Alida

by Got Game

Product Features

• Explore the island of Alida, searching for the missing Arin
• Explore beautifully rendered 3-D environments to solve this mystery
• Solve puzzles that range from simple to complex
• The original musical score sets the scene in this entrancing adventure
• For 1 player

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00026SZDQ
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: July 25, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,780 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: PC

From the Manufacturer

This atmospheric graphical adventure is set on Alida, a guitar-shaped island theme park created by a young and wildly successful band. But when money woes and paranoia set in, the band splits up, each claiming different areas of the park, and where each devise strange and elaborate systems to protect their respective remaining wealth. Each member grows increasingly isolated and all eventually abandon Alida. Several years later the band's manager suggests the band get together on the island. Soon thereafter band member Arin leaves for Alida and is not heard from again. Now, his wife, Julia, sends you to Alida to find Arin and bring him home.

Five years in the making, the world of Alida will captivate you with wondrous graphics, unique locations, intriguing puzzles, bizarre transportation machines, ornate objects, electronic imagery, tactile contraptions, massive constructions, animated natural elements, and an entrancing original music score.

Features:

• Imaginative and beautifully rendered 3D environments
• Engaging puzzles ranging from simple to complex
• Mesmerizing audio
• Story of intrigue and mystery

Product Description

Alida is a mysterious island, located ten miles out at sea. It's been deserted for fifteen years, but a man named Arin had suspicions about what went on there. He went there a week ago and hasn't been heard from since. You will be secretly dropped off on Alida to try & find what happened to Arin, as you explore this strange place and uncover its secrets.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Didn't Like It as Much as I Wanted to..., October 11, 2004

By 

wysewomon "wysewomon" (Paonia, CO United States) - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Alida (CD-ROM)

Fifteen years ago in game history, the Australian band Alida was an international sensation. Their debut album broke all sales records by over 200% and overnight the band members became wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice. They decided to spend the money building an island theme park shaped like a giant, fully functional guitar. As the project neared completion, inner stresses tore the band apart and the whole thing was abandoned. Now, fifteen years later, one of the band members has gone back to the island and disappeared. His wife has asked you to go after him and bring him back. But to do so, you'll have to solve the mystery of Alida.

Rating this game was difficult for me. I had been looking forward to it for a long time and I really wanted to like it a lot. I kept looking for reasons to like it a lot. I've heard it compared both to Rhem and to Riven, both of which I like a lot. But something in Alida didn't grab me.

It's a beautiful game, to be sure. The graphics are very well rendered, if a little dark in places. The soundtrack is appealing, although I have to say I would have liked to hear more of that "brand new music" the band was supposed to have invented. Gameplay was smooth and intuitive. The plot was coherent. Even the installation, which confused some PC-users, struck me as simple and straight-forward.

But the process of the game itself failed to delight me the way I wanted it to, even though the mechanical puzzles featured were the kind I typically like, with elements and clues spread over a wide area. When these puzzles made sense, they were satisfying in a dim kind of way. But often there was some twist to the solution that was not immediately obvious, making a good deal of random searching necessary even when the logic behind the puzzle was clear. I find this incredibly frustrating, and it wrecked a lot of my enjoyment of the game.

The game world also seemed very hollow. It was a big world without much in it and a long way to go between puzzles. I don't mind unpopulated game worlds as a rule, but something about this one really bothered me. It's just, for such a big place, there wasn't a whole lot to see or do. I think the game could have benefitted by a few more in-game movies, more journals, more insight into the people who had allegedly built this place. You got to know two of the characters a little, but the remaining three were an enigma.

Also, I had a problem with the fact that even when you solved all the puzzles, the giant guitar WAS NOT IN TUNE. Please!!! If it was some weird alternate tuning, you should have made that clear!

A lot of thought went into this game, which was pretty much designed by one person. Putting together puzzles of this sort-well, you can see the effort and tell it was a labour of love. I kept wanting to realy, really like it, but I just didn't so much.

Alida took me about 20 hours to play, and I got quite a bit of help, which is unusual for me. There are no timed puzzles, you can't die, and saves are unlimited. The five-disc game installs completely to your hard drive and no disc is necessary for the game to run. From the ending, I believe there will be a sequel. I'll certainly play it, but I may not leap on it as soon as it's released.

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A musical Rhem, September 7, 2004

By 

Lynn S. Hendricks "Wordmama" (Carson City, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Alida (CD-ROM)

If you liked Rhem, with its acres of lovingly rendered enigmatic machines set in gorgeous scenery and no people around to fool with, Alida will most likely set your heart aquiver. If, however, you preferred Myst, with the same baffling machines and gorgeous scenery but with an essentially human mystery at the center, Alida might strike you the way it did me: beautiful, but oddly lifeless. "Art and technology," as the cover blurb says, are all very well, and Alida does them extremely well; but without people in it, without human interaction, why bother?

Interface and loading were seamless, though nonstandard. Graphics are stunning, though my 3-year-old machine had difficulty handling water motion in some locations. The problems are difficult, but not insoluble, though a fair amount of backtracking is required, and that can get a little irritating. Many problems rely on sound and music, so if you have a hearing deficit (or are tone deaf) this game will be difficult to impossible for you.

A lovely game, best for those days when you're just sick to death of PEOPLE.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best adventure games!, November 5, 2005

By 

John Salerno (Houston, TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Alida (CD-ROM)

First off, let me describe the kinds of adventure games that I like, so you'll know how far to trust my review. I prefer first-person over third-person, and I like mechanical puzzles that involve figuring out machinery and that follow some sort of logic. I do not like inventory puzzles, nor do I care for puzzles that take too long to finish (i.e., once you've figured it out, it should be easy enough to do; that's not to say that I don't like puzzles that stump me for days before I figure them out).

Now, having said that, I can say that Alida is exactly the type of game that I like. It is first-person, there is very little character interaction ("lonely world" experience, which I like) and there is no inventory. Nearly all of the puzzles involve figuring out machinery and operating the devices on the island.

Story: Yes, there is a story, despite what some reviewers have said. No, it is not as involved as a game like Syberia, but then again that's the third-person/first-person difference coming through. You will find out enough in Alida to keep you going, but if you like the very interactive, dialogue-driven game, this is not it.

Gameplay: First person slide-show presentation like the original Myst. But it is more like Riven in that the entire game takes place on one island, as opposed to multiple "ages." This also means that many of the puzzles are connected.

Puzzles: This is what I care about most. I don't need a big story, as long as the puzzles are good. And the puzzles in Alida are *excellent*! Every one of them makes logical sense. They can be very difficult at times, but if you consult a walkthrough, you will not have that "Oh, I would never have figured that out" feeling. Everything makes sense.

Something that had me hesitant about purchasing this game was the guitar theme park setting. I was afraid that the game would feel too contemporary, and not have that "other worldly" feel like the Myst games do. But that is not the case at all. Aside from the fact that there is a giant guitar on the island, this game feels more like Myst than the last two Myst games!

Another note: I've read several times that people don't like how some puzzles do not give you feedback after you've finished them. Having played the whole game, I'm actually confused about what they are referring to. Every puzzle that gives you immediate access to something new will have feedback that shows you where you can go next. There are three or four "big" things (that are connected to a larger puzzle) that you need to do that do not give immediate feedback, but the fact that you did them in the first place means that you did them right. If you happened to have made a mistake, you'll know exactly where to go to fix it.

One final note: This game was created by one person (Cos Russo), and he is great about supporting the game. You can email him directly for hints (if the hints at his website aren't enough), and he's a great guy to communicate with. Fantastic support.

Anyway, I highly recommend this game. This is simply one of the best (if not *the* best) adventure game I've ever played. If you enjoy first-person, exploratory adventures with a lot of puzzles, then this game is exactly what you need.

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