NiBiRu - Age of Secrets

Point-n-Click, Adventure/Mystery

October 2005 (N. America)

Future Games
dtp Entertainment (Publisher, Europe)
The Adventure Company (Publisher, N. America)

UK Title: NiBiRu: Messenger of the Gods
German Title: NiBiRu: Der Bote der Götter
French Title: NiBiRu: Sur la piste des dieux Mayas

Third Person

English-language version:
"Something wonderful happens when you mix Mayans, aliens, and Nazis. If you’re looking to make a good adventure game, you really can’t go wrong with this particular trifecta.

"Our hero is a young linguistics and archeology student by the name of Martin Holan. Martin has traveled to Prague at the behest of his uncle...What begins as a minor quest to speak with his uncle’s friend in Prague ends in murder… which begins an adventure of an entirely different sort."

"I’m not sure whether the developers just ran out of ideas, or they thought slider puzzles were a must-have in any adventure game, but the result was a triple-whammy at the conclusion. I much preferred the problem-solving puzzles found in the rest of the game, which were highly believable for each situation.

"While my last few impressions of the game left me slightly sour, they didn’t override the excitement I felt throughout the rest of the game. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery, the puzzles, and the graphics, and felt right at home with much of it."

German-language version:
"NiBiRu is the name given to the mythological twelfth planet of our Solar System...Yes, the 12th planet is mentioned briefly, but – as concerns the game - it seems that the Germans – including the Führer himself, who wrote about the phenomena in his Diary - were onto the story in the 1930's. Our protagonist will stumble upon the book decades later...It's all part of his quest to retrieve some artifacts in order to solve the mysterious story.

"Along the way, Martin will visit some wonderful locations including Prague, Paris, an old mine somewhere in Germany, and the Mayan ruins. As he makes his way closer to the truth, he needs to accomplish the usual gaming stuff - find the key to unlock the door, distract the secretary or a military guard in order to get past them, oil the rusty thingamajig, etc. all the while gathering clues and information that contribute to the story as a whole.

"The graphics are my cup o' tea with a strong attention to details...The exterior and interior scenes are consistently magnificent...My only complaint is the story itself. Here's where...I wish the writers had put forth a better effort. Granted the story "works" - that is, it hangs together and makes sense, but overall, it comes across as a lightweight meandering tale, concocted for the purpose of supporting an adventure game, and not as a story that can stand on its own merit."