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Scavenger Hunter

Developer:Sagewood Software
Platform:PC
Genre:Adventure
Release Date:2006
Article Posted:March 2006


Did you ever replay an adventure game after completing it and wish you didn’t know the answers to all the puzzles? Perhaps you enjoyed going through the story again, but longed for new areas to explore. You looked for the hidden locations or the alternate ending that simply did not exist in the game. Scavenger Hunter from Sagewood Software offers a very promising alternative.

Scavenger Hunter proposes an explanation for the inexplicable disappearance of all those things you could have sworn you left in plain sight. It seems there is a great reason why things will occasionally vanish when you look the other way even for a split second… While we were merrily decorating our homes, constructing monuments, and building our civilization, a mysterious alien race has been pillaging our planet for centuries. With each stolen invaluable artifact, these notorious aliens have taken a piece of our history. It is time to put a stop to their intergalactic heist!

You are member of an elite task force assembled to stop the thieves from outer space. You will be thrust into distant alien worlds to recover stolen items. You are also charged with discovering the secrets of the Scavenger race. Hidden within the mysterious Scavenger lands is the key to destroy the alien worlds. With careful observation and a lot of cunning, you just might be able to figure out how to prevent the thieves from attacking our planet. In the process, you might also discover your pair of socks or favorite pen that simply disappeared just a few days ago.

The entire concept of Scavenger Hunter is built around replayability. Instead of a static architecture with pre-designed levels, the game features randomly generated environments. Every time you start a new adventure, the game world will be reconstructed in a different way. You will get to explore new locations and encounter different puzzles. There is a large number of available combinations, making the experience significantly different each time you play the game.

The random generation of environments in Scavenger Hunter also ties into the story of the game. When they are not ruthlessly stealing our precious belongings, the Scavengers are envisioned as a race of creatures who are continually building new worlds. When you destroy one of their existing worlds, the Scavengers immediately engage in rebuilding efforts. But with each reconstruction, the aliens change things around and spice-up the place. Thus, each time you embark on a new mission, you will be essentially exploring new territory, even though certain elements might be familiar.

Scavenger Hunter will be an adventure game played from a first-person perspective. The game will have an emphasis on puzzles and exploration rather than character interaction. Players will have an unlimited inventory and save game slots. The official Scavenger Hunter Web site also notes that the game will feature no violence or explicit language. Younger players and mature adventure gamers alike should be able to enjoy Scavenger Hunter.

The idea of randomly generated environments is not necessarily a new one. Among the games that most successfully implemented this feature, Diablo was released almost ten years ago in late 1996. However, the implementation in Scavenger Hunter is still extremely novel and could easily make for a very unique adventure game. The idea of being able to find new locations and new challenges each time you play the game is very promising. The game also promises an interesting story and challenging puzzles. Dubbed “The Replayable Adventure Game”, Scavenger Hunter could deliver an excellent gaming experience.

The official site is available here: Scavenger Hunter