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Review: Adventure games still testing witsBy Marc Saltzman  The greatest strengths of "Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" are its well-written dialogue and storyline. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWhile 3-D shooters and fantasy role-playing epics seem to be popular genres today, not all gamers prefer these violent, action-oriented titles. Adventure games, on the other hand, require brains instead of brawn. These slower-paced stories are often filled with memorable locations, interesting characters and plenty of head-scratching puzzles. Consider them an interactive movie in which you take the leading role. The following are two new adventure games that prove the genre is alive and well: 'Dreamfall: The Longest Journey'One of the most critically successful adventure games in recent memory --2000's "The Longest Journey" -- has just spawned a sequel that manages to retain the magic of the original game. In this tale of fantasy, fate and friendship, players control three separate but interconnected protagonists in the 23rd century: the soul-searching Zoe, who stumbles upon an alternate universe; April, a young heroine who returns from the first game; and Kian, an apostle and assassin rolled into one. Unlike many video games with thin characters and a cliched plot that feels like an afterthought, the greatest strengths of "Dreamfall" are its well-written dialogue and storyline, and competent voice acting (with more than 50 professional actors). Game play includes exploring three huge worlds - a futuristic Earth, a magical plane called Arcadia, and the mysteriously dark realm, Winter. The protagonists must also interact with other characters, solve puzzles and engage in a few isolated combat sequences. Visually speaking, this game is a looker, while the ambient music soundtrack weaves in and out of the game like in a feature film, and supports up to 7.1 surround sound systems .The only beef with the PC version is the game ships on six CD-ROMs, which takes a while to install to the hard drive. 'Paradise'From Benoit Sokal of "Syberia" fame, comes his latest point-and-click adventure, "Paradise." Gamers play as Ann Smith, a young woman who awakens in Africa with no recollection of who she is or how she arrived on the continent. By collecting clues, solving puzzles (such as "Myst"-like dial-turning and lever-pulling) and traveling through four strange worlds, Smith attempts to find out who she is, how to get back home and why she's tied to the political turmoil plaguing these lands. As with Sokal's past games, "Paradise" benefits from visionary artistic direction including more than 350 scenic backgrounds and computer-animated sequences you can watch anytime from the main menu. Players click the mouse in the direction they want Ann to travel. The game lets you switch from the amnesiac protagonist to a mysterious black leopard and control the 3-D creature in real time. While the visuals are extraordinarily good, players might experience some graphical bugs and animation glitches that may slow down Ann's movements or cause her to get stuck. A few comments at the Ubisoft chat room indicate that other players experienced these technical problems, too. Hopefully Ubisoft will release a downloadable "patch" to repair these bugs. Otherwise, "Paradise" is sure to please fans of traditional point-and-click adventure games. 
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