The Sacred Rings, the sequel to Aura: Fate of the Ages, is a point-and-click adventure game, and I'm typically a fan of the puzzle-solving, story-driven, point-and-click adventure game. While this game fulfills the challenge of solving puzzles, it lacks some elements to make it a great game of the genre.
In The Sacred Rings, you play Umang, "the chosen one" who must guard the sacred rings and the tetrahedron from the Shadow Legion. I haven't played the original Aura game, but this doesn't seem to be a requirement as the opening cut scene fills you in on the back story. Although, the plot is somewhat lacking - even if the voice-overs are well done.
The mechanics of the game are like you find in any point-and-click adventure. You move and interact with the world using the mouse to click on the interactive elements. This typically involves moving to a location and going through the process that triggers that puzzle and then solving it based on the information gathered. When searching the game world for clues as to your next move, you run into another issue with the design. There are elaborate scenes with a good amount items, and you are only allowed to interact with one or two.
The curser lights up to signal that this is an interactive element, but if you're not paying close attention, it's easy to miss. You are also forced to stay on the path the designers created, limiting your exploration. This is both good and bad as it keeps you focused on the story and progresses you through the game but makes you feel trapped - especially when you see something in the background you'd like a closer look at.
The puzzles had just the right level of challenge for me to enjoy the game. Several times, I thought I had the puzzle solved when I saw it, only to realize that I was still missing a clue (or two). I had to force myself to slow down and take a look at everything to make sure I wasn't missing something, which can be mildly tiresome at times. The voiceovers would also give a few clues, and you are able to re-watch cut scenes in the main menu if you missed something the first time.
The design of the interface is somewhat poorly put together. I would have liked to be able to save the game without exiting to the main menu. It would also be nice if the save told you your location. I would often save before opening a door, and if I had to quit for an extended period of time, I wouldn't remember exactly where I had left off.
I was not impressed with the graphics. The game requires Windows 2000/XP/Vista, but the graphics were similar to games I've played on Windows 98. The cut scenes were well done, but the character animations seemed very stiff. I know that faces are difficult to make realistic, and it seemed the developers opted to not have their characters show emotion.
It sounds like I have more cons than pros for The Sacred Rings, but I really did enjoy playing it. It is refreshing to still have games published that make you think rather than just hack and slash your way up the experience ladder. And if you're like me and aren't really challenged at your day job, it's can be a nice change of pace to be able to fire up those neurons.
I am a 30 something year old female. I am married and have 1 son and 2 dogs. Harmakhet says I am not a "twitch" gamer. I am a casual gamer for both on and offline games. I am not very good at console games, so I tend to play the "kiddie" games there. I prefer games that have a good story that I can get caught up in.
I had an Atari 2600 growing up and begged Dad for a Nintendo which he refused to buy. He recently told me that he bought the Atari thinking video games were a passing phase. I never touched another console until I met Harmakhet. I played a few games on my Commodore 64, nothing worth remembering, and then Crystal Quest on my Mac. I used to watch a friend play Marathon on the Mac and it was then that I discovered my true calling. I am a navigator! I couldn't manage the controls myself, but I could direct players back to the health, ammo, etc. So I started doing that with Harmakhet. I'd also tell him if a game was bad. If I couldn't stand watching him play it, it must be a dud. He'd usually agree within a few weeks.
I've played some of the original Sims games and a few Nancy Drew before I got into MMOs. I can't remember who told me about Disney's Toontown Online, but I played it for several years. I even became a moderator at a fan site for the game. I'm looking forward to the munchkin being old enough to play TT.
