Déjà Vu
I & II, by Infinite
Ventures, $29.99
Reviewed November 2002
By the time Sue Grafton started her alphabet
murder mysteries, the so-called “hard boiled” detective
stories had already moved away from center stage and gone
underground to some place closer to the sewer than the surface.
Only the hardcore fans know how to find them. Déjà Vu
is one of the few games that is based on the lives of private
investigators. From the Shadowgate game engine, the Déjà Vu
series is another installment of the graphic adventure games.
Instead of putting your game hero in a haunted castle or
a ghostly mansion, Ace Harding, the private eye will conduct
his business in a city full of mobs: Chicago.
With its more modern setting, Déjà Vu
series changed gears from fighting the undead to fighting
real life villains and authorities. In the world of once
popular hard-boiled private eye detectives, loyalty did not
lie with either the police or the villain. They made their
own rules and kept their own justice. The Déjà Vu
games did a great job of creating Ace Harding, whose consistent
struggle to keep his head above the water only got him deeper
into the dark world of underground crime scene. You will
see street robbers and underground mobs harassing Ace, sometimes
even the police chasing your hero while he is racing time
to figure out the puzzles. Solving puzzles in the Déjà Vu
series involves traveling around town or even take trains,
which is very different from the room searches in Shadowgate
and Uninvited.
From his dimly lit apartment with the aroma
of stale beer and popcorn, to the bathroom that seems to
have not been cleaned in weeks, or in a dive bar he haunts,
the games provide our hero an environment that’s both
real and unbelievable. The environment is shared by both
Déjà Vu games, which make it more interesting.
The two Déjà Vu games work like two chapters of a book.
You will see some clues that are useless in one game but essential to
solving puzzles in the other. The developers also did a good job at differentiating
the two games by having you do the same things different ways. They both
have gambling scenes, taxi rides and getting into locked areas, but you
will not repeat how you did it the last time. Another departure in the
Déjà Vu games from the Shadowgate and Uninvited is that
you can take an unlimited number of items into your inventory. In fact,
you must take almost everything in some cases because they are either
the evidence you have to turn in to the police or incriminating items
you have to destroy.
The graphics are sharp and stylish
in these games. The design of having two games share locations
is an intriguing aspect of the game. The game window looks
very similar to Shadowgate and Uninvited where the menu
buttons are on the bottom with the inventory window floating
for quick access. There are a number of sound effects,
helping to make the graphics feel more real. It takes about
7MB if you install both games. They support ARM, Xscale,
MIPS and SH3.
The surprising new settings of Déjà Vu
series broke the mold of other games from the same engine.
The chapter-like series bring a refreshing aspect to the
game. If you were ever a fan of those tough private eye detectives
with their fast thinking and bad luck, you are in for a treat.
You will get a chance to help your hero get out of jam and
bring the criminals to justice. Just remember one thing,
trust no one!
Playing Hints and Tips
You will need either money or an old friend
to help you riding the taxi. Time is limited in both games.
You must hurry! (For more hints, check out our game walkthrough message
board.) |
