Amerzone

Amerzone

European Windows cover art
Developer(s) Microïds
Publisher(s) Casterman
Ubisoft
Designer(s) Benoît Sokal
Engine Phoenix VR[1]
Platform(s) Windows, Classic Mac OS, PlayStation, iOS,[2] OS X[3]
Release date(s) Microsoft Windows:
  • NA October 18, 1999
  • EU 1999
Classic Mac OS:
PlayStation:
  • EU December 13, 1999
iOS:
  • EU June 6–7, 2011
[2]OS X:
  • EU October 4, 2011
[3]
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player
Distribution 4 CD-ROMs or 1 DVD

Amerzone (also known as Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy) is a first-person adventure game produced by French company Microïds (a brand of Anuman Interactive), and designed by Benoît Sokal. The player takes the role of a journalist on a quest to help save a rare species of magical birds.

Plot

Amerzone's gameplay.
Drawing from the game.

In 1932, Alexandre Valembois was a young explorer who, with his native friend Antonio Álvarez, wanted to make a name for himself by exploring the mysterious Amerzone region. Befriended by the natives of the region, he witnessed a strange ritual involving a giant egg of the famed white birds. Wanting to prove that the white birds existed, Alexandre betrayed the natives' trust and stole the mysterious egg. Alas, upon his returning to France, nobody believed Alexandre or his journals about the Amerzone.

Sixty years have passed, and the world has changed. World War II has come and gone, the Amerzone remains unexplored and closed off to outsiders by its despotic leader, Antonio Álvarez. Monsieur Alexandre Valembois is an old man at the end of his life, living alone in a lighthouse and wishing to fix his mistake. At this time, a young reporter comes to visit the old Alexandre Valembois regarding his adventures...

Influences & legacy

Amerzone was designed by Benoît Sokal and developed by Microïds, who later developed the critically acclaimed Syberia and its sequel Syberia II. These games contain references to Amerzone and take place in the same fictional universe.

The places, concepts and some of the characters featured in Amerzone originate from Sokal's work in the 1980s with the comic Inspector Canardo, especially the fifth story in the series, L'Amerzone.

Critical reception

The game was generally positively received at the time, with critics praising its top-grade graphical quality[4] and the scenario's quality and depth.[5][6] However, many also pointed an awkward player interface, aggravated by an absence of game manual, along with being too short and too easy,[7] while proponents of the game claimed it was into its genre average.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Titles using Phoenix 3D our 3D engine". 4xtechnologies.com. Archived from the original on 2000-12-10. Retrieved 2009-05-16.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Amerzone at the iTunes Store
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Amerzone at the Mac App Store
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lightman. Test: L'Amerzone, JeuxVideo.com, February 2, 1999.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fournier, Heidi Amerzone Review, Adventure Gaming, May 21, 2002.
  6. ↑ Maffei, Nadia Test: L'Amerzone, JeuxVideoPC.com, March, 1999.
  7. ↑ Rouse, Rich. L'Amerzone: The Explorer Legacy review, IGN.com, December 1, 1999.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amerzone.