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| The start of the journey: Around the world in 80 days with Mr. Phileas Fogg, Miss Aouda and Passepartout (image courtesy of http://cjrtools.org) |
In this
busy world, who wants to make most of his/her time by reading a classic and
enjoying a casual computer game at the same time?
In the
game “Around the World in 80 Days” which you can download for free from
Myrealgames.com and Playrix Entertainment, this is exactly what you will
experience. The classic adventure novel
around the world in 80 days was written by famous French writer Jules Verne in
1873.
This is a
story about a wager made by Phileas Fogg, a wealthy Englishman, against Mr. Stuart, the chairman of the Reform Club, that he could travel the
world in 80 days. The chairmanship of Mr. Stuart is at stake. All throughout the game, Mr. Fogg tells his stories and adventures through his journal.
I
personally haven’t read the classic yet although I watched its comic movie
version lead by Asian Jackie Chan. But I definitely enjoyed reading it in a game set up. This includes the
summary of event in a country with “Country Intro” replete with and the
conversation of each character (Phileas Fogg, his assistant Passepartout, his
Indian love interest Miss Aouda and the protagonist Detective Fix) through
bubble thought. (For those who want to go straight to the game, no
worries. You just have to click on the “skip
dialogue”)
This game
may remind you of Bejeweled. Your main goal though is not really to form three or
more tiles in a row but to bring the pieces of an item initially found on top
to find its way at the bottom by forming three or more tiles in a row. Each
item is a piece of an important object usually with cultural value of the
country they are visiting.
Aside from reading and playing, you will
have the opportunity to visit seven countries: England, France, Egypt, India, China,
Japan, and the U.S.A.
As the
title suggests, Each country represents the stage and each stage has levels.
There are 80 stages but a surprise stages await the gamers.
The
downside? Just like any adaptation, it has some alterations. Upon consultation,
we learned that there is no mention nor interaction of Mr. Fogg with the
pirates. When they were in the U.S., this is the plot that was given. For the fans
of classics, this is a definite no-no. But to some, this may just be a sprinkle
of creativity.
Meanwhile,
music is a plus factor. Music is almost enchanting specially that of India, and
the Chinese Oriental has the unique sound that is pleasing to the ears. The
latter reminds me of the oriental sound of the Super Mario classic – stage 4
particularly. For relaxation and meditation purposes, you may want to snag the
music of Japan.
Graphics
is excellent as well.
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| Around the World in 80 Days: you will have the opportunity to visit seven countries: England, China, Japan, and the U.S.A (image courtesy of http://www.gamezebo.com) |
Tips will
guide you all throughout. From the “options” tab, you can choose for the game
to reveal some tips in each level, although experience will really give you the
best tip.
Every
good thing gives extra, in this case, once you finished each country’s games,
it’s background view is available as your computer’s screensaver. You will
enjoy UK’s Big Ben, India’s Taj Majal, or China’s The
Great Wall of China among others. The Japan is the one I love most.
How’s the
game experience itself? At first, don’t expect for the addiction level to be high.
The addiction meter increases at the middle when the stage levels are getting
tougher and tougher, that’s when you’ll notice that you’re really thinking of
strategies that will work to finish the stage. Gamezebo (http://www.gamezebo.com) says, “Advanced
levels call for moving pieces left or right or else they can’t exit the board.
A brick wall show at the bottom, providing no way out – not even with a super
bomb. This task increases in the challenge and calls for strategic thinking,
but it also frustrates the most. Tips appear throughout the game, but nothing
about how to get out of a situation like this.”
I couldn’t
agree more. I was doing my utmost best finding tips on how to get through that
tough part of the game, but it was futile. Nevertheless, I made it to the end,
and the toughest parts just made me proud that I finished it ahead of my sister
and a friend.
Overall,
the rating is 4.0 out of 5.0
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| Around the World in 80 Days game proper (photo courtesy of http://www.gamezebo.com) |
Title: Free Computer Game Review: Around the World in 80 Days from Myrealgames.com
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