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Jack Orlando
Director’s Cut
Developer:Toontraxx
Publisher:JoWood Productions
Platform:PC
Genre:Adventure
Release Date:2001
Article Posted:March 2006
Grade:65/100
System Requirements


This adventure, detective game was created and illustrated by world famous Hollywood animators and background artists like Aleksandra Bylica. The talent behind the nice sleazy jazzy soundtrack is Harold Faltermeyer, renowned for sounds on some well-known movies including Beverly Hills Cop, Running Man, and Tango & Cash.

Jack Orlando is a Toontraxx and JoWood Productions number of the point-and-click style, using keyboard only for inventory and options screen. It comes conveniently all on one disk so there's no swapping mid-game, which, if too frequent, can put a damper on a game.

The game is set in 1933, somewhere in America at the time of the end of prohibition. Everywhere is stocking up on quality whiskey and excitement brews at the lifting of the drinking ban.

Jack Orlando is a "hat n Mac" private investigator who, after a quiet period in his career, gets involuntarily embroiled in a murder case. He has a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Luckily, being on a first name basis with the chief of police, Jack is granted 48 hours to get himself off the hook and nail the real suspect. On his journey to clear his name, Jack will travel throughout many different locations and discover a much bigger plot!

The inventory is stored nicely on the inside of Jack’s Mac, which holds an unrealistic amount of items - the majority of which you will not be needing at any point throughout the game. It can be difficult enough to figure out what you need to do to make progress at some points, let alone which item to use!

The sheer quantity of useless gumph you will find to fill your Mac is definitely the worst part of the game. Some of the puzzles were interesting ideas, but nothing astoundingly innovative. The true highlight of Jack Orlando is the smooth animation/graphics.

In summary, I enjoyed playing this game, traversing the many scenes and talking to the many and varied characters. There are over 20 different interactive characters. The basis of the story was also great, however, in my opinion the game could have had a better flow. It is entertaining to go through the game for the first time, but few players will probably be tempted to hit these mean streets more than once.

Mainly due to its pleasant graphics, Jack Orlando is a notch above being bargain bin material, but it is nothing breathtaking.

The final grade is 65/100

      


PC System Requirements:
Windows® XP/2000/Me/98/95
Intel Pentium® 200 MHz
64 MB RAM
DirectX® 8.0 Compatible Video Card
Windows Compatible Sound Card
8x CD-ROM Drive
Mouse and Keyboard