Score
Gameplay:	8
Graphics:	8
Sound:	7
FunFactor:	9
PlasmaFactor:	9
Overall:	8.2

Sentinel: Descendants in Time Review
January 6, 2005 by Adam Gainer

by Adam - January 6, 2005

Sentinel: Descendants in Time is a game that brings a fresh new feel to the adventure puzzle genre. Made by The Adventure Company, Sentinel is a game that is attractive enough to keep you coming back for more.

Easy as pie.

The gameplay in S:DiT is refreshing in a tired old puzzle genre. The entire game can be played by using only the mouse to move around in the 3d worlds of Tastan chambers. Your character is allowed to move almost anywhere in each level. This allows you to search areas relatively easy so you can search for clues and other hidden features that will help you along your quest.

This one looks tough

S:DiT is a game that is truly beautiful to play. Wonderfully 3d rendered worlds look alien and lush as you can look out to them and see another world. Each level is a new piece of eye candy just waiting to be explored. Attention to graphic detail in each level is not only impressive to look at but also important for clues. In the game you meet a computer generated holographic woman who looks extremely real. Lighting in each level is crucial to gameplay and is realistic as well. While playing I often stopped just to observe the lush colors and attention to minute details with in game interactive objects. However, I did experience a couple of issues of character clipping with the game rendered sourroundings.

Silent as a tomb

The sound effects in S:DiT are on par with the rest of the game. The in-game music is little more than a series of notes and melodies being played throughout the game. These melodies help to set the themes of each level and give you a little background thinking music. The voice acting is very well done and timely with each scene. One slight problem I found is that the dialogue was a little less than engaging at times.

I just need a hint

I am a big fan of puzzle games. In a world where there are too many clones of Myst, S:DiT was a fun game to play. Most of the puzzles were original and challenging, but not difficult enough to where you would need a walkthrough or solutions manual. The puzzles in S:DiT ranged from simple to very difficult, most required some time and logic to figure out. The compelling unfolding plot made the game worthwhile to play and kept you engaged to finish more puzzles. The game also featured the option to receive a hint if you needed one.

First Person Fun

S:DiT differs from the other games in the puzzle genre through it's use of first person looking. Moving like a shooter with a slick environment makes this game stand out among the other games in this genre. Your ability to go virtually anywhere really helped the game from getting stale quickly. Also while playing there is a compass that guides you on where to go and helps you to find important things in the game. Solving puzzles opens up more areas of the game that you can travel to and fro from. Although it's non-linear you will feel that you still have much to do without getting bored quickly.

 

It's all been done before

Sentinel was a gem to play. I really enjoyed it and it took up a fair amount of time. Overall it beats most of the other games in the puzzle genre.