Feel like saving a princess, but not quite up to jousts, sword-fighting lessons, and the plague? Have you always been more of the "pen is mightier than the sword" type? Well look no further! The quiet halls of the adventure genre, the grand sire of computer games, are vibrant with the sounds of the new work of KarmaLabs.com: The Adventure at the Chateau d'Or.

The Adventure at the Chateau d'Or places you in a role to help a modern-day French princess solve the mysteries behind her new inheritance. In the beginning of the story, you learn she is bequeathed a great property, and all its mysteries, from her eccentric uncle the Duke. It is your mission to help her unravel the enigmatic workings of her Uncle and to, of course, save the day.

You start off in the midst of the grounds with your H.I.M. (Hero's Information Manager): The H.I.M. is a unit which stores map of the Chateau's layout and also records the knowledge you will acquire along the way. This, and the rest of your game controls will lie upon a nav bar which can be summoned at the bottom of the screen. This control panel allows you to adjust the sound, loading/saving of games, and other game options. Any items you acquire alone the way will also be stored along this bottom bar. At one point in the game you will have to worry about life-force and that is a nav bar located along the top.

Like any other adventure game... It's now up to you to explore and discover your own path to solving the mystery. Chateau is composed of three main challenges, all of which involve the trademark puzzle solving. You can adjust the difficulty of the puzzles at the beginning of the game and it will make some puzzles shorter (mostly the information oriented ones) while many other puzzles will retain their same difficulty. Chateau's puzzles are usually on the merciful side, although a couple times I was really left stumped on some which didn't really seem to have a pattern at first. The best bet is, if you find yourself wandering aimlessly check your quest log or try to tie one or more symbols, which you will see frequently, together.

The puzzles themselves range from color and symbol combination puzzles, to coming face to face with the spirit of the duke himself to answer question about some of the things you have learned along the way. Learned, you say? Yes. Adventure at the Chateau d'Or has a firm foundation in French history. While playing you can experience or read information on gothic architecture to Marie Antoinette all in the name of a good adventure.

*GASP* Don't worry! You won't have to study French history to win Chateau, although the options are open if you really do enjoy history. You can lower your difficulty settings in the beginning of the game to avoid feeling like you've gone back to European History 101.

The controls, other than the nav bar as stated above are extremely easy. You move around the ground using a click-screen interface. You will move from screen to screen using an icon/symbol system which should be familiar to adventure fans and easy to learn for those new to the gaming world. You can either point and click to move to the next screen or the mouse icon symbol will change reflecting a movement you may make or an action you may take.

The graphics of the ground are virtually photographic in nature while the internal screens are reminiscent of Myst and other prominent adventure. Your gameplay takes place entirely on the picturesque grounds and its buildings. The game's soundtrack is a light, original soundtrack which adds character to the different areas of the game. The sounds effects are complimentary and the in game movies are crisp and flawless in presentation.

Overall, the impression I received from Adventure at the Chateau d'Or was one of a game that was produced with great meticulousness and a passion for the art. Too often, when adventure games are released, it seems that very little thought or originality have gone into them. The concept of Chateau was definitely one of a kind, I can't really draw a comparison of let's say for example the "Sensory Focal Devices" and any other title I've played. While occasionally I stared in frustration at a puzzle which, at first glace, seemed to have no relevance, I found a little persistence paid off and I was back on my quest. KarmaLabs is off to a great start in establishing itself as a new powerhouse in a genre that could sure use a hero... After all, didn't I say chivalry wasn't dead?

Game Play (8.5): Adventure at the Chateau d'Or's gameplay is paced well and relaxing. You have the freedom to explore the castle and build your items and knowledge base; the storyline is not linear except where the plot makes it necessary. The puzzles are integral: Instead of a game built around puzzles, like many I see, these puzzles were built into a good plot. You will want to create a special folder for save games; they will be saved by the windows system into the directory of your choice. I encountered no bugs, snags, or crashes while playing Chateau.

Graphics (8.5): The gardens, grounds, and view of the architecture seem to be straight out of a travel agent's portfolio. The internal screens of Chateau are Myst-like in quality. "Cut-scenes" which involved the princess are inlaid into the standard game screens when you encounter her.

Sound (7): The real highlight of the sound elements of the Chateau is the delightfully true French accent of the princess. There's no Hollywood accents here which fade halfway through the production or sound forced. The original soundtrack gives a lovely, if somewhat subdued, accompaniment to the game.

Difficulty (8): Most of the puzzles in Adventure at the Chateau d'Or are fairly straight forward and relevant to the quests at hand. Very rarely will you find yourself at a loss for where to go next, although some puzzles will give you a run for your money (or on a run for the support/hints page). The difficulty level options will help you reduce the number of knowledge based questions you will have to answer.

Concept (9.5): Chateau is a unique and worthwhile contribution to a genre which is often overlooked by the current gaming community. It will appeal to anyone, not just history fans. There was an evident passion on the part of the development team to establish a personal depth to their content. Usually I am able to draw storyline, puzzle, or character comparisons when playing a game: In this case, I felt that KarmaLabs had come up with a concept that no one had really addressed before. That alone made this game stand out from other products.

Overall (9): KarmaLabs has brought a truly unique storyline and graphically pleasing game to adventure gamers everywhere. The puzzles and gameplay are challenging enough to keep you on your toes, but also streamlined logically enough into the storyline to make it a fun and relaxing play. So if you are an adventure fan looking to take a virtual vacation full of palaces and puzzles, this game really is an exemplary accomplishment.