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Genre: Adventure
Format: Download
Developer: Kheops Studio
Mac Publisher: Coladia Games
System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.4, 1.6GHz Intel or PowerPC G5 processor, 512MB RAM, 2GB hard drive space
Review Computer: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook, 2GB RAM, 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
Network Feature: No
Processor Compatibility: Universal
Price: $39.90
ESRB Rating: E 10+
Availability: Out now
Official Website: www.coladiagames.com

I’ve never read Treasure Island. I should, though, right? Having been an English major and all? Having once been admonished for it by “the Queen’s bookseller” when Walking Haunted London? Or was that Robinson Crusoe? Regardless, I thought you all should know that, since I obviously won’t take character or story accuracy into account when reviewing a game that features many elements of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic book.

Also, I don’t know how to tie any knot other than that which I use to lace my shoes. More on that in a bit.

Destination Treasure Island is set four years after the end of Treasure Island. The game mainly involves Jim Hawkins, who is coerced back into action after Captain Flint—Long John Silver’s parrot—gives him a message from Long John himself. Seems there’s a treasure buried on Emerald Island, and it’s all Jim’s if he can unravel the clues to find it. But of course, there are other pirates who’d like to claim that booty…

Destination Treasure Island is a point and click adventure game; clicking on hot spots warps you to certain areas where you can spin 360° to search for other things upon which you can click. Certain items get added to your inventory, and other items can be manipulated by items in your inventory. That, then, makes up the bulk of the puzzles; find an item with which you can interact, then figure out with what you need it to interact. Certain inventory items can be combined, others can just be used outright. It’s computer adventure gaming at its most basic, or most classic, depending upon your point of view.

But the good folks at Kheops Studio always like to give you a little more, and here, they give you knots. Plenty of knots. A good bulk of the puzzles will require you to tie knots, but they do this in a roundabout sort of way. Rather than actually teach you how to tie the knots, you’re presented with an image of what a certain step in the process looks like, then given options of how to reach that point. The bad news is that there’s not much to really learn here, which is a fringe benefit of some of the other titles. The good news is that they end up just being visual puzzles, fitting nicely into the game without bogging it down in Boy Scout lessons.

In fact, most of the puzzles are well integrated into the game, and only a big one at the end seems tossed in just to stump you. In fact, you’ll likely spend more time finding the puzzles or gathering the elements needed to complete them than in actually working on them.  But that’s okay…that’s what Destination Treasure Island aims to be, and it therefore succeeds.

Actually, it does so for a couple of reasons. First, the acting is a bit above par for games of this type. You’ll likely recognize some of the voices here from other Kheops games, but they just seem to fit in better. The actor playing Jim Hawkins here also played Arok in Secret of the Lost Cavern. His wide-eyed, energetic delivery is largely the same, but is more well suited to this character than to a caveman. Also, the actor playing the parrot manages to be both comical and lifelike (within the reality of the game), which is surprisingly difficult to pull off. This is especially important considering that so many of clues are revealed through the songs the parrot sings to you.

And the graphics are outstanding. Yes, the nodal approach to adventure games largely results in static areas, but there is motion and fluidity to the 360° environments that makes them feel real, even if you are just warping from place to place.

In addition, the audio is better implemented here than in Secret of the Lost Cavern. Ambient noises don’t pop in and out as much, and the music adds a sense of whimsy to the game that, although probably not appropriate for a game about pirates, does lend itself to the sunny island locale.

This leaves Destination Treasure Island with only two flaws, which some may find considerable. First, the game is short. A good puzzle solver with a day to kill could get through it one sitting (although I wouldn’t recommend it). The rest of us can complete it in a week. This would be fine, except for problem two: the game is too expensive. For a download of this type, I’m surprised we have to pay more than $29.95. It’s especially harsh considering the PC version currently sells for $19.99.

Regardless, I had fun with Destination Treasure Island, as I imagine most adventure gamers will. It’s very well done, there’s just not enough of it for what you’re paying. In researching the game, I see that Kheops has numerous other adventure games that could be heading our way. Cleopatra: A Queen’s Destiny has already been announced for the Mac, and Coladia also has an “unannounced project” in the works. Destination Treasure Island may not be in the upper echelon of adventure games I’ve played, but it’s enough to have me looking forward to seeing what Coladia will be sending our way next.

In the meantime, I think I have a book to read.