Road to India

Posted by Matt Barton.
First posted on 21 May 2010. Last updated on 21 May 2010.
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Road to India
Anusha's letter does not convince Fred, who rushes off to India to find his beloved.
Road to India
The streets of New Delhi are desolate but detailed.
Road to India
The snoozing drunk has Fred's wallet, but he will not give it up!
Road to India
The murderous goddess Kali is served by a vicious cult.
Road to India
The dreaded maze is quite dim and hard to make out.

Microids' Road to India (also known as Road to India: Between Hell and Nirvana) is a mediocre first-person point-and-click adventure set in New Delhi. While some aspects of the game are certainly worthy of merit, the muddy graphics and repetitive music may turn away many gamers more accustomed to brighter and more detailed games. However, any adventure game fan who can get past these elements will still find much to like in this adventure.

The game is set in modern New Delhi, a bustling city in India. The player takes on the role of Fred Reynolds, a handsome American who has fallen in love with an Indian girl named Anusha. They become engaged, and their relationship blossoms until Anusha visits her homeland. Out of the blue, Fred receives a letter informing him that she is dumping him and that he needs to forget her—but naturally he cannot. Instead, he flies off to India and discovers that his fiancé has been kidnapped. Fred soon finds himself embroiled in a bizarre plot involving a 19th century cult of Kali, a goddess associated with a cult called the Thugs. Apparently, the Thugs are a mysterious group of religious fanatics that goes about in packs, strangling innocent victims and sacrificing them to their goddess. The Thugs are thought to have killed some 40,000 people. The Thugs are also rumored to been have been wiped out long ago, but Fred learns that the cult may be returning—and Anusha is in their clutches! Fred begins a desperate search to find Anusha and rescue her before she is scarified.

Fred will only meet a few characters over the course of his quest. Among them is a poor orphaned boy who helps him out with various tasks, such as breaking into a convenience store. Most of the other characters Fred meets are miscreants, such as a drunk or crooked fortune teller. Interaction is tightly limited, with only a few dialog options available. The game would be better if Fred could meet more characters or have more meaningful relationships with those he does meet. For instance, Fred and Anusha's relationship is never really explained or explored, and the warped relationship between Anusha's kidnapper and his deformed wife is likewise left mostly to the imagination. In short, although the story leaves plenty of room for drama and tension, there is little of either in this game.

Naturally, any good adventure game demands some worthwhile puzzles. To its credit, this game has plenty. Most of these are of the "find the item, use the item" variety. The cleverest puzzle in the game involves a remote car key, a henchman, and a garage. The solution to this puzzle is brilliant and a great deal of fun. However, other puzzles simply do not make sense; a particular puzzle involves a bunch of stained glass panels that Fred needs to arrange in layers on a window pane. I have no idea how they are supposed to go, but only stumbled on the solution by sheer luck. Perhaps the worst part of the game is a dreadful maze. I have found myself spending a long time wandering about aimlessly until a rat showed up to guide me to the exit. Thank goodness for that rat! All in all, the puzzles and conundrums are easy if not obvious, and puzzle fans will probably want to look elsewhere if they savor a challenge.

While the game has a great story and intriguing setting, I am disappointed by the game's low resolution graphics that are often hard to make out. Some of the settings, especially the maze, is so dark that I often have great difficulty seeing where to click. There are no options to control the brightness or gamma setting in the game. On the other hand, the characters are carefully animated with lifelike and believable gestures and lip-syncing, and the cut scenes are expertly executed that are often quite dramatic to watch. I also find it strange that although some of the settings look horrific, such as the sacrificial chamber, the upbeat music and Fred's lighthearted banter work to keep the game from becoming too scary.

All in all, I have enjoyed playing Road to India, but mostly for its unusual setting and intriguing story. The game is seldom frustrating or boring. The voice acting is good enough, and the ending is quite satisfying. Despite this, as an adventure title, Road to India simply lacks the polish and attention to detail that makes a good game into a great game.

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