Adventure at the Chateau d'Or
$19.95		(Win95/98/2000/Me/XP/Mac) (Retail) (CHATEAUDR)

Publisher: Karma Labs

Game

Ratings:

8/10 from Game Zone

A Tale of Magic, Mystery and Intrigue

The princess heir has chosen you as her hero and you lead the quest to unlock the secret of the fabulous Chateau d’Or. Search for powerful magic artifacts and find hidden treasures. You must seek out and summon the spirit of the lost Duke. Answer his cryptic questions and unravel the mysteries of his palace.

Explore a luxurious palace and gather clues from tales of the people and places of Paris, old and new.

Death and deception are ever-present. You must call upon your intelligence, intuition and newfound knowledge to survive and bring the princess safely to her goal.

Featuring:

Photo-realistic graphics - Experience the Chateau d'Or in all its glory. Beautifully rendered photorealistic 3D screens and animated sequences create an immersive world for this fantastic adventure game.

Three levels of gameplay - You will be presented with three successive challenges which must be solved in order to win the game. Match wits with the illustrious Duke, unlock the secret of the sensory focal devices, then use them to help the princess reach the ultimate treasure.

Dozens of enigmatic questions - Find the key information about Paris that is hidden in the palace and answer the Duke's mysterious questions in order to win his help.

A Modern Fantasy

Meet the Duke. Archaeologist, scientist, eccentric and philosopher, the Lost Duke has left a cryptic message for his niece, the Princess. The princess will soon come of age and be eligible to receive her inheritance, the Chateau d'Or. Read her diary as she anxiously awaits the arrival of this important event.

The Chateau d'Or is home to the Sensory Focal Devices, the greatest archaeological discoveries of the illustrious Duke. Each and every member of that fated archaeological expedition that discovered these treasures has died or disappeared without a trace, leading some to believe that the palace and these wonderous devices are cursed. The Duke himself spent a lifetime researching these magical devices that allow us to see images of places and events, distant in time and space. And he attuned them to focus on a place that he held close to his heart. The city of Paris, France.

Requirements:

Windows 95/98/2000/Me/XP: Pentium processor, 25MB Hard Disk space, 2c CD-ROM or faster (6x or slower requires 60 MB hard drive space), 16 bit monitor with thousands of colors, 16MB RAM, DirectX compatible sound card.

Macintosh: PowerPC, System 7.5.5 or later, 25 MB hard disk space, 2x CD-ROM or faster (6x or slower requires 60MB hard drive space), 16 bit monitor with thousands of colors, 16MB RAM.

Works OK on Windows XP. Best to use compatibility mode with 640x480.

WARNING! There is a bug which can cause you to lose objects or have problems freeing the princess from the globe at the end of the game. To avoid the problem you should never use the control panel to open saved games. Instead, always click on the quit icon and then at the quit screen, click restart and load a saved game from the start up menu.

Reviews:

Game Zone by Kestrel

"Feel like saving a princess, but not quite up to jousts, sword-fighting lessons, and the plague? Have you always been more of the "pen is mightier than the sword" type? Well look no further! The quiet halls of the adventure genre, the grand sire of computer games, are vibrant with the sounds of the new work of KarmaLabs.com: The Adventure at the Chateau d'Or."

"The puzzles themselves range from color and symbol combination puzzles, to coming face to face with the spirit of the duke himself to answer question about some of the things you have learned along the way. Learned, you say? Yes. Adventure at the Chateau d'Or has a firm foundation in French History. While playing you can experience or read information on gothic architecture to Marie Antoinette all in the name of a good adventure."

"The graphics of the ground are virtually photographic in nature while the internal screens are reminiscent of Myst and other prominent adventure. Your gameplay takes place entirely on the picturesque grounds and its buildings. The game's soundtrack is a light, original soundtrack which adds character to the different areas of the game. The sounds effects are complimentary and the in game movies are crisp and flawless in presentation.

"Overall, the impression I received from Adventure at the Chateau d'Or was one of a game that was produced with great meticulousness and a passion for the art. Too often, when adventure games are released, it seems that very little thought or originality have gone into them. The concept of Chateau was definitely one of a kind, I can't really draw a comparison of let's say for example the "Sensory Focal Devices" and any other title I've played. While occasionally I stared in frustration at a puzzle which, at first glace, seemed to have no relevance, I found a little persistence paid off and I was back on my quest. KarmaLabs is off to a great start in establishing itself as a new powerhouse in a genre that could sure use a hero... After all, didn't I say chivalry wasn't dead?"

Mr. Bill's Adventureland

"The problem that teachers have always faced is how to keep their students interested long enough for them to absorb the material being presented. Chateau d'Or shows us how to do just that: make it an interesting game, but a game that can only be 'won' by paying attention to details and retaining the facts. It teaches you the highlights of the entire history of France, specifically Paris, from its beginning up to the Revolution, but it is all couched in an adventure game format that makes the learning almost painless and fun."

"We learned a lot and more importantly we enjoyed the process. This is an educational adventure game that should be of interest to both teachers and parents alike for their older children ..... or simply for increasing your own appreciation of that beautiful city."

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