Disaster Report

"More fun than you think."

Intro:
Picture this: You are a young reporter, headed for thr newly man-made island called Stiver Island. But a sequence of unfortunate events sends your life spiraling into a journey of danger and peril.

Story: 10/10
The story is great. You are on a train, headed for Stiver Island and you feel the train shake. The shake turns to a rumbling sound and than the train flips over. An earthquake, strong enough to tear the entire island apart, has struck. This is where your journey begins. A rescue helicopter can't land to pick you up. So the rescue workers drop a survival pack for you and that is what you must use it for. This journey will take you through a variety of different environments as you try survive nature's wrath.

Game play: 8/10
The only way for you to survive is to make the right choices and go to the right places. You go around the city, collecting items as you go, such as radios, gloves, batteries, sticks, cloth, water bottles, compasses, lighters, keys, and even sunglasses and a new hat for your sense of style. ~_^ You can even help other people. These people can help you when you need help getting to high places or you need to move something heavy. The controls are simple enough and it is very fun at times to watch the chaos that is unleashed upon the crumbling island. The game uses a water system where you must drink water to survive. If you are hurt, you drink water to heal yourself. This doesn't pose a problem since there is water EVERYWHERE! Water is not scarce in this game. The water bottles you find can also hold a lot of water for you just in case you get lost or can't find a water spout.

Graphics: 6/10
They are a bit sketchy. It can take some time to realize what is going on in the game and in that time, it is possible for you to die. But some of the graphics are impressive like when a building collapses or there are explosions. Even with sketchy graphics, it is still something to admire. Unfortunately, there are some slow downs. v_v

The puzzle-like environments keep you thinking as you travel through the city, surviving through catastrophe! There are even a few plot twists which keeps you interested as you play through. There are also 35 different kinds of compasses so, gotta catch 'em all!

This is a buy. But some will not be impressed so I recommend a rent because an average gamer can finish it in at least 12 hours. If you like it, buy it. But be warned, there isn't much replay value other than playing through it again for fun.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/05