The Secrets Of Alamut
$9.95		(Win 95/98/Me/XP) (Jewel Case) (ALAMUTPJ)

Publisher: Arxel Tribe / Selectsoft

Game

Ratings:

A- from Just Adventure

from Quandary

Sequel To The Legend Of The Prophet & The Assassin

Tancrède de Nérac, the Knight turned bandit, pursues a mysterious prophet across the deserts of the Orient, intent on exacting vengeance for the prophet's deceit. He reaches the gates of the Fortress of the Assassins, where his quarry is said to have taken refuge, and must outwit a series of deadly traps. His quest takes him further into the wilderness towards St. Catherine’s monastery at the foot of Mt. Sinai, to a haunted mine on the shores of the Dead Sea, and further still across deserts teeming with demons and some unexpected allies.

Features:

Written by noted author Paulo Coelho

Fantastic tale of a tormented hero in the world of the Thousand and One Arabian Nights

Riddles, action sequences, and tactical combat

Amazingly real characters, full screen 360° action, lip-sync facial animation, and 3D sound

Requirements Win 95/98/Me/XP: 200 MMX or better processor 32 MB RAM 2 MB video memory 290 MB free hard disk space 16-bit color monitor (24-bit color recommended) DirectX™ SoundBlaster-compatible sound card & speakers CD-ROM drive

Tested OK in Windows XP. Some sound cards may have problems which require reducing the hardware acceleration 2 positions to the left in Advanced Audio Properties while playing the game.

Reviews:

Just Adventure by Randy Sluganski

"Alamut is the concluding chapter in the saga of former Knight Templar As-Sayf's search for a prophet, Simon de Lancrois, whom As-Sayf believes has deluded thousands of his followers. As he begins his journey anew, he must overcome the obstacles presented by a murderer's row of traps in order to gain an audience with the Old Man of the Mountain, one of the few men believed to have information on Simon's whereabouts. His journeys will then lead him to an isolated monastery and an abandoned mine before he eventually comes face-to-face with the true meaning of Simon de Lancrois' charisma."

"The Secrets of Alamut will encourage you to think and to make decisions that you do not normally face in an adventure game. Your choices usually invoke immediate results, often your own death, but then that was often the consequence of rash decisions during As-Sayf's time. This is a game that intelligent adventure gamers around the world should welcome with outstretched arms. As the game builds to a crescendo, and As-Sayf attains his goal, he finally does undergo the epiphany that was so noticeably absent from the conclusion of LOPA, but by then the gamer is left wondering if As-Sayf's journey was worth the price he paid. For now, let's consider the saga of As-Sayf and his search for inner peace concluded, at least until the desert wind once again roils the demons that haunt his disturbed nocturnal dreams."

A Quandary Review by Gordon Alpin

"The Secrets of Alamût is the second part of the story that began in The Legend of the Prophet and the Assassin and takes up immediately from where that game left off...However, to get a real feel for the whole story I strongly recommend that you play both games in order as The Secrets of Alamût more or less drops you in at the deep end so it doesn't totally stand alone as a distinct game. This is not to say that it isn't enjoyable, indeed I enjoyed this part more than the first, and if the two parts had been available as one complete game I would have no hesitation in recommending it as excellent value."

"There is much less character interaction here than in the first part and consequently less of the feel of being pulled along by the dictates of the story. Perhaps that is the reason it appealed to me more. In this game I felt more involved and that I was more in control. By solving the puzzles I was moving the story forward. To that extent the theme of the story, which on one level was a journey of self discovery by confronting and overcoming a series of challenges, had a resonance in the actual gameplay. The simple symbolism illustrated by As-Sayf's descent into the mine (underworld) and subsequent return is nevertheless quite powerful."

"In my review of The Legend of the Prophet and the Assassin I said that Simon fails to make an appearance by the end of the game. I know now that I was wrong, but you will just have to play The Secrets of Alamût to see why. The end sequence carries a simple statement from Simon that is truly thought provoking. This one short sentence reveals much about the way we think of leaders and followers, the paths to redemption, even institutionalised 'spirituality'. In the game context it also reveals why Simon never made it to Jebus. All things considered the understated denouement provides a satisfying conclusion to this tale."

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