The Adventure Company is one that's not afraid to publish adventure games for the PC.  Despite being an important genre in the 90's - one that worked particularly well on PC - there haven't been a lot of adventure games hitting the shelves as of late.  'Myst' definitely started the trend in the early part of the decade, and set the standard with its lush artwork and unique and mind-bending puzzles (but not impossible - I actually completed Myst back in the day).  But early games like Myst were limited to, essentially, still imagery with a bit of animation here and there.  While some elements of adventure games remain, one thing has changed drastically: the core gameplay and controls.

Of course, the change was sparked when developers started dropping 2D games for 3D ones.  It led for many new possibilities for the genre, the biggest being the fact that players could potentially freely roam the landscape, no longer confined to snapshots of space.  This is the part where the guys behind Traitor's Gate 2 made some sort of mistake.  Trying to control Traitor's Gate 2 is like trying to outrun a tiger in the Amazon jungle if you've never been out of New York City before.  Okay, that was an awful analogy, but the point is that the controls in this game need some major work.

The first flaw is in that they aren't customizable at all.  You're stuck using the arrow keys to move forward and backward and rotate (extremely slowly) left and right.  You can't use the WASD combination of keys to move (even though PC gamers seem to be using that more and more as time goes on).  There's no strafing, there's no jumping, and there's no crouching.  Turning your character is a real pain; you either have to use the arrow keys to slowly rotate him, or try and use the mouse.  You can actually adjust the mouse's sensitivity, but moving the mouse quickly results in a near-instant 360-degree turn.  The camera doesn't follow the direction your character is looking; it only actually spins around to follow the character when he moves forward in a different direction.  These controls feel limited, are uncustomizable, and don't work as well as they should.

Once you get at least a slight grip on controlling your character - who actually goes by the name of Agent Raven - you'll begin to experience some of the game's puzzles.  Almost every one involves you hitting switches (perhaps in a certain order), rotating valves (perhaps a certain number of turns), or doing something else with these event triggers.  Each is activated quite simply by hitting the enter key while you're in the proper position - which can be annoying thanks to the troublesome controls.  In other words, the gameplay is very shallow.  It's usually only a matter of figuring out the proper position these triggers need to be in before they allow you to progress to the next area.  If you'd like to sit back and use your head to solve puzzles like these, you should have a good time.  If not, you're going to want to cease playing immediately.

There isn't much action, per se.  If you fall from a certain height, you'll die.  There are also "traps" set up around the game.  Early in the game, I was walking down a dimly lit hallway, trying to figure out how to solve a certain puzzle, when I came across a peculiar black coil.  Thinking that maybe it was used somehow to solve a puzzle, I came close to it to see if I could pick it up somehow.  When I fell over dead, I realized that this black shape was actually a snake, and caused me to die instantly.  These cheap deaths seem to be all over the place, so unless you plan on being extremely careful about every funny-looking object, it's a good idea to save very often.

The game's graphics never really look awful, but I can't say they impressed me.  Textures are reasonably sharp, but objects look a tad blocky, and animation is kind of stiff.  What's really annoying, though, are the long, drawn out animations that you'll come across while trying to figure out the proper combination of switches or whatnot in a puzzle.  Case in point: stepping up to a lever, watching a pulling animation, stepping back, then waiting for a piece of a stone wall to slowly slide downward has got to take at least ten seconds, and you're going to have to do it dozens of times.  The framerate could also stand to be a bit smoother, especially in the more open areas.

Sound doesn't present much of a problem, thankfully.  The game's music may or may not draw you in, but it is fitting.  Sound effects are actually pretty nice, with moving stone, footsteps, valve squeakings, mechanical gears and the like all being presented in high quality.  And the game doesn't really feature much of any voice-acting, so at least you won't have to suffer through bad dialogue.

Traitor's Gate 2 is the sort of game that might appeal to a certain few people.  Those who want to use their head to solve some obscure puzzles but don't care about any action or solid gameplay may be interested, but even then it's not exactly commendable due to its frustrating controls.  I have nothing against the occasional adventure game, but this one feels like a real bore to me.  You may be better off playing through Myst another time - or perhaps beating it for the first time.  I know you all haven't beaten it!

Gameplay: 5.0

Controls make players suffer, with no customization to speak of.  It's too hard to rotate your character, and the lack of a strafe is very unfortunate.  There's not much action here, but if you're into puzzle solving and can deal with the controls, this might be your bag.

Graphics: 6.0

Neither spectacular nor horrendous, Traitor's Gate 2 sports some nifty textures, and passable models, but animation feels too long and drawn out - especially if you're already participating in a drawn-out puzzle.

Sound: 7.0

With decent music that is, at least, appropriate, and sound effects that actually sound pretty darn nice, the sound element is something that this game can be proud of.

Concept: 5.0

There's really nothing new in this game - sure, the puzzles are different from other games, and it may not play quite the same, but it doesn't do much to push the genre forward.

Difficulty: Hard

This game doesn't require much skill, but you will need to have your brain present and working while playing.  You'll have no luck progressing if you aren't considering and willing to try just about anything to solve a puzzle.

Overall: 5.9

If you need a game that forces your brain to use it to its full extent to solve puzzles and you don't mind the faulty controls, Traitor's Gate 2 might do the trick.  If you're looking for a good adventure game but don't sound impressed by the controls on paper, you probably won't be impressed once you get your hands on the controls, either.  And if you're strictly an action gamer, you'll probably hate the game before you even start playing.