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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Educational fun if there be such a thing, June 2, 2004
This is a fantastic Myst clone that, on top of everything, is "gladdened" with a load of physical minutiae which, naturally, lends the game its name. Now I find all matter of educational things to be a compelling incentive to wanting to solve the puzzle. This does not move me to finish the game, however. This, perhaps, is the greatest shortcoming for an adventure game. There is no plot as you know it. Yes, you need to achieve a goal and save the world from a global cataclysm. We've saved the world before, and it has been none too grateful getting into some sticky predicament time and time again. But WHO are you saving? Is it the disembodied voice in the introductory video? This is where the plot begins and ends. There are some marginal hints at a story involving a telescope lens thief, but these are clearly there to facilitate the puzzles. Yet, for a game that makes clear its ambition to create a giant puzzle, Physicus superbly succeeds to render the puzzles built on physical laws maximally enjoyable.The physics information, like in all the games of this series, is presented in a kind of a very pretty virtual textbook which offers extensive interpretation of the physical concepts in optics, mechanics, electricity, fluid dynamics and several others. The textbook, if you choose not to strain your eyes, is read aloud by a throaty Englishman with a little interaction. There are interesting animations and illustrations on most pages; there are even some formulas which you would use in the game. Despite my enthusiasm, reading even one topic in a sitting is tiresome. On the other hand, if you follow the game's suggestions to read the topic in key scenes, you will miss on much of the textbook's info and that is annoying if you do like that sort of thing. In some cases the formulas come short in an attempt to make the game less mathematical. I had to intuit one puzzle because of the lack of one formula variable. Toward the end of the game there is perhaps too much simple-equation math regarding electricity generator transformers that needs to be muddled through to see the closing credits. Despite of how daunting it sounds here, all of this gruntwork was very enjoyable to me. The graphics are faultless, but nothing inspired after seeing Myst. The music is equally insipid: good for a while, but nothing to write home about. I had to engage in a little bit of pixel-hunting in the beginning of the game. The game was on the short side unless you got stuck on a puzzle. It took me about 10 hours to finish it, and I did get stuck. Overall, a great educational title; a good puzzle; an average adventure game. "A" for the effort.
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