Secrets of the Ark
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Those pesky Knights Templar are at it again.

I'll be the first to admit that adventure games aren't my forte. At the same time I can also say that I'm always willing to try new things. Once in a while a game comes along that doesn't command the most l33t twitch muscle reflexes, and gives us a much needed break from the fast paced action that has consumed us gamers over the past few years. Sometimes this is achieved all while providing us with a deep and rich plot; too bad Secrets of the Ark isn't that game. I welcomed this 4th installment in the Broken Sword series, but this game (to its European counterparts it is called Broken Sword: The Angel of Death) just doesn't fit the legacy that its forefathers left behind.

This is one of the most puzzling things I've ever heard said within a game. There was no pretext for this, they just said it.


As in all the Broken Sword games, you play a lawyer named George Stobbart and a journalist named Nico Collard. George is a bail bondsman/hard knock lawyer who has had a streak of bad luck. George's luck is about to change... for the worse. When returning to the office from an undisclosed location, George finds a woman named Anna Maria waiting for him in his. In the matter of seconds, the story you are left with is: she has a secret manuscript that reveals the location of a profound treasure in regards to the Knights Templar and church itself.

Unfortunately this woman not only brought with her the story she spews so rapidly with an amazing lack of detail, but also a gang of thugs that want to rub her out. Locking the door to the office as soon as you spot the ruffians bursting in to the building, you are left in a situation where you must get the hell out if there and drag Anna and her rotten AI along for a jolly ol' ride.

Creepy eh?


The moment you take the helm, you must figure out how to escape your office while the 'bad guys' (that's actually what Anna refers to them as) bang endlessly at the door. Imagine ICO, but a whole lot more ambiguous in terms of puzzles. As is expected, this is a point and click 'adventure'. This title claims to have a cutting edge interface, and what's interesting about the interface is the fact that each interactive object may present a two different operations (look and use).

Sometimes it's required to return to past levels and objects to double check if they are of any use to you considering most of the puzzles only have one possible solution, and that solution sometimes includes the use of items found throughout the game. DreamCatcher Interactive claims that this has cutting edge controls and interface, both of which I failed to locate. With a non-adjustable fixed camera, viewing certain areas of the map is impossible if certain objects obstruct the view.




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EverWars.com - You have GOT to play this game!