning, problem-solving,
and critical thinking. It features more characters and locales than
are present in Sword, and the story is a little more involved. The
game is also a bit shorter than Sword.

In Treasure, a mystery has developed involving Eugene’s archeologist
parents, who disappeared while on an expedition when Eugene was seven
years old. Accusations are discovered that just before they vanished,
Eugene’s parents abandoned the rest of their team and made off with
an Incan treasure.

In the opening cut scene,
a rock bearing a note is thrown through Eugene’s bedroom window.
(Eugene is sleeping at the time, and mutters, “E=MC
cubed? That’s utterly ridiculous, Albert.” I think that’s pretty
funny!) The note demands the return of a stolen map, presumably to
the Incan treasure. Eugene knows nothing about such a map.

Our adventure begins with Eugene telling Whit and Connie about the
note. The balance of the game is devoted to solving the mystery surrounding
the note, the map, and the treasure.

In addition to the usual accoutrements, each character carries a
device called a DataCom. This is used to enter notes concerning clues
that are discovered and organize them into categories. The DataCom
also includes a phone that our trio can use to communicate with each
other and call outside parties.

During their adventure, our trio meets Andrea Hiller, an old college
roommate of Eugene’s mother, Thelma; Samantha Micos and Carlton Freedman,
both archeologists; and mystery man Francisco Valdez, who appears
to have some connection to the treasure.

In the course of solving the mystery, Eugene, Connie and Whit sort
artifacts, decipher a journal written in code, and build a self-activated
camera that takes pictures automatically at set intervals and transmits
them to Whit’s computer. They also fly to Peru, navigate through
a jungle maze, unscramble maps, and solve a puzzle that uses prisms
to redirect beams of light.

There’s one clue in Treasure that doesn’t come from an outside source,
is stated verbally only once by one of the characters, and doesn’t
show up in the DataCom. Unless a player makes note of it, a subsequent
scene might not make complete sense. I’ll leave it at that in the
interest of avoiding a spoiler.

I also won’t give away the game’s ending, except to say that after
all is said and done, everyone goes out for ice cream. And now that
I’ve mentioned it, I want ice cream, too…chocolate chip would be
nice.

By the time I reached the end of Treasure I was curious about a
certain aspect of the story, particularly considering the game’s
Christian underpinnings. I feel it warrants mentioning here, as others
who play the game may be curious as well.

I was left wondering who was taking care of Eugene while he was
growing up and his parents were away on lengthy archeological digs,
and whether Eugene’s parents had ever considered what kind of effect
their absences might have on him. (Leave it to me to be picky, huh?)

I contacted Digital Praise with my questions. The reply I received
said that in the radio show, Eugene lives with an extended family.
There was some uncertainty about whether Eugene’s folks had been
concerned about their absences, but I was advised that this wasn’t
addressed in the game because it’s already been covered in the series.
So there you have it.

I enjoyed Treasure a bit
more than I did Sword. It has a bigger scope, offers more variety
and less repetition, and some of the music
has a Latin American flavor that’s less “cartoonish” than
the music in Sword. Also, the activities aren’t as time-intensive
— but that doesn’t mean they’re easy. A couple of them, in fact,
can be fairly difficult.

All in all, Treasure offers an engaging mystery that’s served up
in an absolutely charming package. I had a great deal of fun playing
it!

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

In Conclusion…

I heartily recommend both of these games to anyone — young or old,
Christian or not — who’s interested in wholesome entertainment.
The games have broad appeal and offer something for everyone in the
family.

Digital Praise’s stated
objective is to produce “faith-based
and mainstream titles for families looking to enjoy interactive entertainment
software with principled themes and ‘just good clean fun’.” Well,
folks, they’ve hit bull’s-eyes with these two games.

I’m definitely looking forward to the release of the other games
in the Odyssey series. Kudos to Digital Praise for producing such
entertaining titles!

System Requirements: