Haven: Call of the King (PlayStation 2)

The King Athellion has left his homeworld to fight in an intergalactic crusade. He left behind a huge bell – The Golden Voice – for his people to call him should they ever be in danger. During his absence however, the evil Lord Vetch invades the planet and enslaves Athellion’s people by infecting them with a deadly virus. A virus, that requires a constant treatment with an antidote called catana. As the only one controlling the catana-support, Lord Vetch was easily able to force everyone to work for him. In order to prevent Athelion’s return he has hidden The Golden Voice and soon it was forgotten along with the king’s promise. Forgotten until Haven, one of the slaves, starts having dreams about a hill and a bell; dreams whose meaning he does not understand. When the news of the Haven’s dreams reach Lord Vetch, he orders to murder him. Haven manages to escape and eventually learns about the real meaning of his dreams and is determined to find The Golden Voice and put an end to Lord Vetch’ reign.

Haven is a fast-paced, action-packed platformer but it also incorporates elements of several other genres. Haven can pick up many different weapons and parts of the game play more like a Shoot’Em Up than a platformer. There are also several vehicles to control, ranging from speedboats and jetcars to gliders ,spaceships and jetpacks. Despite all these action elements, there are also some slower paced levels, which put more emphasize on puzzle-solving and exploration.

Haven’s conceptual artwork was done by Rodney Matthews, a fairly well-known English sci-fi/fantasy artist, which is evident in Haven’s surrealistic, bizarre design.