Perry Rhodan: Myth of the Illochim (PC)

I’m willing to bet there are a substantial number of people out there who have never heard of Perry Rhodan, myself being one of them before this game landed on my desk.

To those that haven’t, let me explain a little about him and the universe he inhabits. Think Dan Dare, think 1960s space opera lead hero and then think extremely popular Germanic sci-fi franchise.

He has appeared in over 2,000 novels and comic strips in Germany since, yes, the 1960s, so the comparisons with Dan Dare et al are valid in terms of Rhodan’s timeline.

Anyway, Rhodan is an ‘immortal’, blessed with ever-lasting life by an entity at some point in time. He, along with other immortals, can still be killed by violent means, but other than that, Rhodan and his sometimes camply named buddies are sticking around forever.

These immortals have attained legendary status on Terra, having fought and lived through thousands of years of turmoil, social upheaval and so on. They now, effectively, rule the Earth (Terra) by committee.

The game itself throws you straight into the middle of an alien attack on the peaceful Terran capital, with Rhodan confined to the immediate surroundings of the residential quarters.

He goes about completely disregarding such orders when news reaches him of one of his friends’ kidnapping. The game follows traditional point-and-click routines, moving from location to location, examining objects, interacting with characters and so on.

There isn’t anything innovative here, but adventure games aren’t expected to be radically challenging perceived genre concepts, so there is nothing wrong with this really.

Help is provided by pressing S, which highlights all the ‘hot spots’ in a given area, providing a welcome relief from pixel hunting. Some might complain that this is ‘cheating’, but hey, if you don’t like it, just don’t use it.

Graphically excellent, aurally competent and with acceptable voice acting, Rhodan’s major problem lies in two areas: the puzzles and the universe itself.

Firstly, some of the conundrums are particularly vexing, containing the sort of obtuse ‘game logic’ that has led to the adventure being pushed to the peripheries of the games industry over the years.

Trying to get the password for Bully’s computer, for example, is brain-meltingly annoying, especially when you finally get it. It is definitely one of those times when linearity is a very bad thing – you know what you have to do, but the game makes you do it in a very curious way.

Secondly, the universe itself, while popular in Germany, is almost unknown in other countries, especially this one. It definitely has a more localised appeal than the globe-straddling sci-fi franchises like Star Trek, so it may put off potential players with its tendencies.

I don’t think there is anything wrong in saying this – there are some games that sell very, very well in mainland Europe, but sink without trace in English-speaking territories. In some ways, this is a shame, but Perry Rhodan is one of those games that falls into this category.

Nonetheless, it is a solid, if unspectacular, adventure game and, if you can get over the Germanic nature of the universe and story, then you’ll be fine.

6/10

David Brown


For those of you needing help (and I suspect there will be quite a lot of you), check out this walkthrough, courtesy of Gameboomers.com.