J.U.L.I.A

The year is 2430 AD. Somewhere in space, the emergency system has begun to sound as the interstellar probe that has been orbiting an unknown planet on was damaged during a meteor storm. You have been woken up out of your cryogenic sleep and have been asked to fix the problem. As you come to terms with the scenario it is then you are told by the ships AI, J.U.L.I.A, that your crew had left many years ago and you are the only person left on board.

You play as astrobiologist Rachel Manners who is told by J.U.L.I.A that, due to her missing data, she cannot tell you what recent events have led to you being on board alone. The game is narrative driven and you point and click your way to find clues and solve puzzles to not only survive but to find out what events led to you being alone. To kick start the game J.U.L.I.A explains the five options available: planet view, materials, MOBOT, upgrade repair and solar system, and how they are used. In order to obtain materials and to explore planets you will need to access the planet view. Here you will be given the options to scan the planet, material harvest and travel with the mobile unit MOBOT.

Before you can go ahead with these options you must scan the planet first. Materials are able to inform you how much you have of each raw material available. MOBOT 2300.21 is the mobile robot which is sent out to explore the different planets due to the hazardous conditions. Upgrade repair gives you an overview of the entire ship and it directs you to which parts have sustained damage. By hovering over the damaged areas which are highlighted in red, you will find out how much of each raw material is needed to fix it. Upgrades are available for different sections of the ship but you will need to have the correct blueprints, which you can find during your planetary exploration. The solar system option is used to navigate between the six different planets you discover.

What I did like was that the game is simple and not over complicated, allowing you to focus on the task at hand. The graphics for the cut scenes and during the exploring sequences were really good and coupled with the simple point and click play is great. It had the elements for me to like this game, but at times I did feel a little lost with what to next after I’d completed a task. I also didn’t feel as drawn into mystery as I had hoped so at times I did lose interest. Whilst I could see where this game was going in terms of the mystery and suspense element, for me J.U.L.I.A felt a little dry.