DOS

Noctropolis

Noctropolis is a stylish and atmospheric adventure game, inspired by the world of comic books (so if you hate comic books, be sure to avoid Noctropolis). There is, in fact, one little comic book included in the game box to set the stage for the game's story (the same comic book can also be viewed in the game). The comic-book Noctropolis is a city of the night - literally. About a hundred years ago, some kind of natural cataclysm caused the sky to be completely shrouded by an impenetrable cloud of smoke, ashes and dust. Since then the sun no longer rises in Noctropolis. And like other comic book cities, Noctropolis also has a big crime problem. Not just street gangs and thugs but super villains, incredibly evil and powerful

Gorgeous VGA graphics and challenging but fair puzzles. The dialogue could have used another pass through the typewriter, and the acting is strictly amateur. Noctropolis is a solid adventure set in an intriguing and visually stunning world.

Despite all of its shortcomings, Noctropolis is a fun and engaging game. It has a campy, tongue-in-cheek humor and never takes itself too seriously. To get the most entertainment value for your money, I suggest you play this game in a similar spirit. Take it for what it is and you'll come away happy. Want it to wear sensible shoes and eat its broccoli? I'm afraid you're in for a bit of a disappointment.

Een interessant adventure waarbij je op een originele manier een stripverhaal gebruikt. Jammer dat de puzzels een beetje makkelijk zijn en dat je veel dingen alleen kunt oplossen door alles uit te proberen.

Uiii, ein Spiel nur für Erwachsene - das klingt ja mächtig spannend. Umso tragischer ist es, daß das brandneue Electronic-Arts-Adventure noch an eklatanten Kinderkrankheiten leidet.

It's a bit of a pity that this otherwise excellent game is spoiled so much by the seemingly forced inclusion of 'multimedia' elements. The athmosphere would have benefitted a lot from scrapping the cheesy videos and voices. Having the same people who worked on the background graphics do the characters, too, and improving the interface would have earned the game an additional point. The way it is, Noctropolis is 'only' a good Adventure.

Men visst, stänger man av ljudet och sätter sig och spelar en stund, märker man faktiskt att det döljer sig ett ganska bra äventyr under ytan på det multimediala kloakvattnet. Själv tycker jag dock att det är lite för enkelt. Användargränssnittet är lättskött, utan alltför många symboler att snubbla på. Men som sagt, som nybörjarspel får det fullt godkänt.

The blurb on the box proclaims Noctropolis to be an 'adult graphic adventure' and the publisher's own classification rates it for mature people aged seventeen and over as it contains 'suggestive themes', 'animated violence' and 'realistic violence'. All of which arouses curiosity about the game and raises expectations, if not sales. For more experienced adventurers it will, rightly, arouse suspicion and raise doubts about the game's playability.

Noctropolis wanted to be a cool, adult comic book adventure. Well, it's a comic book adventure all right. No, I didn't forget the cool, and adult part. THEY did. If you like point and click adventures, you might give this one a try. An interest in comic book heroes will sweeten the deal for you even more, as you play the part of a made up hero called Darksheer. Man, I have to take issue with this name. How horrible is it? Have all the good comic book hero names been taken? Our hero sounds like a type of stocking for women.