Runaway, The Dream of the Turtle Review

Written by: Steve Martin Posted: 24th November 2008

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Runaway, The Dream of the Turtle Nintendo DS review.

Runaway, The Dream of the Turtle Details:

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	Adventure
	Nintendo DS
	93 Games
	Ascaron

12+

Out Now

Runaway: The Dream of the Turtle is an adventure game that utilises the classic point-and-click game mechanics that were made famous by the Monkey Island, Broken Sword and Simon the Sorcerer games that graced the PC market years ago. This genre is perfectly suited to the DS and its touch screen and hence there has been a flurry of games in this genre throughout the handhelds lifetime including Another Code and Hotel Dusk.

For the uninitiated amongst you, the game mechanics are based around interactive backdrops which contain items that your character collects in order for them to use to complete puzzles and tasks to progress in the game. For example, at an early stage of the game you must try and cross over a fallen tree to reach a higher ledge and continue on your journey, however every time you try to get your character across, he is attacked by a crazy lemur. Therefore, you must find the necessary items in the surrounding area and use them in the correct way to get past the lemur.

The touch screen displays your character and the surrounding static backdrop of the area, you can move your character by holding your stylus and dragging it to the point you would like him to move to and then pull the stylus off the screen. To interact with objects you do the same as above and the icon on the screen changes to a magnifying glass, this means that you will look at the object when you pull the stylus off the screen. The icon can be changed by pressing left or right on the D-pad, this allows you to touch or pick up objects and add them to your inventory. Your inventory is shown on the top screen at all times, and by pressing the left or right shoulder buttons you can select items in your inventory and when they are highlighted you can use them in conjunction with things or people displayed on the main touch screen in the same manner described above.

You will need to chat to other people throughout the game to gain information and learn what to do next. The inventory is also accessible from the touch screen by tapping the bag icon, this allows you to combine items you have in your bag to create new ones, and this is required to complete some of the tasks in the game.

So how does this compare to the classic adventure games listed above and also to the rivals in the DS market? Not to spoil the surprise but it’s not as good as the oldies or as good as some of the others on the DS (such as Another Code), but with that said it’s a reasonable attempt, with some nice 3D graphics and cut-scenes that make it overall a fairly solid game.

The problem is these games live or die by just two simple elements that are common in all the point-and-click games ever created. Firstly, the story and characters must be engaging, to keep you interested in your characters plight. The story begins with your character Brian Brasco and his girlfriend, Gina visiting the beautiful Mala Island whilst on holiday in Hawaii, unfortunately on their plane journey to the island their elderly pilot dies at the controls. Brian unselfishly gives Gina the only parachute and pushes her out of the plane and performs an emergency landing in the jungle on Mala Island and so begins your journey, first you must find a way to escape the jungle, then you have to try and find Gina, and of course its not going to be as simple as it sounds? I’m not going to give away the storyline as it is integral to the enjoyment of the game, however it lacks that appeal to keep you hooked. There are some witty undertones by Brian and some of the more interesting characters he converses with during his adventure, but it rarely triggers a chuckle, more often just a smile!

The second important feature to this game are the puzzles, and this is where it all falls down, some of the item combinations are bizarre and illogical. I’m all for thinking outside the box, but sometimes its just frustrating when you are going backwards and forwards trying to find something you think you’ve missed, or talking to everyone again to see if anything has changed. But, actually you have all the items you need, you’re just not using them right, because usually you wouldn’t use object A with object B at place C! And this is my major vice with this game, I had to resort to a walkthrough far too often to stop myself form breaking the cart into several pieces! A lot of the time I spent playing was wasted on going backwards and forwards from place to place looking for the something I thought I had missed and trying strange combinations of objects just in case it proved to be the right idea! Also, Brian is cripplingly slow at walking anyway which makes it even more annoying! When it all works, you do feel good that you managed to work it out on your own, but the frustration comes back again and again as the chapters continue.

It should be praised for this long overdue idea, there is a button you can press on the touch screen that highlights everything in the room that you can interact with, meaning that you are less likely to miss anything important, although it is still possible to pass by an essential item even with this tool.

Graphically it is quite nicely animated with some crisp scenery and character models, and some flashy cut scenes in places, however there was a few times the screen flickered whilst I was playing which has never happened with any other game, so I can only assume that the video codec is too much for the little DS or badly programmed.
The sound is a little tinny in places, but is better with headphones and the jaunty tunes can become annoying after a while, but overall it does the job and helps you feel more like you are on a desert island.

To conclude, it is a solid adventure game with a well implemented point-and-click system, and an average storyline with dashes of humour and wit in the mix. The flashy graphics unfortunately can’t make up for the hours wasted and the frustration of not being able to figure out what you are supposed to do, which happens a little too often. Only the hard core need apply for this adventure!