Koala Lumpur: Journey to the Edge

"Fun at first but...."

I went nuts for the point and click adventures after I got hooked on Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. I found this game in the bargain department and the picture on the box looks cool so I got it.

Graphics: The graphics are fine. Real nice. Considering it was for a 486 machine, the graphics are spectacular. It was, I feel a breakthrough for games of that generation. Most of the games still relied on sprites when this came out. At least most of my games did. But then again, my games were ancient.

Sound: The sound/music/atmosphere of the game is fantastic. And it didn't suffer from any sort of slowdown despite my system being a 486.

Gameplay: Now this is the part where the game sucked. The puzzles, I feel were overly difficult. I never got the feel of the game. The important thing in games of this genre is that you have to feel involved and the learning curve should be gradual. It's ok to have a couple difficult puzzles thrown in but there must be easy ones thrown in to help you get into the game. That was what made Indy Jones so unforgettable. I got stuck plenty in this game, I felt pissed. There didn't seem to be enough hints littered through the game. It got frustrating and I used a game guide to get past the final parts.

Lifespan: Short. I would disagree that most point and clicks have short gaming lifespans because I've played through both Indy Jones and Toonstruck, among many others, at least twice. And I wanted more. The game seemed too long (Mainly because I spent most my time trying to figure out one puzzle before realising that another one that I don't know of needs to be solved)

Humor: The game is filled with dry wit and borderline adult humor.( I have no idea how to express this either but you get my point) The language and some jokes are difficult to comprehend and if your grasp of the English language is weak, I'd suggest you skip this game as many of the puzzles require an understanding of the terms used. And besides, you won't like it much if you don't understand the humor.

Overall: Although Broderbund has got the look of the game right, the feel is all wrong. The game does not draw me to it like most games have and it became more of a chore to solve the puzzles late in the game.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/02/01, Updated 10/16/02