An old, classic game, about an old classic journey through (suprise) the Heart of China
What attracted me to Heart of China back in the day, were the awesome graphics. When you were in the streets of China, it looked more real than any game made during that time. It was the truly the closest thing computer gamers had to photographic realism.
Anyway, you play Jake Masters, a World War I pilot veteran turned adventurer. Sort of an Indiana Jones knock off, except Jake is more of a private investigator than an archeologist. Jake receives an offer from a rather wealthy industrialist. His daughter was kidnapped and held for ransom, and this industrialist, being a cheap fellow, would rather pay a fraction of that money to you, in order to rescue her.
You, and the enigmatic, stoic ninja "Chi" team up to rescue the spoiled daughter, held in a Chinese castle teeming with guards. One third to one half of the adventure involves rescuing her, while the rest involves getting away. There are multiple endings, romantic opportunities, and a few unexpected twists and turns.
Still, I found the interface a little clumsy, plus, making the wrong decisions earlier can have serious, gamebreaking consequences later. If you decide to play this game, it is best to make multiple save-games.
Do I recommend this game? Only if you're a diehard fan of old-school games and adventure games. Otherwise, the dated graphics, and clumsy gameplay will hinder you all the way until you finish the game (and it doesn't take all that long to complete if you know exactly what to do). Another classic made by Dynamix ...