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CVG Home � PC � Reviews

REVIEWS: PC

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Jerusalem Review

3.2

Format PC

Developer Acclaim

Publisher Acclaim

Genre Adventure

7-Jun-2002

Mark Hill trawls through yet another substandard adventure game

There's only one thing we hate more than bad games, and that's bad educational games. Which is exactly what Jerusalem is. Apparently part of the Adrian Blake Trilogy, a Scottish explorer who travels through time and lives adventures that just happen to teach you a bit of history along the way, Jerusalem sees him waking up next to the gates of the Holy City. From there it's a trip to the Wailing Walls and other sites of historical interest. Basically, it's like an interactive Religious Studies lesson, where you learn about Jesus, Mohammed and the Ottoman Empire. Jerusalem is played as a succession of cut-scenes, linked by a Myst-style first-person interface and the same sort of rubbish puzzles that make up this sort of game. There's even a love story thrown in there, linked to Blake's previous adventure in Pompeii. In its favour is that the acting is a cut above average and the cut-scenes don't look too shabby. But its intention isn't so much to entertain as it is to instruct people in the three religions and cultures that co-existed in the city during the 16th century, and I for one would much rather read a book on the subject if that's what I wanted to do. It may have been developed with the help of French museums, institutes and some bloke who wrote a dictionary of religions, but that doesn't make it something worth playing. Especially when the technology is closer to the 16th century's than this one.

Mark Hill