GamersInfo.net

I am a huge adventure game fan. It doesn't bother me that I don't kill people, or don't have big guns that I can impress all the ladies with. We adventure game players are just good, smart folks. Sure, fire your gun…but that monkey walking the tightrope who is coming to get you? Yah, that's right, I sent him; and I used three paper clips, some charcoal dust, plus a box of Kleenex that I pulled out of the garbage to get him to do that. Where was I? Maybe I was playing Undercover Operation Wintersun, a new adventure game just released by Lighthouse Interactive. If we are lucky, it'll have a lot of monkeys walking tightropes in it.

Undercover Operation Wintersun is an adventure game set in World War II Germany. One evening, physicist Dr. John Russell receives an important phone call regarding a potential threat to England - the Germans are working on a weapon of mass destruction. Being both a physicist and an inept spy, John (who you control) definitely needs assistance to discover the truth about the German's plans for a weapon of mass destruction, and stop them if he can. That help comes from MI6 agent Peter Graham - though I'd have to say he must have skipped the class on espionage.

Using contacts in Germany you are able gain entry into Berlin where you begin your first real task of distracting the guards in front of the Wilhelm's institute and gaining entry. Then, you must find any and all information on the weapon. Joined later on by (the always sexy) Agent Anne Taylor, the three of you must track down and eliminate any threat of this weapon, but not before discovering the motivations of your partners.

As with most adventure games, the bulk of your inventory will come from items you find in your environment. You can often combine or modify those items with other items to help solve problems pass barriers in the game. Some items or sequence of items may allow you to access certain areas to achieve goal. Then there are those times when some items are really just clues, and/or are not used for anything except to confuse you. You'll encounter traditional adventure game puzzles as well as mini-games scattered throughout. The games can be something like sorting out shredded paper, opening a combination lock, or assembling a gear system to open a door. These games almost never have a description of what you need to do, and even identifying what you need and can be difficult at times.

The control system for Undercover is quite simple. A left click will examine an object, possibly giving you a clue, or may move you to a new position; while a double click accelerates things to a jog, because I don't think that what Dr. Russell does in the game is really called running. Right clicks will often attempt to interact with an object or the environment. Any object in the world that you can attempt to interact with is identified via a mouse over text.

While the controls in Undercover are simplified, the audio and visual detailed and robust. You control Dr. Russell in a third person perspective, and the world built around him looks very authentic, at least to my eyes. No items pop out at you, the animation is smooth, and the shadowed and dark graphics make you feel right at home - if you live in World War II Germany - and who doesn't these days! The details make all the difference, from imperfections in simple pieces of paper, to war damaged structures, and clothing that not only moves but looks as if from the era it is portrayed in.

The audio is done equally well. The voice actor who plays Dr. Russell does an incredible job of playing his role, and putting proper context and emotion into his lines. His stiff, yet fitting performance with small bits of subtle humor tossed in are fantastic. In fact, both the other main voice actors (who play Peter Graham and Anne Taylor) do exactly what you want them to, no over enunciated accents; just good acting. I can't say how many times poor voice acting has distracted me from a game. Beyond the voice acting comes the sound effects; equally well done. A large concrete room has cold sharp echoing footsteps, while old steel knobs squeal as you turn them.

Undercover Operation Wintersun is definitely a game adventure fans should keep their eyes on. It boasts a realistic story, with none of the lame stunts typically used to extend story lines (and make your eyes roll at the same time), top notch graphical immersion as well as sound effects and voice acting. And while the puzzles are not terribly difficult, or complex, they often keep you scratching your head for a decent amount of time; I guess the only problem might be there are simply not enough of them for your liking!

P.S. I wasn't able to find any monkeys walking tightropes.