Eat Your Heart Out MacGuyver

Ever tape a cell phone to a cat to record an important conversation because someone refused to talk to you? No? Well, what about using butter from a stolen construction workers’ sandwich to lubricate an axle on an old Volkswagen? If so, “Secret Files: Tunguska” may seem a bit boring, but for everyone else, it presents a more than interesting addition to their Nintendo DS library.

Forcing you to channel your inner-“MacGuyver,” (you know, the super, uber cool ’80s sitcom with Richard Dean Anderson where he’d save the world with common household items like a rubber band, match book and a used handkerchief) this title turns you into a detective Sherlock Holmes would be proud of, or drives you completely insane trying to move the story forward.

Either way, you’re in for a hearty adventure that you’ll remember after you finish it.

Simply put, the puzzles in “Secret Files: Tunguska” are not for the weak of mind and those who lack patience. Looking through every room for clues, this title asks you to ponder every possibility, resulting often times in bizarre answers to questions surrounding a Russian catastrophe a century ago and the experiments that followed. While the story itself is sound, putting together all of the clues is no joke and is a tough task. At times, it’s even an ardous process that gets extremely frustrating. Nevertheless, those willing to try every option, [in every room and in their pockets as well] will eventually find the answers needed to continue on.

As a result, the level of satisfaction one gets when finding out the keys to each puzzle is extremely worthwhile. Relying on imagination and logic more than any other game on the system, “Secret Files: Tunguska” feels more like those cool create your own adventure discs from the Tom Hanks film “Big” than an actual video game.

The fact that this feeling is created, in spite of the game’s true linear story is a testament to an easy control system and a fun story.

Aside from the story and finer gameplay mechanics, graphically, the game is nothing to marvel at, as blurry sprites sometimes make it harder to see smaller objects and advance the story. Helping matters though are cool cut scenes and a bevy of locations that turn this potential problem into a minor flaw that barely hampers your overall gameplay experience.

Add in a cost-friendly sticker price of $19.99 and that’s more than enough to whole-heartedly recommend this game, and get lost in its wild world of suspense and intrigue.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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