Jules Verne does not
need any special introductions. Born in 1828, he has written
some of the most popular fiction stories worldwide – stories like Journey
to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 Days and 20,000
Leagues Under
the Sea. His stories are exciting and adventurous and are an excellent ground
for adventure games to be built around. But somehow this perfect opportunity
has not been properly taken advantage of. At least not until recently, with the
releases of Journey to the Center of the Earth, Return
to Mysterious Island and
Voyage (previously known as Journey to the
Center of the Moon).

Now Frogwares, developers
of the pretty good, yet not flawless, Journey to the Center
of the Earth, bring another Jules Verne story
to the adventure crowd: Around the World in 80 Days. But this time,
things have changed. Mr. Verne seems to have taken a huge technological
leap, and Frogwares appear to have one the biggest and most technologically
advanced adventures in years in their hands. But while it will satisfy
the tech aficionados, will it be up to par to sate the substance-oriented
adventure crowd? After playing the demo my answer is “It sure
seems like it!”

It’s the year 1899.
Oliver Lavisheart, a young adventurous Englishman, has accepted
to help his uncle Mathew win a bet. The
bet: go around the world gathering proof that Mathew has created
4 different inventions in 4 different cities in Egypt, India, Japan
and America. That could be fairly easy if there wasn’t a catch.
Oliver has to accomplish this feat in just 80 days and you must help
him.

The game is presented
in full 3D and is keyboard controlled. To be honest, after I saw
the first screenshots of the game I was expecting
an Action/Adventure game, in the Tomb Raider fashion, but after playing
the demo I realized I was mistaken. The controls are simple – walk/run
around and jump. Also there are keys to access the inventory, use/operate
items and see the current objectives – which, along with the
on-screen mini-map, proved very helpful during exploration. There
are no buttons to attack or defend, which simply means, no fighting!
80 Days promises no jumping, fighting, timed actions whatsoever,
although there will be a few non-timed arcade sequences. The player
will also be given the opportunity to choose which way they want
to do things. For example, a situation that will be able to be resolved
using stealth will have an alternate solution if someone is not the
sneaky type.

In his attempt to find
proof of his uncle’s inventions, Oliver
will have to roam the four different cities, exploring and solving
all kinds of puzzles. Exploring the city of Bombay (which was the
one in the demo) was a great experience. The city is alive. People
are walking and talking, animals are wandering in the streets and
the weather constantly changes. You see 80 Days is played in real
time, and the weather will change from sunshine to overcast to rain,
while day and night will take turns. Oliver is also “alive”,
which means he can get tired and will need to eat and rest. And all
that come coated with a nice frosting of good humor (just see the
poster of the Bollywood version of Star Wars!)

The big 80 Days innovations though are the methods of transportation. Oliver does not have
to walk/run everywhere. He can use all kinds
of vehicles he will find parked in the streets. From tricycles to
weird “one-wheelers”, even flying carpets or elephants!
At times I found myself just driving around with no care in the world!
Also, there are different methods of transportation from city to
city, and the player will get to choose which one they want. Going
from city to city will not just be a cut-scene though, since Frogwares
promises more adventures during travel!

Visually I have to say that 80
Days impressed me. All characters
are very detailed, with even their clothes flailing while they walk/run,
while the areas and the whole environment are plain gorgeous! Add
some beautiful ambient sounds and nice voiceovers and you have a
result of top class presentation.

In a nutshell, playing
the demo of 80
Days was sheer fun! The game
is certainly innovative and very different than what the standard
in adventure games has been so far. Unlike other games that have
tried to innovate and failed, 80 Days seems
to have found the magic recipe to combine pure, fun adventuring with
top notch technology,
and if what I experienced playing the demo is any indication of what
the final product will be, we are talking about a definite winner!