The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun is the third and final game in a what was once a fairly popular series. It was both produced and published by Infogrames and was released for play on the personal computer in the late nineties. It is a single player game that was also released for several other platforms, including the Game Boy and the SNES. This is a nicely illustrated platform game that scrolls to the side. It is a fully licensed title and is based on the works of European graphic novelist, George Remi, better known as Herge.
Tintin is similar to Indiana Jones, only he is from Europe. He is a journalist, however, not an archaeologist, but the profession just makes him all the more curious and puts him in even more perilous predicaments. With his friends, Captain Haddock and the Professor, Tintin partakes in all sorts of adventures that take him all over the world. The storyline of Prisoners of the Sun, similar to other Tintin games, unfolds in classic graphic novel fashion. Small cut scenes and speech balloons above the characters’ heads will advance the story as the user progresses through the game. In this particular installment, the Professor is attacked and kidnapped and it will be up to Captain Haddock and Tintin to
track down the perpetrators and save their friend. The story line is actually pretty nice and well presented for a platform game.
The best part of the game, as one would expect from one based on a series of graphic novels, are the crisp and colorful graphics. While the story is short, it is well done and made more interesting by the scenes in between each level and the comic book appeal. The game play itself is very simple, and while the overall story is well done and well drawn, the reason Tintin has made enemies sort of escapes the user. The enemies will depend upon the level that you are on. For example, in the first level which takes place within a museum, Tintin will have to make it to the curator, who serves sort of like a boss character. On the way, he will have to avoid professors, and museum security guards. He can take damage from many things, such as a little girl with a yo-yo. The game play, despite a good story, is sort of weird.
Still, this is a good overall game and fans of the comic series will enjoy it and likely understand more of the plot and enemy situations for having read the novels.
