Jack Keane Hands-On

The point-and-click adventure genre seems to have fallen out of favour recently, despite the releases of critically acclaimed games such as Syberia and The Longest Journey. However, that's not to say these games aren't still getting released. Just to prove that point, here's one published by 10Tacle Studios and developed by Deck 13, and it's due to arrive early next year for the PC.

The game starts with the titular hero, Brit captain Jack Keane, in a spot of bother. The chap who paid for his ship three years ago wants his cash back, and he's dispatched a couple of goons to London to bully it out of Keane. Once this embarrassing situation has been dealt with, Jack finds himself being handed a mission from none other than Her Majesty the Queen. It seems that all of the tea crops in India have been dying--all except one variety, the one grown by the mysterious, evilly cackling Doctor T. This situation is simply intolerable, and Her Majesty has ordered her best agent to get on the case at once, to sort it all out before she runs out of tea. Jack has to pick up the agent and escort him to the "secret" Tooth Island (which everyone knows about), and is told he'll receive £10,000 for his trouble. Weighing up his options, Jack agrees, although of course things are never that simple...

At this juncture, you really don't want to think about hitting the road...

Jack is very obviously modelled on another point-and-click hero: Guybrush Threepwood, the wannabe pirate of the much-loved Secret of Monkey Island adventure series. Indiana Jones is obviously another inspiration, and there are also homages to other games and movies throughout the plot.

The backdrops are bright and colourful, and include destinations in London, Cape Town, and the mysterious, tropical Tooth Island. The developers have gone for a cartoon-like 3D style, rather than try to make the backdrops more realistic. This aesthetic appearance enhances the point that this is primarily meant to be a humorous game, not one of the many more serious horror- or crime-themed point-and-click games currently around.

There are 13 chapters, along with 40 weird and wonderful characters. You get to play as two of these: Jack Keane himself, as well as an American lady named Amanda, who has her own reasons for visiting Tooth Island. Non-player characters include the incompetent secret agent Montgomery, who Jack is supposed to chaperone to Tooth Island, and two British guards in love with bureaucracy.

Left-clicking on items will give you a brief description, whereas right-clicking will interact with them if possible, by talking, 'borrowing," or whatnot. Right-clicking on an object in your inventory and then right-clicking on another one will let you combine them. You can also use the "X" key to highlight all the items onscreen that you can interact with, which avoids the need for dreaded "pixel hunts." Fetch quests are likewise pleasingly few and far between, with the majority of puzzles being conversational or solved by combining the right objects.

Most of the chapters have a relatively small range of locations to explore, which makes it less frustrating than games such as Paradise. It's easier to figure out what you need to do with what you've got to move forward.

One unusual thing in this game, more normally found in other genres, is that extras can be unlocked. This is done by undertaking tasks such as finding and collecting all of the starfish on a beach--things that are not essential to the storyline but will let you access the "extras" mode from the game menu.

All in all, Jack Keane looks set to be a fun adventure game in a similar vein to earlier classics, with a few genuine laugh-out-loud moments. The game is due for release in Europe in early 2008.