Customer Reviews

Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Nostradamus : the last prophecy

This is a first person traditional point-and-click adventure with a historical detective bent. You play as Madeleine, Nostradamus' daughter (appearing as yourself or disguised as your brother).

The queen visits Nostradamus to ask for help to solve and stop a series of murders afflicting those around the royal household. Since Nostradamus is too frail and his son is away then Madeleine is sent in disguise as his son. Briefly, a number of murders crop up and are investigated by the player.

The game installed fine and did not need the disk in the drive during play. The controls worked well, all mouse-driven. No bugs were encountered under XP on a older computer. There are an infinite number of save slots, labelled with the time and date of each save along with a thumbnail picture of each save. Graphics are detailed and colourful as befitting a French small town in the 1500's. Voice acting was well done. Lip synching a bit off, but not abysmally so. Movement was responsive. Questioning characters in game is to be expected, but I would not say the game is conversation heavy.

Puzzles were inventory based (easy) or logic based (medium difficulty). There is one timed sequence at the end of the game which has multiple parts. It is impossible to complete this at first attempt. Fortunately the developers ensured that saving can be done during this sequence. Take my tip, note the relevant settings, replay and save after each part to conserve time and patience. During the game it is wise to inspect the diary and all objects in or out of inventory very closely. Several actions, not including combining objects, need to be taken within both in order to complete the game. This is a refreshing change from most adventure games. The diary also has a list of tasks required to be completed during each day, so you always know what is expected of you during play. Tasks are crossed off the list as they are completed.

Cut scenes were well done.

There was one give away when the diary, which is important during the game, listed a task before the object and place in the note had been discovered. A minor point.

The story held interest all the way until the end. On reflection, there were a couple of loose ends and perhaps a couple of anachronisms. I guess the developers went for a good gaming experience at the expense of absolute historical accuracy.

The game has a points system, something which adds replay value to achieve the maximum score. Expect roughly 18 hours play, maybe shorter if you cotton on quicker then me.

I enjoyed this game. I did not need a hint or walkthrough at all. I recommend it.

Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy is a great game for all players.

-- SCENARIO --
You are Madelaine , Nostradamus pretty daughter and you are assigned a tough mission: To understand a number of killings that have happened around your area and prevent more of them, perhaps targeted at the Queen.

Actually the Queen wanted Nostradamus himself to attend to the business, but he is very old. Nostradamus presents his daughter as his son Cesar (disguised) to take care of the job.

A minor flaw: Once you succeed in transforming yourself into Cesar, it is of no meaning if you are speaking to the Queen as Cesar or as Madelaine.

SCENARIO : Very good, 91%

-- GRAPHICS --
Very nice. Full Screen, Detailed, not complex, characters are well designed.

GRAPHICS : Very good, 94%

-- SOUND --
The sound is good, but I have found that it is almost the same throughout the entire game. Perhaps they could had created more themes when , say, you wander around inside the Palace.

SOUND : Good, 88%

-- CONTROLS --

Very helpful. Simply point-and-click, a very good inventory system combined with notebook, recipe review, palace map and victim list.

What I didn't like is the availability of the "trash" icon, allowing you to trash an item you have. What If this item is needed later in the game and you trash it? The game should simply remove any item not anymore needed.

CONTROLS : Very good, 93%

-- ATMOSPHERE --

Great! All of the environement, the riddles, the scenario, the music, pushes you into the area of zodiacs, mystery, horoscopes and more Astrological stuff. Even If you don't believe in any of the stars power (as I don't), you will find the atmosphere very exciting.

ATMOSPHERE : Excellent, 96%

-- ACTION --

Good. Well designed, the game never lets you wondering what to do next, and the plot is smoothly running to the end.

ACTION : Very good, 93%

-- RIDDLES --

Easy, but interesting. Many of them include preparing recipes (they are very easy), and some more difficult (but not very) require you to deal with astrological puzzles to understand the character of the person you are dealing with. Well done!

RIDDLES : Very good, 91%

-- OVERALL --

PROS : Nice gfx, nice plot, nice atmosphere.


CONS : Could have better sound, puzzles are rather easy, game is not that big in length. Oh, and another short and kinda disappointing ending.


VERY GOOD: 92%. Certainly worth your money!

This game has a traditional point and click interface and I had no problems at all with any bugs or glitches. Graphics were excellent and voices were clear and understandable. Story line was great and kept me interested through the entire game. The ability to change characters from Nostradamus's daughter and to disquise yourself as his son was a plus to the game. The only reason I did't give this game a five star and the only complaint I have is close to the end there is a very challenging timed sequence that I had to resolve to using a walkthrough to get through in the alloted time. The puzzles in Nostradamus are based on Astrology and Ancient Runes. I really enjoyed this game and I would recommend it to anyone up to a challenge.

This game has all the elements of a classic adventure game with point and click searching and conversing with other characters. Set during the time of Catherine De Medici, the graphics denote the scenery of a small village of that era. Nostradamus himself is not the main character but rather his daughter who he sends off on the quest. The game was fairly easy with one or two things which were minor but easily overlooked which made them more challenging. The ending sequence, as mentioned in other reviews, was definitely the most intensive part of the game and required the most problem solving in a limited amount of time. I found the ending to be inadequate and happened too quickly. Would have liked to see more of the aftermath, such as in movies when they show scenes during the credits. There is some subtle humor as well and solving the puzzles was fun and rewarding. Overall I can recommend to people who like older games like King's Quest and other adventure games.

I found the game to be pleasant and fun. However I DID use a walkthrough. The last puzzles were tough and without one I don't think I'd ever finish. Graphics, voice acting, story all wonderful. My only complaint would be the last timed puzzles. An option button would have been nice for those of us that play for fun and relaxation rather than for challenges. But still a great game.

I just finished playing this game and I actually loved the ending. Although if you are not a history buff and not familiar with a few items from the Nostradamus era, you'll want to collect a walkthrough via the Internet as a guide. It is not very intuitive but once you get the hang of it, it can be very cool to play. I don't much care for the bland monotone accents of the characters, I think they could have done a better job with the acting.

The scenery is very realistic and nice. I love that the lead character is a female and that the game relies heavily upon her wits via Nostradamus' guidance. That is too cool but of course most likely did not occur given the time period and setting.

All in all, it's a good game and can move quickly but just make sure to collect everything and double up on the ingredients so that you don't have to go out and collect them a second or third time in the village.

Enjoy!

I bought this game a while back and just now wanted to download it, however, I downloaded it and it is so jumpy and hesitant that you can't play. Not sure if it is CD or game. I have Vista and that might be it also.

I started this out very excited, but soon realized I just didn't have the time to go back & forth to all the locations the game leads you to. The other thing is I can't just spend ALL my time playing a game like this. I was intrigued by the items that were true to history, though. Maybe I'll find the time in the future for this game.

Unfortunately this game has several flaws which considerably diminish the playing experience:

(1) Boring plot development, in an obscure historical milieu,

(2) Mundane "fetch a pail of water" tasks,

(3) Over-easy puzzles (mostly),

(4) Inadequate cutscenes - apart from the ending, these are simple 2D graphics,

(5) Too abrupt an ending,

(6) Impossible timed sequence, depending on the performance of about four complex, unrelated actions (you have to cheat).

On the plus side: nice graphics.

I had to return this game as it stopped working about 1/2 hour into the game. Possibly I got a lemon but I decided to not order it again. Too bad as it seemed like a fun game.

Penny