Culpa Innata (more or less translating to "Innate Sin") was one of the most interesting games for me to see at E3 this year. Mainly because I went into it knowing next to nothing about the game, and was pleasantly surprised that first-time adventure game developer Momentum AS had created what looked like one of the most promising adventure games out on the show floor. (Or in this case, out in the show hallway.) So I was more than happy when the opportunity came along afterwards to play through an early beta of the title, since this is certainly a game that has aspirations of becoming something more than your standard adventure game.

The story takes place in the not-so-distant future of 2047 in the Utopian-like city of Adrianopolis. Adrianopolis is one of the foremost cities of the World Union, which is a collection of the wealthiest former nation states, now united under one umbrella. In the Union, only the smartest, richest, and most genetically stable people are allowed to reside; a seemingly perfect place where financial success is the highest goal but crime is virtually non-existent. All remaining land outside of Union borders is considered a Rogue State, whose citizens still cling to outdated, "unscientific" societal beliefs.

You play as Phoenix Wallis, a young Adrianopolis Peace Officer assigned to investigate an unprecedented murder of a Union citizen in the Rogue State of Russia. What begins as a seemingly run-of-the-mill murder case attracts the attentions of an underground resistance group as the game develops into a far more complex mystery. As Phoenix is drawn unwittingly deeper into a covert conspiracy, she begins to examine more closely the world in which she lives, and to question the ideals of the society she has sworn to protect. There is really only one word to describe this story, and that is "ambitious".

There is an impressive amount of informative material to support the "New World Union" storyline. In fact, the game goes out of its way to create an entire mythology and lexicon around the story's premise — everything from instructional pamphlets on how to become an "Arrivee", an entire "Peace Officer Code of Conduct" manual, and billboards and plaques throughout that detail the world's military history, to name a just few things. I haven't seen very many adventure games try to create a story with background information as expansive as this.

The game is played from the third-person perspective and is fully 3D. However, it feels and plays more like a traditional 2D background game with 3D characters, à la The Longest Journey. Also featured is the tried-and-true mouse-controlled, point and click system. This interface will make adventure gamers feel very much at home with the controls but at this stage it isn't quite perfect. If I had to harp on a technical aspect of the game at this stage, it would have to be the camera angles and character navigation. In small spaces, the cameras are fine, but in large areas, it can be difficult to tell where Phoenix can go. At times this caused the character to go in a different direction than the one I had clicked on. However, as this is still a beta release, hopefully these problems will be fully ironed out by the time the game is in stores.



These issues probably could have been avoided entirely by using the more traditional 2D prerendered backgrounds, but there are some benefits to using 3D instead. At times the camera will pan as Phoenix moves, and during conversations, there are various camera angles and close up shots used, giving the game a more cinematic feel. Cutscenes are handled by the game engine itself, so they do not differ stylistically or quality-wise from the regular in-game presentation.

Inventory and other options are also handled in the familiar way of right clicking to bring up an options window, where you are able to view your inventory, access the navigation map (where new locations are marked as you progress for instant access) and view a diary. This diary is a useful feature, as it not only offers insight into Phoenix's inner thoughts, it also provide contextual hints. Any reference to a task left to complete will be marked in red for easy locating, and when finished they will change to black, along with the non-essential entries.

While the game is rooted in classic design concepts, Culpa Innata does make several strides in other areas to advance the adventure genre in welcome directions. You will spend a great deal of your time in the game questioning people using branching dialogue trees. As a result, the game can be very "talky", and those that typically do not enjoy a lot of conversation in games may be leery of this one. But in Culpa Innata, much of the dialogue is completely optional, largely there to add even more to the game's backstory and to help give added perspective into your character. At first I thought Phoenix really lacked a story or even a personality of her own, but you will find that as the game progresses you slowly learn more about her, and her character development is very much a part of the design.



The many conversations in the game are balanced by a wide variety of puzzles, including logic-based ones such as a Rubik's cube puzzle, inventory based puzzles, and gadget-based puzzles. As a Peace Officer, you have several hi-tech computer programs at your disposal to help solve puzzles, such as image and audio analysis and decryption tools. The game seems to really have a nice selection of different types of puzzles to offer that vary in their degree of difficulty.

Like any plot-driven game, Culpa Innata is essentially linear since you will need to accomplish certain tasks before the story can progress. However, the order in which you complete those tasks can be quite non-linear. For example, if you have five suspects available for questioning, it will not matter which you choose to talk to first, but the next phase of the story will not begin until you have obtained a certain piece of information from at least one of them. Each suspect isn't always available for questioning, however, since according to the rules in your Peace Officer handbook, you are only allowed to question any one person for a limited time each day, meaning you will need to come back to the same suspect several times to complete your line of questioning. Company rules or not, this just comes off as a contrived way to control progress, as the game plays out in a pseudo-real time. There is no actual time limit on the game, but each time you travel the clock will advance, so there is only so much you can accomplish on any given day.

Despite the basic linearity of the storyline, the different dialogue choices, multiple endings, and quite a few optional activities available to you make the game feel less linear than most adventure titles out there. One very nice optional touch is the ability to change clothes — something that many adventure games should make available in the future. While it isn't necessary to the gameplay, it does offer more variety and realism. During the daytime, you will be limited to your Peace Officer uniform, but at night you'll need to pick out an ensemble from several choices to either meet a friend for drinks, go on a date, or visit a club.




This brings up another variety of optional scenarios the game gives the player. Social opportunities will arise for you that are completely voluntary and won't greatly impact the storyline, but they allow you the opportunity to discuss what's going on in the case with other people, as well as learn more about this futuristic world. It also helps to flesh out your own character, Phoenix, who will go through gradual change as she uncovers each new layer of the plot, and subtle changes in her personality can be observed through these non-essential conversations with her friends. For those simply interested in moving the main story forward, these meetings can easily be skipped, but for those looking to immerse themselves in the full story, there is plenty available to explore.

With the game's truly expansive storyline and clear attempts to improve on the often-criticized linear aspect of adventure games, Culpa Innata could end up being a surprise hit title of the adventure community this year. Whether the production will ultimately be able to live up to the story's grand intentions will only be known with the release of the game in its final form, of course. But from this early preview version, I must say I have high hopes. You'll be able to decide for yourselves when the game is available later this year. There is currently no word on a publisher for the game, but negotiations are underway, and with the game so close to completion, it's just a matter of time before we see it on store shelves.