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[Lulu_Jane]

I picked up this new(ish) adventure game in Hong Kong the other day, and was wondering if anyone else here has played it?

Despite having a really great story premise - based around the events in the Tunguska region in 1908 (massive unexplained explosion, which in reality was most likey an asteroid) the game weaves in intrigue, the KGB, FSB, american multinational corporate fiddlings, lost tribes, archaeology, spirituality and sadly, finally, aliens.

I kind of get the feeling the writers just ended up jamming everything they could possibly think of into the plot and backstory. This is one time where "less would have been so much more!"

Apart from that, the puzzles are nice, a little simple, but well balanced between inventory based puzzles and code and pattern based puzzles. Which is good, because there's an evenly spaced/paced variety.

The graphics look lush, and movement is smooth.

However, the worst thing about this game has got to be the voice acting, and it really is bad - Good God, it sounds like shockingly horrid B-movie dialogue, and in more than one characters case, is terribly over-acted (Oleg and Max, I'm looking at you!) It's a shame, because I believe that with a better script, and better voice talent the suspension of disbelief that this story requires would have been much easier (and believe me, the story requires much suspending of logic.)

A good strong script, and capable voice acting helps immerse the player, and allows the plot to do insane things without the player becoming too skeptical - a good example of this would be the "Longest Journey" series. I guess that's my ultimate critisism, that Tunguska definitley isn't The Longest Journey, not that it should be, but it was all in all not terrible just a bit of a let down.