Karma Labs, Inc., 2001
Adventure at the Chateau d'Or is an excellent adventure game that renders the French history in the walls of an elegant French chateau known as Chateau d'Or. A Duke who died many years ago built the Chateau and left it for his inheritors. The game is set in the modern day France and in the opening sequence you watch a Princess, who actually inherits the Chateau, but doesn't know about it finds out her inheritance through a mysterious letter written by her Uncle. The contents of this letter lead her to this beautifully decorated Chateau and invite her to unravel its hidden secret and claim her inheritance. As a player, your job is to help the Princess in discovering the hidden treasures her dead ancestors left for her.
Information about the Chateau d'Or can be collected through a television set, a CD player and a book found inside the Chateau's library. There is also a lot of historical material scattered all over the place about French Revolution, French architecture, French culture and about the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery, which is the resting place of many famous French figures. The player must get all this information in order to answer the riddles asked by the dead duke's ghost when you would confront him. Other then these intellectual quizzes there are many puzzles including some timed ones, which can be sorted out using different inventory objects.
Graphically, the game has nice graphics displayed in a Myst kind of setting with good details. As for the sound, the atmospheric music and sound effects are great, but the voice acting is bit disappointing and seems half hearted. Controls are somehow manageable, but require some good time and practice to get acquainted. Overall, the Adventure at the Chateau d'Or is an entertaining adventure game with good educational value and should not be missed by the fans of the genre.
