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Golden Gate
by By Tym Myers—Alamo PC http://www.alamopc.org tymmyers@worldnet.att.net, , tymmyers@worldnet.att.net - March 26, 2001 at 23:21:22:
It looks as if Broderbund’s Myst finally has a formidable challenge in Panasonic Interactive Media’s Golden Gate. http://www.goldengategame.comRather than existing on an island, this “graphical treasure hunt” game takes place in Baghdad by the Bay, San Francisco. Although I have spent countless hours playing Myst and have unlocked many of its secrets, it is because of the lack of documentation with its free-form style, that I still find myself floundering around “learning” the game. To date, I still have yet to complete it. Golden Gate seems to have a bit more structure, in that you know (at least from the box and the two enclosed booklets) you are looking for a treasure. I anticipate many more enjoyable hours than the six hours I have spent so far with the program.
Installation—According to the instructions, the minimums for installation are: Windows 95; a 486-66; 16 Meg RAM; a Win95 compatible SVGA video card; a Win95 compatible sound card; a 2X CD ROM Drive; a M/S compatible mouse. They recommend using a Pentium/586. I loaded this program on a Dell XPS-P90 with 16 MB of RAM and had no problems with installation or subsequent running of the program. During installation of the CD, the program adds both DirectX and QuickTime for Windows to your system. One of the points I liked about the installation was that it detected that I already had QuickTime loaded with some of my files being more current. It did not try to write over those files. Although I have yet to use it, tech support can be reached either by a toll telephone call or by e-mail on AOL. Both are listed in the program’s enclosed booklet.
The Game—The game begins, ala Myst, in a surreal graphic of a fog enshrouded Golden Gate Bridge. After several more credit screens, an audio/video starts with Jake, who seems to be sort of a narrator. I have seen him twice since the opening scene. After his presentation/suggestions, you are left to your own devices as to what to do. Your main navigational tool is a cursor you can place anywhere on the screen. Moving it to the left or right edge of the screen moves your orientation 90 degrees in that direction once you click on the left button of your mouse. To move forward, place the cursor in the middle of the screen and click. The screen redraws itself quickly to your new view. Objects can be picked up, doors opened, etc. with the same cursor being placed on the objects and clicked. Fairly intuitive. The graphics, although not “stunning,” are top-notch.
Being a native San Franciscan, I have been amused at the use of poetic license. It was only a few steps from Pacific Heights to Golden Gate Park; a trip which, in reality, would pass through the Haight-Ashbury District. Although I have only seen one, so far the documentation says there are numerous full motion video clips. The one I have seen, circa 1906, was excellent. Individual background sound clips that play at each of the different sites are very good as well. It looks as if I will be spending many an hour unraveling the puzzles of this well-thought-out adventure game.
Availability—And now the bad news. With the closure of Egghead Software, my first call was to Computer City. They told me they had never carried Golden Gate. Talking with CompUSA, they said they no longer stock the program. Finally, Best Buy (both stores) said they were out of stock, but they normally carry it for $29.99. So there you have it. A really good program that nobody in town carries at the present time. [Ed note: You can acquire this game at http://www.cdaccess.com/html/quick/goldengdj.htm]
Tym Myers is an airline pilot for a major carrier.
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