Atlantis Redux: Is This the Best Looking Game Ever, or What?

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.clickgamer.com/moreinfo.htm?pid=1191' target='_blank'>http://www.clickgamer.com/moreinfo.htm?pid=1191</a><br /><br /></div><i>"2020. Hoggar desert - A young archeologist searches for the existence of a metropolis built, according to myth and legend, by the ancient Egyptians...From the palaces of the Thousand and One Nights to the Sahara Desert, from the Egyptian Book of the Dead to the icy plains of the Paleolithic, immerse yourself in the beauty and the mystery of ATLANTIS!"</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/02.jpg" /> <br /><br />This game is every bit as insanely good-looking as the system requirements are to run it: 120 MB of storage and 20 MB of program RAM. Zowie! 8O But look at those graphics - simply amazing! There's no trial version, but there is a video you can download to check out how the game looks/works. I can't get over those graphics...

[Aerestis]

a ppc game? that's incredible... there's always stupid things like this that make it so likely that i'll blow a few hundred dollars on a new ppc, haha... oh well.

[piperpilot]

I just downloaded and installed this beast--it took about a half hour to download and copy to an SD card using a T1 connection and a card reader, but from what I've seen so far, it's going to be well worth the wait. This game could not have come out at a better time. I'm leaving on a long, 10-day business trip at the end of the week and should have sufficient downtime to put this game through its paces.

[Jonathon Watkins]

And this is *without* using the fancy new 3D graphics chips in the new PPC's? 8O Wow.

[Darius Wey]

And this is *without* using the fancy new 3D graphics chips in the new PPC's? 8O Wow.

I honestly don't think so. Either that, or we'll be jumping for joy at 0.1FPS.
This is where we start wishing for standard implementation of the GoForce and the Imageon right?

[Jonathan1]

No trial = No sale for you!

I really hate companies that pull that kind of crap. :?

I don't care how pretty the eye candy is. I want to try it out first before I drop cash on a game. I hope developers do realize that they are losing sales by doing such a thing.

[PR.]

I presume those gfx are videos as there is no way that a PPC could render that on the fly...

[Darius Wey]

I presume those gfx are videos as there is no way that a PPC could render that on the fly...

And there's the irony! How many times do you see previews of all the latest games? All they present are videos of the games (clips taken on their beasty high-performance machines), yet when it comes to the real thing and you test it out for yourself on your sub-standard device, it never seems to look quite like how it looked like at E3! :p

I'm adamant that those graphics in this Pocket PC game aren't rendered on the fly. My thoughts anyway... :)

[Shaun Stuart]

Before everyone gets carried away...

I purchased the game at the weekend. The graphics you see ARE amazing and without doubt the best on a pocket pc but, you should be aware that what you see are mainly in game videos. Once you start to play you will find that this is a puzzle type adventure game and while the graphics are still great they are not as good as the movie cuts. I have a feeling that this was originally a PC game and has been ported for the pocket pc.

Still I think its a great game to show off the potential on a pocket pc and if you like your puzzle games with a good story and great graphics I would recommend it.

[HTK]

I was never a fan of video games that the "video" was more important then the game. I'm a fan of good graphics, but not videos, I always prefered cutscenes rendered on the fly with the game resources ( sprites, 3d models and etc )

[Solarix]

Shaun

What PPC do you have? I think that my Axim X30 should be able to handle it fine as Benchmarks show it as currently the best in graphical capabilities. But I like other am upset at no Trial version. Will it be something I actually wanna play? Or will I blow the $25 on it just to have it as a powerhouse showcase? When you say Puzzle game.... do you mean ala Myst style?

[rzanology]

yeeea well....when my 50v comes we'll see about games and graphics!

[vetie]

Well I purchased the game and its pretty good . I am running it on my PDA2k 400mhz PPCPE.

The game runs smoothly and the videos are great. This is a "Myst" style game.

I got by the first puzzle but I just don't get the second one :D

What do you do with the bird...........

I'll figure it out

[uzetaab]

I'm pretty sure it is a PC game port. There was a PC game called atlantis about 6 years ago that never sold because people were sick of Myst style games. At present, those style games are about the most compatable type for PPC.

{Gotta go off topic for a second & mention the new SilenX banner ad that's flashing at the top of my page: There would have to be something SERIOUSLY wrong with your heatsink for it to be making noise. /end rambling}

where was I?...Point & click just seems to make more sense with a stylus, than with a mouse. Anyway, I *think* the game started in an area that looked a lot like Stargate SG1 style pyramids with Jewel buttons etc.

I personally won't be getting this game for 2 reasons. Firstly, no demo? Like someone else said, only more politely, that SUX!

The other reason is that I would need a new PPC to run the game. I just can't justify the new dell on my budget. Besides, I just bought a new PPC last month. I'm talking about:

Recommended Processor: 400MHZ with good graphics performance.

here is the whole spec list:

Pocket PC min. specification: 120 MB of storage, 20 MB free memory, Windows Mobile 2003/2003SE only. Atlantis Redux must be copied to Storage card manually. Recommended Processor: 400MHZ with good graphics performance. For VGA based Pocket PCs, it will run at a fixed 320 x 240 resolution.

I can't believe they released a game then basically said that you would need to buy a new top of the line PPC to run it. someone over there does not seem to have much business sense. Heh, maybe it was really made by dell.

[Darius Wey]

I wonder what the performance of this game is like on the Samsung processors... :?

[Solarix]

I can't believe they released a game then basically said that you would need to buy a new top of the line PPC to run it. someone over there does not seem to have much business sense.

*Cough* Id Software *Cough Cough* Doom III *Cough*

[jonathanchoo]

Bah, pre-rendered graphics, pre-rendered videos. Of course its going to look nice.

[OskiO]

Anyone have actual screenshots?

[sponge]

Guys calm down a bit, they're pre-rendered graphics and videos - I don't think anyone could've seriously doubted that. You don't need a new PPC - I successfully played the full version on a 300MHz Axim running 2002! As for no demo, it sucks, but it's a Myst style adventure game - you can't really get a good idea of the full game from it anyway. (reference: Gilbert Goodmate, the full version is so much different, and the gameplay gets harder later on. With a game so big, it's hard to get an idea without giving away the game for free)

Yes it's a port from the PC, Atlantis III I believe, and it's a bit like Quicktime VR in which you can rotate your view. It's a solid game, no more no less, no need for all the commotion.

[dean_shan]

Yes it's a port from the PC, Atlantis III I believe

Hence the name Atlantis Redux. Come on people of course it's a port. No big deal though, do see a reason to bash a game off that fact. AOE for PPC was a port and it was a great game.

[Shaun Stuart]

Shaun

What PPC do you have? I think that my Axim X30 should be able to handle it fine as Benchmarks show it as currently the best in graphical capabilities. But I like other am upset at no Trial version. Will it be something I actually wanna play? Or will I blow the $25 on it just to have it as a powerhouse showcase? When you say Puzzle game.... do you mean ala Myst style?

I am playing using a XDA2 it runs very smoothly - I was a little concerned that the lack of usable buttons on the front of the Xda2 would be restrictive but havent had any problems yet.

As to whether you should buy it - this depends on how much you like to play games on the Pocket PC and how much you like solving puzzles. Personally, I like it so far.

[David Prahl]

I can't believe they released a game then basically said that you would need to buy a new top of the line PPC to run it. someone over there does not seem to have much business sense.

*Cough* Id Software *Cough Cough* Doom III *Cough*

:lol: So true! I have a GPU with 256MB of RAM and I need to keep my settings on medium or low.

Of those who have purchased the game, could you offer some 'real' screenshots of video clips of your device running it?

[jlp]

it's a Myst style adventure game - you can't really get a good idea of the full game from it anyway. (reference: Gilbert Goodmate, the full version is so much different, and the gameplay gets harder later on.

Ouch, I could never go past the first scene in Gilbert Goodmate's demo, beyond the 3 areas : inside the house, plus the front and back of the house; i tried taping everywhere and do every type of action on everything I found. Unless that's everywhere you could go within the demo, I never could go any further :(.

[maximus]

:lol: So true! I have a GPU with 256MB of RAM and I need to keep my settings on medium or low.


256 MB on what GPU ? Older GPU (radeon 9600 pro and older) cannot take advantage of the 256 MB. And worse, since VRAM were expensive, video card producers use slower RAM on their 256 model (compared to the RAM installed on the 128 model).

[David Prahl]

256 MB on what GPU ?

Not the greatest, but decent: nVidia GeForce FX 5500(OC)

(to self: "stay on topic...stay on topic!")

[wouterk]

Hi Shaun,
I play the game on my MDAII but I noticed that most of the scenes are very dark. I have my brightness turned up to half but that should be enough. F.e. I almost couldn't see the fisherboy at the beach. Do you experience the same?
Wouter

[piperpilot]

Anybody have problems with the sound? I have the sound turned all the way up, but still can't hear it very well. Also, the sound seems to cut in and out.

[Shaun Stuart]

Hi Shaun,
I play the game on my MDAII but I noticed that most of the scenes are very dark. I have my brightness turned up to half but that should be enough. F.e. I almost couldn't see the fisherboy at the beach. Do you experience the same?
Wouter

I have noticed that - I am playing with brightness at maximum level though. Not had much chance to play this week so dont know what all the levels are like

[ghostppc]

Ouch, I could never go past the first scene in Gilbert Goodmate's demo, beyond the 3 areas : inside the house, plus the front and back of the house; i tried taping everywhere and do every type of action on everything I found. Unless that's everywhere you could go within the demo, I never could go any further :(.

Same here. The graphics and story look great on both. I got Gilbert Goodmate and did everything, picked up everything and ran across every inch of the screen, and I still can't get past the elevator crank on the first level! So I'll definitely be waiting for a playable demo out of this one.

[asnster]

First of all, this game is pretty dam cool, since i dont play much games :P
Now, for i think level 3 or whatever, you gota remake the story with those 10 blocks, are there any tricks to this?

thanks.