Martin Mystere Preview

Using a popular Canadian cartoon, GMX has ported it over to the videogame realm with much flair and panache. Using the traditional point-and-click interface, gamers explore various areas looking for clues and piecing together objects to further their current objective, whether it's finding the key to a closet or attempting to save your own skin, players will face many challenges. 

As will the programmers, I got a good chuckle out of the spelling errors that this preview contained; no, I'm not complaining, I know the final product will have all of those problems ironed out. But still, the fun part of playing previews is seeing those little "errors" that will undoubtedly be corrected.

The game involves famed adventurer Martin Mystere' being wrapped up in a Dorian Gray-like problem with Martin suffering from some of the same problems that that Dorian did. For those of you who don't know, Dorian Gray was a literary character obsessed with his good looks. So much so in fact that he had a magical painting created to capture his good looks, well, Dorian began to grow quite evil inside as he never aged. Instead, his portrait in the painting began to age and wither. If this sounds familiar, then you either read the classic novel "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" or saw the movie "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". Both feature Mr. Dorian Gray.

Now I know I've played games similar to the game style that Martin Mystere possesses, most decidedly was the cursor that you move around the locations. If you go over an object that you can actually examine or use, the cursor changes. Hitting the right mouse button allows you to chose from a couple of options on what you can do with the object. Examine it, pick it up and put it in your inventory or speak to it. When you speak to another character, a set of pre-made questions pop up onscreen and you can ask one of the questions. Sometimes if the right question is asked, it opens up more questions to be asked.

With a slick little inventory system at the bottom of the screen, you can also select items and use them on other items for effect, like selecting a key from your inventory and putting the cursor on the lock on screen. Simple enough, right? Well then, how come it took me almost 60 minutes to figure out how to get that very same closet door unlocked? Cause I was very thorough in my previewing of this copy, AND because I just never assumed that my gibberish-speaking butler had an affinity for paper weights.

The appearance of this preview was looking pretty sharp. Martin has a full set of smooth-looking polygons and is an excellent dresser. The locations also appear quite sharp, nice full rooms with plenty of objects and lots of things to look at. Nice use of shading and a fairly decent architecture style make for a pretty sharp-looking game. My wife even commented on Martin himself looking somewhat handsome. Which doesn't bode well for me since I thought he looked like a goofball.

I will say that the constant loop of music that the game plays doesn't really fit the tone. I suppose that this loop may have been just a filler, but only a finished product will tell us for certain. Martin, however, had pretty good voice acting going for him. The game takes place in New York, but Martin certainly sounds as if he is from England. But wherever he is from, the programmers did a bang-up job with the voice.

What I found interesting is that there are objects that can be examined that allude to previous adventures, kind of like people who watched the TV show might recognize certain items or little anecdotes that Martin goes on about. It's these little touches that can really make a game come alive and the universe that Martin lives in more of a tangible and living entity, thus making for a better gaming experience.

The preview that I got to play was fairly short and had the usual and expected glitches that previews have, but I was fairly impressed. I think the target audience of younger players will find this to be an exciting and well thought-out adventure. Here's hoping it is.