Gene Machine, The Download (1996 Adventure Game)

The Gene Machine is a point-and-click 2D adventure game with background images that give the perspective of 3D.

The story begins in the 1880s in London. British gentleman Piers Featherstonehaugh (pronounced "fanshaw") and his faithful servant, Mossop, arrive back home to discover a talking cat on their doorstep. The cat tells them of an outlandish plot concerning genetic mutations gone haywire. It then becomes Fanshaw's goal to stop this ghastly activity and to catch the fiends behind it.

Players step into the shoes of Piers as he and Mossop travel around the globe... and beyond. He will meet many unusual characters and talk with them during his quest .. including talking animals as well as people.

Exploration is in 3rd person perspective and most puzzles involve the multitude of inventory items that can be found while exploring.

It's the 19th century, and you are Piers Featherstonehaugh, the most unknown famous adventurer of the British empire. You just returned from a mission in America, and are now back for some well deserved rest, but alas! a talking cat interferes. More puzzled by the fact that the cat can't pronounce your name correctly, then the fact he speaks you hear listen to his story. It seems the evil doctor Dinsey (what a familiar name) has created a machine that combines two creatures, and transforms them into one! And even worse, he plans to use the machine to create an army of mutants to take over the world.

So Piers sets out to stop this evil doctor, being as intelligent as Piers, this must be a very easy task. I mean after only 15 minutes of play, I destroyed the first computer ever build. I encouraged J.T. Ripper into doing something about the sinners in London, and I laughed at the fact my own doctor would be an evil mind. What could that poor dr. Jekyll have to hi(y)de anyway?

Yes, our Piers is about as smart as the hindside of a cow, and has a viance about as charming as that. But that doesnt prevent him from being snobbish, not at all! And with this fool you have to save the world, good grief.

The game is not that big, and actually rather simple. it works completely by the point and click system, and the cursor tells you when you are hovering over something important. On top of that, the items that can be taken or used really stand out from the backgrounds. Thus I doubt any hardcore adventuring fan will have a hard time cracking this nut. Graphics: 5/5

The game has cartoony characters, wich give it a timeless look. some may hate it but I found it to my liking. the backgrounds are perfect for the game, and blend in really well with the story.

If you are hoping for cool sound effects, tough luck, sound is not that great in this game The music isn't great either, it's the same over and over again. That's actually all I wanted to say about it.

I would rate this game a 3, its nice, but has its downsides. However Piers ignorant stupidity, while believing he is nothing short from a genius, pulled it straight back to a 4. If you like dry humor, want to play a simple but fun adventure, go download it. If you are the type of person that ended Myst in a few hours, this probarly wont be much of a challenge, but that doesnt make the dialouge less funny though.

Divide by Zero more than redeem themselves after the horrendous Orion Conspiracy with this outstanding cartoon adventure that unfortunately got very limited worldwide distribution (probably due to the fact that the game was published by little-known Vic Tokai). Set in Victorian Times, it casts the player as good-natured adventurer Piers Featherstonehaugh, who, along with his manservant Mossop, bid to save the world from the evil Dr Dinsey, who is planning to create an army of mutated soldiers using the Gene Machine and take over the world.

The Gene Machine is a traditional point-and-click adventure with an intuitive user interface. Click on an item on screen, for example, and you'll be presented with a set of icons, containing appropriate actions for you to take. This may include 'look', 'taste', or 'take' depending upon what the object is. Should you choose 'take', the object will be stuffed into the traditional bottomless pockets that all adventure game characters have. Other features that will make fans of old Sierra games of yore very happy are the score system, which will let you know what percentage of the game you have completed, and conversational topics that allow you to actually ask what you want to know, as opposed to repeatedly clicking on them.

The best part of the game is the wonderful plot that will be familiar to fans of H.G. Wells' Victorian sci-fi novels, which means it combines scientific innovations and historical anecdotes into a fascinating experience. The game is also huge -- it features dozens of characters and locations, as well as Divide by Zero's hallmark of challenging, ingenious puzzles that will stump even the most experienced players. But The Gene Machine is a joy to play, and it never becomes frustrating or boring. There are a few puzzles that are irritating in a sense that there are insufficients clues about the solutions, but for the most part they are fair. If you're looking for a fun cartoon adventure that is funny, atmospheric, and challenging, you can't go wrong with The Gene Machine.

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

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