Herc's Adventures

Big Ape Productions, Inc., LucasArts Entertainment Company

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Product Details

UPC:	023272650544
Release Date:	1997
Platform:	Sega Saturn
Genre:	Action
Style:	Action Adventure

Review

It's not that LucasArts' first action-adventure game is a very bad one, it's just not all that much fun. Let's start with the premise. In Herc's Adventures you choose from one of three different characters, Herc, Jason, and Atlanta, and go out on a massive quest to rescue Persephone, the goddess of spring and growth. Unfortunately, she is being held by Hades and you will have to fight all sorts of undead skeletons and zombies in order to free Persephone. Although the story blends Greek and Roman mythology into a rather humorous overtone, the story itself is very uninspired and dull.

While the game relies heavily on action, there are quite a few adventure and even RPG elements. There are over forty different worlds and pieces of land to explore and because of this, the game is quite large. Scattered about in these different lands are many non-player characters (NPCs) that will send you out on quests. Some are looking for a certain key and if you bring it back, they will give you what you need to advance in the game. They also act as tools for advancing the story along. These story advancements and side quests are fun but the action bogs the game down.

As you're progressing through the lands, you will have to fight a ton of enemies. Sometimes, ten or fifteen skeletons will pop out of the ground and continue to come up for a good five minutes. Also, most enemies will come back and you will have to fight through places over and over again. There is so much action that the game gets really boring and repetitive. The problem is that you fight the same monsters over and over again and there just aren't that many different monster characters in the game.

The characters that you can play as differ in speed, weapon, and special attack. It doesn't really matter who you fight these enemies with, as there is little to no strategy involved. You just walk up and start shooting or bashing; nothing out of the ordinary.

Fortunately, there are some good things about this game. The fact that you and a friend can take part in a cooperative two-player mode is great. This helps to alleviate some of the tediousness of the single player game. Also, the graphics are pretty easy on the eyes. There are lots of nice hand-drawn and pre-rendered backgrounds to venture through.

Still, the fact remains that Herc's Adventures just isn't that much fun. The mindless action and uninspired storyline really bring the game down at the end, which is a shame. Had more thought been put into the actual play of the game, this could have been something good. As it is, it's just boring. ~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide

Credits

Name	Role
Atlanta [Herc\'s Adventures]	Character
Hades	Character
Hera	Character
Herc	Character
Jason [Roman Mythology]	Character
Poseidon	Character
Zeus [Greek Mythology]	Character
Dionysus [Mythology]	Character
Big Ape Productions, Inc.	Developer
LucasArts Entertainment Company	Manufacturer/Publisher