Previous Next

Usually, the only thing you get when you finish a game is a feeling of immense self-satisfaction (unless it's Final Fight, in which case you just feel cheated). But if you're the first person to finish The Argon Factor you could end up with a lot more. Argon's programmer, Tony Rome, is so sure that it's going to take even the keenest of players a goodly while to work out the solution to his graphic adventure that's he's offering £1,000 to make the effort seem worthwhile.

For reasons known only to Tony and a small bowl of petunias, the game is set in the year 2152. A nasty piece of work named Valdira, a despicable little space bandit who travels the universe, destroying everything in his wake - just for a laugh, you understand - has decided to make life hell for a certain Captain Cord (made up name!), hero of the space fleet.

For a giggle, Valdira created a holographic image of Cord which he used to order Cord's loyal fleet (with Ankira, his girly, on one of the ships) on a dangerous mission from which it never returned. After a month-long trial, the real Cord was found guilty of negligence and banished from Earth.

For three years he searched for some evidence that would prove his innocence, assisted only by run-down robot named LAP. Then one day a faint, signal was picked up by his on-board computer. The message hailed from a small planet named Argon, in the Velusian Belt, and mentioned the name Ankira. Immediately he set course for Argon.

The game has two main sections; it starts off with a standard adventurey bit in which you have to land your ship on Argon and explore the planet. To help you get started this section has a Save Game option so that you don't have to re-start from the beginning if you die. The second section consists of a series of fiendish puzzles each set in different time zones. To finish the entire game, you have to complete each section perfectly.

For a graphical adventure, the graphics in The Argon Factor are hardly masterpieces, but they perform their function excellently; they add atmosphere and help to orientate you, without wasting valuable memory that's been better spent on the actual gameplay. The parser (which is the type-in control system for any new adventurers lured by the 1,000 prize) can still handle quite complicated series of commands without throwing its stock, "I really don't know what you're talking about!" reply at you.

Argon is an atmospheric and intriguing slice of adventuring but it's rather pricey at a tenner. And without the £1,000 prize I doubt whether it would lure any non-adventure fans away from their joysticks.

Graphics 68%
More functional than aesthetically pleasing, but they work well enough.

Control System 68%
The game's got a decent vocabulary so you shouldn't get too frustrated.

Playability 55%
The first section is an excellent teaser designed to lure you into the game.

Lastability 68%
Well, it all depends on how badly you want to win the £1,000 prize.

Overall 72%