[Shany]

Nibiru?

[diego]

Nope, it's older than Nibiru. Another excerpt:

[Name of the game] is a 3rd person cartoon adventure game in the same vein as The Secret of Monkey Island. The interface is point-and-click, and the player is given a list of verbs to select from to perform actions: open, pick up, use, look, etc, similar to the LucasArts games it emulates. Once a certain portion of the territory has been covered a map becomes available for travel, or the player can ride the [means of transport] or travel by [certain animal]. Puzzles are inventory-based, and the player must talk to other characters in the game and collect items in order to solve them.

[Kurufinwe]

I haven't actually played it, and wouldn't even know it exists if it weren't supported by ScummVM, but could it be the game with the fox? What was it called? Inherit the Earth or something like that?

[TerminusEst]

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis?

[diego]

Interesting guesses... but no. It was released after both Fate of Atlantis and Inherit the Earth (few years after it).

Let me try that first part again:

When [main character's name and occupation] comes into possession of a golden [object] by way of an expiring snake-oil salesman, he learns that it is one of three keys that will unlock the treasure of the Ancient civilization's name. After the [object] is stolen by rustlers, [main character] sets out to recover all three and unearth the treasure himself.

since it's the only review at Amazon, here's little more from Mobygames user review:

One thing that I liked to look at is the orange sky. It blends well with the setting, and no matter where you go, you can see the sky all the time...

I'll start giving hints after this.

[TerminusEst]

Orange sky, eh? 3 Skulls of the Toltecs?

[diego]

Finally!

[TerminusEst]

A fragment of a longer Amazon review:

The game is absolutely rich with atmosphere, including an incredible amount of rain (does it ever stop raining in this [place]?), very good (and, as you'd expect, very dark) music, and well-done graphics which really bring out the darkness in the mood. [Game] is an excellent example of a game which values atmosphere over actual content. The whole plot is muddy and indecipherable. However, that doesn't really matter, since the plot isn't that important to the execution of the game anyway. [Game] is all about a dark, dirty [place] and the similar people who inhabit it.

[TerminusEst]

No guesses yet? Here is an additional hint. In the review fragment above: [place]=city. If there are no (correct) guesses, I will post more of the review later today.

[tsa]

Dreamfall?

[TerminusEst]

Originally Posted by tsa

Dreamfall?

Did "the muddy and indecipherable plot" clue you in? I kid, I kid! Good guess but Dreamfall is not nearly dark enough.

[tsa]

Then I really have no idea what this game is.

[Kurufinwe]

Maybe Overclocked? It definitely had a lot of rain (and a muddy plot).

[TerminusEst]

Originally Posted by Kurufinwe

Maybe Overclocked? It definitely had a lot of rain (and a muddy plot).

Nope. The game is older than both Dreamfall and Overclocked. Here is a chunk of another review (which reads like blurbs on the game box so take with a grain of salt):

Totally original concept.

Precision graphics and 4000 frames of stylish animation.

Chilling combat sequences.

Haunting narration throughout, with distinctive character voices played by professional actors.

Movie soundtrack with superb sampled sound effects making [game] the most atmospheric adventure ever.

[...]

Explore hundreds of meticulously detailed locations.

[Oscar]

Not really an adventure game, but the combat sequences bit makes me think of Call of Cthulu Dark Corners of the Earth.

[Kurufinwe]

My second guess would be Blade Runner.

[TerminusEst]

Originally Posted by Oscar

Not really an adventure game, but the combat sequences bit makes me think of Call of Cthulu Dark Corners of the Earth.

This is on my to-play list as I've been on a H.P. Lovecraft reading binge in the last few weeks.

Originally Posted by Kurufinwe

My second guess would be Blade Runner.

It's not Blade Runner but you are quite close.

[Oscar]

Gemini Rue? Although "precision graphics" makes me doubt it.

[TerminusEst]

Originally Posted by Oscar

Gemini Rue? Although "precision graphics" makes me doubt it.

That's a great guess... but no. The game is (much) older than that. And the "precision graphics" is a relative thing, if you catch my drift.

Here is another chunk of the first Amazon review I posted:

In terms of its actual gameplay, it's a pretty good adventure, although it's unusual in that it lets you pick up an incredible number of items, most of them ambient items which serve no purpose, which means it can be very hard to figure out what's useful and what's there only for show. This makes the puzzles tricky sometimes, and the fact that most of the time you're not quite sure what you should be doing [...] means you'll get stuck a lot, particularly since many puzzles hinge on your having a particular object with you, and if you don't have it (which may very well be, considering your limited inventory space), you'll have to backtrack. Not only is the game full of objects you can take, it's also full of description. [Game] seems to take delight in surprisingly (some might say excessively) detailed descriptions of every small object.

The ability to pick up everything but the kitchen sink is a distinctive feature of that game (together with the dark atmosphere).

[Kurufinwe]

I haven't actually played it, but being able to take everything sounds like that old game with the huge GUI and the protagonist's ugly face taking up half of the screen. What was it called? Dreamweb, or something like that?