Nikopol: Secrets of the Immortals | 
 enlarge | From: Got Game
Category: Video Games
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $27.99
You Save: $2.00 (7%)
New (6) Used (2) from $22.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 4242
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows Xp
ESRB: Teen
Media: CD-ROM
Age: 12 - 20 years
Operating System: Windows Vista
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.5 x 1.4
MPN: 851612000809
UPC: 851612000809
EAN: 0851612000809
ASIN: B001AZW2B4
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | A thrilling challenge in a rich universe inspired by famed graphic novelist Enki Bilal | | • | As Nikopol, you must use cunning and logic to protect yourself from the Immortals' plans and thwart a dark conspiracy | | • | Interaction with 8 characters in 6 different environments, each made of several settings | | • | Classic point and click interface |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The futuristic stories and art of famed graphic novelist Enki Bilal are brought to life in this immersive, richly detailed point-and-click adventure from the developers of Syberia. In Nikopol: Secrets Of The Immortals, it is 2023 and Paris is now a city-state of stark contrasts ruled by a power-hungry dictator. A place where the fascist rich and the abandoned poor are separated by both a literal and figurative wall. When we join our hero, Nikopol, the son of an astronaut frozen in space more than thirty years ago, we find that a pyramid-shaped spacecraft inhabited by Egyptian Gods hovers above the city. As Horus, one of its leaders, plots to take control of Paris and its people, word reaches Nikopol that his father may be alive and hidden in the city's underground, a possible pawn in a looming battle. In search of his father, Nikopol's journey immerses him in political intrigue between two worlds, one of anarchy and one of Immortality.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Interesting, but awfully short. October 9, 2008
Preface
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Well I am not exactly sure. On the one hand, Nikopol is an interesting game, set up in the future, in which a combination of scientific , political, metaphysic and various other events get mixed. On the other hand, the game's overall introduction, plot and presentation overall indicates that the creators themselves got bored quickly from this mix and wanted to get finished as soon as possible. Are you curious already? Read on!
Scenario
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You are Alcide Nikopol, a painter, living in Paris, now ruled by a mighty dictator. Your father, an astronaut, is supposed to have died years ago in space, but now he can be alive and act as a middleman to help the Egyptian Gods to take over the city. A mysterious pyramid is floating over the sky. Is your father really alive? Is he helping the secret agents, including the mysterious cemetery chief leader? What is the background behind this evil battle?
The scenario is interesting, but somewhat far from being a reality. 2023 is not that far away to fully justify that story. Perhaps they should set it up in 2103 or something - it is rather unlikely that, by 2023, creatures like those in the game will actually co-exist with humans. And the really short introduction does not fill you completely in the details, leaving some gaps to be explained (?) later.
Graphics
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The graphics of the game, while not being exceptional, are very good. Running at full screen, they will raise the game's overcall score. There is nothing ancient to them or Egypt - related ; all the stuff is modern.
I didn't see any actual human except Nikopol and his father. The rest of the supposed human beings , like guards, are more like robots.
Sometimes the background is dark and you will have difficulties (for example, at the metro entrance I had trouble opening the gate), and there is no option to control the lighting. However there is no pixel hunting and no special items to control ; What you have to control or see, is generally clearly seen.
Sound
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The overall sound is a good background theme. The voices are accurate and clean, and the speech of the creatures seem realistic (although I am not sure if the creatures like the one in Chapter 1 would be able to talk entirely).
What the sound lacks is interesting effects. If this game is supposed to be a mystery or a horror or a science fiction or whatever, then the sound won't support it. This makes me thing that they tried to create a nice theme all right, but failed to combine it with the actual plot. It is like "something in the background" ; For example, at the moment you find your father I would expect a more thrilling sound effect. Certainly a more precise work had to be considered for the sound element.
Control
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The game is a first person mouse - controlled creation. The game allows rotation but you are not allowed to go everywhere you may want, but your movement is fixed to certain areas of the screen.
When you want to interact with an object, simply click it. If there is something to do, it will be done.
Pressing ESC will show you the inventory. Fortunately, you won't be carrying many items, and once you do not need an item, it will be automatically disposed. Also, you cannot combine items, but simply pick an item and use it at a screen object.
Pressing ESC twice will get you to the save/load/new/options screen, reminding me the great 1996 Ripper world. There is some strange thing about the saving mechanism - apparently you can save many times but when restoring, not all saves are visible, but only the last ones - or there is a hidden scrollbar ? I can't know! I didn't restore more than 5 - 6 times!
Note that saving is not always an option, for example, when you are trying to hide from a guard. Fortunately the game will give you another chance if you get killed and auto-restore it back to a position that you can proceed successfully.
There is a bug in the game that might happen when you ALT+TAB to another window. I don't know if this is an issue in my x64, but sometimes the game will be vanished from the alt+tab, making it impossible to switch it back to it even if it is still running.
Atmosphere
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This is the reason you must buy the game , if not persuaded not to do that because of it being that short. Although there is no real sound effects support, this game is highly atmospheric. The portraits painted (at Chapter 1), the scientific riddles, the tower mini - labyrinth, the faces of the creatures, and generally all items will enhance the world of the game.
Riddles
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The good thing in this game is that the riddles are innovative. I liked very much the wall - breaker, the pass generator, the mobile phone ring, the metro crash, the cemetery puzzles and the painting. Apart from the awfully old get - the - key - by - putting - a - paper - below - the - door riddle, everything else is new and good.
Action/Plot
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This is where the game will fail. The plot and the total game is so small that a relatively experienced gamer will finish it within a day. There are 5 chapters, and almost all of them small and easy. I do not know the reason, but if the scenario wouldn't allow them to expand the plot, then the scenario should have been change. The game is really short and the time you will spend on it is almost entirely spent to solve the few riddles.
In chapter 1, you are in your house, trying to escape from a monster.
In chapter 2, you are found in a really weird cemetery (!) , and your mission is to install a security system. Hey, does this look like a cemetery at all?
In chapter 3, you are trying to enter a restricted yard by using an abandoned metro station.
In chapter 4, you are trying to find your way in the tower your father is kept.
In chapter 5, which is the most interesting and at least one that you won't finish immediately, you explore the tower section, trying to kill your father's enemy (XB2) and release your father from captivity.
All these chapters have one or two easy riddles only; In addition, the game is linear, so you will not be able to visit a place before you are allowed to, making it even more easy.
Overall
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Nikopol is not a bad game. And because the adventure games released nowadays are generally bad, this one is worth your time and money. But be prepared to understand that it took me longer to write this review, than actually getting through the game itself.
 Now this is innvotive September 30, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Amazingly great work for the price. Wonderful graphics, great story line, and price thats rare for this time and age.
J
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