Murder and intrigue; astrology
and herbal knowledge; quatrains and history; these key ingredients
in Kheops Studio’s Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy
blend to create a well-rounded, historically accurate gaming recipe.

In
the year 1566 in Salon de Provence, France, the world-famous seer
receives an unexpected visit from Queen Catherine de Medici. Disturbed
by a series of murders that appear to bring one of Nostradamus’
more disturbing quatrains to fruition, she seeks his help in keeping
disaster from befalling her family. Unfortunately, the frail old man
is unable to investigate the matter for himself. Instead, he offers
the services of his capable young son, Cesar. Satisfied by this arrangement,
the Queen has no idea that Cesar is actually far away, and that his
sister Madeleine has taken his place in disguise.

I have to admit that at
first, I wondered at the seemingly unnecessary Victor/Victoria aspect
of the game. Why not simply have Cesar play as the lead character,
since he was taking Nostradamus’ place anyway? Upon further
reflection, I suppose the developers felt that having a female lead
might have greater appeal to their audience, but that acceptance of
a female investigator would be too far-fetched for the time period.
And the fact is, they did weave this into the storyline and gameplay
well. If you speak to characters wearing the disguise, then show up
again as Madeleine (a task that’s easily performed through your
inventory when you’re in an appropriate location), you’ll
receive a different reception—and sometimes different answers.

While
the game bears the name of Nostradamus, his participation is more
that of a mentor or guide. Throughout the game, you’ll take
advantage of his vast storehouse of knowledge regarding astrology,
herbal potions, and of course his very own predictions, along with
his insight into the clues you find. He’ll make sure your look
is convincing and help you practice the pitch of your voice.

In your toolkit, which
you’ll receive from Nostradamus once he green-lights your disguise,
you’ll find a logbook and miscellaneous period-appropriate tools
such as a quill, a compass, a magnifying glass, scissors, a scalpel
and tongs. You’ll access your toolkit by right clicking, which
also opens your rather ample inventory and gives you the ability to
add or remove clothing items from your character’s image. But
don’t get too excited—Madeleine wears a minimum of full
coverage underwear at all times! Think “pantaloons and bodice.”
But hey, if that’s your thing, I’m not here to judge.

Throughout
the game, you’ll draw and research charts, create concoctions,
and even solve a planetary puzzle in Nostradamus’ study. Most
of these puzzles are fairly logical and straightforward, simply requiring
you to find the right slips of paper, books, or other information
along the way.

Many of them will be handled
directly in your logbook, which also has a tab for storing recipes,
a map, and previous dialog you can peruse at your leisure. This leads
me to the bit of hand-holding the developers may have built a little
too strongly into the game. For example, your logbook keeps detailed
lists of tasks you need to perform, and Madeleine will even remind
you of those tasks should you attempt to end the day without completing
them. Once you’ve finished an item on the list, the game automatically
crosses it off for you. Convenient… perhaps a little too convenient
for some.

While
you will be required to decode and translate many things– including
Celtic runes – the parameters within which you’ll work
are fairly narrow. You’ll find no Myst-like puzzles requiring
reams of paper scattered across your desk. Most everything you need
is right there on your screen. In one respect, I found this enjoyable,
as I tend to become easily overwhelmed by paperwork; but I felt I
should warn you in case you hoped for a more complicated game. Puzzles
toward the end of the game DO become increasingly difficult as well
as being timed, and there are several occasions when your character
can die.

One particularly admirable
aspect of the puzzles is how well they’re integrated within
the game. They work so well within their context that this may add
to the perception of ease I mentioned before. It’s not so much
that the puzzles are simple; rather, they make so much sense. When
you take into account the historical backdrop of the game, this must
have been no mean feat.

As
for the rest of the interface, it’s point and click with a full
range of movement within limited locations. This gives you ample opportunity
to enjoy the graphics, which I found to be artistically and aesthetically
pleasing. The backgrounds were detailed and quaint, giving the definite
feeling of stepping back in time. I found I didn’t have to waste
too much time pixel-hunting. The environment is rich with objects,
but it’s easy enough to scan for hot spots.

Once you find one, the
cursor will change to indicate whether an action is possible, and
which type of action may be required. For example, an item that needs
to be examined using your toolkit will feature a magnifying glass.
If it requires an item from your inventory or something nearby, you’ll
see gears.

The
characters were also well-rendered, although the voiceovers were not
always convincing. By no means was the acting bad enough to detract
from the game—I’ve simply experienced better. I also enjoyed
the music—soothing, not too distracting, providing drama when
appropriate.

All in all, this game ran
very smoothly, and there were no irritations that begged to be written
about in this review. The only possible flaw I can see with the game
is, as I’ve stated before, the relative ease of some of the
puzzles. But if you’re the type of gamer who enjoys a good,
logical mystery within a solid historical framework, I predict you’ll
have hours of enjoyment with Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy.

System Requirements:

• Operating System : Windows® 98SE/2000/XP/Vista
• CPU: Intel Pentium® III 800 MHZ or higher
• Hard Drive: 1.6 GB disc space
• DVD-ROM
• Video Card: 3D material acceleration 64 MB required, DirectX® 9 compatible
• Sound Card : DirectX® 9 compatible
• keyboard & mouse