Game: Lost Echo

Lost Echo is a modern point-and-click adventure in every sense of the word.  Its near-future setting focuses on technology over fantasy, presenting even mysterious occurrences as explainable scientific phenomena.  Puzzles emphasize logical conclusions instead of random item combinations, and its streamlined gameplay allows players to concentrate on the stunning world around them rather than hunt-and-peck quests for things they'll never need again.  Beside its modern upgrades, though, Lost Echo is missing some of the heart that defines the genre: its characters and plot feel rushed and incomplete, able to carry us through to the end but not fitting of the otherwise immersive game they exist within.Which is a shame, because Lost Echo's story starts off strong.  Greg, our protagonist, meets his girlfriend Chloe at Highway Park.  After a very brief introduction with little time for filler, a bright light suddenly fills the park, and Chloe vanishes as Greg passes out.  Greg awakens in the hospital and is informed by his close friend Tom that an arc flash occurred, and most visitors to the park were knocked unconscious.  Insisting that he's fine, Greg inquires about Chloe; Tom responds that he's never met this "Chloe," Greg's long-term girlfriend that Tom has had dinner with numerous times.  Confused but unable to make sense of the situation from the hospital, Greg shrugs it off and decides to seek out Chloe once he's back home in their shared apartment."At home, Greg quickly finds that Chloe has essentially been erased from his life: pictures of her are missing from their apartment, a birthday card she gave him is now signed from his mother, and any trace of Chloe even existing is impossible to find.  What follows is Greg's attempt to uncover what happened to Chloe, piece together the events in the park, find her and return life to normal.  The strange events that surround Greg are a fantastic pull into the world of Lost Echo; from only a few minutes into the story, players are presented with a mystery that will guide the rest of their actions.  Chloe's disappearance is surreal yet weighted in science, as is the major plot change encountered around the halfway point.