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| | Genre: Adventure & RPG | | | Min OS X: 10.7 |
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The Night Of The Rabbit
July 22, 2013 | Ted Bade | |
Requirements: Mac OS X: 10.7 | CPU: 2 GHz Dual Core Intel | RAM: 2 GB | HD Space: 6.3 GB Review: Daedalic Entertainment's The Night of the Rabbit is a magical graphical adventure game, based in a world reminiscent of classical children's literature such as Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland. It offers wonderful artwork, an interesting story line, and a musical accompaniment that brings the story to life. I enjoyed my time in this fantasy world, and I think others will as well. I believe a good graphical adventure is like reading a book that you can interact with. The Night of the Rabbit is like this in a big way. I found myself drawn into the story as it unfolded before my eyes. Hints and clues of what is hidden are found as you play through the beginning chapters, until, near the end, the full tale is unveiled. This is very well done and helps players keep their interest. The first thing you will notice about this game is the theme music, filled with the twinkling of minor scale wind chimes and an almost haunting melody. This tune lays the foundation for a mysterious world, filled with many wonders, and undertone of dread. During the remainder of the game music is used with excellent effect to create a mood for the many parts to the adventure. Happier music plays during the fun times, with distorted versions once the world turns sour. The second remarkable thing about The Night of the Rabbit is the graphics. These charming images would be at home in any illustrated children’s fantasy book, yet unlike still images in a book, these pictures come alive with the animation of the game. Rather then the almost plastic feeling of saturday morning cartoon graphics, here the images appear to be hand drawn, real works of art. The animation and motion in this game is not 3D true to life, but 2D, depending upon one’s imagination to fill in the gaps. But it doesn’t need to be any more than that. The story itself is very entertaining, with a lot of subtle humor. The main character, Jerry, is a 12 year old boy who wants to become a magician. As he plays in the forest near his home, somewhere in England, he receives a strange note which gives him the clues he needs to bring the Marquis de Hoto (the Rabbit), to him. The Marquis offers to teach him the skills of a “Treewalker”, a skilled magician who can use portals hidden in special trees to move to other plains of existence. The training begins in Mousewood, where a society of mice and other smaller animals live in harmony, surrounding the main tree that is the center of their city. The storyline is loaded with interesting characters of all types. Jerry will need to interact with many characters during his training, some not so friendly. Each character adds his or her charm to the story. However, as the story progreses and Jerry investigates the areas around Mousewood, you the player begin to notice an evil undertone to the world. Something isn’t right and something evil has taken place. The evil is slowly revealed as you and Jerry move through the story. Jerry makes some good friends among the people in Mousewood and the other realms he visits. Some help him outright, others he needs to convince to help him. Each interaction becomes a puzzle to resolve and move on to the next. The beginning quests are during happy times. Once the actual “Treewalker” training begins, more and more of what is wrong in this world is exposed. Eventually Jerry finds he must defeat an evil magician who has disturbed the world, so the evil can be undone. The puzzles range from pretty easy to somewhat complex. If you listen to what the characters say, and think about what items you have found as you move through the world (remembering to pick up everything you can), eventually each puzzle becomes apparent. But as always, there are walk-throughs available on the internet. Remember my rule, use this type of help only when you are truly stuck. However, don’t give up on playing because you become stuck. Completing the story is worth the time spent, even it you get a little help now and then.
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