The Key

Details: Category: Computer; By CCGR; 01.Jun; Hits: 7581

System Requirements

CPU: 386 or better OS: Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP HDD: 60MB Video: 32 bit 640X480 resolution Sound: DirectSound Comaptible Age: Everyone

...only the fabled Key itself could re-awaken them, and the Key, along with the science to build such ships, was lost a thousand years ago in the great downfall of the Empire. Our only hope is to send someone to the gateway planet Arcadia to search for the missing Key. The person must be a human, for only a human can pass through the Barrier that surrounds the planet...

Solving Puzzles

You are sent to Arcadia only to find it deserted. All that you see around you are decaying computers and power reactors that are broken or disabled. Getting the reactors up and running will not be an easy task. Some reactors are more forgiving than others, for example some will let you put the wrong settings in, others will blow up and kill you. So where do you find the correct settings? Read computer terminals! You will find that many have coordinates, history, repair logs and power settings. Read everything and jot things down!

What am I suppose to do?

There are two playable parts in the game. In the fist part you have to get the reactor working with the proper power settings. Your main objective is to get to the Valley of Stars. To get there you\'ll need to find the communications tower and adjust the climate to livable conditions. Once you get to the Valley of Stars, part two begins. The main goal in the Valley of Stars is to go to all the Rim Worlds and get their power routed to Arcadia. Once you establish communication through all the Rimworlds, it\'s time to go back to Arcadia and head over to the Graveyard Rim and get the key. This is where the story ends. Part three will resume from the Graveyard Rim where you will locate this key. Once you have the key, will you do good or evil with it?

What if I get stuck?

Chances are you\'ll get stuck in this game. There is a nice hint menu that you can enable. It will warn you that it contains spoilers. There are three levels of hints you can get. (Hint, Bigger Hint, and Answer) Also, on Mug Software\'s website they have really nice walk-thrus for parts 1 & 2. If you still get stuck from there, you can e-mail the writer Jonathan. He\'s a pretty nice guy. ;)

Appropriate?

This game is very clean. There is no violence, especially since there is nothing but computers to interact with. If you read the logs you will see many Christian references and themes. There is no doubt that this is a Christian game.

Overall experienceEase of use

The game was easy to install. All you have to do is extract it and run it from there. When you first run the game it will do a font check, chances are you\'ll have to copy the fonts to your windows/fonts folder. The interface is a little rough around the edges but is still easy to use. There was a lot of thought put into the design and it shows. Instead of having to walk to the same areas over and over again, there\'s a zip to menu. This is extremely helpful! If you don\'t know what\'s clickable, you can enable and disable hot spot borders. As far as complaints, I only have a couple. It would be nice if the cursor was the same at all times, sometimes it\'s black and other times it\'s the standard windows cursor. I also wish the game could run full screen. This game is a work in progress so send Jonathan any suggestions you may have! If you liked Myst, then I am sure you would enjoy this game. It\'s free but if you don\'t want to download the 40MB game, you can order a CD for $8.