Secret Files 2 - Puritas Cordis (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

The point and click genre of gaming has been reduced to very little over the years. It used to be the biggest genre of titles on the PC but with the evolution of technology, these story driven titles have been shunned for titles pushing the boundaries on what is possible with graphical processing power. But that's not to say there haven't been any released. We've seen the likes of Sam and Max and Another Code grace both the Wii and DS respectively and both have been fantastic titles. And it's with the Wii that the genre seems to be getting a rebirth, with Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis representing the second entry into the series to come to the console which is primed for more point and click adventures.

Gameplay

Murder, conspiracy, natural disasters, the apocalypse and a religious cult hell bent on taking over the world. That there summarises the story in its entirety and as you can see, there's a lot going on. The story goes that a monk has found an ancient scroll and a secretive organisation is out to get hold of it. The scroll is linked with the prophecies of a Frenchman known as Zandano, who predicted a series of disasters that would lead on to the apocalypse, but it never came and so this new organisation, known as Puritas Cordis is hell bent on carrying out the rest of the disasters in the hope of getting rid of the world's leaders and succeeding them, and only Nina Kalenkov, Max Gruber and associates can stop them. It seems like a very complicated plot but the developers of the Wii version, this being Keen Games, have done a fantastic job of keeping it as simple as possible but still containing that depth of interest that is garners as you progress through the game.

As I mentioned, Secret Files 2 is a point and click title. This means you'll be controlling one of 4 characters through various environments as you search for clues to what is going on or to answer what questions from the past that have remained unanswered. The game is a great showing of the genre as the places you'll be searching show a great variety, from a ship in the Mediterranean to an island in Indonesia, as well as incorporating puzzles that are genuine head scratchers. Puzzle titles these days, try as they might, cannot manage to compete with the kind of cranial busting that the old point and click titles had and this easily carries on this tradition. While the game's 9 chapters may not seem like much, when you factor in the amount of time you'll spend trying to figure out the puzzles it adds up to a beefy title. And it's not just single small puzzles you'll encounter. Later in the game, the puzzles become intertwined and so you'll need to complete one or part of one before you can progress in another area and so on. This continuity adds to the challenge of the title and will constantly have you thinking about how to combine items or how to use them to accomplish the tasks.

It's a very old school title in its gameplay but that's a good thing when you consider the genre. It presents a good challenge to those who play it and it's definitely not one for faint hearted because the puzzles can become really tricky. The only fault that can be labelled on the gameplay is that it can be very difficult at times and while you can highlight the items and environmental features that can be interacted with, many times you'll be left in the dark wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out what to do. It's the main problem but when it comes down to it, if you stick with the game and finally figure it out, you'll definitely feel like you've accomplished something, and that's a great feeling.

Controls

You have two configurations for playing this title. You can use the Wii-mote separately or you can use it in conjunction with the Nunchuk. I'd strongly suggest playing with the Nunchuk in place because it makes moving your characters around that bit easier, although movement is still a bit clunky in the environments partly due to the collision detection of objects. The A button is used for interacting with objects or people and B is used for looking at them. All of the Wii-mote's buttons get a work out so along with these two, which you'll be using the most, you'll also be making use of the Plus or Minus buttons for the hint system, the 1 button to bring up your journal which displays your objectives, the 2 button which brings up the menu, and the d-pad for going through your inventory. It can get a little complicated remembering the button layout at first as it's more common for the menu button to be on the likes of the Plus or Minus button but it's something that comes quickly after a short time of play. The pointer is used for highlighting the objects and really, the controller is perfect for this style of gameplay and it works perfectly here.

Graphics

The game presents itself well making use of 3d characters in 2.5d environments, in that the environments are static images but allow you to move into them and explore. It's the most common way for this style of game to present itself so there really is no need to change it when it works well. The environments are well designed and show a very high level of detail that wouldn't have translated well over to a more 3d title. Character models are good, but the animation is stiff and unnatural while the overall look of them isn't of the highest standard, and certainly doesn't match that of those in the cutscenes, which are all done as cinematics that kick in at certain points of the story. They look good and are very detailed but you won't see many as most of the story is told through the actual gameplay, which is probably for the best.

Sound

The game is fully voiced throughout, with every line of dialogue spoken which is nice as it does bring the gamer into the title and makes it heightens the realism. The voices do seem to fluctuate in volume though which seems strange and is probably more to do with their recording than the actual game. If you can hear the game's music beyond the constant buzzing and crunching of the disc in your Wii (it makes one hell of a noise loading the game) what you'll get is a competent sound track conveying the situations and moods of the game well. Turning up the volume of the music doesn't do much to make it heard above the sound of the loading which is ashame because you'll miss out on a good aspect of the game because of it.

Final comments

The point and click genre is being brought to a new generation of gamers who may not know what a true challenge is. Luckily, Secret Files 2 remembers its heritage and applies the same difficulty levels that can be found in those older titles in the genre. The game has a great story and some fantastic art along with some fantastic intertwining puzzle elements that will perplex everyone and anyone who plays and the delight that you get from figuring them out after ages of nothing is unmatchable. If you're looking for a challenge and some old school gaming with a modern skin, this is it and stands as a perfect example of how a genre that was long passed its sell-by date can live on in a new generation. Here's hoping that the collaborative effort of Deep Silver and Keen Games will provide more of these titles on the Wii in the coming future.

Pro: Great story, great art and some truly amazing puzzles that'll leave you scratching your head
Con: Animation is a bit stiff, issues with moving the characters around the environment, may be too hard for some
Final score: 7.8

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