Runaway, The Dream of the Turtle (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Ever since it was first introduced, the DS has been widely regarded as a perfect platform for the point and click adventure and aging gamers have campaigned for the likes of Lucasarts and Revolution to release their classic titles. We're some way into the DS' lifecycle now and while these adventures took some time to reach Nintendo's handheld, they are here now with many more to come in 2009 including a Director's Cut of Broken Sword. Like most adventure titles Runaway started out life on the PC and although this was some years ago, converting it to the DS still represents a considerable challenge especially keeping the gameplay intact. Did developers Cyanide manage this mammoth task? Read on and see... 

Gameplay

All great adventures have a deep and immersive storyline and Runaway is no exception, even if the tale does become a little strange at times, which in fact is one of its strengths. This and the fact that the game never takes itself too seriously, makes the whole experience a lot more entertaining. You play as Brian Basco who has been separated from his girlfriend after pushing her out of a plane. Yes, you did read that correctly although the plane in question was about to crash and the girlfriend in question had a parachute, which opened moments before she plunged into a lake. Brian wasn't so lucky and, while he did survive the plane crash, he now finds himself in the middle of the jungle lost, confused and with a desperate need to reunite himself with his loved one.

So, it's all up to you and while you'll initially search around for objects, you'll also have to solve a number of problems and puzzles, most of which are reasonably logical. You still have the old age problem of retracing your steps in order to find the key to progressing though the game but fortunately our hero is not nearly as dumb as he appears and does have, at least, some ability to think for himself. This allows Brian to use some of the more useful objects in the correct manner, as opposed to you micro managing each and every move, which can become tedious very quickly. The rest is up to you but if you have played adventures before there are more than enough surprises here to keep you going for some time.

Controls

The traditional controls are almost completely redundant other than changing the curser's mode...  

Graphics

Possibly the biggest drawback of converting PC games to the DS is the screen size and here, even with the action spread over both screens, it's still easy to miss the finer details. Developers Cyanide have overcome this by allowing you to zoom in to the action whilst also keeping an impressive clarity of image. Elsewhere both the visuals and animation are very pleasing indeed but not nearly as impressive as the huge amount of FMV crammed into the tiny cart. This aspect of the coding has to be some sort or record, especially when you consider just how complicated the game is in the first place.

Sound

Sadly, one of the major flaws in this conversion is the fact that none of the excellent voice work has made it into the DS version. Yes there are some great sound effects and background music but anyone who's played the likes of Broken Sword will know just how important the voice work is and how it's essential to the games atmosphere.  

Dual screen

As with classic point and click adventures everything is controlled with the curser (or stylus here), even your character's movement.  This allows you to investigate the various locations by searching and examining objects in addition to having the odd useful conversation. The developers have also added a useful zoom ability which is activated by simply keeping your stylus on the screen. This makes for a much more immersive experience allowing you to locate and utilise the smallest of objects. There is, though, the odd occasion were the stylus just isn't responsive as it needs to be although this is only a minor flaw to what is a very accomplished control system.  

Final comments

There's certainly a great deal to recommend Runaway and the developers have done a stunning job of converting this huge PC adventure to a less powerful handheld. What is most impressive is just how much has survived the jump so not only are you treated to a huge amount of FMV but the actual gameplay has remained intact too. This is mainly down to the ingenious 'zoom' which allows you to actually investigate each area as opposed to randomly tapping and hoping. Obviously the PC version is still way ahead of this in just about every department but if you do like your adventuring portable then look no further then Runaway.

Pro: Great Use of the Dual Screen Format, Lots of Impressive FMV
Con: No Voice Work
Final score: 7.2

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