A less than fantastic voyage
Bactron certainly scores points for its sheer unusualness but unfortunately this isn't enough to save it from being little more than a curio for gamers who like obscure and rather abstract experiences. Uniquely, the player takes control of an antibiotic injected into a human body and attempts to reactivate the enzymes which have been shut down by an invading virus, exploring the body and solving puzzles in order to open up new areas to access. You have to watch out for the aggressive viruses, neutralising them so they don't get in the way of your task, while solving push/pull puzzles and of course locating those all important enzymes which stand between life and death for the unconscious patient. Speed is of the essence as while you dally, more viruses are being produced and which spell certain doom if they are allowed to replicate unchecked. While the premise for Bactron is certainly intriguing and shows a lot of promise, it's unfortunately let down by less than imaginative execution. The game is presented in isometric fashion, similar to Get Dexter, Head over Heels or The Great Escape and while the graphics are chunky and bright, they don't really convey the sense of being in the human body and which loses much of the potential atmosphere. A bigger issue though is simply that after the initial excitement presented by the premise passes, what you are left with is actually an exercise in tedium rather than challenge and most gamers are likely to struggle to stay awake long enough to save the patient. It's a shame really as this could have been an interesting addition to the puzzle genre, but unfortunately it stands a little more than a glimpse of what could have been.
