It's no secret that the once-thriving PC adventure genre -- with such celebrated titles as King's Quest, Myst, Grim Fandango and The Longest Journey -- is one of the least popular game types today. Perhaps it's because the new Halo generation prefers a faster, more visceral gaming fix than a slower-paced, dialogue-heavy game. Or maybe the personal computer isn't very hot right now as a gaming platform. However, if you'd like to try your mouse-clicking finger at a sci-fi story-driven game with dozens of characters, environments and puzzles, you won't be disappointed with Culpa Innata, a thought-provoking adventure that takes place 40 years in the future. Comprising most of the earth's countries, the World Union is labeled as a utopian society, devoid of war, famine and disease -- until a World Union citizen is murdered in the "rogue state" of Russia, curiously coinciding with the accidental death of a prominent professor. You play as a young woman, Phoenix Wallis, a junior Peace and Security Officer who unravels a more shocking truth about the worldview she has sworn to protect.
Played from a third-person perspective, you move Wallis around by clicking the arrow in the direction you'd like her to travel. If an object can be interacted with, the mouse cursor will change to a magnifying glass for further inspection. Puzzles she faces include picking a lock, solving a Rubik's Cube or following a recipe to make glue in order to patch a hole in the wall. At times you'll be asked to combine items in your inventory to create something new. A minor issue with the game, however, is its technical instability. No less than three patches (downloadable updates) are available, which fix odd bugs, freezes and crashes. But Culpa Innata offers a deep and immersive experience that rewards players for unraveling a complex story, interacting with interesting characters and solving intelligent puzzles. The game might not singlehandedly resurrect the ailing adventure genre, but it should serve as a reminder that these once-popular games are still alive and well.
