9 Elefants

9 Elefants
by Infernal Brothers (via Microids) -April, 2014

Available at:
Big Fish
GameHouse
iWin



After arriving in Paris to present his latest invention, the Time Camera, at the Universal Science Congress, Professor Weissmann disappears without a trace. His daughter, Laura, believes he has been kidnapped. Aided by Eustache, the Professor's cat, Laura sets out on the trail of a mysterious sect, whose symbol is 9 elephants. The intrepid duo is confronted by a series of challenges, and each has to draw on their powers of invention and deduction to unravel the plot at the heart of this extraordinary adventure.

Features:

• Solve over 230 puzzles with 8 different types of gameplay
  
• Explore Paris's most enigmatic locations
  
• Encounter 20 delightful and mysterious characters (including a cat!)
  
• Savour the city's fascinating atmosphere
  

Me, At My Most Quirky***

BASED ON DEMO

I just had to say a little something about this crazy yet elegant little puzzle game. Nothing we’ve ever seen before really prepares us for this.

Made with a serious intent of invoking a 20s atmosphere, the game starts with old newsreel quality film, which describes much of the graphics. What we see is a drawing style reminiscent of the picture stories and panoramas that are becoming popular in recent HOPAs. This one has that for the whole game. Very good quality, and I like the overall effect. But you have to have an open mind to appreciate it.

The music is sort of that era too. But has a “game” feel to it I can’t quite describe. Very jaunty. Very annoying after a while lol.

There is a lot of talking, a la an adventure game. The story is that your father, a famous scientist working on experiments with time, has been kidnapped. You try to find him, with the help of his assistant, and his cat. The cat is the more helpful, but the assistant can make things. The dialogues are lengthy, but often funny, and in the end always end up with you having a quest.

You may, for instance, need to find 80 gears. No. Not a HOP in sight. You ask people if they’ve seen them, and help them with their problems, or meet their challenges. This way, you are assigned the meat of the game. Puzzles and riddles. The unknot-the-string game is the signature mini-game for this game. But there are others as well. And plenty of riddles. These cover the gamut of totally obvious to haven’t a clue. Once you have guessed wrong to a riddle, you will need to buy your way back in via time films. These are collectibles that just kind of appear out of nowhere unpredictably and you must grab em when you see them.

You travel on a map from one location to the other, and it shows where there are still some puzzles/riddles available, and where you have a time film.

All of that makes it sound kind of normal and familiar, but it is anything but. Can’t imagine myself buying this one, but trialling it has been a hoot! The download file is miniscule, so it is worth downloading for a giggle.

I recommend a demo of this game!