Game Brings Immortal Perry Rhodan To Life
The dawn of the modern science fiction story occurred during the 1950’s and 60’s. That is the time when everything in space seemed possible and writers could envision cities floating in space, teleportation and intelligent robots. Although seemingly crude by today’s ultra-realistic sci-fi standards (some would call those old stories Space Operas) they set the tone and laid the groundwork for everything that came afterwards.
Into this caldron of new sci-fi stories came the Perry Rhodan Adventures in 1961. Originally created by K. H. Scheer and Clark Darlton, the mini-adventures were made into a weekly series released in paperback format. More popular in Germany than the US, the series has nonetheless survived even to the present day, spawning over 2,500 stories written by a variety of authors over the years.
Although the series has covered just about every single theme in the sci-fi universe, it generally starts out in 1971 with the first manned moon landing by the U.S. Space Force. Perry Rhodan and his crew find an alien spacecraft and use that technology to unify Earth (called Terra) and put humans in deep space. Along the way Rhodan and his companions become immortal, so that the series can continue through thousands and thousands of years. Some stories are told as flashbacks and others involve time travel, so pretty much anything in the Rhodan universe can, and probably has, been done.
But now Perry Rhodan is embarking on a new adventure, into the world of computer games. Given that there is a nearly unlimited source of material, one of the hardest things for developer 3d-io was probably picking just one or two stories to base the game on. What they settled on finally was a grand adventure full of mystery, betrayal and even love. So it was a pretty good choice.
Even in this modern format, a lot was done to remain true to the Perry Rhodan theme, which means the game is really a bit of a space opera with technology and even the locations you visit almost becoming characters themselves. And the developers also put a huge amount of Rhodan history into the game in the form of entries in Rhodan’s computer and even exhibits sitting around in the early part of the game. The art work for these is really 1960-space-like, which adds a pretty cool touch. And they even found little ways to make fun of the series (something even it’s most die-hard fans like to do from time to time). At one point you will find a clickable book lying around and if you select it Rhodan will comment that it’s the latest installment of the Rhodan Adventures, and then laments that his life is far different than the writers of those stories would have you believe.
The first thing you can’t help but notice when you start the game is that, well, this is some beautiful scenery. The environments that you explore are amazing and really capture the feel of a futuristic society with all the trappings.
The next thing you will discover is how easy it is to move around this world. I was a little concerned at first that there were no key assignments in the configuration menu. I feared I would be stuck with some movement or interaction keys that I didn’t like. But, I soon discovered that 99 percent of the game can be played with just the mouse. You simply click where you want Rhodan to go. If there is something on the screen he can use or interact with, the cursor will change to an open or use icon, so that you know to give that machine, robot, button or doorway some special consideration.
When you select a doorway, a little window will open up in the upper corner of the screen showing you where the door leads, but only if Rhodan has previously explored that new area. If he has not been past that doorway, then the window still opens, but is blank. In this way you are kind of tapping into Rhodan’s memory, which is cool in itself as a game concept, but even more functional because it means you probably won’t get lost, even in an area where a lot of the sci-fi doorways tend to look the same.
The game starts off with a bang, literally, as the residency building where Rhodan lives, which doubles as a kind of world government building, comes under attack from alien robots which have broken through Terra’s shields. We see a cutline of Mondra Diamond, Rhodan’s sometimes love interest, kicking major butt up on the roof of the floating city, though she is eventually overcome by the robots and kidnapped.
This begins the plot of the game. Unfortunately, being a Terran leader now, Rhodan can’t just jump into a spaceship and go off looking for Mondra. His own security people are trying to keep him locked up and confined to his quarters, for his own safety. So the first puzzle involves giving the slip to your own guards.
The mainstay of the game is a point and click adventure where you solve problems by collecting inventory items and then use the correct item at the correct place. But there are also several of what I call "hard coded puzzles" that are, pretty much, walls that consist of a difficult puzzle that must be solved before moving forward. You may have to find the right key or device to activate the puzzle, but moving on is going to involve actually manipulating the puzzle itself and working toward a solution. Whether that is deciphering a message, directing a beam of light into a sensor or aligning a series of switches in order to command a computer, you won’t pass until you solve it.
These puzzles are hard enough to keep puzzle gamers happy (in fact this is almost a puzzle game in itself) but not too difficult that non-puzzle gamers will get frustrated. I am not the best puzzle solver, and while I was scratching my head from time to time, eventually I was able to figure out every puzzle in the game without resorting to a hint book or walk-through.
Unlike a lot of adventure games, the sound here steps up to the plate to match the visual feast. The main soundtrack is haunting and big to go along with the landscapes you will be exploring. The voice acting is also really good, with Rhodan sounding very commanding. In fact, going through the entire game, I don’t think there was any character who seemed out of place. They looked good and sounded good, so it’s extremely easy to suspend belief and lose yourself in the world, something that does not happen often in a point and click adventure game, but sure is nice to find when it does.
Of course the legion of Perry Rhodan fans will be downright giddy at being able to actually become their hero in a game that faithfully recreates the series. But even if you have never read a Rhodan story, you will still have a great time here. The Immortals of Terra is a wonderful adventure game that benefits from being able to draw from a fine canon of stories. As such there is plenty of meat to satisfy those who enjoy a great story, and plenty of adventure for those who love a great game. Perry Rhodan and his crew earn 4 1/2 GiN Gems for their first adventure game, and we certainly hope they follow the path of the books and line up for a few sequels.