Ever since the first dinosaur bones were discovered, an elaborate fantasy has been created about the way these enormous creatures interacted with man. By now, almost everybody knows that the two species were separated not just by miles, but by millions of years รป but tell that to the writer of the Flintstones.
The one thing that all these tales (with the notable exception of Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, and, of course, the epic Godzilla saga) have in common is that mankind is always portrayed as a species of cavemen, with limited intellect and even more limited resources. As far as we know, the most intelligent person to go up against one of these massive reptiles is Ringo Starr, but of course, he had Barbara Bach to look forward to when he came home.
Lost Eden (from Cryo, Ltd. and Virgin Interactive Entertainment) takes a distinctly different approach to the old human-dino equation, and assumes that the people involved were highly advanced and were able to communicate and work with most of the dinosaurs. Many of these creatures were, after all, vegetarians, posing no threat to mankind whatsoever. But if something the size of a brontosaurus could be directed to help with labor, imagine the size of the buildings that could be created!
The player is Adam, prince and heir to the throne of Mo. The king is very protective of his son, and does not want him to travel outside the safety of the citadel. The cooperation between humans and dinosaurs has broken down after a series of battles with Moorkus Rex and his army of Tyran, also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex.
But Adam is persuaded to leave his home by a young dinosaur named Dina, who is trying to insure that he lives up to his destiny. Within Adam's family tree there is both great good and great evil. His great-grandfather was the Architect, who worked with the dinosaurs to construct the great Citadels. His grandfather was the Enslaver, who . . . well, what would you expect somebody with a name like that to do?
So the whole, or at least, the majority of dino-kind is concerned that Adam take after the
former, rather than the latter, of these two towering figures of history. He travels with Dina to the lands of Chamaar and beyond, gaining the support of different tribes of dinosaurs and hominids, preparing for the next great battle with Moorkus Rex and the Tyran. He must rediscover the lost Secret of the Builders and construct new citadels to fend off the vicious attacks to come. The only way to learn this secret is to try to decipher ancient hieroglyphics, talk with the dinosaurs who knew your ancestors, and, most importantly, follow the path of your destiny.
This unusual storyline is "told" as though it was a legend and an event long past by Eloy, one of Adam's dinosaur companions. As he relates the tale, it is brought to vivid life through very realistic 3D rendered graphics. As with most CD-ROM products, all of the dialog is in digitized speech. Lost Eden also features an extremely instinctive interface. The mouse cursor is a small spinning cube, and as it is moved across the screen, icons appear on the rotating faces telling the player what a click will do. This same process works for dialog, travel, and manipulating objects. There are huge landscapes to explore and numerous puzzles to unravel. As you travel from place to place, you will enjoy elaborately rendered transition scenes, like those in The 7th Guest. As you accomplish important things, the viewpoint shifts back to Eloy, embellishing the event with praise and honor, but if you fall victim to a Tyran assault, the story very quickly becomes a tragedy instead of an inspirational tale.
What would an atmospheric story like this be without appropriate musical setting? In Lost Eden, the lush setting is partnered with an original soundtrack of New Age / Primitive sounds, which will further immerse the player in this vivid "Eco-Adventure." You will hear the birds scatter from the trees as you pass underneath, hear the water of a nearby river. In short, a full CD audio experience.
Will the land remain victim of the threat of the tyrant Moorkus Rex? Or will Adam and his Mesozoic friends manage to reconstruct the citadels and turn the tide against the oppressors? You'll have to wait until Lost Eden hits the shelves to find out, which should be in late March. But when it does, the answer will be in your hands.
