Overview
This game's genre is an adventure / quest, where each level (and
there are 15 of them) is designed to be consistent with the overall plot: rare striped
elephant (wouldn't you be rare if you were striped?), named Baldakhin, has disappeared
from the zoo in a small and quiet provincial town. Your mission is to save him ( and the
world ? Well, we don't know how exactly does the world depend on Baldakhin, but ... ).
To accomplish this
glorious task, you need sharp mind and clever hands, since the game contains well-crafted
puzzles (yes, well-crafted and mind-blowing, believe us). While trying to catch the main
suspect, notorious international animal trader Karbofoss, you control two main heroes -
Pilot Brothers. (Originally, Pilots Brothers were characters of the famous russian cartoon
Pilots Brothers Conduct The Inquiry. 
) When you have to do something clever,
like unlock a safe, you should act as Brother "Chief". But life is crazy, isn't
it ? Sometime you have to do something really crazy, and this is where Brother
"Colleague" comes into play. He is crazy enough, so use him wisely.
There is one more great source of information: computer press. At the
same week that Pilots Brothers hit the shelves in computer stores of Russia, they hit
top-ten lists of each and every computer magazine - and they're still there! Almost a
year! New titles emerge and sink, but Pilots Brothers stay! Just listen to what
Multimedia/Digital Video magazine had to say in their February issue:
'Today,
there are two hits that are out of reach: Pilots Brothers and Parkan. I think that they
earned their success and will be selling even in the next year. They're hits for a long
time.'
Description
Despite of their 'adventureness', all levels are designed just like
the best puzzles, that is you always have everything necessary to pass the level. You
never have to go back to another level if you for example missed jewel #1434 somewhere
else. You cannot die or stuck somehow in the game or make an error from which you
cannot recover. By the way, when the player quits the game, its state is (transparently to
the player ) saved and later - while restarting the game - automatically restored.
However simple the controlling of most adventure games might be, we
dare say that controlling Pilots Brothers is simpler, that is - clearer and more handy.
Active items are not only highlighted but also enlarged, there no hidden items, hidden
menus, etc. The net effect is that player wrestles not with game environment, but with the
game itself. 'This is the case when interface is indeed friendly' - Computer, #9.
In the same vein, we can say that being a thriller parody the game
itself is more friendly than most other adventures and especially some ... err, quests.
Suppose, you don't know what to do and are trying to use wrong object. How would the game
respond? Print 'Cannot apply this to that' ? No way! What do you think will happen if
you'll 'apply' a pickaxe to hypo's ... err, back ? Or bare hand to a switchboard ? All the
same - you'll have some fun!
On The Track Of Striped Elephant is just the very first game in the
Pilots Brothers series. We suggest for you the next one - "The Case Of Serial Maniac
Sumo". It is as good as its famous ancestor. Yes, there were some changes in details,
like the 'main bad guy' (who is now the giant maniac cat Sumo) as well as the whole plot.
But the 'main details' remain: the spirit of adventure, the atmosphere of humor, and the
whole lot of fun.
Game
Specifications
The game is aimed at children, 12 and above - up to ... up to ...
well, probably up to those without sense of humor. The game contains several semi-arcade
levels, as well as puzzles that might be hard to crack for 7 or 8-year old
children. On the other hand, game's genre is a parody on a detective novel / movie, and
this widens game's audience greatly.
This game was created
totally free of violence and cruelty. No character, neither unicorn nor even tiny moth,
dies during gameplay; there is no blood, etc.
