An adventure plagued by illogicality
Eternam is something of an oddity, a humorous graphical adventure that desperately strives to be witty and inventive but which unfortunately fails to hit the mark and just comes off as weird and obscure. There are moments of originality to be found within but as a game it can't really be considered much of a success and as such is only really recommended for the true completist. The plot sees the player winning a trip to a virtual funland, an amusement park which recreates key moments from Earth's history but unfortunately things go a bit awry right from the start. Unpleasant Dragoons have joined forces with your arch nemesis and now seek to ruin your dream holiday. Luckily you have the assistance of Tracy, a technician from the park who can guide you through this bizarre world but even with her help you're going to need your wits if you are to survive. What all this translates into is 3D adventure, where you explore and blast bad guys in the fashion of a first-person shooter but with added puzzles in the style of a point-and-click adventure. While all this is well and good, the game is hampered somewhat by its clunky interface which is awkward at best and the rather confusing nature of its story and gameplay. It's often not very clear what exactly is going on, with plenty of illogical puzzles which really don't help much. The visuals are reasonably charming in a vibrant sort of way but perhaps the game's only real saving grace is its humour which, if you are attuned to it, does provide some amusement in all the confusion. Unfortunately, this is perhaps not enough to save it from being anything more than a curiosity and it is far from a must-play. Better to spend your time on an adventure like Monkey Island.
