Previous Next

In a continuing attempt to try every genre, Core go for the humorous adventure.

I've heard some ridiculous storylines in my time but nothing has ever come quite close to this. Are you ready? A boy is playing baseball with his sister. He winds up to smash a pitch into the stands when he's suddenly zapped into another dimension by an evil witch who just happens to be watching through a crystal ball. When Brad wakes up, he has to return to his own dimension, presumably in time for the ninth inning. With such a corny story behind it, it's probably just as well that Curse Of Enchantia has turned out to be a cracker of a game.

It seems to be the fashion over the last few months to make RPGs less boring, some have even attempted to inject humour into a traditionally humourless genre. The French were having it almost all their own way with the likes of Silmaris and Coktel, and only Monkey Island 1 and 2 stood in their way, but now they face new opposition. In Curse Of Enchantia, Core Design have come up with one of the funniest games I have ever played. It makes a very refreshing change to be able to say to someone that you really enjoyed playing a game and it kept a smile on your face throughout with its wacky humour and hilarious on-screen antics. Well, that's what Core have managed here. Well done lads.

Looking at the screenshots, you can probably see that the graphics in Curse are very similar to those in the Monkey Island games. The dark and shadowy effects create a hell of an atmosphere, especially when you are trekking around the underground caves trying to find your way out. Even Brad, who is your character, looks and moves like Guybrush Threepwood, but before anyone starts shouting 'rip off', though, don't bother. This style is just about the only thing that will make this kind of RPG playable, and it works, so why change it? Although good graphics have a game like this along (and this one does have good graphics), let's face it - in an RPG it's the game that catches you, and while Curse is a cracking game it won't quite match up to the Monkey Islands of this world. The main reason for this is simple - some of the puzzles are just too obscure. I like games to make me think as much as anyone but there are some cases in Curse where you can't actually see itsems that you need to solve a problem, two classic examples being the seaweed that you need to fool the monster and the gold coin (look, just trust me, okay). Some of the other solutions would take you a lifetime to think up because some of them just aren't logical. Funny yes, but logical, no.

As I mentioned before, humour plays a big part in this gme it's this humour which makes up for the strange way some of the puzzles are laid out. Call me easy to please but for some reason I found the ugly monster throwing himself down the well when he saw Brad take off his disguise (Oops, almost gave you a clue there!) and saw that he was pink and dry quite funny. If that doesn't tickle your fancy then the underwater antics of the shocking shark might... Whatever you normally find funny, you'll definitely get a few chuckles from this game.

Size isn't always a guarantee of quality (or so I've heard anyway), but in Curse Of Enchantia you get both. There are over 200 different locations to visit and most of them contain puzzles or items that will need picking up and manipulating. The control system that you'll be doing it with is different from most other games of this genre as well - none of this 'point at an object and choose a word to see what it'll do' stuff. The French RPGs like Fascination suffer really badly when you're stuck because all you have to do is move the mouse over the screen to see what objects become highlighted.

This always strikes me as pointless because it makes it possible to finish the game more by trial and error than actually thinking about it. In Curse Of Enchantia you don't get this so you have to really apply your mind to using the objects. This makes it harder but a damn sight more satisfying to play.

Just a quick mention of the sound effects now. You can choose which sound option you prefer at any time which is a nice user-friendly touch. Keep an ear out for some of the samples though. As you would expect, they're pretty funny. My own personal favourite is in the dungeon right at the start when you call out for help and the ogre comes in and tells you to keep quiet in no uncertain terms.

So what have we got? Curse Of Enchantia is a definite winner as far as I'm concerned. The difficulty curve is set just right, although some of the puzzles are so obscure you start to wonder whether you'll ever solve them. Getting stuck is easy but getting out of trouble just requires a little straight thinking and exploration. As with most adventures examining objects normally reveals clues. Accomplishing even one of the easy tasks gives you a great sense of achievement which makes you feel maybe the whole thing is worth persisting with. And when you suss out one of the tougher problems, well, you feel like telling the whole world.

Curse Of Enchantia may not be the biggest RPG ever but it's certainly not small, and with the amount of wandering around you have to it seems a lot bigger than it is. With the ultra-lafftastic approach that Core have taken with it, it can hardly fail to be a hit - most of the time it's even funnier than Monkey Island (1 and 2), and from someone who's as big a fan of those as I am, that's really saying something.

Rarely has a game made me want to spend houts and hours trying to solve puzzles - most of the time I'd have been reaching for a solution, but not here. Core Design have come up with a classic adventure game that deserves to be a huge hit. Just watch this one crash into the charts.

Uppers: Wow, where do I start? Fun throughout, with the finely detailed graphics adding to the overall atmosphere. With its mixture of puzzles and humour this could make a monkey out of Monkey Island.

Downers: Some of the solutions to the puzzles are very obscure which may make some people give up after a couple of hours. Having objects that you can't actually see (like the seaweed) seems pointless. And the price tag is disgraceful.

Core have come up with a classic adventure which, with a few tweaks here and there, could have easily beaten the Monkey Island and the like. A worthy addition to any collection, and it will stand as a challenge to any adventurer.