Cydonia |
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Wednesday October 07, 1998 |
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Cydonia |
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Wednesday October 07, 1998 |
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A great story woven around a great game, full of hours and hours of enjoyable puzzles and discovery. |
| If
the name Cydonia sounds familiar to you, its probably
because it should be familiar. Cydonia refers to the
Cydonia Mensae area on Mars. The area includes a huge
mountain with valleys that resemble a humanoid face. Also
in the area are several geometrically shaped mountains
and hills and one area even looks like what could be a
city. The story puts you, the player, in the year 201, in the first manned mission to Mars. The mission is essential to the survival to the human race, because all the while, earth is being destroyed by earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. The surviving human population are living in orbiting cites around the earth. Your job is to survey the area, and to decide if the area is suitable for colonization. Everything is going smoothly until just after entering the Mars atmosphere. Your ship suddenly hit an electromagnetic field, and you loose all ship functions. You crash land, kidding your way to a stop. The game starts here, and you find yourself in the control room, with your 2 other crewmates. One is stuck under a bulkhead which has fallen, while the other's face mask has cracked and is depressurizing rapidly. At this point, you'll need to cut your crewwoman (yes, she's female...or at least sounds female) loose, and you'll need to repair the other's visor. Not to mention the fuel and oxygen tanks in your ship have become unstable, and must be dumped before exploding. Cydonia brings adventure games a whole new dimension. The third dimension... Unlike most adventure games, Cydonia features a 3D interface. So rather than having to choose your path through pictures... In Cydonia you navigate your way through a 3D environment. Though your in a 3D environment, your movement is still limited to certain areas, similar to most current adventure games. The interface, and inventory menu is very intuitive, and easy to use.
Overhead map of the |
 Inside the Pentapyramid There is about 40-60 hours of gameplay in Cydonia, depending on how quickly you can solve the puzzles. Some of the puzzles are easy, yet some are extremely difficult. The hardest, and most frustrating puzzle is simply knowing where to go, and what to do when you get there. I spent 15 minutes simply trying to figure out where to go after exiting the spacecraft. This is where the 3D interface has hits down points. Rather than figuring out where to go by moving the mouse over a picture, and waiting for the mouse cursor to change... In Cydonia, its much more difficult. Having 360 degrees horizontally, and about 30-40 degrees vertically, makes for a lot more area to search. After spending 15 minutes stuck in the valley outside the spacecraft, I started just randomly clicking everywhere, which to my surprise, worked... though I have no idea where it was that I actually clicked. Moving right along... The puzzles include anything from simple alignment and algorithm to translating an alien language so you can understand it, then using that knowledge to solve a puzzle. As of yet, I haven't found any mid-range difficulty puzzles. Only easy, and super hard. Though this probably wont present much of a problem for the experienced adventure gamer. It might cause frustration among the average gamers. Graphically, the game is splendid. The detail level is extremely impressive, and the quality of the 3D models and animation are equal to what you would find in a full length feature film. The sound and music is also top notch, and adds to the thrill and excitement of discovering an ancient alien city. Cydonia is perfect for any sci-fi adventure gamer. A great story woven around an awesome game, full of hours and hours of enjoyable puzzles and discovery. |
Company: Category: NOTES: Interest:
90% TOTAL : 90% Requirements: Operating
System: Memory: Hard
Drive: Sound
Card: Video:
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