The Collection Chamber: TINTIN: DESTINATION ADVENTURE

Would you like to come with me and re-live Tintin's most exciting adventures? Hold on tight then! I'll take you! My doggy word, you won't regret it!
Join Tintin and Snowy in 3D
A round-the-world trip via the Moon!
Drive some extraordinary contraptions, such as the lunar tank and the shark submarine.
You'll have to confront a few adversaries on the way: Rastapopoulos, among others...

~ from the back of the box

Forget New Year's Day, the first of January marks a far more significant event; Public Domain Day. And this year (2025) saw famed Belgian adventurer Tintin and his dog Snowy enter the pantheon of free-to-use characters. Almost 25 years ago in 2001, Infogrames gathered a quintet of his most memorable stories to create a couple of platforming levels for each. So, let's celebrate the history of one of Belgium's greatest exports by playing Tintin: Destination Adventure.

All of Tintin's friends have gathered for a movie night. Professor Calculus wants to show off his new invention - the colour television - but true to form, he struggles to get it working. So, Snowy falls asleep and dreams of the past escapades he had with his owner. Merely an excuse to get some of the best books in the series, this wrap-around story is pretty thin, but even when playing through the individual tales you won't have any idea what's going on unless you've read the graphic novels.

Flash your camera to scare off dangerous animals who want nothing more than to attack you (left).
Humans do too, though slogging them with a hardy right hook will sort them out (right).

We begin with The Black Island, where a band of counterfeiters have taken over an abandoned castle in the Scottish highlands. The first level is essentially a tutorial where, as Tintin, you navigate the countryside in a 2.5D side-scrolling fashion. Snowy will pop up to recite information that could probably figure out for yourself. You can jump, crawl, climb and make use of three types of attack. While punching is reserved for human foes, dangerous wildlife is to be stunned by using the flash on your camera. It has no other use than this, and its range is short and imprecise, but when you reach the annoying monkeys in later levels, you really wish you could just sock 'em one. You can also send folk to sleep by chucking a bottle of chloroform at them, though you will have to explore the stages to collect them first.

Once you've reached the end of a level with 100 Snowy-faced coins in your pocket, you can move on to the next one. For The Black Island, there are two more platforming levels and a boss fight - in this instance a gorilla. While still making use of the platforming mechanics, these fights circle around the foe where you have to figure out how to defeat them. Once you know how, it's not very difficult, but you might have to reach outside the box to get there.

Push boulders or other objects to open up the way forward of uncover secret areas (left).
This easily-found key is necessary to open up the locked door elsewehere in the level (right).

On to the next adventure! This time we're sailing off to the Caribbean in Rad Rackham's Treasure. Those who've seen Steven Spielberg's animated movie from 2010 will be familiar with the tale as, along with The Secret of the Unicorn, it was winningly adapted there. Here, we begin in an orca-shaped submarine searching for the wreckage of a ship. Gameplay shifts to an on-rails section as you dodge obstacles and collect those dog coins. While more visually impressive than the platforming sections, these sequences - of which there are 3 more - aren't particularly challenging.

As you move onto the next tale, The Land of Black Gold, this thought will stick with you. It may share creative DNA from the Tintin in Tibet and its sequel, but it's apparent that Destination Adventure was made with a younger audience in mind. Our hero can swing and climb like the best cinematic platformer, but the focus on collection images of a gurning pup cheapens the appeal. There are the odd puzzle moments, such as hunting for a key or turning off machinery, but there aren't many more than this. When you do come across them, the answers aren't difficult to come by.

Boss fights require some unique abilities. Here, sic Snowy on the ape (left).
Snowy's first bonus level. Dig up 20 bones before the time runs out (right).

The next destination is outer space as we re-tell Explorers on the Moon. If features a rover vehicle mission and a single platforming stage, but like the other stories if you get a certain number of dog coins you can unlock a bonus level. These star Snowy on the hunt for bones, but other than personal satisfaction, the only reward is a bunch of chloroform bottles. Nevertheless, by completing all of them as well as the set of levels based on Flight 714, you will unlock a final hidden level.

It will take you about an hour to get through all of them. Even on the hardest difficulty is won't be much of a challenge. Where I got stuck the most was not from a difficult enemy encounter or a tricky set of platforms, but a simple jump over a chasm. There is a significant amount of jank and overall lack of polish that, despite the 3D graphics, make it stark step down from the previous games. Even so, the short and easy playthrough will surely appeal to fans but overall Tintin: Destination Adventure isn't much of a celebration.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses dgVoodoo to run on modern systems. The presence of a real or virtual CD drive may be required to play. Manual included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 429 Mb. Install Size: 510 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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