Morpheus

The Good
It took the Soap Bubble Productions four, long years to make Morpheus, and the result is a masterpiece that rivals the creativity and beauty of Myst.

As you move about the ship “Herculania”, you will be impressed by the use of brilliant colors and dazzling graphical animations. The designers took great care with the artistic design and architecture within the ship, which even surpasses the “Titanic” in many respects. The quality of the sound effects and the mood enhancing background music integrate with the graphics and plot superbly.

Morpheus disturbed my sleep while I was playing it, and images of it stayed with me long after I had finished it. I felt like an eavesdropper, a sort of “peeping Tom”, when I was inside the lush, private cabins and digging through the passengers’ personal belongings. Visiting areas of the massive ship where they socialized, slept and even bathed, the feeling became even more intense. Becoming a part of their private dreams was an unusual experience to say the least.

Having available clues to the puzzles within an adventure game is of utmost importance to me. Using logic and reasoning and having to really dig for the clues is also ideal. Puzzles also must be well integrated into the story and should not appear to be added in just to lengthen the gameplay. Difficulty is of minor concern, although making a puzzle too hard or too bizarre (an unmappable maze, for example) can be very frustrating.

I am pleased to say that the puzzles in Morpheus were perfect for me! I was intrigued, bewildered and amused, but never did I get frustrated. They made me use brain cells that had been gray for a long while. The clues were hidden well enough so that I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I found them and solved the appropriate puzzle. However, the dream sequence puzzles felt flat compared to those in the “real” world. They were abstract and a bit cold compared to the others and you had to solve all of the ones in each dream before you could leave it. So, I supposed, no game is perfect! But at least there are no mazes, no timed segments, no slider puzzles and no sound puzzles, and that pleased me very much!

“Pixel-hunting” is not an issue either, as all of the “hot spots” are very easy to see and access. The interface is intuitive and easy to learn. And the game played smoothly from start to finish.

The Bad
There is very little I didn't like about this game. In fact, I can't think of a single thing. I downloaded and installed the patch immediately after installing the game, so I experienced no problems at all running it.

The Bottom Line
If you enjoy 1st person adventures and the type of exploration and puzzle solving found in Myst-like games, you will love Morpheus. Don’t be surprised if it invades your dreams and brings many emotions to the surface. The experience will be a memorable one, for sure.