Mystery Island II

Mystery Island II is a first-person puzzle-based adventure game in which the player takes the role of Lt. Steven Bushell, a U.S. Navy Seal onboard the USS Volarus. While on patrol the Volarus is destroyed under unusual circumstances by an unidentified vessel, assumed to be a Russian warship. As the only survivor of the blast the player washes up on the shores of an uninhabited tropical island. As he explores his temporary home he uncovers that the island houses technology and structures unfamiliar to him, and subsequently uncovers a secret which may threaten the fate of mankind.

The locations that the player explores within the game are presented as static, pre-rendered images to be surveyed and interacted with, giving a somewhat surreal impression of the game world. The player navigates the world by rotating the protagonist left or right and clicking specific sections of the screen to advance ahead to that area, rather than simply clicking forward to advance forward.

Gameplay is largely based on exploration of the various locations within the game, to the point that many puzzles may be solved simply by gathering and making use of disparate information scattered within the game world. In keeping with this the player's mouse cursor is unchanging, giving no indication of whether an object is takable, capable of being interacted with, or simply observable. As such if an object is clicked on the default response is for it to be described, interaction only taking place in cases where it would be logical and objects being taken only where necessary. The inventory system has been equally optimized to support this play style. If the player happens to click on an object in their possession it will be described or commented on by Lt. Bushell via text string unless they happen to be in a location where the item can be used, in which case it will be used without requiring more specific prompting from the player. This emphasis on information over objects makes the oft used adventure game approach of 'brute forcing' the game by trial and error virtually impossible.