Free Point-and-Click Adventure Review: Lure of the Temptress

Lure of the Temptress was the first game by the English video game developer Revolution Software, which would later become known for its popular Broken Sword series of adventure games.

It was also the first game that featured the Virtual Theatre engine, which allowed non-player characters to wander around the game scenes doing their own business, giving the game world a larger sense of realism. It was rough here, as characters would sometimes block the path of the building you needed to enter and, even more annoying, would sometimes be way off on another screen and you would have to chase that person down if you need him or her to complete a task. This would become less of a hassle in Revolution's next game, Beneath a Steel Sky.

The game's interface was a bit rough here as well, as you needed to click on an object and choose an action from a drop-down menu. It's not intuitive, as it is quite different than other point-and-click adventure games. It takes a while to get used to it, but once you do, it's at least tolerable.

The story of the game involves a man who has been imprisoned. He escapes and another prisoner joins him. He sticks by your side as a sidekick and sometimes will be required to solve certain puzzles. He isn't as oddly charming as Foster's robot companion Joey in Beneath a Steel Sky, but like that little robot, he provides much of the game's humour. It's not as humourous as some of Revolution's other games, but it definitely has its moments.

The goal of the game is to learn about and later confront and defeat the titular temptress. She is actually a level beyond that, as she is more of a sorceress, and is probably the most memorable part of this game. The puzzles to get there are decent, and aren't too hard to figure out. This part that brings this game down a bit is when you need to involve townsfolk to complete a task. The directions to do so are sometimes obtuse, especially in the directions given where you need to talk to people that are from, or will be in, certain areas. This is mainly due to the fact NPCs will wander from screen to screen, as mentioned above, sometimes making it hard to tell where they are or even whether that person really is the one you want.

Lure of the Temptress is a rough game, especially in its interface and the fact NPCs are given too much leeway to wander. However, an interesting sidekick and a memorable villain, plus the fact that it is free to download and play, make it a bit appealing despite its flaws. If nothing else, it is neat to see where Revolution Software and its Virtual Theatre engine began.

Final Verdict:
3 out of 5