Reviewed by: Ray "You
can call me RAY" Ivey on 10/10/01
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First
Impressions:
During
a bleak time for adventure games, Road to India from Microids
is like a nice drink of water for a parched gamer's soul. It's not
a large game, it's not a great game, and it's not even an overly
ambitious game, but it nevertheless scores by getting important
basics right.
In a scene reminiscent of the first Broken Sword game, RTI
begins with an incident of terror on a crowded Delhi street. This
segues to your introduction of the game's character, a young American
man named Fred Reynolds who's on a plane to India to look for his
Indian fiancée, Anusha. She's just recently mysteriously vanished
during what was supposed to be just a visit home to see her family.
On his way to India, Fred has a mysterious dream. He's on the steps
of the Taj Mahal. Nearby is a nervous monkey, a beautiful garden,
and a very calm elephant.
I think it's safe to say that any adventure game that begins with
a Taj Mahal dream sequence is doing something right. What a perfect
setting for this type of game: beautiful, exotic and mysterious.
Those of us who love adventure games are seasoned computer-chair
travelers. We've made repeated trips to Egypt, Central America,
even Atlantis. But I don't remember ever having a game take me to
India. What took so long?
Graphics:
The
format of the game is first person point-and-click, with smooth
360-degree panning.
The graphics are not revolutionary, but they're attractive and
inviting. The cut-scenes have a lovely cinematic quality that's
reminiscent of the Broken Sword games. The game is in first
person, point-and-click format, with the floating central cursor
we've seen in so many European adventure games lately. The game
even does a convincing job of justifying the limited areas of
the city available for exploration. And while the game's budget
does not allow hordes of extras, you still feel like you're in
India.
Sound/Music:
The
sound design of the game is professional and appropriate. I enjoyed
the voice acting, and there were no embarrassingly bad performances.
In the very troublesome category of game acting, this is no small
thing! The music, voices, sound effects and ambient sound all
work with the lovely graphics to create.
Gameplay:
Many
adventure game fans are also big readers and are curious about
the world in general. For me, it's always a plus when a game deals
with a real historical subject in an interesting way. Road
to India explores the shadowy group known as the Thugs. The
Thugs were a group of assassins that terrorized India for centuries,
before being eradicated by the British in the mid-19th Century.
Or were they? The more Fred tugs at the strings of the mystery,
the more it seems that some neo-Thug group is responsible for
the disappearance of his beloved fiancée.
The puzzles in the game are logical and satisfying for the most
part. A few stand out: a clever bit involving the use of monkey
"language," a visually interesting puzzle involving a play of
light through tiles, and an entertaining gauntlet that must be
navigated through a series of guards.
Enjoyment:
A
very major thing this game does right is that Fred's search for
his beloved is conducted on two fronts: First, during Fred's waking
hours, the player explores present-day urban India. But at night,
in Fred's dreams, one explores the magical India of old. This
is a brilliant stroke that makes the game more satisfying than
if the setting had been exclusively one or the other.
Multiplayer:
N/A
Overall
Impression:
The
most important element of any game is whether it creates a vibe
that makes it fun to play. This "playability" is an utterly indefinable
quality, like charisma in movie stars and other celebrities. Road
to India is not long, it's not overly complex, and it's not
even particularly inspired. However, it does have that mysterious
virtue that all good adventure games need: it's just fun to play.
The environments are beguiling, the puzzles are enjoyable, and
the story is compelling. Why else do we play an adventure game?
Oh, and of course, as an added bonus, there is that rat puzzle
. . .
I feel I've become such a crank lately with my crabby reviews
of lousy adventure games. It's nice to be able to tell people
about a good one!
Marketing
Efforts Towards Women:
While
the main character in this first-person game is male, the appeal
of the game is gender neutral, in this reviewer's opinion.
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