Here's another exclusive look at a highly promising point & click adventure. Legacy: Dark Shadows is being developed by a small dedicated team from Zagreb, Croatia. I recently got to play an alpha demo and I am excited about how this game might turn out.

The story of Legacy spans many years, from a prologue set in 1942 to a future world of harsh bureaucracy in 2138. The demo shows two scenes from the battle for Stalingrad—interestingly enough, rendered in black and white. Smoke can be seen billowing from the battlefield in the distance, while a turntable plays Russian propaganda music. Every other moment, a shell impacts somewhere near causing the screen to shake violently. Even though many details still have to be ironed out, the build version already manages to establish a tremendous sense of atmosphere. I don't know where the story of Legacy: Dark Shadows will take us from this point on, but the first impressions are very positive.

The demo lets you temporarily assume control of the character Jack Black, but the main character of the game is Ren Silver. She's kind of the girl-with-an-edge of the April Ryan prototype. Rene is private investigator—a job she inherited from her mother—but also has an elaborate criminal record. These are two different sides of her that we will most likely get to explore in the game.

The engine is similar to Syberia and The Longest Journey, in that real-time animated characters are placed on top of pre-rendered backgrounds. The game runs at a nice resolution of 1024x768. For the technically inclined, Ren Silver is made up out of approximately 20,000 polygons. In comparison, Guybrush in Escape From Monkey Island is made up out of 1,500. The interface is a breeze; left-clicking brings up a menu with different actions, while the right mouse button provides access to the inventory.

Developer Razbor Studios is working on this title under difficult circumstances. They continually have to acquire sponsorship and investors to get enough hardware capacity. I must say their determination is a testimony to their enthusiasm for adventure games. Legacy: Dark Shadows has been in development since February 2002, so much of what you see here is still a work-in-progress. Still, what I have seen so far hints at much good to come.

For character profiles and various downloads, check out the official Legacy website, and keep watching for more news on AG as development of this promising game continues!