Game Kenneth Andrews
Game Rating = 3/5 Balls
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There should be more video games based on books, really. It would help combat all the daft accusations of games damaging child literacy, and the stories would be better. Nowhere is this clearer than in this new adapatation of The Three Musketeers.
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Story
Young Gascon D’Artagnan is sent to Paris to become one of the King’s Musketeers. En route, he gets into a fight with a mysterious man who steals his letter of recommendation and breaks his sword. On arrival in Paris, D’Artagnan sets about getting into duels, meeting the legendary Athos, Porthos and Aramis, and uncovering a plot designed to disgrace the Queen of France. All of this stays incredibly close to the source novel and is conveyed both through in-game dialogue and graphic novel intertitles. All the book’s characters wander around the game and it’s an incredibly detailed world.
Gameplay
A top-down RPG, the game is controlled entirely by the mouse, although there are keyboard shortcuts, which is a nice compromise. The little sprites wander around searching barrels in houses (some things never change) and fighting cute little swordfight duels all on the main game screen. The combat is nice, a back and forth swordfight that is made to feel more interactive by giving you the opportunity to press home an attack when you see your opponent perspiring. A nice touch of interactivity. Sadly, the inventory system is a bit clumsy, particularly as you loot huge amounts of useless junk which you then spend too long trying to sell. Also, if you’re a fast reader, it’s a bit annoying having to click on speech bubbles to close them. Mini-games, especially the tennis, are also a bit rubbish. General gameplay is fun and easy to master, however.
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Graphics and Sound
The sprites are small, but reasonably well-animated, especially the horses which are notoriously difficult. The graphic novels are a little patchy, but good fun and an effective device for moving the story forward. The sound is interesting. The spot-effects are all OK, but I really liked the more-or-less authentic music that loops through the speakers. The effects made the swordfights feel far more exciting than they had any right to.
Creativity and Innovation
As a top-down RPG, there is little that is technically new about The Three Musketeers. Where it scores highly, though, is in recapturing both the story and the atmosphere of the book (where D’Artagnan and his mates really do spend hundreds of pages just knocking around Paris trying to scam some money). Fans of Alexandre Dumas will enjoy this game.
Is it worth $24.95, however? Although it’s a high price, I’d have to say yes. It’s not without its faults, but this is a charming adaptation of a classic novel and you get to have swordfights and ride horses and proper boys’ stuff. NOTE: Dingo Games lowered the price to $19.95 after we completed the review.
Buy The Three Musketeers if you:
* Like the book
* Enjoy having a lot of story in games
* Like RPGs
Don’t buy it if you:
* Don’t read much
* Prefer action over plot
* Prefer the film
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Dingo Games created the role playing game called The Three Musketeers.
