Atlantis Evolution

By George Linch
September 11, 2004
Set in 1904, Atlantis Evolution will see players assuming the role of a young photographer who is transported to the lost city of Atlantis by a vortex.

Atlantis Evolution is the first of a planned series of adventure games based on the famous ancient lost city. You'll play as Curtis Quick, a young adventurer in the early part of the 20th century. While at sea, Curtis is drawn into a vortex and delivered to the lost city of Atlantis. There, he finds himself as the only outsider in a society oppressed by the "Atlantian" gods. It'll be up to you to figure out the mystery of Atlantis and to help free the citizens of the city.

Atlantis Evolution will feature 3D graphics and five distinctly different destinations to explore, each with its own culture and mysteries. As with any adventure game, you'll be challenged to solve difficult puzzles. Atlantis Evolution should ship for the PC this fall. We'll have more details on the game as they become available.

The Atlantis games were never bad games, and clearly they were popular, selling over a million copies worldwide combined. They just weren't very special or unique. Developed by Cryo, they were released during a time period when most commercial adventures looked like carbon copies of each other. For a while there were so many Egypt, Aztec or Atlantis games coming out that it felt like these stories were being force-fed to the adventure community. Although Atlantis is now a tried-and-true adventure locale, Atlantis Evolution puts enough of a spin to it for me to take note and pay attention.

The Adventure Company emphasized that Atlantis Evolution is not a puzzle-heavy game like Schizm or Aura: Fate of the Ages¡ªor the old Atlantis games, for that matter. This is very much a story-focused game. Although Atlantis Evolution is played from a first-person perspective, the game puts a great deal of focus on its main character, who is seen in cutscenes and dialog screens. Curtis Hewitt is a young adventurer and photographer who finds himself caught in a vortex that sends him to the heart of the lost city of Atlantis. Lorraine Lue of The Adventure Company demonstrated the game for us, and she told us that in contrast to previous Atlantis games, players will actually spend a lot of time in the city of Atlantis this time around.