Nothing innovative, but still fun
There isn't anything here that we haven't seen before, but the combination of challenging puzzles, good graphics, an interesting storyline and easy-to-use navigation add up to a game that can still satisfy adventure-hungry gamesters.
The plot is simple: in a departure from the Verne original, you (Prof. Michel Ardan) land on the moon, circa 1865. There, you encounter strange and aggressive plants as well as a species of intelligent (if somewhat pretentious and arrogant) beings known as the Selenites. Your task: find a way back home to earth.
The graphics are good, with vibrant colors and otherworldly landscapes. The "investigation" notebook fills up with mid-19th century style illustrations as you solve the mystery of the death of the two scientists who were in the space capsule with you. Here, too, the graphics add a nice element to the game, as does a log book, accessible at any time during the game, that helps keep track of clues you might need later.
For the most part, the puzzles are actually quite logical and not particularly difficult. Granted, since I'm not a particularly clever game player, I found myself consulting the clues in UHS (Universal Hint System) more than one (okay, if truth be told, more than a few times!). But I almost always find myself thinking "I should have been able to figure that out!"
Admittedly, there is little new here. I don't know how many games I've played that included a musical Simon Says game, where you are expected to match notes you hear. At least this game has a way to 'cheat' (by using a special key if you have acquired it) to bypass that puzzle. But the others are mostly a mixture of figuring out the alien mathematical system (not as difficult as it sounds) or the Selenite ideographic language. The game does, however, also include the most simplistic and useless verbal "logic" puzzle I've ever encountered.
As to navigation, Voyage offers "shortcuts" from one site to another, avoiding the dreaded ten-clicks-to-get-there syndrome, but there was still quite a bit of going back and forth from one place to another.
For the most part, I enjoyed wandering around the moonscape, solving the puzzles, mixing inventory items, etc. But I was stunned when the game suddenly came to a rather abrupt halt when I managed to get into the capsule and blast back to earth. I had accumulated a number of items that I assumed would be needed during the flight back to earth, or in another chapter in the game but which, in retrospect, had absolutely no use or function.
As it turns out, there are many puzzles that don't need to be solved in order for you to complete your main task and get back to earth. They merely help add to your points, which are displayed at the bottom of the screen as you progress. If, like me, you make the mistake of ending the game prematurely but getting the capsule to blast off, you will find yourself either having played only half a game or forced to replay it to complete all the puzzles and get maximum points.
I thought the game was worth the $20 but it's not in the same league as Syberia, Longest Journey, or even Grim Fandango. Still, when the adventure game market seems to be flooded with terrible games like Atlantis Evolution, Twilight of the Gods, Mysterious Journey II or Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (I'm in the minority there), it doesn't take much to stand above the crowd.