Latest Adventure Games News page 323

The 45 MB Broken Sword 3 teaser video has been converted to a 15 MB DivX file and can be downloaded at GamesWeb.

The friendly canucks at CanadianGamer have reviewed The Watchmaker, giving it a less-than-decent score of 55 percent. A good storyline and "challenging puzzles" were cited as Highs, while the game's technical aspects dominated the Lows.

LucasArts has just issued a press release announcing a new Sam & Max game. The game will be directed by Michael Stemmle, who was also involved in the original game. "Sam & Max Hit the Road is a classic and as close to being a signature game as any LucasArts has ever done," states president Simon Jeffery in the announcement. "The Sam & Max sequel, much like the recently announced Full Throttle II, perfectly complements LucasArts' renowned adventure game legacy and lends further support to the company's commitment to investing in and developing more of our original properties."

Peter Hewitt, the genius behind Xiama (winner of AG's Best Puzzles of 2000 Award), is hard at work on his next game. The name of the game is Magnetic:The Game of Games, and Peter told me that the lofty subtitle is a clue to the ambition of this project. There is some interesting sneak peek information at the Magnetic website, and as the game progresses we expect to have a full preview here at Adventure Gamers!

Arxel Tribe has confirmed that three of their upcoming titles, Ring 2, Mistmare and The Gladiators are currently undergoing beta tests. Ring 2 is a graphic adventure based on the story Ring of Nibelungen, which takes its roots in the Scandinavian Mythology. It was first compiled by the brothers Grimm, and served later as a libretto for Wagner monumental opera.To read the full press release, click to Gamer's Hell.

Buka Entertainment has released a trailer of the horror adventure Midnight Nowhere from Saturn Plus. Saturn Plus was also the developer of the newly released point'n'click Jazz & Faust. Here's a clip from Gamers Hell:"Midnight Nowhere" will immerse you in a world rich in atmosphere. In this suspenseful, story-driven adventure you will solve numerous puzzles and battle creatures of the dark to reveal the ultimate mystery. Prepare yourself for the most thrilling experience in a stunningly beautiful 3D world of suspense and horror!

According to Martin Lévay of TOP Distributor (the Czech distributor of Runaway), developer Pendulo Studios has gotten back the rights to the game. The game was caught in limbo when its publisher, Dinamic Multimedia, went bankrupt. Runaway will be soon released in many European countries. Martin's personal guess for the English release date is Q1 2003.

While rumors are still abound of a German release of Runaway: A Road Adventure, a Czech version is now officially confirmed for November 2002. If you can read Czech, there's a news article on this site (scroll down to "Tìžká cesta adventury Runaway do Èech"). TOP Distributor will be responsible for the localization and distribution of the game.

One month after extremely favorable reviews for Syberia and Shadow of Destiny, print mag PC Gamer has reviewed Jazz and Faust and given it an abysmal 20% rating, calling it (and I quote) "unbearable drek."

As part of its 20th Anniversary celebrations, LucasArts has posted a profile of Sean Clark. He has been a designer on classic LucasArts titles such as Sam & Max Hit the Road, The Dig, and more recently Escape From Monkey Island. He is currently working as Director / Co-Designer on the sequel to Full Throttle, and this is what he had to say about the project:

Gamersclick has posted an interview with Sergio Rocco of Prograph about their upcoming point'n'click, titled Tony Tough: The Night of Roasted Moths. Here's a clip:GC: Is Tony Tough geared more for the younger audience?

WorthPlaying.com has posted a handful of new screenshots from Microids' adventure title, Syberia.

Microsoft announced today that the upcoming action/adventure for X-box, Shenmue II will include the full-length feature Shenmue: The movie, which was previously only released in Japan. Here's a few details from the announcement: The full-length movie draws upon the original footage from the Sega Dreamcast release of "Shenmue" to deliver the same experience as if viewers had played the game through from beginning to end. It was originally showcased in Japanese theatres and then sold separately on DVD for 4700 yen (approximately $40). The theatrical trailer shown in Japan is now posted on the Xbox press site at http://www.xbox.com/press/shenmue_movie_announce.htm.

In an open letter, Carlo Fabricatore has officially informed the Outcast II community about Appeal's bankruptcy. Even though the Outcast II project is dead, Carlo did reveal that Appeal renegades have formed a new company, called Elsewhere Entertainment. They are currently working on something called 'Project Alpha', which according to Yves Grolet is a 'sequel' to Outcast.

Worthplaying.com has posted several new screenshots from the upcoming action/adventure Largo Winch: Empire Under Threat.