Total Eclipse

You really feel as if you're in the 30s exploring an ancient Egyptian pyramid - and the sharp time limit only adds to the excitement. If you want to explore a 3D world on your 64 that's better than either of its predecessors, take a look at Total Eclipse.

This is the picture – you are standing beside your 1930s biplane in the Sahara desert, overshadowed by one of the great pyramids. A firm believer in the occult, you've been alarmed by learning of a curse laid on this place. The pyramid was built in ancient times with a special chamber at its Apex for the ancient Egyptian sun-god, Re. The sole reason for its construction was as a curse on the people who had revolted against the High Priest. And if anything should obscure the sun's rays during daylight hours the curse will be fulfilled and the Moon explode.

The 16-bit versions of Total Eclipse are just as playable as their 8-bit predecessors. Movement is fast and scrolling smooth as our brave hero falls foul of the various traps set to catch the unwary in this highly explorable 3-D world.

The 16-bit versions of Total Eclipse are just as playable as their 8-bit predecessors. Movement is fast and scrolling smooth as our brave hero falls foul of the various traps set to catch the unwary in this highly explorable 3-D world.

Pure pleasure, this. I was just hanging around the office in my "any games you want reviewin', guv" mode, when lo! the new Freescape game from Incentive came through the door and I was the first to get hold of it. Ya ha! Try getting it back now, suckers! After Driller and Dark Side whizzed us off to galaxies far away, Total Eclipse brings us right back down to earth (and I don't mean Evath). In fact, Egypt is the setting, and you, sho' nuff, are an Egyptologist (Come again? Ed). Let's hit some history here.

The latest setting for the Freescape technique is also the most imaginative, namely Egypt in the 1930's. In ancient times a curse was put on a massive pyramid dedicated to the Sun God - if ever a total eclipse happened over Egypt the Moon would explode, devastating the Earth with its debris. On October 26 1930 said eclipse is about to happen and you've a mere two hours to penetrate the pyramid and destroy the pyramid shrine to prevent destruction.

On the way you will find treasures and ankhs. Treasures will increase your points, while ankhs are most useful as they remove door barriers. Just make sure that if you can, you get around a barrier (especially at first) since you may have a greater need for an ankh in the higher levels of the game! All in all this game is a unique gem that you should try. It may surprise you with its complexity and nice (two decades old) graphics (although dated by today’s standards).

In Incentive’s latest Freescape venture you can walk like an Egyptian, well an archaeologist anyway. The setting has moved from a futuristic outer space to a 1930s Earth, the good old Indiana Jones era. Earth is in danger of destruction (yet again), thanks to the curse of a pharaoh. The pharaoh was a bit cross with his people in the dim and distant past and so he put a curse upon the pyramid, viz: if the suns rays are blocked from the pyramid during the hours of daylight then the moon will explode and cover the earth in meteorites, not to mention the tidal effects of the destruction (I said not to mention the tidal effects - Ed).

Und tatsächlich übertrifft das Incentive-Produkt seine vielgelobten Vorgänger Driller und Darkside in puncto Komplexität und Ausmaß um einiges. Erhalten geblieben sind all die Zutaten, die den an Klassikern wie Mercenary angelehnten 3D-Spielen ungeteilte Aufmerksamkeit verschafft haben. Dutzende, streng logisch aufgebaute Puzzles, gemischt mit einer Prise wohldosierter Action, gekrönt von der nach wie vor beeindruckenden Grafik, die Freescape zu liefern versteht, machen Total Eclipse zur idealen Knobel-Unterhaltung für lange Winterabende.

This game stands and falls by its 3-D effects. Certainly the effects used are impressive, but I am not convinced that it makes for an easy time for the player. Of my friends who tried out the game, some took to it like ducks to water and thought it was superb, while others could not get to grips with it at all. Definitely one to try before you buy.

The worlds of Driller and Dark Side gave a lot of opportunity for real exploration and discovery. Total Eclipse is more maze-like due to its many small locations. I found the varied locations of the first two more interesting, but at least Incentive have come up with something a bit different. Freescape has ran its course as far as I'm concerned, but newcomers would do well to give it a bash.