Sci-Fi and film noir meet prison drama in Wadjet Eye games’ point-and-click adventure “Gemini Rue.”
In a bleak future run by a crime syndicate called the Boryokudan, we follow the adventures of different characters. First is Azriel Odin, an ex-assassin searching for a defector from the Gemini System. The other is “Delta Six,” a prison inmate who tried to escape, got caught and had his memory wiped. He’s now trying to escape again with the help of other inmates.
Azreal’s story is by far the most interesting out of the two. It’s a good mixture of Sci-Fi and film noir where you pick locks, break into buildings and have run-ins with the Boryokudan.
Delta Six’s story seems like your generic prison break story we’ve seen plenty times before. It’s by the books except for the fact that it takes place in a Sci-Fi setting. The characters in the prison are slightly interesting and are saved by the fact that the writing and voice acting is good.
Specking of the voice acting, though mostly well done, there are some voices that are irritating to listen to. Good thing these are only for certain minor characters that only appear in one or two scenes.
As for the gameplay, it’s your typical point-and-click adventure with a few additions. Instead of just clicking on an object, a menu pops up that allows you to look, touch, speak to or kick a certain object. Though the first three are nothing new, kicking adds a few new things to the genre, especially when you have to climb up at certain objects.
The new aspect this game has is the gun controls. Though it may sound like a good idea it comes off as clunky. There’s a meter that needs to be filled in order to get an instant kill which makes it harder to determine when to shoot an enemy when they come out of hiding. Good thing these shooting parts are few and far between.
The puzzles and solutions to problems are cleverly done and won’t make you scratch your head for hours on end to the point you need a guide to complete the game. There are even some puzzles that make you kick yourself when you realize how obvious the solution is.
Graphically the game’s style harkens back to the time of the old DOS point-and-click games with polygonal characters and character portraits that are the only way to see what each character looks like. This was a good move by Wadjet Eye Games in that you feel like you’re back in the good old days where point-and-click games were many and varied. Its simplicity is beautiful in a way only fans can appreciate.
Despite some mild flaws, Gemini Rue is a sold game that is worth owning. If there’s a whole in your heart that is caused by the lack of point-and-click games out there, this should fill it entirely.
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