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RATING: (weak) 1 2 3 4 5 (awesome)
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IN BRIEF
Pros: Great story line, atmosphere-enhancing sound effects, and captivating music. Cons: Animated sequences too repetitive, "point-to-point" movement feature herds you through the game. In a nutshell: The "on a mission" idea had great potential, but was ruined by simple and annoying tasks that send you running back and forth. Multiplayer: No *ESRB rating: T (Teen) |
FACTS
Game Title: The Messenger Platform: PC Developer: Index Multimedia Publisher: DreamCatcher Interactive Accessories supported: Keyboard, mouse Price: $19.99 |
THE REVIEW by Tom Oberheide for Gamers Today
You are Morgan Sinclair, a secret service agent. Your father's last wish is that you do something to make him proud, nothing short of saving the world.
The premise of the game is fantastic. Your mission is to search the Louvre for the four elements of the apocalypse known as Satan's keys, before the Black Templars can bring them together and incinerate the earth. The most compelling and innovative aspect of the mission is that you have to travel to three different time periods to find the keys, visiting the Louvre as the home of Charles V, Henry IV, and Louis XV.
As the price might suggest, the controls are very simple. A novice might appreciate this at first, but the lack of variety gets old, fast. The cursor indicates in which direction you can move and when an inventory item is needed. Left click to take action, and right click to check your inventory. The point-to-point movement prevents you from wandering around, but you're free to look 360 degrees from each spot.
You can carry up to eight items; additional items can be stored in chests found throughout the Louvre. Strangely enough, you can retrieve stored items from any one of these chests. Maybe the game's developer tried to ease the frustration of the carrying quota (allowed 8 of 20+ items at one time), or maybe the game is just lame.
In the animated sequences, you see Morgan in her snakeskin black suit with her striking green eyes. Unfortunately, the graphics aren't detailed enough to show her other features, robbing her of emotion. The Louvre is elaborately designed; depicting realistic torches that warm the halls with a soft glow and fill the air with the flames' crackles.
The music for the inventory menu is new age meets industrial -- a soothing mystical beat mixed with electronic rings and blurbs. Walking through different parts of the Louvre, the sounds change from crickets and horses of the past to the beeping security cameras and barking dogs of the present.
UnfortunatelyThe Messenger goes by the wayside, as the game becomes a mundane search for the right key to open the right door. Most of your time will be spent looking through your inventory, trying to figure out which item you should use next. If this sounds interesting, try finding your keys in the dark.
*For a complete explanation of ESRB ratings, check out the official ESRB Web site.
