Runaway: Dream of the Turtle - hands-on

Brian and Gina's romantic island getaway comes crashing down when their pilot suffers a mysterious seizure. Chivalrous till the end, Brian does the right thing and pushes his screaming lover out of the plummeting plane with the only working parachute. You'll have to travel the world from Hawaii to Alaska to reunite these two lovers in Runaway: Dream of the Turtle - Pendulo Studio's follow up to the romantic comedy point-and-click adventure, Runaway: A Road Adventure.

Even though the original Runaway sold incredibly well in France, it went by unnoticed for the most here in the states due in part to its delayed release in 2003 from poorly-known publisher Tri-Synergy. But new publisher CDV hopes the sequel won’t slip past gamers' radars when Runaway: Dream of the Turtle hits shelves early next year. We got some hands-on time with an early build of the game, and Runaway: Dream of the Turtle has got our left-clicking finger ready for this flirty follow up.

Dream of the Turtle won't break any new ground in the genre in terms of gameplay. If you've played through a point-and-click adventure game before, you'll feel at home with its controls. Click on an area on the screen and Brian will move there. Hover your cursor over objects in the background and Brian can examine them or pick them up. Combine items in your inventory and use them to trigger events that allow you to proceed.

But as always, it's the quality of the story, personality of characters and art design that lies behind the driving force of point-and-click adventures, and from what we've seen so far, Dream of the Turtle seems ready to deliver in these departments. As you explore its gorgeous backgrounds and encounter one kooky character after another, expect to experience those euphoric "Aha!" moments like when you figure out how a chainsaw, a moose head, a bottle of bleach and a hockey stick will help you acquire fresh salmon to cure to your friend Joshua of his amnesia.

For now, point your cursor over to the Movies tab and give your ears a helping to Dream of the Turtle's poppy theme song as you watch the 'official trailer,' or hit up the Images tab above for visual confirmation of the sensually cell-shaded images in store for you early next year. If patience is not one of your virtues, check out theFrench demoand learn how to compliment someone on their excellent polar bear costume en Francais.

Brian and Gina's romantic island getaway comes crashing down when their pilot suffers a mysterious seizure. Chivalrous till the end, Brian does the right thing and pushes his screaming lover out of the plummeting plane with the only working parachute. You'll have to travel the world from Hawaii to Alaska to reunite these two lovers in Runaway: Dream of the Turtle - Pendulo Studio's follow up to the romantic comedy point-and-click adventure, Runaway: A Road Adventure.

Even though the original Runaway sold incredibly well in France, it went by unnoticed for the most here in the states due in part to its delayed release in 2003 from poorly-known publisher Tri-Synergy. But new publisher CDV hopes the sequel won’t slip past gamers' radars when Runaway: Dream of the Turtle hits shelves early next year. We got some hands-on time with an early build of the game, and Runaway: Dream of the Turtle has got our left-clicking finger ready for this flirty follow up.

Dream of the Turtle won't break any new ground in the genre in terms of gameplay. If you've played through a point-and-click adventure game before, you'll feel at home with its controls. Click on an area on the screen and Brian will move there. Hover your cursor over objects in the background and Brian can examine them or pick them up. Combine items in your inventory and use them to trigger events that allow you to proceed.

But as always, it's the quality of the story, personality of characters and art design that lies behind the driving force of point-and-click adventures, and from what we've seen so far, Dream of the Turtle seems ready to deliver in these departments. As you explore its gorgeous backgrounds and encounter one kooky character after another, expect to experience those euphoric "Aha!" moments like when you figure out how a chainsaw, a moose head, a bottle of bleach and a hockey stick will help you acquire fresh salmon to cure to your friend Joshua of his amnesia.

For now, point your cursor over to the Movies tab and give your ears a helping to Dream of the Turtle's poppy theme song as you watch the 'official trailer,' or hit up the Images tab above for visual confirmation of the sensually cell-shaded images in store for you early next year. If patience is not one of your virtues, check out theFrench demoand learn how to compliment someone on their excellent polar bear costume en Francais.