Agon: Lost Sword of Toledo could be accurately described as an interactive book, just as accurately as it could be called a game. In the first thirty minutes of play I’d already discovered more on-screen text than I wanted to, discounting the lengthy conversations I’ll talk about later.
I won’t criticise a game for including educational elements, as I’m sure that someone with the inclination (someone who, for example, enjoyed reading the books in Oblivion) would take great pleasure in poring over the digital texts. However, I’m not naïve enough to believe there are that many people out there who are of this ilk. I’m certainly not one of them.
You take the role of convivial British Museum employee Professor Samuel Hunt. His mission, quest if you will, is to investigate myths, legends and so on. In this particular title (the fourth of a proposed 14) your task is to discover more about the fabled Sword of Toledo. Of course, there are plenty of things to sidetrack the professor in his mission, such as family quarrels and incarcerated youngsters.
Movement is flick-screen, Myst-style, although thankfully the camera isn’t fixed. A 360 degree vision area allows the player to examine his surroundings more effectively, although the flick-screen element does annoy somewhat when manoeuvring in a small, enclosed space. It won’t irritate veterans of the genre, but more…exuberant players will uninstall the game after five minutes of this.
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