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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortal (PC, 2008)



This is a first person point & click adventure, where you advance through static screens, although you can rotate the camera in 360º. Despite this ancient structure the games does attempt to do a few things different. The game is divided through sort of episodes, relating to areas. These can feel quite confined and disjointed, and are a bit of a hindrance regarding the "megapolis" backdrop where the story is set. The main character is a rebel of sorts against the futuristic dictatorship cliché. There is, however a weird subplot as a mysterious pyramid hovers over Paris (where the game is set) and you discover that your father who you thought had died, lives. All through this, you'll meet egyptian gods who are a bit of the "Stargate" variety. As this description shows, the story is a mess and the script doesn't aid one bit. Alcide Nikopol, the main character, has no distinguishing features to speak of and barely meets other characters directly. The thought of a futuristic game set in Paris is promising, but here, with the very limited locales, and all in-doors, it's a dead miss. The game is an adaptation of renowned French comic book writer Enki Bilal's Nikopol trilogy, which I haven't read so I can't say how faithful it is. The graphic novel heritage is mostly displayed during the cutscenes that link the episodes of gameplay together, but otherwise it's hard to see.
The gameplay, while classic, does present some clever and enjoyable puzzles (although at times illogical), also including some more action-oriented sequences that work quite well, and add a novel sense of urgency and adrenaline that one seldom gets in an adventure game, like stealth-y sequences, sniping, etc.
In all, it's an interesting experience that does just about different to warrant interest. I certainly was expecting something worse, so I am quite happy with it.

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