There was a series of games that I passed on reviewing, the “Mind’s Eye of Jupiter” games. They were ambitious, but ambition exceeded the reach of the game’s capabilities in that case. That developer also produced “Tourist Trap”, and it manages to better pair the degree of ambition with the amount of work put into the game and the capabilities of the game engine. It all adds up to a game that plays similarly to Myst, but with the ability to walk around in a free-roaming manner (as opposed to viewing a series of static screens like with Myst).
The game is creepy in parts, strange in others, and manages to hold your interest. Like any story based adventure game, the replay value comes from finding areas/events you missed the first time around, or by seeing how quickly you can speed run through it on future play throughs. Worth investigating for fans of Myst and adventure games willing to part with 80 Microsoft Points.
Here’s what the developer (Domain of the Infinite) has to say about the game:
“Welcome to the Tower of Mystery, the home of the most amazing curiosities in the world. Our museum of oddities and curiosities includes a genuine shrunken head, dragon venom, the first wheel, Excalibur and other mysterious items. But beware of the Jackalope! Discover the mystery in this 3D adventure game.”
Writings of Mass Deduction 