The force of the Aztec army was well known among the local tribes and was best proved by the many provinces conquered brutally by it. Former leaders of the conquered lands, if they survived the attack, were left to rule in exchange for a huge tribute paid to the emperor. But not all of the lords were happy with the current situation and often plotted against the emperor in order to recover their lost lands and wealth. The emperor, Moctezuma, was also the subject of a plot organized by a handful of lords and priests. The conspirators took advantage of a strange disease that struck the city of Tenochtitlan and attempted to denigrate the rightful ruler. Coapil (Little Serpent) was a young huntsman, whose only concern was to gather the daily ratio of food for his family. One day while he was wandering in the forest searching for his prey, Little Serpent witnessed the murder of a nobleman. As if this wasn't enough, he was charged for the lord's murder, his family was imprisoned and he was hunted down like a mad jaguar. The only way to avoid the brief trial that awaited him and the amiable meeting with the royal jaguars, was to prove his innocence. The dieing nobleman gave him a strange necklace and told him to meet a certain poet in Tenochtitlan. So Little Serpent, aware of his destiny, embarked down the road that led to the City of Gold.

Every time I get my hands on a Cryo Interactive product, I speechlessly admire the outstanding graphics that come out from these French designer's hands and minds. I've always said, Cryo Interactive has the best game graphics I have ever seen, considering the hardware it requires. Once more the Omni 3D engine, trademark of Cryo Interactive, show's its abilities. Star Trek fans will surely remember the holodecks used by Picard and his crew to escape into a virtual world, to relax and to have fun. Aztec is a holodeck. Once you join the world, you are completely absorbed by it, and you lose touch with reality. There was a time when the classic 2D point-and-click adventures, where you could watch your hero move between screens, were en-vogue. Lately the first-person approach is preferred, maybe because the "being there" feeling is stronger. Aztec is a first-person point-and-click adventure. Having a strong supporter in the gorgeous graphics I mentioned, Cryo Interactive has introduced a second mode of playing (beside adventure). The exploration mode allows you to wander freely through the streets and channels of Tenochtitlan, and other important locations present in the game, admiring the beauty of Aztec architecture, culture and life. Either in adventure mode or exploration you can always access the encyclopedia.

Aztec is a huge encyclopedia of the empire's life, social and political organization, religion and people. Every object, building or person you meet has a short description. If you choose to enter the game as our hero, you will have to pull your eyes from the beauty of the graphics to concentrate on the action and puzzle elements. Puzzles aren't difficult and can be resolved logically, so our neurons won't be overused. Still, sometimes, I wasn't able to solve a puzzle even if the solution was rather obvious. In these cases, Little Serpent's own intellect will help you. For example if you need to climb somewhere and happen to pass near a ladder you'll hear Little Serpent thinking that ladder could be of some use. Puzzles are different enough to keep you connected, ranging from talking with characters in search of clues to the use of the right object in the right spot or using the right exit. Sometimes you can eavesdrop, sometimes you might die (no fear, the game will restart from the last save, which will be the moment before dieing if you keep autosave activated). The interface is so intuitive that even if you play for the first time ever you won't have problems getting used to it (left click to use, talk, activate and right click to bring up the inventory).

Aztec's music was very well done. They used seashells for effect and the rhythm was given by drums and dried seeds tied to singers' feet and arms. Even if modern instruments were used for Aztec the music would still feel so authentic you would actually think it's dated from the Aztec time. Music is not the only sound you'll hear, the ambience is well represented as well (birds, market crowd, wind, etc). Also all characters you meet have their own unique voice and their facial expressions and motion are synchronized with the speech.

Aztec history, even if it was very short, showed us an extremely advanced and cult civilization. No wonder Cryo Interactive has chosen their empire as décor for their latest game of the cult-adventure series, a worthy successor of Versailles and Egypt. As usual, quests are games that lack replayability and Aztec is no exception. It's still a game that shouldn't be missing from any gamer's collection though, especially as lately these kinds of games are so rare, thus so precious.