ECHO: Secrets of the Lost Cavern

Secret of the Lost Cavern is another edutainment Myst-clone adventure in the tradition of old Cryo titles. This game attempts to take us to the Prehistoric Age.

The storyline revolves around the famed Lascaux Caverns of France, where our direct ancestors, the Cro Magnon humans, have left a significant legacy of wall paintings. The hero, Arok, is a young hunter/gatherer who is more interested in painting, however. He soon discovers that he can influence the world around him by painting on the cavern walls, as he searches for a mysterious mentor.

Gameplay is based around the classic transition of the player from node to node by simply clicking on screen wherever an arrow appears. There is no free movement but the player can move the camera by 360 degrees around him in each node. The riddles comprise of picking up items and either using them in the proper hotspot or combining them with other items. The element of the wall paintings adds some new elements to this well-known gameplay mechanism.

The educational element of the game is thankfully more pronounced than it was in the last Egypt installment and it is better interwoven in the gameplay. When new important information appears in the game's encyclopedia, the player in notified by a shell icon. The educational information is actually both interesting and it offers helpful hints about the game's riddles.