14 DAY TRIAL // 
The guys over at Animation Arts have brought us yet another addition to the Secret Files series, starring journalist/explorer Sam Peters, in which players will be able to take on new, mysterious and, most of all, dangerous quests.
This point-and-click adventure game features some pretty realistic artwork and will take you to new and vividly designed environments where unusual things happen. It is up to you to solve the mysteries as well as save those that are in mortal danger.
The game presents Sam Peters, a journalist that works for Uncharted, a magazine that deals with everything related to science. As you will come to see, she is one blond bombshell that has the brains to match her looks and she isn't afraid to say it.
From the very beginning, players will notice that she is quite the adventure junky as she presents her latest journey in Indonesia and what she has gone through. Of course, a new mission is in order and saying no is not an option.
This time, her boss sends her to Africa to meet a professor about something related to the Ashanti legends. From here on out, the adventure begins.
Soon enough, strange things start to happen at the cryptic Bosumtwi crater lake triggering a number of events that will make use of her every skill. She'll have to escape vampiric humanoids, solve relatively interesting puzzles and survive to tell the story.As opposed to other point-and-click adventure games, Secret Files: Sam Peters delivers an experience based more on the thrill of adventure rather than just simply solving puzzles. Gamers will see how the main character is willing to risk her life for the sake of a byline.
There are a lot of twists and turns in the story, as you move from one place to another, dealing with various puzzles that require attention as well as creative thinking. Even so, the game incorporates a hint system that helps the player.
You can use the magnifying lens incorporated in your inventory bar to show all the active spots and avoid spending too much time on figuring out where to look for your next clue. It’s a welcome feature for players that aren't exactly the patient type.
The inventory is your typical one, giving the possibility to combine items as well as to obtain information about them, useful in figuring out hints.
Speaking of puzzles, they range from some that require attention to details, like putting a ripped piece of paper back together to some that deal with the mechanical side of things. The level of difficulty is not high at all so even inexperienced players can have a go. What makes them entertaining is that they are diverse and extend to multiple areas.
The interface is exactly what you would expect, left and right click to interact with things, combine items and move your character across the setting while listening to her sassy comments.
Sam falls quite far from the blonde girl stereotype: fiery and courageous, a bit too much sometimes, she isn't afraid to deal with abnormal creatures or stand up to terrorists.
The developers seem to have created her as a female version of the great Indian Jones or Nathan Drake (remember the name of that magazine I mentioned earlier?), ready to run into wild jungles with just her backpack and a few choice items.
Believe me when I say this, but she isn't the type of woman to take no for an answer. Eventually, Sam Peters will get things done her way.
In the graphics department, this episode of the Series brings a lot of improvements and delivers some captivating environments. The devs have done a good job in obtaining the exotic feeling of being on a beach in Bali or the thrill of a Ghana jungle.
The pallet of colors is quite extensive, with the developing team using a large number of vivid nuances to try and make things pretty close to reality. From an aesthetic point of view, it's eye candy.
I also like the way the camera switches from front view to a top-down, giving players the chance to look at things from perspective and actually enjoy the great artwork.
Mixing this with one creatively designed storyline and you get quite a nicely put together playground for adventure fans. I'm saying this because a lot of effort seems to have gone into mixing a fictitious story with real historical events and brought forth legitimate scientific facts.
Sound-wise, the game unfortunately doesn't offer too much except for the environment sounds. There isn't too much music or too much diversity. Just simple but well placed sounds. You'll be able to hear your footsteps, the sound of a volcano erupting, animals in the forest and even a warthog grunting.
Things get a bit better with the voice acting, although at times Sam might sound a bit too much of a college girl. Even so, you will still enjoy both her attitude and her comments.Regrettably, the ending makes you fall off your chair as it quite abrupt and you end up asking yourself “Is this all?” I understand that is an episode of the series, but I honestly think that they could have done a better job and giving it a much smoother ending.
Right when you feel as though things are going to get even more interesting, you get cut off. Such a downer.
The Good
- Great visuals
- Interesting storyline
The Bad
- Abrupt ending
- Simple puzzles
Conclusion
Although it has some minuses in the sound department, a very abrupt ending and a few exaggerations here and there, it should still find its way into the libraries of adventure game fans.
