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Review
Missing:
Since January
Review by Audrey Wells
July 12, 2004
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This review contains some small spoilers that may influence your
enjoyment
of the game.
Missing, the latest game
imported from Europe (there known as “In
Memoriam”), introduces a unique way to play an adventure
game by combining personal email and internet research with unusual
puzzle-based
gameplay. Many things about the game work well, but the game has
its share of minor flaws.
All’s well
that begins well.
 The game has an interesting premise: Jack Lorski, a journalist, discovered
an old film still inside a video camera at a junk sale. The tape
initially shows a happy young family on vacation in Greece in the
1970s. As the cameraman, apparently the father of the family, goes
off alone to capture the scenery, he also inadvertently records
something he shouldn’t have – an execution. The father
clearly suffered the same fate after the murderers spotted him.
Jack, intrigued by the mystery, tracks down Karen, who is the daughter
of the cameraman who went missing so many years ago. Together they
embark on an investigation to find out who killed Karen’s
father. This investigation soon expands as new evidence is brought
to light, linking the old murders to a current series of ritualistic
murders committed by a psychopathic, but very intelligent killer.
The serial killer, mysteriously
known as The Phoenix, sensed Jack and Karen hot on his trail. Before
long, he embroiled them in his
psychotic plan, and kidnapped them. Afterwards, he produced the cryptic
CDs that comprise his “Great Work,” and sent them to
Jack’s company, SKL Network, ordering them to go public with
them. The CDs are the only way Jack and Karen can be found, and it
is up to YOU to help.
Like a hamster
on a wheel…
 Essentially, the game boils down to a repetitive cycle. Solve a puzzle,
get a video clip. Solve another puzzle, get another video clip,
unless the Phoenix isn’t feeling generous enough to give
you one. Then you’ll just have to solve another puzzle. Although
it may sound boring, it’s really not. In this case, it’s
a recipe that works, and really makes sense in the context of the
game. The Phoenix is toying with you as he slowly and deliberately
reveals clues and clips of video. All of the puzzles you have to
solve are generally unique and fresh, and revolve around themes
of the esoteric and arcane, not to mention the Phoenix’s
grisly trail of murders. More on the actual puzzles later. The
videos are primarily segments of Jack’s video diary, which
help you to follow the route of his and Karen’s investigation
around the world. Some of the clips are gritty footage taken by
the Phoenix himself and give you a sense of his psychosis. The
videos are a fine reward for your puzzle-solving efforts, as the
acting and film quality are truly outstanding, especially to be
seen in a computer game.
Welcome, you’ve
got mail!
 You need internet access, so that you can receive frequent emails
from characters in the game. From time to time you’ll get
emails from The Phoenix himself, to taunt you, his “Little
Friend,” as you try to solve his mystery. The majority of
the emails come from a handful of characters that are supposedly
helping to decipher the Great Work at the same time as you. Your
partners range from an exceedingly verbose psychologist, who sends
his lengthy, academic analyses of the Phoenix, to a hacker who
concludes his generally short emails with “CUL8R.” The
emails help to strengthen the illusion that the events are actually
taking place, and frequently provide tips and hints on how to continue
with the Great Work.
Random puzzle goodness!
All right, so now onto the puzzles. These form the essence of the
gameplay, so if you don’t like solving puzzles, you won’t
like this game. This is not a point and click graphic adventure
game. The only way I can describe the strange array of puzzles
is by giving a few examples.
One puzzle might give
you a cryptic clue or two that requires you to go online to find
the correct “password” or other
source of information to solve the puzzle. These clues may be visual
images on the screen or a suggestive comment by the Phoenix as he
writes to you through the game. Sometimes you have to uncover the
clue yourself by putting together torn up photographs, or decrypting
a coded message, for example. The clue, if properly searched for,
will lead you to a website in which the answer is hidden. These types
of puzzles can be frustrating as it can occasionally be difficult
to know exactly the search string required, as different ordering
of words or phrases can yield different search results. Most of the
websites you’ll visit are skillfully concocted by the real
game developers, although a handful appear to be authentic, blurring
the lines between reality and illusion. However, now that the game
has been released for a while in Europe, one problem is that a lot
of your searches will turn up hint sites for the game, spoiling the
atmosphere that you’re doing any real research.
 Another puzzle, that doesn’t require internet research, might
imitate an arcade type game. Missing has puzzles that closely resemble
Pac Man, Space Invaders, Mini Golf, and more. Unfortunately, these
puzzles can be more frustrating than fun. I felt that a few of these
puzzles had sloppy programming that made them extremely tedious to
solve. For example, playing the Pac Man puzzle, I found it nearly
impossible to evade the “ghosts” while attempting to
get to the destination. It was a miracle that I solved that puzzle
by myself, but I suspect it’s no fluke that there is a built-in
cheat code to get past that puzzle, which your hacker friend will
conveniently email you. It would be much better to have solvable
puzzles.
Not all of the puzzles
are arcade copycats. Several of the puzzles are entertaining and
original. One of my favorite puzzles had several
levels of increasing difficulty that involved a cube, suspended by
a bungee cord in a crazy maze of sorts. The object was to get the
cube to its destination at the end by carefully (and quickly, if
necessary) attaching and detaching cords from the cube to various “hooks” along
the walls in the maze, and keeping the cube from getting damaged
on the walls. This is a puzzle that requires skill and tenacity,
and I really enjoyed figuring this one out.
All in all, the puzzles are a pleasant departure from overused,
run-of-the-mill puzzles that are seen in most adventure games these
days. I liked 95 percent of the puzzles in the game. The other 5
percent were frustrating and annoying, and made me want to quit the
game, if only temporarily. Even though some of the puzzles are flawed,
the good ones are worth playing for.
Umm… what
happened?
 Unfortunately, Missing has a pretty disappointing ending. There’s
nothing wrong with the story of the ending, only the way that the
game carries it out. You see, you’re in an adrenaline-laced
game of life or death with the Phoenix, when, suddenly, the game
ends. You stop playing. You’re stuck staring at a black screen
with a white spot in the middle. And… you quit the program.
The story continues with a handful of “dramatic” emails,
but it’s very unsatisfactory. I felt very left out of the proceedings
at the end as the conclusion unfolds without any participation by
the player.
The verdict is in.
Missing is very much a nontraditional game. It is original and creative
by taking a new spin on the adventure genre, but I really believe
that this game is NOT for everyone. The puzzles have the potential
to cause extreme frustration even with the most patient of gamers.
Using the internet as the backbone for the game may not be ideal
as, sooner or later, the websites will come down and the game server
will no longer be sending emails to players. All in all, this game
may turn off some gamers who like their standard point and click,
but appeal to those who like the idea of experimenting with a new
breed of adventure games.
Final Grade: B
System Requirements:
- Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP
- Pentium® II 333 MHz or Equivalent Processor
- 128 MB RAM
- 8x CD-ROM Drive (or
PC DVD Drive)
- SVGA Graphics Card
with 32 Bit Color
- Sound Card 16 Bit
(SoundBlaster™ Compatible)
- Hard Disk 700 MB
- 56.6 Kbps or Better
Internet Connection
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