DOS

3 Skulls of the Toltecs

Die Suche nach den goldenen Schädeln gehört zu den erfreulichen Neulingen im Genre. Die Comicgrafiken sind sauber und die Trickfilmanimationen witzig. Hervorzuheben ist zudem die wirklich gute deutsche Sprachausgabe, die mit ihrem harten, aber herzlichen Ton einige biedere Konkurrenzprodukte locker in die Tasche steckt.Da mag verzeihlich sein, daß oft sehr viel geredet wird.

Ok, so it's a little dated, but it seems that adventurers can't be choosers at the moment and many of us still like this kind of 'old fashioned' adventure. The cartoon graphics are still fine and the game is fun to play. Maybe cowboys aren't as interesting or as romantic as pirates and wizards, but don't let this put you off as the puzzles will keep you generally entertained, though it does fall away as you near the end. The game is an irreverent send up of the western genre and seems influenced, if not inspired, by the television series, F Troop, even if the humour is a little suspect at times. I wouldn't put it in the same league as Monkey Island or Simon the Sorcerer, but it is worth a look if, like me, you are partial to this style of adventure.

Insgesamt ist '3 Skulls of the Toltecs' ein Spiel mit Höhen und Tiefen. Es zeigt viele gute Ansätze, ist aber im Endeffekt nicht wirklich ausgereift. Zu häufig wird der Spielspaß durch irgendwelche Kleinigkeiten getrübt, sei es das nervige Herumgelaufe, die Sprachausgabe oder der teilweise recht platte Humor. Fans von Wild-West-Spielen können dennoch unbesorgt zugreifen.

Getting over the tacky surface, 3 Skulls does earn points in the puzzle department. Everything's quite easy (as usual in 1996), but still not too obvious, making it suitable for beginners. That's all there is to it, though. For veteran players, it's all quite boring and unspectacular. Bearable for sure, but mostly unfunny (the jokes are exactly what you'd expect from a brainstorming session about Western stereotypes with a 10-year-old) and thin gameplay lost in between pointless dialogue. 3 Skulls isn't a game I could enjoy. That doesn't make it automatically bad, of course. Try it for yourself, most casual players should like it at least a enough to play it till the end. If you can't motivate yourself to do that... what is there to lose?

3 Skulls is next to impossible to find and is really not worth the search. While the game does have its aforementioned good points, the clumsy intedrface and outrageous accents destroy any sense of authenticity and diminishes the fun element. Not bad enough to gain entrance to the Dungeon of Shame and not good enough to recommend, 3 Skulls' ultimate destiny was the bargain bin--the Boot Hill of adventure games.