ou are Captain Rhama Sabrier, a dashing, daring ship captain who is as handy with a sword as he is with a woman. You are minding your own ship-captaining business when you're contacted by a mystic healer named Areliano. Seems that a boat carrying a magical healing herb has run aground on Areliano's island, and Areliano wants you to help him snap up the herb and trace the mysterious ship's origin.
Such is the story of Galleon: Islands of Mystery, an action adventure designed and developed by many of the same folks who brought you the original Tomb Raider. You'll play Rhama throughout the game, jumping from rock to rock, solving puzzles and fighting the good fight, but others, such as the beautiful Faith (Areliano's daughter), will join your party and quest alongside your hero. You'll control the questing from a third-person, over-the-shoulder view that is married to the camera and alternates between intuitive and cumbersome.
In its heart of hearts, the game is an adventure, similar to Tomb Raider but with less combat, but no less jumping, running, climbing and puzzle-solving. It also draws a wee bit from the role-playing world, with its ability to quest with more than a single character. You cannot, however, actually control the other characters. The game's artificial intelligence does that for you, with the help of some simple orders given from the gamepad. Despite the multiple characters in the party, there is no multiplayer.
Yo-ho-not-quite-hopeless
Galleon: Islands of Mystery tries to be all things to all people and doesn't quite pull it off. To be kind, the game seems ambitious; to be unkind, it seems unfocused. Make no mistake, there is fun to be had. Rhama and his party explore and fight their way through seven vast levels. From ships to mountainous islands, you'll truly be made to believe you are in another world, a world rife with mystery and intrigue.
But even moving through this world can be an exercise in futility. There are just too darn many special jumps, climbs and maneuvers you'll need to execute to get from one place to another. Worse still, the game is unforgiving. If you don't time your jumps correctly, with the exact sequence of commands, Rhama will do little but hop and grunt. Frustrating.
Ah, but it is much easier to take out your frustration on you foes in combat. In fact, it's much too easy. With the possible exception of one or two bosses, the real-time, action-oriented combat poses little challenge and even less fun. What is fun, however, is the well-written story, clever dialogue and excellent voice acting. Despite the game's quirks, the tale Rhama and friends tell will keep you playing late into the night.
In fact, the tale is the best part of the game. In a game that tries to do too much and succeeds in too little, an excellent story and great acting combine to make a tale worth playing.
Almost as gripping as a good book. It's too bad the game isn't actually more fun.
—Mark
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