Chronicles of Mystery; The Tree of Life
Ages: Teen

The blurb on the back of the box says the "trails will lead (our heroine) across the channels of Venice, through the dark alleys of Cairo and further into the unknown". The game provides that and much more - a Medieval church in Brittany, an airship, numerous well appointed interiors and a jungle experience.

The plot involves a conspiracy around the "Tree of Life", the "Fountain of Youth" and a chest dating back to the Conquistadors. Sylvie Leroux, a young archeologist sets the trail going, unaware of the danger from the ruthless Alpha and Omega faction. The mystery is well parsed out so that interest is kept high throughout the game. There are many characters involved and interaction is through conversations - sometimes quite a lot. Fortunately, the voice acting is extremely well done with fitting accents and a wide variety of voices. Environment and characters are well rendered. There is one puzzling artifact however. When a character gives an item to another - their hands flail about in the air, with no object in sight. It's amusing and somewhat disturbing in a game that has been so careful otherwise.

There are many puzzles during the game but they are well distributed - so players get a chance to explore without being faced with puzzle after puzzle. They are of the type that involve fixing equipment - from a copier to an elevator, reconstructing maps, and moving 9-square pieces. They all fit nicely into the story.

The manual gives you pictures of all the characters the players will encounter. Saves are easily available from an icon on the bottom of the screen. A question mark on screen will indicate hot spots when the player click on it. All in all - a very well done and interesting game .

Fun Factor: A well balanced game with interesting locations
Female Factor: Good female archeologist
Player Friendly: Well designed game

Reviewed by: Editor - 02/10