Point, Click, And Run For Your Life In Abducted: Episode 1 [Review]

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Abducted

Episode One of developer Sunside’s six-part, hybrid adventure series is out now in the App Store, and it’s a promising start.

Abducted: Episode 1 by Sunside
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone, iPad
Price: $2.99 (special launch price)

Abducted pulls from a variety of genres to build its sci-fi world and mechanics, including point-and-click (and text!) adventures, role-playing games, and even survival horror. It’s also a really good-looking game with an intriguing setting and enough mysteries to keep you moving on to see what’s next.

And if you have a device that can play it, you’ll enjoy it quite a lot.

In Abducted, your character wakes up on something called “the ship” with no memory of who she is or how she got there. The Ship is apparently a living craft the size of a planetoid, which means that where you would normally see a computer screen or a walkway, you get a writhing mass of tentacles and a bridge made out of alien skin.

It’s kinda weird and unsettling, but at least it’s different. The main point of the amnesia at this point in the story is to allow us (through our hero) to ask the most stupid, basic questions imaginable without it seeming forced. Obviously it will serve a more plot-intensive point later, but in this episode it’s there to build up the confusion and give you an excuse to talk to the alien computer on your character’s arm.

Yeah, we don’t know where that came from, either. They’ll probably tell us later.

If you have a device that can play it, you’ll enjoy it quite a lot.

Playing Abducted basically amounts to walking around exploring and examining everything, talking to the arm, and solving light puzzles. You also have a pulse (read: laser gun) that you barely use this time around, and later you gain a “Manipulate” ability that lets you move some objects in the environment.

It’s all pretty standard adventure stuff … until you abruptly meet a space monster and enter a harrowing chase sequence. So you can’t accuse the game of lacking variety.

You might, however, take issue with the fact that it really only works with the newest iOS devices. My iPhone 4s could run it eventually, but I had a lot of crashes. So be sure to check out the list of supported devices on the App Store page before you drop the money.

AbductedGame Name: : Abducted: Episode 1
The Good: Cool setting, good variety, and fun point-and-click gameplay.
The Bad: Pointing and clicking is not the best control scheme for chase sequences that require some precision; only works properly on iPhone 5 and newer iPads.
The Verdict: It’s a shame more people can’t play it with what they have, but those who can will enjoy themselves.
Buy from: App Store

[rating=game4]

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