20000 Leagues Under Sea Download (1988 Amiga Game)

The 'Abraham Lincoln' had been sent on a mission to find the mysterious sea monster and you, Professor Annorax, were on board. Many days passed without sight of anything, until one day a great force destroyed the ship. Now you find yourself on board the Nautilus under the command of Captain Nemo. You decide to keep a record of your journey so that you may tell the world of new discoveries.

At the start of this dramatisation of Jules Verne's classic you find yourself in the living room. This is your centre of operations and much information can be found out here. This is also where you keep the map on which you must try to plot your course from the vague hints that Nemo might give. You can examine the manometer to get an indication of your depth and a speedometer is also available. In the centre of the wall is a large porthole. Opening this reveals an underwater scene that sometimes can give clues. From the living room you can move to the control room or the library.

The control room contains another porthole and the periscope tor your use and sometimes you even get to control the Nautilus. The library is where (surprise, surprise) books are kept for your reference. You'll also be able to dabble on Nemo's organ. Occasionally you may take trips outside (underwater or onto dry land) where clues may be found.

From the word go, the atmosphere created is sinister and mysterious which complements the game nicely. Everything is interwoven to create the desired effect and it works quite well. The game is well structured - just as you think that you're stuck you find something that opens up new areas to you. The graphics are excellent. Attention has been paid to detail in all displays. All the rooms are beautifully drawn, especially the living room and the library. The deck of the Nautilus is also good, featuring some nice animation for the sea. Apart from this, animation is limited to times when you are away from the Nautilus (shark-hunting or island searching). Sound is adequate but, apart from the organ it's quite limited.

I started to get into the game and was quite enjoying myself until the inevitable disaster struck and I opened a porthole whilst 100m underwater. So, it was back to the start and I had to go through it all again - a save feature would have been nice. It's quite difficult to get into due to the totally inadequate instructions that leave you resorting to guess work. There are often very long gaps between anything interesting to do and this seriously detracts from the game.

The program was written by a French team and therefore has been translated into English. However, the translators missed the book titles in the library, they're all still in French! The titles aren't complex but it's still awkward if you can't speak French. Overall a very good game that is spoiled by long waits and the lack of a save option.

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

People who downloaded 20000 Leagues Under Sea have also downloaded:
1000 Miglia, 1869 (AGA), Abandoned Places, 688 Attack Sub, Aaargh, 9 Lives, Addams Family, 3D Pool