Adam's Venture II: Solomon's Secret (PC)

Adam's Venture II Adam and Evelyn become entangled in a ruthless dig on the Temple Mount that's stirring up the entire region.
Release Date: Apr 8: 2011


 In Adam's Venture II: Solomon's Secret, Adam Venture and his crew end up in 1920's Jerusalem after having escaped alive from the Caverns of Eden. On their continuous search for the Lost Garden of Eden, they become entangled in a thickening plot featuring a ruthless dig for the ancient King Solomon’s treasure - but is that really all there is to it? Not all is as it seems.

Videogames publisher Iceberg Interactive and game developer Vertigo Games today are proud to announce that Adam’s Venture 2: Solomon’s Secret (PC) has been shipped to major retailers where the game will be available at the end of the week.

Adam Venture is an action explorer hero: Adventurous but using his wits rather than resorting to violence. Brought to life from a third person perspective with the Unreal 3tm engine, adventure gamers are in for a real visual treat in combination with family values storytelling. In this second installment of the episodic series, Adam Venture and his crew end up in 1920’s Jerusalem after having escaped alive from the Caverns of Eden. On their continuous search for the Lost Garden of Eden, they become entangled in a thickening plot featuring a ruthless dig for the ancient King Solomon’s treasure – but is that really all there is to it? What is the real goal of the infamous Clairvaux Corporation?

Adam’s Venture 2 picks up where their previous episode left off. If you're not familiar with the original Adam's Venture, think of this as an Indiana Jones game with Biblical overtones.   Adam and his partner Evelyn barely escape with their lives from the lost Garden of Eden.  Upon boarding their plane, the pilot is upset that the professor who was with them (and turned on them) did not survive.  Adam and Evelyn are quickly thrown into jail and must find a way to escape and find out what this Clairvoix Corporation is really about.

After breaking out of jail in the game's early moments, Adam and Evelyn run for their lives by heading to Jerusalem. It turns out that this corporation is mining in the temple mount seeking Solomon’s lost treasures.  Their motive is greed and they don’t care what the cost is for the locals as well as our main characters.  You must beat them to the treasure and prevent them from discovering it!


As if locating the temple isn’t challenging enough, the puzzles guarding it will make you put your thinking cap on.  Besides lock pick puzzles, you will have to solve various math equation and scripture puzzles, too.  Many of the brainteasers come back with harder versions later on in the game, but the difficulty of all of the puzzles is just about right in my opinion. I didn’t need to hunt the web for any solutions, but I did need to jot some notes down to solve and analyze these riddles.


It's been a long time since I played a game that does not require mouse input: the controls consist of using the arrow keys for movement, the space bar to jump, and the control key to crouch.  While the control scheme works pretty well, you cannot customize or re-map the keys to your liking.

The game automatically saves your progress at check points so it's pretty painless to return to where you left off.  I’m happy to report that this game is at least twice as long as the first installment, but it’s still short, offering roughly four to five hours of game play.  There are some unlock codes for extra online content but as of this review they don’t appear to be functional yet.

Graphically, this game is stunning, as it takes advantage of the Unreal 3 engine. There are some minor graphical glitches and modeling imperfections but this is still the best looking Christian themed game I've played so far. The caves and caverns look as creepy as they are intended to. The human models and animations look great. The engine handles the water, fire and textures with ease.


The voice acting and sound effects are well done. The character development is believable and you can’t help the urge to want to smack Adam for being so oblivious when it comes to Evelyn and her feelings. The scenery is both creepy and gorgeous at the appropriate times. There are murky caverns to explore and the remains of Solomon's temple are breathtaking. While the music is fitting, ultimately it's forgettable.

From an appropriateness standpoint this game is pretty clean as there is no blood or gore. It’s safe to play for all ages.

Game Features:

* Developed using the critically acclaimed Unreal 3 Engine.

* Second game of the episodic series. Brilliantly rendered in vivid 3D for striking visuals and truly stunning environments that breathe life into the story.

* Non Violent gameplay.

* Engaging storyline weaving a classic adventure with biblical overtones, adding more characters, depth and twists in this second game of the series.

* 8 distinct levels, including outdoor environments, with much longer gameplay.

* Over 50 challenging puzzles, varying in difficulty degree.