Secret Files: Tunguska

Last updated
Secret Files: Tunguska
Tunguska-EU.png
Developer(s) Fusionsphere Systems
Animation Arts
Publisher(s) Deep Silver
Designer(s) Jörg Beilschmidt
Klaus Schnohr
Artist(s) Stephan Hoffmann
Christian Fisher
Writer(s) Marco Zeugner
Composer(s) Dynamedion
Series Secret Files
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Wii, iOS, Android, Wii U, Nintendo Switch
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • GER: 4 September 2006
  • AU: 28 September 2006
  • EU: 29 September 2006
  • NA: 30 October 2006
Nintendo DS, Wii
  • GER: 25 April 2008
  • EU: 23 May 2008
  • NA: 22 June 2010 [1]
iOS
  • WW: 16 July 2014
Android
  • WW: 19 December 2014
Wii U
  • GER: 15 October 2015 [2]
  • EU: 28 July 2016
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: 30 November 2018 [3]
Genre(s) Graphic adventure
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer (Wii only)

Secret Files: Tunguska (German: Geheimakte Tunguska) is a 2006 graphic adventure video game developed by German studios Fusionsphere Systems and Animation Arts and published by Deep Silver for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Wii, iOS, Android, Wii U and Nintendo Switch. The game is the start of the Secret Files trilogy, with a sequel, Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis , being released in 2008.

Contents

Gameplay

The game is viewed from a third person perspective and uses a classic point and click interface. The game features a 'snoop key' tool, which highlights all interactive objects on screen and assists in finding small, easily overlooked objects. Unlike games in the Broken Sword series, it is not possible for the player to lose or get into an unwinnable situation. There are also a few parts of the game where players must switch between the main character, Nina Kalenkov, and her boyfriend Max Gruber, to progress.

The Wii version of the game exclusively allows the player to connect a Nunchuk to a Wii Remote and use its analog stick to directly control character movement and also supports cooperative multiplayer in which a second player uses another Wii Remote to easily point out anything that could be crucial to progress.

Plot

One night, Nina's father, Vladimir Kalenkov, in his office in a museum in Berlin, is suddenly attacked by a figure in black robes who seemingly possesses psychic powers. A while later Nina enters the office but finds the place ransacked and her father missing. She calls the police but they refuse to help due to bureaucratic reasons, but afterwards, detective Kanski arrives at the place. Nina is finally offered help by Vladimir's assistant, Max Gruber. She returns to her and her father's apartment to find it ransacked too and she is knocked unconscious being attacked from behind. In the apartment she finds clues about someone named Oleg Kambursky, who is living nearby and had been contacted by her father and the latter wanted to see him again. After finding his address, Nina goes to meet him, but he denies knowing her father. Nina afterwards overhears Oleg making a frantic telephone call to someone mentioning Vladimir and Tunguska and she decides to talk to Max Gruber about the events and ask him about Tunguska. As Nina and Max go to Vladimir's office, they are intercepted by Detective Kanski holding a gun, but they are saved by Oleg who knocks Kanski unconscious and they all escape. Afterwards Oleg explains everything to them.

Apparently a cataclysmic explosion of unknown causes occurred in Tunguska in 1908 and an unnatural plant growth was noted in the area afterwards. Also a giant object made of an unknown material was found there, but was vanished some time later. Vladimir Kalenkov was the leader of a secret expedition in the same region in 1958 along with Oleg Kambursky and some other scientists, to study the plant growth. They also found a fragment made from an unknown material and Vladimir, in his "Kalenkov Report", proved that the object was from extraterrestrial origin, but the results were kept hidden by higher up and they were forbidden to continue any further. Despite that, Vladimir organized another expedition in 1977 with Cuban Manuel Perez and Ken Morangie (an Irish biologist), to search for more fragments but they were intercepted. At present time, Oleg has found out from a contact of his (Sergei) that a research station was built in the Tunguska region and a train is departing from Moscow and is due to transport many scientists, who had participated in the first expedition, to that station and not all of them voluntarily, and maybe Nina's father is among them. Oleg offers to take Nina by his plane to Moscow, while Max stays behind in case Vladimir appears, and she eventually manages to get on board the train. She doesn't find her father on board, but she finds documents about the "Kalenkov Report". Also, she reads that thanks to this report, the scientists learned how to manipulate the behavior of animals, applying different levels of radiation.

Then the train is attacked with a bomb by unknown assailants and derails. Afterwards Oleg and Max arrive outside a military hospital where Nina is held captive and Max rescues her. Max also discovers a medical report about patients with severe mental and behavioral anomalies from unknown causes, and that it was quite common in the region. One of them was Manuel Perez, who returned from the expedition with Vladimir, having the same psychological anomalies and after having been treated in the hospital for 30 years, he was recently transferred to Cuba at the request of a Dr. Nicole Charlesroi. After that, Nina and Max, by Oleg's plane, follow the whereabouts of Vladimir's former companions. Max is left in Ireland to search for Ken Morangie and Nina visits the mental institution in Cuba where Manuel Perez was transferred.

Nina finds that billionaire mobile network businessman Massimo Gartuso has bought the institution for unknown reasons and appointed Dr. Nicole Charlesroi as its director and also that human experiments were conducted in the asylum under the supervision of the director. Nina finds Manuel Perez but the only information she can get out of him is a drawing of a strange symbol which she then sends to Max via text message. Max shows it to Ken and Ken tells him that a researcher by the name of Evans had made a previous expedition in the Tunguska region in 1946 and found fragments with the same properties as the fragment found later by Vladimir in his expedition. Also, that symbol was one of many that were on the surface of the fragments discovered by Evans and by Vladimir. He also tells Max that Vladimir had made a trip in the Himalayas too. Nina and Max arrange to return to her apartment and meet there. Max arrives first but Nina isn't there, and he receives a phone call from Detective Kanski saying that Max is in danger and urging him to meet in the museum. Max arrives at the museum, only to find him murdered. At that time, Oleg and Nina arrive at her apartment and Oleg accuses Max to Nina as being in league with those pursuing them. He then takes Nina in the Chinese Himalayas and leads her in a remote cave. After she finds a strange metal artifact resembling the Dropa stones, he knocks her unconscious and takes her to a research station in Antarctica where he meets with Sergei and Charlesroi.

Nina comes round and finds out that Gartuso and Charlesroi were trying for some time to develop a technology that would allow them to manipulate human behavior by sending thoughts into the human brain the same way as frequency waves and radio transmitting work. The fragments found in the Tunguska region would be a great assistance for them to that end. Since they couldn't get their hands on any of them, they used Nina to find the artifact in the Himalayas for them, so they could use it to enhance their mobile network. Max then appears by plane in the company of several black robed figures. He explains what they told him: they claim to be descendants of aliens who launched a spacecraft in 1908 from Tunguska, but it exploded during lift-off and some pieces of it scattered around. They were trying for years to keep them off the hands of humans, for not to be misused, and they kidnapped firstly Vladimir to protect him from Gartuso, and later Max, when he went to the museum to meet Kanski, as to prevent Gartuso from enhancing his mobile network with the use of the artifacts and succeed in controlling people's subconscious. Nina and Max then manage to create a chemical reaction in the facility causing an explosion, which utterly destroys it as they flee and a lengthy and humorous ending cutscene follows, presenting scenes as if all of it was a film-making project.

Release and ports

Tunguska was first released on personal computers in 2006 and was ported to smartphones and as many as four Nintendo gaming systems in the years that followed. The first ports were to seventh-generation Nintendo platforms, the Wii and DS, which Deep Silver announced the following year, stating:

We chose to do it for a couple of reasons. Firstly to explore the control methods of the Wii and DS, which we find very interesting, and secondly because we feel the platforms deserve this kind of game.

Additional work was commissioned to capitalize on both systems' motion controls. [4] Those ports were first released in Europe in 2008 ahead of the sequel's initial PC release, but would not be localized for North America until Aeropause Games released them there in the summer of 2010. [5] The game was ported again digitally to mobile devices and the Wii U in the mid-2010s (the latter being available only in Europe), followed by a Nintendo Switch port worldwide in 2018.

Reception

Secret Files: Tunguska received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [6] [8] [7] [9] with praise given to the game's visuals, [16] and criticism given to the script and dialogue.

The nonsensical nature of some of the puzzle solutions has also been a point of criticism. Brett Todd of GameSpot called out one particular solution that involves taping a cell phone to a cat to eavesdrop on someone as something "goofy". [12] In his praiseworthy review of the DS point-and-click game Hotel Dusk: Room 215 , Alex Navarro cited this same Tunguska scene as an example of what Hotel does well in avoiding. [17]

Sequel

A sequel, Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis , was released in 2008 on most of the same platforms as the original game.

Related Research Articles

<i>Iron Man</i> (video game) 2008 video game

Iron Man is an action-adventure video game based on the 2008 movie of the same name as well as the classic iterations of the character. It was released by Sega on May 2, 2008 to coincide with the release of the movie in cinemas for Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, and Microsoft Windows.

<i>Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End</i> (video game) 2007 video game

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is an action-adventure video game based on the Pirates of the Caribbean films Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, published by Buena Vista Games for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, PSP, Nintendo DS, and the Wii.

<i>Drawn to Life</i> 2007 platform video game

Drawn to Life is an action-adventure platform video game for the Nintendo DS developed by 5th Cell and published by THQ in 2007. It was later published by Agatsuma Entertainment in Japan in 2008 under the name Drawn to Life: God's Marionette, and in Korea under the title Geuryeora, Touch! Naega Mandeuneun Sesang. In the game, the player creates their own playable characters, level objects, and accessories by drawing them using the DS's stylus and touchscreen. The game was ported to iOS by WayForward Technologies and released by 505 Games on May 21, 2014.

<i>The Sims 2: Castaway</i> 2007 video game

The Sims 2: Castaway is the third console spin-off of the life simulation video game The Sims 2 for the Wii, Nintendo DS (NDS), PlayStation 2 (PS2) and PlayStation Portable (PSP). It is also available on mobile phones; Nokia offered Castaway on the Ovi Store. A roughly similar game, The Sims Castaway Stories, is available for personal computers, but is not a direct port of Castaway.

<i>Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis</i> 2008 video game

Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis is a graphic adventure video game developed by Fusionsphere Systems and Animation Arts and published by Deep Silver for Microsoft Windows, Wii, Nintendo DS, iOS, Android and Nintendo Switch. It was unveiled at the 2007 Leipzig Games Convention. A sequel, Secret Files 3, was released in 2012 to close out the main Secret Files trilogy.

<i>Bolt</i> (video game) 2008 video game

Bolt is a video game developed by Avalanche Software and published by Disney Interactive Studios for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, and Microsoft Windows. It is based on the 2008 film of the same name. Mark Walton, Sean Donnelan, and Malcolm McDowell reprise their roles as Rhino, Penny's TV father, and Dr. Calico respectively. Miley Cyrus, who voiced Penny, is replaced by Ashleigh Prather.

<i>Marvel Super Hero Squad</i> (video game) 2009 video game

Marvel Super Hero Squad is a video game developed by Blue Tongue Entertainment, Mass Media, and Halfbrick and published by THQ. It was released in October 2009 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii. The game features cartoonish super-deformed versions of the Marvel Comics superhero characters, as seen in the Marvel Super Hero Squad toy line by Hasbro, as well as the television show made by Film Roman and Marvel Animation for Cartoon Network.

<i>CSI: Deadly Intent</i> 2009 video game

CSI: Deadly Intent is a computer game based on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television series. It is the seventh CSI game released, including CSI: Miami and CSI: NY. It was released for Microsoft Windows on October 20, 2009, and for Xbox 360, Nintendo DS and Wii on October 27, 2009.

<i>Shantae: Riskys Revenge</i> 2010 video game

Shantae: Risky's Revenge is a platform video game developed by WayForward Technologies for the Nintendo DSi. The second installment in the Shantae series, Risky's Revenge is the sequel to the 2002 Game Boy Color video game Shantae, and follows series protagonist Shantae as she sets out to stop the ambitions of the nefarious pirate Risky Boots.

<i>Where the Wild Things Are</i> (video game) 2009 video game

Where the Wild Things Are is a platform-adventure video game released in 2009. It is based on the movie of the same name, released the same day. The game is available for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 as well as Nintendo DS. It was developed by Griptonite Games, except for the Nintendo DS, which was developed by WayForward Technologies. All versions were published by Warner Bros. Games.

<i>Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp</i> 2010 video game

Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Swamp is a third person platform video game developed by Torus Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, Wii, and Nintendo DS consoles and also for Microsoft Windows. The game was first released on September 14, 2010, in North America and was released in the following weeks in PAL regions. It is the fifth Scooby-Doo! video game title to come to sixth generation consoles. The game is a follow-up to Scooby-Doo! First Frights.

<i>Tron Evolution: Battle Grids</i> 2010 video game

Tron: Evolution – Battle Grids is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by n-Space and published by Disney Interactive Studios for the Wii and Nintendo DS. It serves as a tie-in to the 2010 film Tron: Legacy, though its storyline predates that of the film and its other tie-in game, Tron: Evolution.

<i>Rango</i> (video game) 2011 video game

Rango is a 2011 action-adventure video game developed by Behaviour Interactive and published by Electronic Arts and Paramount Digital Entertainment for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, Wii, & Xbox 360. It is a video game sequel to the 2011 movie of the same name.

<i>Transformers: Prime – The Game</i> 2012 video game

Transformers: Prime – The Game is a brawler video game based on the Transformers: Prime animated series, itself based on the Transformers franchise. It was developed by Now Production, published by Activison, and released for the Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo DS in October–November 2012. The game's main storyline sees the Autobots on Earth, referred to as "Team Prime" and consisting of Optimus Prime, Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Ratchet, along with their human companions Jack Darby, Miko Nakadai, and Rafael "Raf" Esquivel, once again facing off against their rivals, the Decepticons, led by Megatron, and attempting to stop them from freeing an ancient and powerful Transformer known as Thunderwing.

<i>Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – The Directors Cut</i> 2009 video game

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – The Director's Cut is a 2009 enhanced remake and director's cut of the classic 1996 point-and-click adventure game Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars developed by Revolution Software. It was released for Wii, Nintendo DS, iOS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Android and Linux spanning 2009 to 2012. The player assumes the roles of George Stobbart and Nicole Collard, who was a pivotal but not a playable character in the original version.

<i>Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon</i> 2015 video game

Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon is a roguelike video game in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console. Like its predecessors, players control a human who has awoken as a Pokémon in a world filled entirely by Pokémon and must travel through dungeons, completing missions and battling enemies. The game was released in Japan on September 17, 2015; in North America on November 20, 2015; in Europe on February 19, 2016; and in Australia on February 20, 2016;

<i>Secret Files 3</i> 2012 video game

Secret Files 3 is a graphic adventure video game developed by Animation Arts and published by Deep Silver for Microsoft Windows iOS, Android and Nintendo Switch. It is the third and final installment of the Secret Files trilogy.

<i>Secret Files: Sam Peters</i> 2013 video game

Secret Files: Sam Peters is a graphic adventure video game developed by Animation Arts and published by Deep Silver for Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android and Nintendo Switch. As a spin-off of the Secret Files trilogy, it is a short adventure game based on the eponymous character who first appeared in Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis.

<i>Shantae</i> Video game series

Shantae is a series of platform video games developed by WayForward. The eponymous heroine of the series, a half-genie, was created by Erin Bozon, while the games for this character were created by her husband Matt Bozon. The series consists of five games: Shantae (2002), Shantae: Risky's Revenge (2010), Shantae and the Pirate's Curse (2014), Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (2016) and Shantae and the Seven Sirens (2019). A sixth title, Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, is in development and scheduled for release in 2024.

<i>Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter</i> (Wii video game) 2009 Wii video game

Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter is a platform game developed by Planet Moon Studios and published by THQ for the Wii. Despite having the same title, it has a different plot compared to the DS version.

References

  1. ↑ Secret Files Tunguska Archived 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Wii U Version of Secret Files: Tunguska Sneaks Out in Germany". nintendolife.com. 15 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-10-16. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  3. ↑ Gematsu (21 November 2018). "Secret Files series coming to Switch, starting with Secret Files: Tunguska on November 30" . Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  4. ↑ "Wii/DS "deserve" adventures". Eurogamer website. 2007-06-13. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  5. ↑ "The Secret Files: Tunguska Hits the Wii and DS in June" Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine , Aeropause Games. Retrieved on 2010-05-26
  6. 1 2 "Secret Files: Tunguska for DS Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Secret Files: Tunguska for iOS Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 10 November 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Secret Files: Tunguska for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Secret Files: Tunguska for Wii Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Luibl, Jörg (September 2, 2006). "Geheimakte: Tunguska". 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on October 11, 2007.
  11. ↑ Whitehead, Dan (28 September 2006). "Secret Files: Tunguska". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  12. 1 2 Todd, Brett (20 November 2006). "Secret Files: Tunguska Review". GameSpot . Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  13. ↑ Trier, Michael (October 2006). "In 100 Bildern um die Welt". GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on November 17, 2006.
  14. ↑ Weiss, Thomas (October 2006). "Test; Geheimakte Tunguska". PC Games (in German): 126, 127.
  15. ↑ Brehme, Marc (October 2006). "Komm in die Sprechstunde!". PC Action (in German): 116, 117.
  16. ↑ "Quandary review". quandaryland.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-20. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  17. ↑ Alex Navarro (January 23, 2007). "Hotel Dusk: Room 215 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.