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Die Knickerbockerbande 1
Das Phantom der U-Bahn
(= The Phantom of the Subway)
Release date: 2000
Developer: Novatrix
Publisher: Ravensburger
7 years and up
A review by Gabi 05th March 2001
Contents of the game
Surely you know the Knickerbocker Gang from audio cassettes, books and from TV, and now they come to your computer. This game is about 4 crime cases and one master case you have to solve together with Lilo, Poppi, Axel and Dominik, the Knickerbocker Gang. All that you need, you'll find in the office of your friend Larry Hunt or get in the course of the game! During the 4 cases you must trace a poison mixer, find a missed programmer, clear up the spook in the old factory and find out about a dangerous freight stolen from the airport ...
While you are busy to clear up all these cases you'll collect many useful items, like a directional microphone, a welding torch and many more !! All these objects will be very helpful to you. But as already mentioned there is also a master case for you detectives: a phantom in the underground spreads fear and fright.
| The story/the
structure At the beginning you rather unsuspectingly enter the office of the Knickerbocker Gang and get immediately flooded by cases. The cases not always deal with real criminals, sometimes only a misunderstanding must be cleared up. The game is divided into 5 parts, in each you must solve a case. These parts or cases don't have anything to do with one another. Just solve them together with Lilo, Poppi, Axel and Dominik and catch the bad Dr. Scorpion. |
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| The
puzzles the puzzles are quite varied in principle. They become of course more difficult in the course of the game, but most of them are logical. Sometimes you also need a healthy portion of fantasy to find the solution. There are however no puzzles, which really take long. Not as in many adventures, as Amerzone or Baphomet, where you have to solve the puzzles all of your own, but here the Knickerbocker Gang-members take over some part, and help you. Sometimes it's simply only necessary to talk to your friends or other characters to find the solution. But in addition you can also get, - when possible - only hints to solve puzzles. Your cell phone plays an important role in the game. You carry it always with you from the beginning. You can ask your Knickerbocker-friends for advice or inform them by phone. In the Knickerbocker-office a computer is located, with which you can analyse voices or create identikit pictures. So this is also really important for your investigations. Graphics The graphics are comic style and relatively simple. There is much difference between the background (detailed graphics) and the characters and objects (comic style, simple), which you can take and look at. During video scenes even characters and objects have a detailed look. Graphics of locations are fixed, you can only look at them from one perspective, you can't turn nor look up or down. The characters don't have facial expressions. But they move their lips, which looks relatively true to life. But characters only move their lips, the remaining body stays rigid, what looks like a robot. |
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| Controls The controls are easy to use and done exclusively by mouse. Since there is a special inventory and options area at the bottom of the screen, access is fast and easy. To change between locations, you open the city map and click on the marked spot. This procedure is uncomplicated and pleasant, since you don't have to be at certain places, in order to change the location. Other The manual is practical and clear with coloured pictures, so it's easy to find your way around. Result It has logical puzzles, which are quite hard for the target group (7-10 years), older children will smile and find it easy. The Phantom of the Subway is a very good sleuth adventure for children with nice graphics. Pros The practical and clear manual and easy controls.
Cons The much to exact help of the Knickerbocker-Gang and their somewhat strange comments, when they do not have to say anything special. Total: 75%
Adventure-Archiv-rating system:
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Minimal system requirements:
- Pentium 133 Mhz
- 32 MB RAM
- 2 MB graphic card (800x600 in TrueColor)
- Sound card
- 4x CD-ROM-drive
- Windows 95/98/NT 4.0
Mouse
Played on:
- Windows 98
- Pentium II
- 128 MB RAM
- NVidia RIVA 128/128ZX graphic card
- LITEON CD-ROM LTN 362 - CDROM-drive
- Sound Blaster Audio PCI 64V sound card
Mouse
Copyright © Gabi for Adventure-Archiv, 05th March 2001