Nibiru: Age of Secrets



Nibiru: Age of Secrets is a 2005 adventure game developed by Future Games and published by The Adventure Company.

The game features around 80 locations, 5 chapters to play in, 3D character animations, 35 NPC characters, over 50 pages of dialogues, atmospheric visual effects and scenic music.

Storyline
During the construction of a new highway bypass, workers discover an entrance to an old tunnel. After they enter the tunnel, they find out that it was probably a German tunnel intentionally backfilled at the end of World War II. They contact an employee of the Western Bohemian Museum who then informs the superior body in Prague about their findings. The news about the discovery is published by the regional press the next day and there is tremendous buzz in the archeology community of the new find.

Martin Holan, a linguistics and archeology student is contacted by his uncle to examine the mysterious World War II tunnel. A friend of Martin’s uncle is supposed to meet Martin upon his arrival to brief him on the mysterious discovery; however, when he arrives in Prague he discovers that she has been brutally murdered.

And the Adventure Begins…

Characters
Martin Holan

Martin, an educated polite young man who, like his Uncle Professor de Vilde, has an adventurous spirit. A scholar in Archeology and Linguistics, Martin is fascinated by the mysteries of the past. As a young boy Martin would often accompany his Uncle on spectacular adventures all over the world. A courageous and determined individual, Martin embraces the unknown and is consumed by his search for the truth.

Professor Wilde

The Professor, a 75 year old man, in his youthful days enjoyed the thrill of traveling the world in search of ancient artifacts. A specialist in Mayan history, he now lectures at one of Paris’ most prestigious universities. Recently, the Professor has been consumed by his current study, The Nibiru Project. He requires Martin’s help to uncover the secrets that lie beneath the mountains of Western Bohemia (Czech Republic).

Petr Stasek

Stasek is the son of Dietrich Raumhart, a well known archaeologist of his time. Stasek, like his father, studied Archeology. Stasek is a man determined to destroy anyone or anything that stands in his way of him retrieving his father’s lifetime work, The Nibiru Project which was lost during World War II.

Gameplay
The gameplay is very similar to previous Adventure Company games, such as Syberia and its sequel, Syberia II. Another similar title is Secret Files: Tunguska. The player controls the main character, Martin Holan, in fixed-camera, third-person view.

Graphics engine
NIBIRU uses the AGDS (Advanced Graphic Development System) engine that apart from standard elements enables several graphical effects like rain, lightning, fog etc. The primary graphical mode of the gaming engine is 32 bit but there is also a less demanding 16 bit mode for older hardware. The engine was originally developed and used for The Black Mirror horror adventure game.

Critical reception
The game received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the game received an average score of 64% based on 14 reviews. On Metacritic, the game received an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.