Death comes to town
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels are a rich feast for the imagination, full of wonderful characters and brimming with story possibilities. Discworld 2 takes one of the series' most popular characters, the hapless wizard Rincewind and, after people mysteriously stop dying, tasks him with finding Death and convincing him to return to his job (in Discworld, Death is real and has a horse named Binky!). This task takes the form of a point-and-click adventure, similar to Broken Sword or Monkey Island, and sees players exploring Pratchett's expansive and fantastically realised world, including the city of Ankh Morpork and the exotic land of XXXX. Graphically, these environments are brought vividly to life through hand drawn animation, with the characters receiving the same high level of attention. The script is inventive and genuinely funny, more so for Pratchett fans but even newcomers should find amusement here. The voice acting too is superb, featuring a number of big name British comedians who really capture their characters. However, the storyline itself is somewhat shallow, and it often feels like you are simply going from one situation to another, with little sense of an overall plot. Furthermore, the puzzles are often wilfully obscure, and although there is a kind of logic to their solution, it may take some players a while to get their heads around it. That said, this is an enjoyable adventure which both Pratchett fans and newcomers are sure to have fun with.
