A Very Good Historical Adventure / Puzzle Game.
Written: Jul 02 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fun, Educational & Historical.
Cons: Some difficult choke points.
The Bottom Line: An average adventure game that is an excellent history lesson.
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| grimjack2's Full Review: Byzantine: The Betrayal for Windows |
I actually play tested this game for Stormfront Studios and the Discovery Channel, and am very disappointed that no one has written a review of it here. I liked it when I played it, and thought it would do well, but I guess it never did. At least not in America. I was told it sold very well in Europe, and won an award or two.
Byzantine starts with you travelling to modern Istanbul to see your friend who said he has made a wondrous discovery. You arrive just in time to discover that he may be in trouble, and sure enough, pretty soon you find his corpse. You collect clues and visit various locations trying to solve the mystery. Eventually you get involved in a large illegal archeology ring that is trying to sell rare and valuable artifacts to buyers outside of Turkey. Apparently Turkey has a very strong policy of keeping its ancient archeological treasures within its borders. While investigating the crime you visit many famous landmarks and talk with various people.
Istanbul has a lot of history. It was known as Byzantine by the Greeks & Persians, and later was renamed Constantinople when it replaced Rome as the capitol of the Roman Empire. You will see and learn about the various kings, queens, and religions that all helped to make Istanbul what it is today. There are even some blatant educational pieces in the game like when you are in a museum and you click on one of about 30 little tape devices near each item that goes into historical detail about each item.
The game used an unusual combination of engines. When you are in a room looking for items and clues, you were looking at a 360 degree picture similar to what you can use today to check out a new house for sale. I was impressed with how well it worked at the time. You can also move forward and back through these locations into other 360 degree rotational locations. To go from one major location to another, you have the standard overhead map type of navigational system. New locations to visit appear by speaking with people, and finding clues.
When you meet one of the eight characters or so (you will meet them all multiple times), you have the traditional dialogue tree where you select what you are going to say to them in hopes of getting the most helpful responses. These usually result in a lot of loading and saving because you are always afraid you might have picked the wrong one. Needless to say, you can never say anything catastrophic that keeps you from finishing the game. All the actors are famous in Turkey, and their obvious acting ability shows with some more than others do.
There are also 3 or 4 puzzles in the game that have their own interface. You must put together a three dimensional pulley system. Solve a puzzle. That type of thing. Usually these feel out of place in an adventure game (unless that is all the game consists of, like in "Myst"), and here is no exception. Yet, they are brief, and enjoyable in their own way.
The final interface engine is what makes this game unique. You end up in a virtual world recreation of historical landmarks. You go through the ancient site as it may have appeared back in its prime, trying to find pieces of the puzzle. It is a little contrived in how you 'discover' things that the computer's database has decided existed somewhere, but it works in the content of the game.
The story is interesting, and the game isn't too hard, nor too long. I used to see it around packaged together with Discover Channel's other great game "Connections". If you see it, it's well worth playing.
Recommended:
Yes
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grimjack2
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Location: San Rafael, CA, Marin County
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Film is my favorite art form. I live a life of constant amelioration.
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