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A Must for Puzzle Lovers

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 74 / 74
Date: July 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Once upon a time, the dominant culture in the world was the "Tastan Civilisation," a people so technologically advanced as to seem godlike to the ones who came after. The Tastans are gone, but they left behind them a number of tombs, which subsequent cultures take delight in exploring and often despoiling. All, that is, except for Tomb 35. This particular tomb is guarded by a "Sentinel:" an artificial intelligence defense programme that doesn't take well to folks barging in on her territory. Only one person has done so and come back to tell the tale. But now your sister is being held hostage by a crook who will only release her if you bring him something of the tomb's treasure. Can you go in, face the Sentinel, and get out again?

_Sentinel_ is the third game from Detalion, the company that brought us _Schizm_ and _Mysterious Journey 2_. And they just keep getting better and better. They've learned from some of the mistakes they made in the previous 2 games, and what we have here showcases many of their strengths and offers very few of their weaknesses.

As always, the graphics are amazing. A first person, MYST-style game, _Sentinel_ takes the player through eight distinct worlds, inclcluding a glacier-covered land of islands floating in the sky and an undersea realm. There is more animation present than in any game I've seen (except Myst IV). I especially liked the undersea realm for this; I spent quite a lot of time just watching the sea turtles and other creatures float past the windows!

Navigation is free-choice, 360-degree, as it was in MJ2. Some people had real problems with the cursor movement giving them vertigo and/or nausea. I didn't experience this, but the cursor WAS very touchy. It helped to moved very slowly. You can navigate with the mouse or with a combination of mouse and keyboard (w,a,s,d keys). The developers recommend the latter, but I used the mouse almost exclusively and had no problems. In some "go anywhere" games it's easy to get lost or confused, or not to know where to go next. _Sentinel_ handles this in two ways. First, in most of the realms a traveled path is evident, so that although you might go anywhere you're likely not to stray too far. The realms themselves are sculpted to ofer a logical explanation for limited access, with convenient tree limbs or cliff edges keeping you from wandering off. Second, when you get near a puzzle, an arrow appears near your cursor to indicate that there's something nearby. This was actually kind of annoying, particularly in areas where you might be standing between 3 or more puzzles and arrows pointed off in every direction. Fortunately, I found that when I zoomed into a puzzle and then backed out, all the arrows for that realm vanished. Don't know if that was meant to happen or not, but it worked for me.

Though _Sentinel_ offers the bones of a story, this is essentially a puzzle-lovers' game. Through your encounters with the _Sentinel_ you learn that she has some purpose for sending you to all these dream-like realms and that she has some task in mind for you. But the story is not very well-realised and is, frankly, kind of annoying in its presentation. As in MJ2, it is clearly an excuse for going from puzzle to puzzle. Gamers who like lots of story will probably not like this game as much as I did. But the puzzles are some of the best I've seen in a long, long time. There is no inventory. There are no sliders, mazes or math puzzles. There are no timed puzzles and you can't die. But there is a large number of mechanical puzzles, including one of the most complex I've seen since _Riven_. There are two things you'll want to know before you buy, though. Number one, a good third of the puzzles are sound puzzles and several of these require the gamer to be able to distinguish between sounds that are only subtly different: the same note played on different organ stops, for example. If you have ANY hearing problems, this will not be a good game for you. Number two, this game also requires the gamer to take a huge amount of notes, make maps and draw diagrams. A couple switch puzzles could only be solved by keeping track of the variations and using a logical process of elimination; you will never stumble across a cave painting that hands you the answer, even in disguise. A tolerance for a certain amount of busy-work is a must here.

For the rest, the game ran very smoothly and the interface was excellent. There are an unlimited number of save slots. Also, the game auto-saves at each new location and every time you exit. Load times caused a slight delay, but not too much. There's a built-in hint feature, but I didn't use it so I don't know how that works. Music was minimal. There was some conversation in cutscenes. The dialog was pretty terrible. The woman who voice acted the sentinel was okay, but Beni was awful. He also had the habit of making random comments from time to time--mostly along the lines of, "I'll save you, my sister!"--and I wished he'd get a grip.

I finished _Sentinel_ in about 15 hours spread over the course of about a week; though I liked the game a lot I found I could only play a couple hours at a time. Then I had to give my brain a rest. For gamers who love complex puzzles, this game is a must.

Pretty Good

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: March 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I enjoyed this game a lot better than Schizm. The graphics were unbelievably good (check out the volcano in one of the worlds!). You have the choice between using your mouse or keyboard for navigating - I found using the mouse much easier. The game didn't leave you lost on where to go next or what to do like many newer adventure games do. The characters could have been done a bit better and I wasn't too thrilled with Bennie's dialog throughout the game. Also, the ending was a bit disappointing (why this didn't get a higher rating). Overall though, it was fun to play even if a few of the puzzles needed an online hint. Good job Detalion!

Great game except for last world.............

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: February 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Me and my girlfriend really loved this game until the last board. The puzzles are very hard at times which is good and the music is the best I've heard since Riven.(A+) The only let down was the last world. In the game itself, it should of been earlier and they should of used one of the other worlds to end it. That's my only complaint. I liked the last world but after seeing all the previous worlds and how amazing they are, it felt like they rushed the last world to make a deadline.
Highly reccomend this game if you like Myst games.........

Buyer Beware

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Caution bought this game and discovered this is the same game, with different title, as Realms of Illusion, which had gotten couple years before. even the description is almost the same. it's like buying a 'new' paperback only to find out released under different cover and title. It it is upgraded I don't see any difference and of course once opened store will not refund.

For Realms of Illusion "The legacy of the Tastan tombs has long held some of the most profound secrets of an extinct race of people. Some believe the tombs hold a fabulous treasure; others say wealth is in the knowledge and technology left behind by this advanced civilization. Watching over their sacred caverns is a holographic image with advanced A.I. who randomly appears in the form of a mysterious woman, awakened when there is disturbance in the tombs. You will discover that in the realm of illusion, the sentinel is much more than she appears to be -- her dark purpose might threaten your very existence."

For Sentinel "The Tastan civilization succumbed to extinction many years ago; their only legacy being the mysterious Tastan Caverns. Some believe the caverns hold a n invaluable treasure, while others say great wealth is attained through the kn owledge and technology left behind by this advanced race. Take on the role of Beni and search for the truth as you enter the caverns on a dangerous quest for riches.
As you begin your strange and perilous journey, a female sentinel, a holographi c image with advanced A.I., positioned there by the ancient Tastans to guard th eir sacred caverns, awakens. She appears throughout your quest with a sometimes benign purpose, but other times with calculated intentions. You will soon real ize that behind the mask of illusions, the sentinel is much more than she appea rs to be--her dark purpose will threaten your very existence."

The game itself was okay. The graphics not spectacular and movement could get you into corners, but not too bad.

Impossible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: October 12, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Realistically, this game is unplayable.

There is no information as to what the game is about or how to play. You are told about some long dead Tatans and their tombs. You are supposed to collect some crystals. That is all you know.

The guide to the "first five minutes" of the game took me over an hour, and I still had not reached the first destination. The game is simply too dark. It is almost impossible to follow the correct paths. Cursor points that are supposed to aid you in direction are barely visible with a magnifying glass because they are so faint.

Cursor movement is problematic at best. A mouse and four keyboard keys are required to move. The functions of the keys are never explained. A serious problem is that as you proceed along a path the image is magnified. If you make a wrong turn, you move into a partial magnified image of another scene, and orientation is lost. You must frequently reload the game to get back to your original orientation.

My wife started playing games with Myst. She gave up after two hours of this game

Under-realized game from good studio

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: April 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I like what this team does, at least they are trying to take adventure gaming into a modern arena, but they still have not incorporated their own sense of story into their games..The interesting premise does not sustain itself, and the insistence to imitate the cryptic, puzzle based myst game style does not compliment the 3d interactivity of the game

There is an alternate title...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: February 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have read the previous reviews and agree with them. The second was especially helpful because it was so thorough that I realized that I had actually already played this game under an alternate title. The other title that it was released as is Realms of Illusion.

Sentinel - change out for another game, if possible

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 28
Date: March 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have not been able to play this game, due to the need to upgrade my PC. Also does this take a controller or do you use the mouse or key board only?

If anything can I ship it back, since I have not used this game?

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