Agent Walker - Secret Journey takes us to a deadly secretive mission of tracking and recovering the Spear of Destiny. Such powerful object holds a tremendous mystical power, enough to end the second world war. In a final attempt to avoid such powerful artifact of falling in the wrong hands, Agent Walker will adventure herself on the unknown.
Right after discovering the Spear of Destiny, she's betrayed, by her comrades. The race begins, as we must track and re-possess the artifact to avoid the imminent disaster. The year is 1942, and France is under the enemy control, but the resistance is still very much alive, and with the help of some good people, there's hope till the end.
Many may know this game with a different title; Spear of Destiny: The Final Journey. Although it's the same game, Big Fish Games and Steam use different names for the same game. This could be due to licencing regarding the game.
Published by Artifex Mundi and developed by Brave Giant LTD, (who created titles such has the Demon Hunter and Queen's Quest series), we expect some good quality release, and none the less, they delivered. As the story goes, it becomes pretty simple really soon, but it's still entertaining to follow its development till the end, with a few surprises popping along the way.
As expected from Brave Giant LTD, the design works, are excellent, and there are over 30 different locations, all hand drawn, that delivers the suitable atmosphere accordingly. Even with the war reflecting upon the skies, French streets are still beautiful, magic and resisting the oppression, with the great classic style of the 40's. Across the story one will enjoy different locations such as; secret pathways, forbidden docks, a small town, a mysterious mansion, and many others, all with small details to make your journey more appealing. Some effects are present, such as lights and other small tweaks to enlighten small design works, fancy enough to give illusions of grandeur.
The game is full 2D, as usual from the publisher, but some cut scenes deliver full 3D visuals, and it's definitely refreshing to the eyes. Agent Walker: Secret Journey runs in HD, with a beautiful 1080p resolution (compatible with lower resolutions as well), this obviously brings Hidden Object Scenes to a different level of amusement. Beyond the traditional sense, the player has also a few other smaller and interactive Hidden Object scenes, where one must unlock new items as new ones are being found. These intuitive small scenes are enjoyable and interesting, as they break from the traditional element of simply finding an object.
The puzzles are available as always, and their difficulty range from easy to medium. They tend to progressively become harder, but they never become an issue, and it's a fantastic way to introduce new players to the genre. Players more experienced, can still enjoy the casual puzzles that have certainly seen in previous games.
Four levels of difficulty are present, from easy to expert, and an extra one to customize your difficulty, which is always inspected, but not welcome in these type of games.
If Hidden Objects and puzzles are a way too simple, then during this adventure, you can also collect several objects hidden across the locations, belonging to different sets such as Ships, Cloths, Airplanes, Bombs, and others. Upon gathering all of them, a few short clips become available, portraying real-life events of WW2.
Agent Walker: Secret Journey offers between 3 and 4 hours of gameplay depending on your experience, more if reliability becomes an option of course! As in many other Artifex Mundi titles, Steam Cloud is available.
The soundtrack is minimalistic at best, with a piano track throughout the entire game with some changes along the way. It's a good track for ambiance, in particular, when facing Hidden Object scenes. A few more tracks would bring different feelings to the adventure. The voice acting is decent enough, and the characters show a french accent, as the militia uses a German one, to bring realism to the table.
Agent Walker: Secret Journey is a medium-length adventure, with an interesting plot, but short of what could have been done. Improvements with the plot would have been a major asset. Perfect for anyone who's new at this genre, or looking to start. Collecting Steam achievements may also be an incentive, as they are simple and fun. Overall, it's a good enough adventure, especially if purchase on special sale!