By Dale Farris, Secretary
Golden Triangle PC Club
November 2002

Game Overview

Another world, shrouded in secrecy & intrigue, lies on the other side of our reality. In the mysterious city of Chemicus, sacred power and scientific knowledge from the beginning of time is guarded. When an intruder accidentally travels there through the discovery of an ancient amulet, the tranquility of Chemicus is disturbed.

The balance between our worlds has been endangered. It’s now up to you to solve the riddles, gain knowledge, and to use your intelligence to unlock the secrets. Journey to this virtual world in chaos and enter, if you dare, the amazing city of Chemicus. You must search. You must explore. You must experiment.

Richard, an avid chemistry expert, is being held captive by odd strangers in hooded white cloaks, who have locked him up. He is in a tower somewhere in a lost ancient city that's not part of our reality. Somehow, Richard fell into this situation when his experiments in a hidden lab led him to a secret gateway. He used the amulet he found there to travel to the other side, the world of Chemicus.

Richard's visit to this city of secret knowledge and power somehow got him into trouble. The mysterious inhabitants of Chemicus blamed him for stealing transmission molecules that protected their energy source. Without the missing molecules, their energy is quickly dissipating.

Your experiments and formulas are the only way to find a solution. Can you prove Richard's innocence and set him free? You must hurry to free him. Will power be restored? In this strange world based on real science, knowledge is your key to the other side.

This is the story behind Chemicus, the new adventure game from TIVOLA. Fans of TIVOLA's earlier great successes, Physicus and Bioscopia, will definitely want to make plans to get their own copy of Chemicus.

Click here for a review of TIVOLA's Physicus.

Click here for a review of TIVOLA's Bioscopia.

Chemicus is a super addition to the growing lineup of marvelous CD ROM programs from TIVOLA. In addition to the game that is built on science, Chemicus is filled with numerous interactive learning experiences that teach chemistry. Topics covered include substances and their properties, substances and transformation of substances, atom structure and chemical bonding, electrochemistry, acids, lye, and neutralism, and organic chemistry. These science instructions are by themselves fun to work with, as you learn the scientific principles that are then well integrated into the game. As you learn the science in the game, this information then will come in handy in order to solve the many puzzles in the game.

Playing Chemicus involves many classic adventure game genre features. These include a typical slideshow screen layout, moving around by pointing and clicking the mouse, picking up objects for storage, moving objects from an inventory to their appropriate place, and of course, going all over the many areas in the game to get objects that have to be brought back to other areas.

The adventure game component of Chemicus could alone have been the targeted selling point, but the approach by this super "infotainment" company, TIVOLA, means gamers will also learn a lot as they struggle to complete this very impressive adventure game.

The game follows the style and pattern first set in the first installment of the now well known Myst game series. In Chemicus, you move all about the strange and wonderfully presented world, and you have to figure out how to right the system and get it back in shape. All this is built on fundamental chemistry, and in the many puzzles and challenges you will be using chemistry as you solve these puzzles. You explore various locations, find parts and pieces that are necessary in other locations, and you find notebooks in certain locations that provide hints and clues what to do, but the clues in the notebooks refer to other locations, and not the location in which you find the notebook.

Age Group

Although the game box states the game is relevant for ages "from 8 to 102," I think many 8-year olds may have great difficulty solving the many puzzles in the game. Although the puzzles are indeed built on solid scientific principles and are not impossible to figure out, nevertheless the Myst-like design and approach of the game means you have to go all over the game environment, remember what you find, take copious notes about the revealed information, pick up and then use various objects that are essential to opening other areas of the game, and be clever enough to decipher the cryptic messages and notes you find along the way.

I suggest that adults strongly consider playing along with younger gamers to help them if they get "stuck." While these puzzles are not the most devious or most difficult I've ever run across in the many other adventure games I've played over the years, I do think some folks might experience frustration with not being able to solve some of the puzzles or know what the game is expecting at certain points. Thankfully, TIVOLA offers a walkthrough guide on disc 1, in PDF format, that will likely be heavily used by many players. However, I found even using this walkthrough did not necessarily provide all the required hints and directions necessary in certain situations.

Many adults may also find the game a challenge. The scenario of Chemicus involves having to find many different items that must be used in order to direct the transport device to other locations in the game, that must be used together, or that must be placed in other locations in the game. Many objects will need to be returned and placed in their correct location. This may sound simple, but as in most all successful adventure games, Chemicus has an abundance of all sorts of areas you have to go in the game that really are impressive in design detail. This super layout of the many places in the game really displays the work of the developers and is an impressive part of the game.

I also think the game is a wonderful educational tool that has definite merit in middle school science classes. While the game play and puzzle solving can be completed with classic adventure gaming approaches, the many files about the science of chemistry all definitely have value by themselves as teaching aides. The real fun comes from integrating the science learned in these files into the game. The genius behind this adventure game is the focus on making sure that the scientific principles are soundly built into the puzzle solving.

With Chemicus, I also think chemistry professors now have a fun tool that can be used in their classrooms, as they assist students in integrating chemistry as they work through the game. The game would be an excellent team training tool the instructor could arrange for various teams of students to collaborate on as they together strive to complete the game. The instructor could assist with the more puzzling aspects of the game, while also assisting students as they learn the chemistry that forms the basis for solving the game's many puzzles.

Educational Value

This marvelous science education program succeeds in incorporating science substance in the playing of a typical adventure game. If you want, you can just play through the game as you would any adventure game, going here and there, keeping a lot of notes about what you find, writing down the cryptic messages and clues, and of course, remembering all the while what you have learned.

In addition, the game presents numerous informative files that provide an interactive approach to learning all about chemistry. These scientific files are alone worth the investment in this super game, and demonstrate the principles of chemistry, and in most all cases, present interactive possibilities for the learner.

These educational files cover the following areas.

Substances and Their Properties

Substances and Transformation of Substances

Atom Structure and Chemical Bonding

Electrochemistry

Acids, Lye, and Neutralization

Organic Chemistry

Game Play Notes

Chemicus is a super combination of interactive learning about science and an equally super adventure game. The adventure game is as good as most now on the market, and is not by any standard "easy" to solve. The puzzle solving and riddle deciphering are as good as you see in most all adventure games, and this means that savvy adventure gamers will find a challenge in this game that they might otherwise have thought was "easy."

The game design and layout is superb, and is in keeping with the genre setting style found in the many editions of Myst. The attention to detail in the game design greatly adds to the mysterious setting of the world of Chemicus, presenting a world never before seen and filled with wonder.

You move about totally controlled by the mouse, and its shape changes depending on whether you are moving forward, backward, turning left or right, or picking up objects or placing objects in their correct place. The inventory here is cleverly designed to seamlessly integrate into the game, while the pick up and use cursor shapes are also a nice new idea.

The layout and design of the many screens, while not offering any panning capability, are visually quite stunning, and evocative of what many gamers have experienced in other well known adventure games, such as Myst, or The Longest Journey. There is also no full-motion movement.

TIVOLA has not scrimped anywhere in the design of this game, and this is a nice surprise, especially when you think the game might suffer because it is primarily designed as a means of teaching about science. However, TIVOLA accomplishes a very difficult feat, by producing a great adventure game that happens to also be filled with educational value. You can play through the adventure game as if this were how the entire program were designed, and you can also work through the solid chemistry files that open up as you play the game.

The complexity of the puzzle solving has been designed to challenge even the most experienced adventure gamers. While there are no deviously designed, or very short timed puzzles, there are enough difficult puzzles that I suspect many gamers might want to seriously consider getting the walkthrough hints from the included Help PDF file on the CD ROM disc 1.

The game is richly complex, and involves an extensive amount of moving back and forth with the transporter, in order to find all the correct items that have to be used elsewhere. While the fundamental chemistry has been well integrated into the puzzles, in many situations it may be very difficult to know what to do. As you move throughout the beautiful game environment, you come across knowledge chips that then open up to reveal basic factual information about chemistry. This knowledge is designed to inform, as well as serve as helpful background information essential to solving the puzzles.

However, Chemicus ends up presenting some of the most complex adventure gaming I've ever experienced. In my case, using the handy walkthrough guide was essential in getting through the game. In some situations, Chemicus presents puzzles that once solved have ramifications for other locations in the game, some areas at the time you may not have yet visited. This aspect represents one of the most significant problem areas of the first Myst game, that the designers strived to eliminate in the 3rd Myst game where the solved puzzles presented results the gamer could immediately see. The world of Chemicus is designed as an interrelated realm of many locations, all of which have complex, interwoven links that you are restoring as you play the game. All of which results in a genuinely adult adventure game that, although it definitely has important value for the designated age group, will also seriously challenge adult gamers.

The backgrounds are beautiful, and very impressive, conveying this imaginary world so well that you begin to believe it actually exists. This is a testament to the coders and the designers that obviously labored very hard for many long hours to attend to the meticulous detail that all adds up to a very impressive appearance.

The accompanying background music files work well to also aid in enhancing the overall effect of this super game.
 
Game Features

Myst-like adventure game that is challenging but not impossible
Beautiful graphics and design
Multiple levels of graphically stunning, fantasy environments to discover
Many hours of 3D movies
Original atmospheric music
Meticulous exploration and gameplay
Many chemistry based riddles and puzzles based on solid science
Science database can be used to teach these principles
Students can work through the game while learning the scientific facts
Very intriguing, unique storyline
Classic adventure game genre features
Save the game anywhere anytime
Visually stunning and a delight to play
First-person perspective
Very impressive background display
Well designed, integrated background sounds and sound effects
Classic point-and-click interface to work the game
Beautifully drawn backgrounds

Targeted Customers

TIVOLA's marvelous game of science, all wrapped up in a super adventure game, may be targeted toward children, but after playing the game, I can attest to the fun that all adventure gamers will have with the game. While it is not the most complex of all adventure games, and certainly not the most difficult to complete, nevertheless the game is filled with enough challenging puzzle solving that I suspect even experienced adventure gamers will like this one.

Younger children can easily work with the science database, learning all about chemistry, and most might even be able to decipher the puzzles and get through the game. However, this game is as good as any adventure game now on the market, meaning that you will indeed run across many, many areas that present puzzles to solve, objects to find and take back to other areas in order to open up other areas, that then offer still more objects that relate to other areas. This means you might want to plan on working with the included Help PDF file, but I found this added still more value to this super game, because the guide just helps you move more assuredly through the game and enables you to experience all the many wondrous riches of the entire game.

This is a classic adventure game feature, requiring the gamer to be on their toes and to remember a lot as they have to go literally everywhere in the game to find out what's in store in all these various screens, and then begin to put these many pieces together to make sense. If the complexity is too challenging, TIVOLA wisely provides the Help PDF file that will give you the necessary walkthrough strategy guide to help you complete the game.

Game Play Concerns

Although Chemicus may be marketed to a younger audience, because of its super integration of chemistry in the game, playing through the adventure game will definitely present a challenge to even the most advanced adventure gamer. The level of complexity in this game was a surprise, given the apparent intent to try and sell this game to this age group. I found the intensely complex, and most times very complicated approach to the many, many puzzles that have to be solved to be more appropriate to adults, especially those with the great amount of patience to play through this length, very elaborately designed game.

I suspect many gamers might likely give up way before they even get half through the game, even working with the included Help PDF file, because of the constant traveling back and forth, back and forth, over and over again, from one location to another, and back again, seemingly forever, in order to figure out how intricately linked are all these locations and in order to get all the right items, assemble them correctly, and then figure out in which other location these items are required. This also means you will frequently encounter having to solve puzzles in certain locations that have an impact elsewhere in the world, something not directly evident to you as you complete these steps. So, be prepared to set aside quite a bit of time in order to complete the game.

These are of course just my own perceptions of this marvelous game, and I would encourage readers to explore the Web for other reviews to see what other reviewers had to say about Chemicus.

Install and Setup

The installation and setup should present no problems. You will need QuickTime v. 4 or later, and if this is not already installed, QuickTime 5 is included with the game. You can select a custom install, to decide whether to do a complete install (650MB) or a minimal install (50MB). The minimal install option means less space needed on your hard drive, but more disc swapping and slower game performance, as you will be frequently waiting for the program to open more files from the CD ROM disc. You must have disc 2 in the CD ROM drive to play the game.

To uninstall, click on the Delete Chemicus icon in the Tivola folder.

Price

$19.99 (super bargain!)
$29.99 (Canada)
2-disk game

Minimum System Configuration Requirements

Windows
P-II 233MHz or faster processor
Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, 98 ME, NT 4, 2000, XP
64MB RAM
50MB free hard disk space
SVGA graphics card (32 bit)
Sound card
8x CD-ROM drive
Quicktime 5 (included)

Mac Machines
PowerPC 233MHz G3 processor
Mac OS 8.1 or higher
64MB RAM
50MB free hard disk space
32,768 color graphics card
Sound card
8x CD-ROM drive
Quicktime 5 (included)

At the time of this writing, no patches for this game had been released, and very likely, none will be needed.

Not requiring a 3d graphics accelerator card, and needing a minimally powered CPU means this game is playable on many more systems, a wise move on the part of TIVOLA. While it is true that more newer systems either come with or are being customized with newer, 32MB or 64MB 3dfx video boards and high-end, 3d audio boards, driven in part by the high-end requirements of many computer games, in fact I suspect there are many more legacy systems still working that will likely be fine for this game.

The above system configuration requirements indicate the minimum and recommended system configuration requirements, and as any experienced gamer knows, if at all possible, you just don't ever want to load and run any computer game on minimally configured systems. Computer games are notorious for taking over machines, and this is why users will need to be sure and close out all their other open files, before playing this and any computer game. However, in the case of this TIVOLA title, I think we have an example of a computer program for children that will actually very likely play just fine even on a minimally configured system.

About TIVOLA

TIVOLA Publishing creates and publishes a wide range of award-winning multimedia products designed to open up a world of interactive fun and learning to children and young people. The German based company has offices in New York, London, and Berlin, and produces a wide range of innovative interactive CD ROMs that stimulate a child's curiosity, while encouraging smart play. In 1995, TIVOLA published its first title, and has developed six distinct categories of software.

These include Play and Learn, The World Around Us, Quest for Knowledge, Stories and Adventures, Crimes and Clues, and Games for Fun. The company has a commitment to producing high-quality, multilingual CD ROMs that tell exciting, entertaining stories through beautiful graphics, witty animation and original games. TIVOLA titles are currently in more than 49 countries worldwide.

TIVOLA began in 1995, when founding partners, Karsten Voelker, Mil Thierig, and Barbara Landbeck founded the Berlin office to fill the need for original CD ROM games that are clever but also promote learning. In 2000, TIVOLA was named "Company of the Year" by the Berlin Association of Self-Employed Entrepreneurs, who recognized the company's fast development into an internationally successful multimedia company with an innovative brand building strategy.

The TIVOLA UK offices opened in 1998, and with the launch of 10 new titles in 2001, the company continues to grow in the UK children's software publishing market. The TIVOLA US offices opened in 1999, and the company signed a contract with the Navarre Corporation to distribute their products in the US and Canada. 

The company develops books and story games on CD ROM, and all titles are simultaneously produced in English so that they can be understood by potential international licensees. The software is also produced for the PC and the Apple platform.

TIVOLA also buys and sells license for different products. For these purposes, the company has developed optimal localization standards. With this new system, TIVOLA titles are obtainable in countries all over the world.

The TIVOLA line of CD ROM programs are products parents can depend on to provide a fun and educational computer experience for their children. Teachers can also feel secure in integrating the educational lineup of TIVOLA products into their curriculum, especially those teaching entry level classes. TIVOLA's series of learning CD ROMs for children that include the many Oscar the Balloonist titles, the many Max adventures, the super Chemicus science-based program, and of course The Little Prince, all assure a solid worthwhile computer experience for all ages, especially young learners.

With the worldwide notoriety of TIVOLA products, the company has also ventured into a new online interactive arena. Companies can now rent online games from TIVOLA to make available at their Web site for their own customers. This new portfolio of online games for rent expands still further the success of the company.

Recent news has also revealed that TIVOLA has been granted worldwide licensing rights to develop and publish educational discovery games based on the legendary comic strip icon, PEANUTS, through United Media. The most widely syndicated comic strip in history, PEANUTS reaches over 350 million readers in 75 countries, appealing to adults as well as children. The first TIVOLA PEANUTS CD ROM will be introduced at the 2002 Toy Fair, and will combine PEANUTS humor with the suspense of a discovery game. As would be expected from any TIVOLA title, the game will integrate educational elements into the distinctive humor of the PEANUTS world. 

Contact Information

Linda Weal, Media Coordinator
Tivola Publishing
580 Broadway, Suite 604
New York, NY 10012
212-431-4420, ext. 201
212-431-4420
FAX 212-431-4537
linda@tivola.com
mail@tivola.com
www.tivola.com

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.