DOS

The City of Lost Children

Based on the French movie of the same name from Jeunet & Caro, The City of Lost Children (CoLC) is the newest action/adventure game from Psygnosis. Similar in many ways to the critically acclaimed Alone in the Dark series from Infogrames (I-Motion in the United States), CoLC is yet one step ahead, featuring spectacular graphics that recreate the so particular atmosphere of the movie. If CoLC follows the general intrigue found in the movie, it has, however, taken some liberty from the script, sometimes developing, other times reducing specific parts of the film. In other words, even though you may have seen the movie, it won't help you solve the game, but at least you will know the various characters of the game and be familiar with its surreal world.

City of Lost Children is visually enticing, and there are some nice moments of discovery, but few surprises. While the game successfully captures the weird spirit and graphic intensity of the film, I felt that the puzzles were a little too easy and that there should have been more freedom in the character interaction and general exploitation of the environment. If you don't play many adventure games, this might be a good way to break into the genre, but if you're a seasoned veteran of games like Rama or Myst, then you'd be better advised to pass on City of Lost Children.

As a game, The City of Lost Children has tremendous graphic qualities, but it failed to immerse me in the story through lack of plot and character development. Perhaps it might have helped if I had seen the movie. Basically, there are only three major tasks to accomplish and the first two involve overcoming obstacles to purloin items for Pieuvre. It is only at the very end of the second task, leading on to the third, that you become involved with the plight of the lost children. And then, as I mentioned earlier, what should have been the climax of the story is whisked away by the ending cut sequence.