In the wake of catastrophe you must find the means to make your family whole again. Somerville is a Sci-Fi adventure grounded in the intimate repercussions of large scale conflict. You embark on a journey to find the whereabouts of your family in the wake of an alien invasion. Live through the personal struggles of a young family separated in the final moments of a global conflict against a hostile alien civilisation. Discover first hand the full impact on others of this catastrophic event...

Graphically it's interesting, story wise it's intriguing...

Somerville is a "game" that is so close to being a hit that it really smarts that it falls so spectacularly short. Graphically it's interesting, story wise it's intriguing... but sadly the gameplay never really gets off the ground.

You start off sitting in a darkened room with just a TV, broadcasting static, for light. You control the toddler of the family and have to totter around the various rooms in the house hoping to stumble on what you're supposed to do. It's not overly taxing, and the next thing you know an alien invasion seems to have started and you're now playing as the father of the family, with the rest of the house's inhabitants having mysteriously vanished. Your house destroyed, you must wander the local area staying out of the alien's search lights and moving ever forward.

Sadly the gameplay never really gets off the ground

There's never any feeling that you're doing anything other than been handheld throughout. You'll hit an area that you can't get passed and then spend a while trying to figure it out. When you manage to get past each "blockage" there's no real sense of achievement, just a relief that that frustrating part of the game is behind you.

I have to admit that if it weren't for the fact I was reviewing this game I would probably have stopped a long time before I did. But I know it's not one I will return to in the future. It looks great it's just a shame more wasn't made of the story and building a world players could warm to.

5

Nick Smithson