Crystal Key 2

This article is about the adventure game released as Evany in Europe. For the multiplayer strategy game, see Evony.
Crystal Key 2
Developer(s)Earthlight Productions, Kheops Studio
Publisher(s)The Adventure Company
Platform(s)Windows
Release
Genre(s)Graphic adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Crystal Key 2, known in Europe as Evany: Key to a Distant Land, is a 2004 graphic adventure game developed by Canadian studio Earthlight Productions, together with Kheops Studio. It was published by The Adventure Company, and is the sequel to the 1999 title The Crystal Key.

Gameplay and plot

Crystal Key 2's plot builds upon that of the original, and casts the player as Call, who seeks to stop the minions of Ozgar and save the world of Evany.[3]

Development

The game was revealed by DreamCatcher Interactive's Adventure Company label in April 2003, at first under the name Crystal Key II: The Far Realm.[4] It was among a slew of announcements in preparation for the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3),[5] and Marek Bronstring of Adventure Gamers called it one of the publisher's "top titles premiering at the show", alongside Traitors Gate II: Cypher.[6] Earthlight Productions developed the game with Virtools and V-Ray. It was designed to feature spherical 360° panoramas, unlike its predecessor's more limited viewing areas. According to John Matheson, Earthlight sought to overcome the problems that had affected The Crystal Key's production pipeline and give its art team more room "to be as creative as possible".[3]

Initially developed by Earthlight and set for a late-2003 release,[4][7] the game underwent "many years" of production and took longer than The Adventure Company had wanted, Benoît Hozjan of Kheops Studio later remarked. As a result, Kheops was hired to co-develop the game late in production, which Hozjan said included "the programming and the integration, hand in hand with John Matheson."[8] In July 2003, Matheson estimated the game as 75% complete and on track for December,[3] but it ultimately launched in the U.S. in March 2004.[2]

Reception

The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[9]

References

  1. ^ Bramwell, Tom (24 September 2004). "What's New? [date mislabeled as "June 10, 2005"]". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 19 October 2004. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b Calvert, Justin (17 March 2004). "Crystal Key II [sic] ships". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 29 January 2005. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Callaham, John (22 July 2003). "The Crystal Key II [sic] Interview". HomeLan Fed. Archived from the original on 10 August 2003.
  4. ^ a b Calvert, Justin (30 April 2003). "Crystal Key II [sic] announced". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 27 February 2005. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
  5. ^ Calvert, Justin (30 April 2003). "The Adventure Company E3 lineup". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 12 October 2004. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  6. ^ Bronstring, Marek (29 April 2003). "Crystal Key 2 and Traitors Gate 2 at E3". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on 10 May 2003.
  7. ^ "The Adventure Company to Showcase Exciting Line-up at the Electronic Entertainment Expo". The Adventure Company. Toronto. May 2003. Archived from the original on 25 March 2006.
  8. ^ Waxman, Becky (2007). "GameBoomers Talks to Benoit Hozjan of Kheops Studio". GameBoomers. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007.
  9. ^ a b "Crystal Key 2: The Far Realm". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  10. ^ Naser, Bodo (20 June 2004). "Test: Evany - Schlüssel zur Freiheit". 4Players (in German). 4Players GmbH. Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  11. ^ Fournier, Heidi (10 May 2004). "Crystal Key II [sic] review". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  12. ^ Scott, Ryan (August 2004). "Crystal Key 2: The Far Realm" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 241. Ziff Davis. p. 82. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  13. ^ Fouquet, Gaël (3 August 2004). "Test : Evany ou la clé des songes". Gamekult (in French). TF1 Group. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  14. ^ Osborne, Scott (21 April 2004). "Crystal Key 2: The Far Realm Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on 23 January 2005. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  15. ^ Harker, Carla (23 April 2004). "GameSpy: Crystal Key 2". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  16. ^ Aceinet (31 May 2004). "Crystal Key 2 – PC – Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  17. ^ Castro, Juan (9 April 2004). "Crystal Key 2 Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  18. ^ Jihem (2 July 2004). "Test: Evany: La Clé des 7 Mondes". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Webedia. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Crystal Key 2". PC Gamer. Vol. 11, no. 7. Future US. July 2004. p. 65.