[Fairygdmther]

Yesterday I spent some time looking for Celtica again. I discovered that the developer, Artech, is still making games, so I emailed them.

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Fairygdmther:

I've been looking for a copy of your game Celtica for a couple of years now, without any luck. I know it is a 9 year old game, but for us adventure game lovers, that has little meaning. The only two I can currently locate is a member of Game Trading Zone, who wants $199 US for it and though there are 24 in this forum who want it, no one wants to pay that much. The other is on eBay where it is at $35.50 US as a starting bid, but he refused a $50 US offer, expecting to get more on auction.

I'm writing to you to see if you could direct me to a current source for your game, but what I'd really like to see is for you to reformat it for XP, and re-release it. Many older games have gone this route and are selling well, especially for a new generation of adventure game lovers - Sanitarium came out this way a couple of years ago, and has sold most of the re-released games. In the US, Walmart and Target have been their focus distribution, and has made money for everyone and made gamers happy.
Anyway, thanks for listening, and if you do know where I could get one, please let me know. Thanks.
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Their reply -
Thank you for your inquiry.

Unfortunately I am not aware of any sources for the game.

Celtica seems to have developed a bit of a cult following, and quite frankly the number of request we receive for it (and the price it commands on EBay) continues to surprise us. Your best bet for obtaining a copy is finding it surplus or at a liquidator of some sort. I can tell you that the last stores to carry this game were Chapters in Canada, and I believe Barnes and Noble in the US. It somehow ended up in more bookstores than computer game stores if that helps any.

As for a new release of the game, I can only say that the timing of your email is quite interesting! As you are a fan of the genre, I would be interested in finding out where you heard about the game. As you are no doubt aware, adventure games have become a bit of a hard sell, so anything that can demonstrate there is a fan base eager for these type of games is always helpful.


Best regards,
Antonio Santamaria
Head of Engineering
Artech Studios

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So it sounds like they may be considering a re-release! Is anyone else interested in this game so I can tell them there is a possible following in the adventure gaming community?

FGM

[Melanie68]

Reading the review (which didn't give it a terribly impressive score), I'd be all over that game if I found it (yeah, I'm a sucker for a Myst clone - sue me ).

[SirDave]

I'm surprised to hear that Artech still exists. The publisher, Hoffman & Associates which also brought us that great classic, Gord@k is long since gone.

If it's going to bring the value down of my 2 two pristine boxed Celticas then I won't be happy about a re-release.....

I enjoyed Celtica. Overall, I'd say it's about a 6-7 out of 10 (which isn't bad on SirDave's classic game evaluation scale!!). Has a rather innovative interface and on the whole, is a good example of a rather nice Myst-clone.

[Fairygdmther]

Sir Dave - if they re-release it for XP, yours would still be valued as originals.

FGM

[SirDave]

Originally Posted by Fairygdmther

Sir Dave - if they re-release it for XP, yours would still be valued as originals.
FGM

Okay, I'll hold you to that FGM!

BTW: Celtica has played flawlessly on the WinXP laptops I've set it up on.

[colpet]

I found the game buggy. I had a hard time getting the portal to open. I liked it, but ended up trading it for a sealed Cassandra Galleries . If they are considering a re-release, I'm in.

[LadyLinda]

Though I've never played it, I would be interested.

[I Love Cookiemonster]

I bought that game, I think about, 7 or 8 years ago. I remember finding the game to damn hard and I think i played the whole game with the walktrough they supplied. Was pretty nice though, but at the time i was a bit dissapointed that it was so incredably static.

Hey i was just looking at the box and saw that i says (in the Dutch version atleast) a storyline which can only be compared with games like Myst and Riven. Isn't that just a different way of saying it's just a Myst clone?! Intresting selling technique.