Review: Heileen
Saturday, October 18th, 2008
We got the opportunity to beta-test this new game from Tycoon Games. After the success of Summer Session, one of the first (if not the first) shareware dating game available for the mac, they created a new product that while is different from the previous one, is still very original and interesting.
The game see you in the role of Heileen, a 18 years old girl from England, who has been “forced” from his uncle Otto, a prominent merchantman, to follow him on a trip to the New World.
During the trip she meets with old friends (Marie, one of her best friends since childhood) and makes new ones. There’s of course some romance in the game, even if the story is mainly about the relationship between Heileen and Marie first, and Heileen and Lora then.
Lora is one of my favourite character in a game. An ex-prostitute that now is Otto’s mistress, has a “libertine” view, but still has a personality and can really manipulate men (and women) to her will. She often helps Heileen through the game, and one of the finals you can get is with her.
Yes, finals: there are 3 in total, but they’re very long and really make the story different. Based on your action during the game you’ll see one of those 3 finals. I won’t reveal much, even if I must say I was very surprised by one of them… 
An interesting innovation is the “quest mode”. Taken from popular RPGs or MMORPGs, the quest system in practice adds subplots to the game. An example, in the beginning you realize how arrogant is Otto and you want to make him embarassed to “get vengeance”. You’ll have to pick the right choices, and if you make it you’ll see a unique scene that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Some quests are simple while other requires lot of work and span over 2-3 chapters.
In definitive a very original game that everyone (except people that can’t stand reading texts/books) should try at least once: I’m sure you’ll get sucked into the story as I was.
Rating: 
We got the opportunity to beta-test this new game from Tycoon Games. After the success of Summer Session, one of the first (if not the first) shareware dating game available for the mac, they created a new product that while is different from the previous one, is still very original and interesting.
The game see you in the role of Heileen, a 18 years old girl from England, who has been “forced” from his uncle Otto, a prominent merchantman, to follow him on a trip to the New World.
During the trip she meets with old friends (Marie, one of her best friends since childhood) and makes new ones. There’s of course some romance in the game, even if the story is mainly about the relationship between Heileen and Marie first, and Heileen and Lora then.
Lora is one of my favourite character in a game. An ex-prostitute that now is Otto’s mistress, has a “libertine” view, but still has a personality and can really manipulate men (and women) to her will. She often helps Heileen through the game, and one of the finals you can get is with her.
Yes, finals: there are 3 in total, but they’re very long and really make the story different. Based on your action during the game you’ll see one of those 3 finals. I won’t reveal much, even if I must say I was very surprised by one of them…
An interesting innovation is the “quest mode”. Taken from popular RPGs or MMORPGs, the quest system in practice adds subplots to the game. An example, in the beginning you realize how arrogant is Otto and you want to make him embarassed to “get vengeance”. You’ll have to pick the right choices, and if you make it you’ll see a unique scene that you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Some quests are simple while other requires lot of work and span over 2-3 chapters.
In definitive a very original game that everyone (except people that can’t stand reading texts/books) should try at least once: I’m sure you’ll get sucked into the story as I was.