The installation of the
game from one CD ran smoothly and fast under Windows ME. I selected the minimum
installation (10 MB), full installation needs 300 MB. On the same CD is also the Mac
version. At the beginning you're asked to enter your
"pirate name". Since there are no more possibilities to save during the game,
this is the only savegame which is automatically stored when exiting. This and all the
other things worth knowing is communicated by an excellent storyteller voice.
The three main characters are presented to us: Abrax, Brabax and
Califax. Abrax loves courageous and quick action. He is the practical person, who solves
problems usually by physical employment. The red haired Brabax is the most intelligent
among the three, analytic thinking and an extensive education let him find an appropriate
and often surprising solution. Califax is a bit corpulent and the good soul of the
Abrafaxe. His concern is about regular food supply - he is the cook and also the
"medicine man" of the group.
After this presentation we can listen to the prehistory of the
adventure in radio play-like form from a dictaphone on the attic: The Abrafaxe found a
golden bowl, which shifted them through time and space into the past and into a country,
which is inhabited by pirates.
Each of the three heroes and their rat are catapulted with one piece
of bowl into another part of the pirate country: on a wreck, on an island and into a
castellet. There each time a piece of bowl must be found andthey must seek the way to
Tortuga, where the fourth piece of bowl waits. Only if all pieces of the bowl are
assembled again, the three can go home.
Here the actual game begins. On a map you select with a doubleclick
the location and the character, you would like to visit. The game is controlled almost
exclusively with the mouse and if the introductory words of the speaker were not
sufficient, you can take the exemplary manual for help.
The ESC-key ends the game, the current savegame is stored under the
entered name. With "+" and "-" you can adjust the volume. The intro
can be skipped with any key. One can change at any time to another hero with the map
symbol in the inventory. The inventory opens at the bottom of the screen when you drive
your mouse down there.
Inventory items are named in a text line, just like hotspots in the
display area. Inventory objects are yellow lined, if you click on them with the left mouse
button they can be dragged to the gaming area with pressed mouse button. Inventory objects
are usually used individually, but can be also combined in the inventory.
The mouse pointer has the shape of crossed bones and colours yellow,
if you drive over a hotspot. If you want to interact with an object or a person, you keep
the left mouse button pressed, until the cursor transforms into the three-part action
bowl. It consists of eye, mouth and hand and the handling is similar to the interaction
menu of Gilbert Goodmate.
If you select the eye and release the mouse button, you can look at
things and characters. With the mouth you can of course talk and with the hand you will be
able to execute different actions such as a take or use. In each case a text appears,
showing, which actions can be accomplished.
In the 3rd-person-perspective we control in each case one of the
heroes in a two-dimensional comic scenery. With directional arrows we can determine, where
our hero has to move to.
This is a traditional 2D-comic-adventure with relatively economical
character animations. But their movements are designed very well and lavish with motions,
if e.g. a character takes up an item or moves to a new scene. The hand-drawn and -coloured
backgrounds are designed detailed and with loving care.
Music is limited to the intro and outro. The sound effects e.g. on
the creaking wreck, are excellently adapted to the story and have together with the
professional dubbing radio play quality. Storyteller Klaus Jepsen brings suspense from the
beginning, Kim Hasper, David Turba and Hannes Maurer give the three Abrafaxe amusing and
endearing. The pirate captain Anne Bonnie is, by the way, spoken by singer Nena, who
embodies the intelligent and quick-witted person amazingly well.
The humorous story with funny texts and also some allusions at
Monkey Iseland often let you smile. The Chinese operating instructions for fireworks
reminded of some translated manuals for technical devices and the explanations of the
precocious Brabax let you simultaneously laugh and be astonished. Texts and dialogues are
thus finest entertainment - not only for children but the whole family.
Tasks and puzzles have beginner quality, in some places a middle
degree of difficulty. The game is linear and one must solve one puzzle after the other,
can however change between the different scenes. Most puzzles are very logical object
related, thus finding, combining and using. But there are also combination puzzles like
e.g. a door code and a chess problem.
Some skills and reflexes you must prove with two other puzzles and
in one task you must develop a feeling for the running time, in order to get ahead. There
is also a crate sliding minigame á la Sokoban, but all these puzzles are well interwoven
in the story and make fun. One can not die in this non-violent adventure game and so is
not forced to save frequently.
If still another problem should emerge despite the low degree of
difficulty, then there is an illustrated walkthrough in PDF format, the suitable Acrobat
reader is likewise provided on the CD.
Result
A really recommendable game for the whole family with much humor and
not too tricky puzzles, so that a frustration factor is here not at all measurable. Not a
game for advanced gamers and brain acrobats, but a round, bug free and very funny comic
adventure. Unfortunately here also the game length for the price of approx. 35 euro is
with approx. 5 hours nevertheless quite short. For me however the best family adventure
after a long time and I'm already looking forward to the sequel.
