Released by Cryo Collection (the company is no longer in operation), this is a supernatural adventure – the main
protagonist being Ekna, part time exorcist and part time monk. He is a guardian of the frontier between the spirit world and our world, a frontier known as “The Gate”. He has to undertake dangerous missions whenever and wherever the paranormal intrudes into our world. To this purpose, he has at his command various spells, ranging from Heal to Positive Blast. But he has to be careful in the choice of spells, as some entities are susceptible to some spells and not to others. He also has to be careful not to use up all his energy before the mystery has been solved.
There are ten different episodes or adventures, each episode being unrelated to the others. The first adventure takes you to an ancient art museum, where you have to investigate unnatural happenings. Ekna interacts with the other characters on the scene – he questions them, he seeks information from them – but all the action (that will determine the course of the game) is in his hands. In between the episodes, he can pick up various weapons and further orders at his secret headquarters. Other episodes take you to a fast-food restaurant, a zeppelin and a distillery.
The basic premise is sound, the storyline is interesting but the game could have been better. The controls are clumsy, and the profusion of spells available just adds to the general confusion. At times, a simple approach yields the best dividends. As the episodes are unrelated, I would have liked the option to play them in whatever sequence the user desired. Sometimes, one gets stuck in a particular episode, and one wants to abandon it (or come back to it later) and move on to the next. However, the game does not allow this – and it can be particularly infuriating. Perhaps, this is the reason that various cheats and walkthroughs are available for a wide variety of P.C. games!
The graphics are okay (for their time), but for some reason Ekna’s feet do not seem to touch the floor. I have still been unable to figure out whether this is by design, or a quirk of programming!