Imogen is a remake of an old game made by Micropower in 1986 for the BBC micro series of 8-bit PCs. The remake made by Ovine by Design was done in 2003. This remake was designed for Windows 95 to XP. I haven’t tested on Vista.
The story is not very substantial, but it explains why our hero is trapped in a dungeon: A powerful dragon was ravaging the countryside. The wizard, Imogen, defeats the dragon by turning into a more powerful dragon.
The strain of the transformation had caused Imogen to go insane. He is then locked deep within a magical dungeon (that he had built for this kind of emergency) until he regains his sanity.
The game starts out in one of sixteen randomly selected levels. The order of the stages is different with each playthrough. You play as Imogen on his way out of the dungeon. The game plays plays like a platformer, but it really a well designed puzzle game. The object of the game is to solve puzzles and to find and use the spell fragment hidden in the stage. You have to solve puzzles using Imogen’s ability to shape-shift. Imogen’s human form can carry and use items and is necessary for
completing stages (since spell fragments are treated like items.) The cat form can jump higher and farther than the other forms. The ape form is the only form that can climb on and jump off of ropes. The bird form allows you to fly anywhere but you can only use it in one stage, and only after you perform certain actions.
The game itself is a bit short but it can be a little difficult. You can’t die, but there is a limit to how many times you can transform throughout the entire game. Some jumps are very precise making solving puzzles a pain in the butt. Most of the puzzles are relatively easy to figure out, but you may become confused by some of solutions to others (such as causing a saxophone to make a guy pass out in fear). Overall, however, the puzzles are logical and fun to solve and the platforming part is also entertaining.
I recommend this game if you’re a fan of puzzle games, if you are a fan of retro remakes, or you have an odd sense of humor. I also recommend going to the remake website (http://imogen.ovine.net/) and downloading the manual for more information on the game.
