Time travelling

   Echo Night distinguishes itself by having not a single battle -- the focus in the game is on solving mysteries and puzzles, as in Kemco's Shadowgate 64. In another departure from adventure game tradition, Echo Night uses a first-person perspective, not a third-person one. You see the world through the eyes of Richard Osmond, who receives a mysterious key from his deceased father. Soon thereafter, he discovers a old red book in his father's house that catapults him out of 1937 and into other time periods.

Even the dogs have ghosts

   In each of the ten locations, including a haunted ship, a train, a gold mine, and a casino, Richard must speak with the indigenous ghosts to acquire clues. By solving the ghosts' problems and locating talisman stones, he can eventually acquire the means necessary to return to his own time and witness one of 10 different endings. Several mini-games and Dual Shock support will keep you entertained while you're racking your brain over the puzzles.

   Echo Night's unconventional approach seems to have paid off -- the game already has a large following in Japan, and a sequel is in development. Now, North American gamers looking for more puzzles in their adventure diet can also give Echo Night a try when it's released this summer.