Adventure Gamers' Emily Morganti presents her very promising preview of Himalaya Studios' upcoming adventure, Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine...
Al Emmo, the team's first original endeavor, is a classic tale of a stranger in a strange land with his sights set on finding fortune and getting the girl. I've played a portion of the game, and I think it will appeal not only to old-school Sierra and LucasArts fans, but to anyone who enjoys humorous and heavily story-driven games. Al Emmo is a George Costanza type (mid-forties, balding, lives at home with his parents) who has traveled to the western town of Anozira to acquire a mail order bride. In the game's opening cutscene, Al is spurned by his would-be lover and left behind in the small desert town, with a week to kill before the next train comes through. Discouraged by this turn of events, Al pays a visit to the local saloon and catches a glimpse of Rita Peralto, a buxom lounge singer and the town's most eligible bachelorette. Winning her heart becomes Al's top priority. He sets out across the Anozira countryside looking for gifts to help him win Rita away from Antonio Bandana, a dashing Spaniard who's looking for a wife himself. Ultimately Al's quest will lead him to the "lost Dutchman's mine," a place brimming with riches, according to local legend—and, as luck would have it, connected to Rita's family.
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