An island mystery novel

Heileen 2 The Hands of Fate is a visual novel that you alter by making different choices as the story moves on. Follow the adventures of shipwrecked Heileen and her friends in this illustrated, voice-acted game.

The game is mouse controlled, although there are some optional keyboard controls if you prefer that. The static images that accompany the story are Japanese comic style, although it’s not a Japanese story. You read the text to the story, clicking to move along, and sometimes you are given a choice about doing something or not.

The game is voice acted, but curiously, the main character, Heileen (you!) is not acted. Presumably that’s so players feel they are her, but the effect is actually quite odd as large parts of the text are then silent. The acting is OK, although the talking cat, Black, is quite annoying. The soundtrack is a bit stop and start – Heileen 2 has too much game play with no sound, which spoils the atmosphere somewhat.

This is intended for players of 14 years and above, due to some of the stronger themes in the story. However, it’s definitely aimed at teenagers, and will not have enough depth for adults.

This interactive, illustrated novel is quite simple in design, but will probably entertain young teenagers who like or need encouraging to read