The Crystal Key

The Crystal Key
Developer(s) Earthlight Productions
Publisher(s) DreamCatcher Interactive
Platform(s) Windows 95/Windows 98, Mac OS
Release November 22, 1999[1]
Genre(s) Graphic adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

The Crystal Key is a 1999 graphic adventure video game developed by Earthlight Productions and published by DreamCatcher Interactive. A sequel entitled Crystal Key 2: The Far Realm was released in 2004.

Story

The storyline is set in the future, where the protagonist is sent to another planet to investigate the source of a cryptic message from an evil alien race. The player begins the game having crash-landed on the planet and must explore the world, find a crystal key and portal which would help the player defeat the race and bring peace to the galaxy.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very similar to other games in the genre, such as Myst or Zork in that the player clicks around the environment to walk, pick up items, and manipulate tools.

Reception

Sales

In the United States, The Crystal Key debuted at #14 on PC Data's computer game sales chart for the month of June 2000, with an average retail price of $18.[2] It secured 17th place in both July and August,[3][4] but was absent from the top 20 in September.[5] According to PC Data, The Crystal Key's North American retail sales for 2000 ultimately totaled 178,690 units, of which 35,643 were sold in December.[6] The following year, its North American retail sales reached 29,539 by March,[7] 49,478 by June and 56,036 by October,[8][9] with a total of 67,099 sales by year's end.[10]

Another 24,927 units of The Crystal Key sold in North America during the first six months of 2002;[11] by June, total sales had surpassed 400,000 units.[12] According to DreamCatcher, sales in that region alone rose to 455,000 units by early 2003,[13] and ultimately surpassed 500,000 copies by March 2004.[14] The Crystal Key was PCData's "Best-Selling Adventure Game of 2000". It was Dreamcatcher's most successful title to date, and was their first title to break into the big box retailers in the USA, such as Walmart and Target.

Critical reviews

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
The Electric Playground5.5/10[15]
Computer Games Strategy Plus[16]

The game received good reviews from adventure game sites such as Adventureland, and mixed reviews from more mainstream game sites.

References

  1. ↑ "DreamCatcher Interactive is now shipping The Crystal Key" (Press release). DreamCatcher Games. November 22, 1999. Archived from the original on June 22, 2000.
  2. ↑ Fudge, James (July 19, 2000). "Diablo II tops retail charts for June". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on April 6, 2005.
  3. ↑ Fudge, James (August 24, 2000). "PC Data Hits For July 2000". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on April 6, 2005.
  4. ↑ Walker, Trey (September 21, 2000). "Expansions Take Over Top Ten". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 2, 2002.
  5. ↑ Fudge, James (October 20, 2000). "Here come the expansion packs". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on May 15, 2005.
  6. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (February 2001). "The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 14, 2001.
  7. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (May 2001). "The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on July 28, 2001.
  8. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (August 2001). "The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on February 15, 2002.
  9. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (December 2001). "State of Adventure Gaming - December 2001 - Oct. Sales Table". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on January 3, 2002.
  10. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (March 2002). "State of Adventure Gaming - March 2002 - 2001 Sales Table". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on June 19, 2002.
  11. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (August 2002). "State of Adventure Gaming - August 2002 - June 2002 Sales Table". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on March 14, 2005.
  12. ↑ Baillie, Susanne. "PROFIT 100 2002 Company #5: DreamCatcher Interactive Inc". Profit. Archived from the original on June 19, 2002.
  13. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (April 2003). "The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 7, 2003.
  14. ↑ "The Adventure Company Ships Crystal Key II" (Press release). Toronto, Ontario: The Adventure Company. March 17, 2004. Archived from the original on March 25, 2006.
  15. ↑ Staff (November 21, 2000). "The Crystal Key". The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on March 30, 2003.
  16. ↑ Hunt, David Ryan (February 17, 2000). "The Crystal Key". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on March 1, 2005.
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