Not since the good old days of the Broken Sword series of adventure/puzzle games have I ventured into this genre, but Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle looks like something to sit up and take notice to.

The story of Runaway 2 is quite alike most puzzle games I’ve played; the main character is a slightly ignorant (or maybe just stupid) bloke who while trying to save his endangered woman ends up uncovering a wider and much more dangerous conspiracy. Although the story frame is pretty standard far the actual story itself is enough to keep you plugging through the puzzles, even if the game plays a little like an episode of Lost in the first parts, where you’re given loads of questions but no answers.

The main character, Brian Bosco, is a bit of a hit and miss character. Runaway 2 is crammed with “humour” and Brian is the main agent, delivering witty comments mostly through his inner monologue. Sometimes he can be quite amusing, like commenting on the absurdness of the genre itself as to why he can carry so many items in his pockets, but at others times he can be plain unfunny or even annoying. This is pretty much the same with the other characters you’ll meet in the game; some of them are genuinely funny in their eccentricity, but some are dull as ditchwater or annoying as hell.

The puzzles are as hit and miss as the characters. At times you’ll have fairly straightforward puzzles, albeit not easy ones, and at others you’ll just have to try any and every item combination on all manner of stupid things in the environment until something clicks. Sometimes the game even forces you to use the wrong combination first, and then it hints at what you should try, rather than simply letting you use the right combination first- I told you you’d be confused…

Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle is a fun adventure/puzzle game, which looks nice, has a good story and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Unfortunately the eccentricity also counts against itself as the characters are hit and miss, not all the humour sticks and some of the puzzles are just plain bizarre. If you’re a fan of the genre, or liked the Broken Sword or Monkey Island games in particular then this might just take your fancy.