More or less a direct port of Deep Silver’s PC adventure game – which received very encouraging reviews in ’06 – the real question behind Secret Files: Tunguska on the Wii is how well that conversion has been made. So it seems perfectly reasonable to answer this fundamental question right at the outset: The Wii conversion is spot on, and recreates the look, feel and accessibility of the PC’s Secret Files very admirably.

It’s also worth pointing out, very quickly, that despite the seductive cover art, Secret Files: Tunguska bares little in relation to the X-Files. With the presentation lilting toward the fictional FBI series quite provocatively – and considering that the TV show also featured some pretty significant associations with the real life events at Tunguska – you’d be forgiven for judging this book by its cover and labelling it as a fleecing of Mulder and Skully. But the cover is where the similarities end, so don’t worry about this game coming across as a poor man’s X-Files – it stands up very admirably on the strengths of its own story.

For those who’ve not delved into the conspiratorial events of this steady, yet engrossing, point-and-click adventure game we’ll get down to business. As with all good adventure games, it’s not for us to spoil the intriguing plot points in review; especially in a game whose greatest asset is undoubtedly its engaging storyline.

Deep Silver, the publisher and developer of the original PC title, stated its intention was to fill a gap in the adventure genre on Nintendo’s latest consoles (look out for the DS version coming soon – although I’m not convinced the DS is actually lacking in this particular area, so Tunguskas’s going to have some pretty stiff competition on the handheld beast), and as soon as the game begins it’s apparent how right it was.

Now, Secret Files is certainly born from the depths of old school adventuring (given a superbly modern gloss, of course), so there’s an almost complete lack of the occasional action sequence we tend to expect from most every genre these days. Whether that’s good or bad is really up to the individual tastes of the gamer; a hardcore adventurer will revel in the steady, contemplative nature of such a game, while those looking for the more rounded, contemporary take on the exploration/puzzle style of game might find it too sedate.

The ease of adoption does make Tunguska a great choice for any Wii gamer who’s looking to test out the kind of experience normally reserved for the PC, however, and offers a suitably invigorating introduction to the world of the point-and-click. In many respects, this comes from the magnificently suitable Wii-mote controller, which provides the perfect front room alternative to a mouse – something that’s normally a significant barrier between PC and console gaming. Of course, this also adds the benefit of being able to play from the comfort of the sofa and TV, rather than office chair and monitor – a small, yet important factor when looking for a new adventure game to delve into. And delve you shall.

Visually, Secret Files: Tunguska looked great on the PC, with some crystal clear high-res graphics and wonderfully believable animation. The backdrops, which although mostly static, gave a vividly cinematic feel to the game, and it’s a delight to see all these factors have been successfully ported to the Wii. Perhaps the only frown comes from the screen dimensions, which have been “stretched”, perhaps, but not properly adapted to the 16:9 widescreen standard we rightly expect on a console title. The typically square resolution has been broadened slightly, but still retains left and right borders on a widescreen TV – in much the same way that the Resident Evil 4 conversion did. Not a deal breaker, but for a game that demands careful attention to the character’s surrounding, visibility should be maximised in every way possible, and the screen dimension ultimately feels like a lazy approach to the graphical conversion.

As mentioned, the Wii-mote substitutes the mouse supremely well (possibly even surpassing it in this case); a matter made all the better by Tunguska’s already excellent interface. This interface has been criticised as overly simplistic in the past, but now Secret Files is in the living room it makes the game incredibly playable. Scenery highlights whenever it has some relevance, and using objects from the inventory is very intuitive and manageable. Which is just as well, since Secret Files is mainly a game of inventory-based combination puzzles.

Once again, this game has seen some disparagement due to the leisurely speed of gameplay, but that’s a criticism clearly levelled by someone who prefers the less cerebral (and more dexterous) challenges of an FPS. This is classic graphical adventuring, and makes no apologies for immersing itself fully in that role. Anyone who buys Secret Files expecting car chases, explosions and stealth kills deserves to be disappointed, to be frankly honest.

Based on the true event that took place in Siberia in 1908, when an unexplained explosion occurred above the Tunguska region that was considerably more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during WWII, it dabbles in the plethora of conspiratorial and fantastical fiction that’s followed in the mystery’s wake. And it does so in a detailed and imaginative way. But while the storyline is certainly well developed, some of the dialogue does tend to drag on a bit – circumnavigating the point a bit too much – and character development has been severely neglected.

Initially adopting the role of Nina, whose scientist father has gone missing under suspicious circumstance (and later taking control a colleague, Max), there’s little in the way of depth to either avatar’s personality. Some kind of dynamic interest, apprehension or urgency about her father’s disappearance would have broadened Secret Files’ horizons considerably, but as it is there’s little opportunity to really empathise with the characters.

On occasion, the inventory puzzles get a little obscure, but that’s more than made up for by the ones that really work – which is at least 80% of them. From fixing a bicycle inner tube to solving a kidnapping, Tunguska plays out with amazing realism – never descending into a brick-wall of keys and locked doors, nor an inert backdrop with a puppet show of disjointed investigations. The characters themselves may be a little flat, but their existence within the world of Secret Files: Tunguska is vivid and complete.

It’s surely a good sign that the game inspires players to learn more about the inspirational events that occurred in darkest Siberia at the turn of the century, and I defy anyone to dedicate a few hours to Secret Files and not find themselves casting a cursory glance about the internet afterwards – forming their own opinions as to whether this was an asteroid airburst in the lower atmosphere, a Russian nuclear test or an alien crash landing caused the mysterious explosion. As you can see, I’ve become quite fascinated by the event myself, which is in no small thanks to having played, and enjoyed, Secret Files. Surely that speaks well of the game’s quality of story?

Deep Silver, it seems, has successfully achieved what it set out to accomplish, and filled the classic adventure game void in the Wii’s growing catalogue. Rumours of a sequel can be heard late at night, and if the small conversion shortcomings and lack of character development issues can be addressed and combined with the game’s current exemplification of a re-burgeoning genre, we’ll be in for a point-and-click treat.