Publisher: Legacy Interactive
Developer: Legacy Interactive
System requirements: Windows XP (SP2)/Vista/7; 1.5 GHz CPU; 512 MB RAM; GeForce3 Graphics Card with 64 MB VRAM
Genre: Puzzle Adventure
Release date: Available now

Robin Hood is a story that nearly everyone over the age of 5 can tell you without a second thought. There are a myriad of versions, re-tellings, re-imaginings, spinoffs and based-ons that approach the tale from more different angles than can be counted, so it’s not surprising that Legacy Interactive took a slightly unusual approach in making Robin Hood a puzzle adventure game.

Robin Hood follows (what else?) the tale of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Starting from Robin’s return to England, Robin Hood relates the story of Robin recruiting his Merry Men, and their various exploits and encounters with the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham.

Robin Hood is a puzzle game controlled entirely by mouse. There is nothing more to the game than puzzle after puzzle interspersed with short dialogue scenes. Finding firewood is a hidden object puzzle, handing out weapons is a word problem, counting money is a word puzzle, and making your way through the marketplace is a sliding picture puzzle. Everything (literally everything) is a puzzle of some kind.

I admit that I wasn’t expecting a lot when I started this game, but Robin Hood was a pleasant surprise. The art is (mostly) pleasing to the eye and the background music is oddly relaxing. Though the puzzles can be challenging, there’s a nice feature that lets you skip nearly any puzzle you want. Used too often it makes the game pointless, but it’s a useful tool for when you come across a puzzle you simply cannot solve.

The only annoyance I uncovered with Robin Hood is that occasionally an object in a hidden object puzzle blends into the background making it difficult to find. Fortunately, there’s a nice hint feature for things like that, too.

Robin Hood is a game that’s only going to appeal to a certain group of people, but it wholeheartedly embraces that. The story is well told and it works the puzzle angle for serious players while appealing to the more casual gamer by including hints and puzzle skipping. A game very much worth the small price tag for those who enjoy this kind of game.

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