Mr. Bill's   Adventureland   Review

Our two favorite amateur detectives, George and Nico, are back again, to solve yet another dangerous and spellbinding mystery and save the world!  This time they've stumbled onto a crime cartel with a megalomaniac kingpin, and a supernatural evil from Central America that harks back to ancient Mayan prophecy.

Boy, do these people ever know how to get your attention!  As the story opens, George is back in Paris again for a romantic interlude with Nico, his photo-journalist girlfriend.  But she soon tells him that, in the process of her investigation of a drug-smuggling ring, she has found a mysterious Mayan stone, and so they decide to visit an archaeologist to see if they can find out more about it.  They have no sooner arrived than they are attacked by unknown assailants and Nico is kidnapped!  As the game begins, George has been left to die, tied to a chair in the middle of a locked and burning room and, as if that weren't enough, he is staring into the eyes of a deadly giant tarantula that is advancing toward him. Whew!

This is the first of several new and fascinating puzzles in the game that challenge you to "think as if you are really there" and come up with some truly creative problem solving.  And, as in the previous game, you can die, so make sure you save before you try things (and keep George's lucky piece of coal handy!).  But most of the other puzzles are still the kind that require using your investigative skills and keen observation.  Overall, these puzzles seemed somewhat easier to us than those in the first game, but that may have been due to our familiarity with the former.  Nevertheless, it is still important to remember to right click on objects for descriptions and vital clues.

Once again, it is a 3rd person, 2D, point and click game with superior 'cartoon-style' graphics, excellent music, and an even simpler "novice-friendly" interface.  But, unlike the first game, this time you alternate between controlling George and Nico to solve the mystery, a refreshing innovation that serves to flesh out her character for you.  As before, a map is available to make travel easier, with new locations being added when something comes up about them.  But this game is more linear than the original, so there are fewer decisions that must be made about the best place to go next.

As with the previous game, ignore the 'horror story' box picture and go for what's inside: once again it is an absorbing mystery-to-be-solved (though not as long as the first one), with the same delightful wit and humor, and even one classic "gotcha".  We particularly enjoyed the movie set sequence and meeting old friends from the first game.

All in all, an excellent sequel and we wouldn't have missed playing it.  We hope there'll be a 3rd one!

©  1999  Mr. Bill and Lela

Produced (1997) by  Revolution Software, Ltd  and published by  Virgin Interactive Entertainment.

Rated:   T   for Teen 13+ (animated blood, animated violence, mild language)

Minimum System Requirements: PC Only!

PC: Pentium 60 MHz Processor; Windows 95 / NT; 16 MB RAM; 2X CD ROM Drive (4X Recommended); 66 MB of Free Hard Drive Space (280 MB Recommended); Windows 95 DirectDraw Compatible Video Card with 1 MB RAM; Windows Direct Sound Compatible Sound Card; Keyboard; Microsoft Compatible Mouse

How To Install and Play the Original Windows 95 Version of This Game Under Windows XP:

Setup Walkthrough by Inferno

Where To Buy This Game:

  As download only.  Has been modified to play directly under Windows XP and Vista.

  Boxed Copy!

OR: See our Places To Buy Games for other sellers around the world.

Walkthroughs or Hints: