Similarities between Faust the game and the novel are limited only to the names of main characters and setting. You are Marcellus Faust, an elderly African American described as ?a wise old man from Mississippi.? You find yourself in an abandoned amusement park called Dreamland, without any idea as to why you are there. A strange man called Mephistopheles (?Mephisto? for short) invites you to help settle an argument that he is having with "the Boss". Specifically, they can?t make up their minds on which way the souls of Dreamland?s seven inhabitants should go?up, or down. As neutral arbitrator, you must examine their lives, and find evidence to make decision on their fate.

The game comprises seven chapters, each based loosely on one of the seven deadly sins. You?ll meet a diverse cast of characters, from a pair of Siamese twins, to an obsessed scientist, Fat Lady with a tragic story, and more. Gameplay is typical inventory-based adventure, with gorgeous graphics and 360-degree freedom of movement. Puzzles are vastly improved over Pilgrim, Arxel?s first release. A lot of them are still obscure, but all are logical. Some puzzles, especially the ones in Fat Lady episode, are even quite interesting to solve. There are two mazes in the game, but you don?t have to map either of them. The game suffers from a few bugs, such as some hotspots that don?t appear at all, or are highlighted inches away from the object, but they do not significantly detract from your enjoyment of the game. The game?s surrealistic environs and storyline are sometimes confusing, however?you?ll often be at a loss on what to do next. There?s also a significant amount of ?pixel-hunting? puzzles, which require you to look carefully around the scene and run the mouse cursor slowly back and forth to find hotspots. All these ?choirs? have become a given in point-and-click adventure, though, so there?s nothing fans would fret about.

With a unique, captivating story and many interesting surrealistic puzzles, Faust should appeal to anyone who likes ?mature? adventure games with strong noir overtones. Highly recommended!