Heart of China

The Good
It had a very simple interface and was not very difficult to figure out. I think if I can play a game without a manual, then it can't be all that difficult. The puzzles were fairly decent. If you're not careful, you could end up hitting a brick wall. It was fairly obvious when you might be messing up--you'd get a text message that said "plot branch". When dealing with NPC's, you could give several different answers, which changed the way they responded to you over time (especially Kate, the woman Lucky is sent to rescue). Multiple endings, which depended very much on what you did during the game. Also, it's always nice to be able to play a female character for once, even if it's only for a short part of the game.

The Bad
It treated some characters, especially the Asian ones, very stereotypically. Way too short for my liking. The plot seemed very hackneyed, without an awful lot of depth. I ended up having to reload a lot at first--the initial conversation where you try to find, and then convince, Chi to come with you is difficult. Later conversations are a bit easier to handle--the only other one you can really mess up on is the conversation with the Lama. I really don't like arcade sequences in adventure games, but here, thankfully, you can skip them without hurting the plot any. Kate and Lucky's relationship seemed very rushed--if you notice the time indicators in the game, it takes place apparently within a three day time span. Somehow, I thought it would take longer, especially considering the type of airplane.

The Bottom Line
The game takes place after the first World War. You play a jaded former wartime airplane pilot-turned-shipping courier sent to rescue Kate Lomax, daughter of a wealthy man. With the incentives her father has given you, you really can't say no. This journey begins in China and takes you halfway across the globe to the game's end in Paris.