Point and click adventures may be a dime a dozen, but there are some that really stand out. One of them is the recently released Culpa Innata.
Culpa Innata takes place in the year 2047. Most of the countries in the world are now united under the World Union. In this utopian world there is no poverty, no crime, no disease… everything seems just perfect. Except that everyone is driven by their own consumerism. On the opposite side of the scale, there are the remaining countries who constitute the Rogue States.
It’s in one of these States that someone is found murdered and it’s up to a bright member of the Global Peace and Security Network to investigate, solve the case and keep a low profile above all. Peace Officer Phoenix Wallis is your avatar. You will be controlling her throughout the adventure.
The first thing that had an impact, aside from the photo-realistic people, was how the world is presented from the start. There is so much detail involved such as regulations, lifestyle, morals and values that right away tell you how organized and rule-bound this society is.
The controls are your simple point and click, with the cursor changing when there are actions available, and the game plays as a third-person adventure. You should expect plenty of conversations with other characters. After all, this is an investigation and you need to know pretty much everything to put your clues together. Obviously, the investigation will lead Phoenix in a strange direction where she will eventually doubt this Union she is supposed to serve and protect.
Although your job is to interrogate people, it is fairly limited. The law says that a Peace Office isn’t allowed to interrogate anyone more than once per day, since this interferes with their productivity. Add to that the fact that conversations are presented in trees and that you can’t go back to the initial topic once you have picked a “branch”, and you will end up going back to talk to the same person a few times until you’re done questioning them. This becomes repetitive and somewhat pulls your attention away from the main events.
Phoenix does have a handy Journal where you can read about the key moments of the game and keep up with the story and character profiles.
Every adventure game has its share of puzzles as well, and so does Culpa Innata. They are mostly inventory, technology and logic based, but don’t think they are that easy to solve. In fact, even the most adept adventure game fans might feel a little discouraged by them.
Graphically, the game is presented in full 3D with realistic people and environments, good animations and plenty of detail in the backgrounds, faces and lip movement. I did find the camera angles disorienting, just because you are moving in one direction and think you have to turn a certain way, then the angle changes and you’re not sure where you’re supposed to go anymore. As for the sound, there really is nothing to complain about, the music is pleasant and the voice acting is excellent. Not to mention every dialog is very well written.
Although some might be turned off by the amount of talking you have to do, those who enjoy a good plot and are drawn into this type of game for the story won’t be disappointed.
Special thanks to Jasmine Goyer and Strategy First for providing a copy of this title.