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As Greece is usually called The Land of the Gods, it is not much of a surprise that Luminaria's "Wrath of the Gods" is an adventure game based on the ancient greek myths.
"Wrath" is the first game ever developed by Luminaria, a small company located in the San Francisco area. With the success of this title, we have no doubt that Luminaria has a great future in front of them.
As explained above, "Wrath" is an adventure game with commands that are common to the other games in this category. Therefore, you can talk to the people and creatures that you encounter, walk through the landscapes, look at items or your inventory, and pick up objects or use them. What is unusual in this game is that the hints for different circumstances are given by an Oracle. Depending on how often the Oracle is consulted, the hint could be free or cost the player points. At the start of the game the player is given a score of 100 points which should be enough to allow the use of the Oracle.
In "Wrath of the Gods", it is quite difficult to die unlike many other games. Each time you get killed, you are sent to another realm like Olympus (the land of the Gods) or Hades (kingdom of the dead) and can continue your quest.
Another uncommon thing is the map. Adventure games usually do not feature a map and sometimes it is necessary to draw one on paper to be able to finish the game. In other games, however, a map unveils along the way when new locations are discovered by the player. Fortunately, this game provides a complete map and allows the player to see how locations are connected to each other. It might be considered by some gamers as too easy, but I can assure you that it does not provide as much help as you may think since the map does not reveal what you may find in the locations.
The last thing that is very uncommon to adventure games, even unique, is the availability of information about people, creatures and myths you will encounter in the game. It is not, of course, an encyclopedia about ancient civilizations, but it is rather a source of information about ancient Greek myths which you may or may not know. For example, maybe you do not know why Achilles was invincible even though he was the son of a goddess and mortal? Well, it is because his mother (Thetis) dipped him into the Styx, Hell's river. Next, why was Achilles's heel his only vulnerable point? It was because his mother was holding him in the river by his heel.
Thus, the information included in the game will basically help you to solve enigmas about myths you do not happen to know.
"Wrath of the Gods" has photo-realistic graphics with digitized characters that are animated and speak to you. You will meet mythological creatures like Cyclop, Hercules, Atlas the Titan, the famous Hydra, Medusa and many others in dozens of locations that depict ancient Greece. Your character will have to solve many enigmas on your quest to reclaim your kingdom, and the game will provide you with hours of amusement and information.
Luminaria,
GRAPHICS ------------------ 84% 152 Brewster Street,
SOUND ------------------ 86% San Francisco, CA 94110.
MUSIC ------------------ 82% Tel: 415-821-0536
GAMEPLAY ------------------ 90%
INTEREST ------------------ 92%
OVERALL -------------------88%
