Jewels of the Oracle
| Developer(s) | ELOI Productions |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Discis Knowledge Research Inc. |
| Release date(s) | 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Puzzle |
Jewels of the Oracle is a 1995 puzzle video game developed by ELOI Productions and published by Discis Knowledge Research Inc. It was released on Macintosh, PlayStation, SEGA Saturn, and Windows. A sequel developed by Bardworks and published by Hoffman and Associates was released in 1998 entitled Jewels II: The Ultimate Challenge.
Production
A demo was released which contained three puzzles and a movie-like trailer. In addition, a free version with a single puzzle was made available for a limited time by CompuServe and America Online.[1]
Gameplay
The stationary puzzle game contains 24 puzzles, and lacks a storyline or plot.[2] The design is Egyptian/Mesopotamian, and as such an Oracle provides hints to the player. New Straits Times wrote that the game mixes the gameplay concepts from Myst with the graphics of The 7th Guest.[3] Similarly, Techtite deemed it a Myst-clone due to having the search-and-discover mechanics, while having the puzzles of The 7th Guest.[4] The journal article Adventure games, permutations, and spreadsheets explains that both Jewels and Guest incorporate puzzles into their design.[5] The Washington Post also made a favorable comparison between the two games.[6]
Critical reception
Jewels of the Oracle
Computer Shopper deemed this game a "sleeper hit" and described it as "dazzling".[7] Michael Ryan of PC Mag said the game was a "puzzle fan's dream come true".[8] Entertainment Weekly described it as "adult", "pretty", "clever", "dry" and "claustrophobic", and likened the game to Myst.[9] AdventureClassicGaming said that the lackluster ending " leaves the player puzzling as to the whole point of the story that has been so elaborately created."[10] Interactive fiction personality Andrew Plotkin wrote that the game was "one-third recycled standard puzzles, one-third interesting variants of standard puzzles, and one-third new puzzles."[11][12] WorldVillage praised the game for its gameplay and puzzles, but noted that it has zero replay value.[13] Quandary Land gave it similar praise although noted that it can be a little bit frustrating.[14] All Game Guide did not like the difficult and cumbersome interface.[15]
Jewels II
Andrew Plotkin described the puzzles as " generally entertaining".[12] AdventureClassicGaming said Jewels II: The Ultimate Challenge was more of a "remake" than a sequel.[16]
References
- ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (10 December 1994). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Personal Computer Magazine". PC Communications Corporation. 1 January 1995 – via Google Books.
- ↑ "New Straits Times - Google News Archive Search".
- ↑ "Techtite Review Archive!". 24 February 2004. Archived from the original on February 24, 2004.
- ↑ "Adventure games, permutations, and spreadsheets - ProQuest".
- ↑ "On Top of the MacWorld". 23 January 1995.
- ↑ "Jewels II: The Ultimate Challenge.(DreamCatcher Interactive's Jewels II: The Ultimate Challenge adventure game)(Software Review)(Evaluation)". 1 January 1999.
- ↑ Inc, Ziff Davis (1 August 1995). "PC Mag". Ziff Davis, Inc. – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Jewels of the Oracle - EW.com".
- ↑ "Jewels of the Oracle - Review - Adventure Classic Gaming - ACG - Adventure Games, Interactive Fiction Games - Reviews, Interviews, Features, Previews, Cheats, Galleries, Forums".
- ↑ "Mini-Review: Jewels of the Oracle".
- 1 2 "Review: Jewels of the Oracle 2".
- ↑ "Jewels of the Oracle". 20 September 2006. Archived from the original on September 20, 2006.
- ↑ "Jewels of the Oracle Review by Quandary". 7 February 2005. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005.
- ↑ "Jewels of the Oracle - Review - allgame". 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Jewels II: The Ultimate Challenge - Gems of Darkness - Review - Adventure Classic Gaming - ACG - Adventure Games, Interactive Fiction Games - Reviews, Interviews, Features, Previews, Cheats, Galleries, Forums".
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