In 1930s Hong Kong, struggling former World War Ifighter pilot Jake "Lucky" Masters is recruited by rich businessman E.A. Lomax for a dangerous mission. Lomax's daughter Kate has been kidnapped by ruthless warlord Li Deng and imprisoned in Deng's Chengdu fortress. Lucky must rescue Kate, but to do so he must enlist the help of a mysterious ninja named Zhao Chi. Each day Lucky has not rescued Kate, his reward money decreases by $20,000. After sneaking into Deng's fortress, Lucky and Chi snatch Kate and escape. Unfortunately, Kate is bitten by a snake during the rescue and the only medicine that can save her is in Kathmandu in Nepal. After further adventures in Istanbul, the trio makes its way to Paris. The game featured three different endings, with the player's actions determining which one would be depicted.
Gameplay
There are several possible endings to the game and many ways to die. Certain choices can delay the team, and portions of the game can be played from Jake's, Chi's, or Kate's perspectives. There are two optional arcade-style action sequences.
Production
The game was developed on the proprietary Dynamix Game Development System that was first used in Rise of the Dragon. In regards to Heart of China'spoint-and-click adventure UI, Dynamix president Jeff Tunnell stated that "With our 'point-and-click' interaction system, our goal was to eliminate the frustration factor from adventure gaming, so that nothing interferes with the experience of the game." The artwork used a mixture of digitized photos of live actors and hand painted sets. The game supported VGA resolution in 256 colors. Because of tight production budgets, Dynamix had to recruit the cast of actors from the company's own employees and even their families.
Reception
Heart of China was commercially successful. ACE gave the game 910 out of 1000 points, calling it "a significant breakthrough in the interactive storytelling genre" and stating that unlike contemporary games such as Rise of the Dragon and it does not just have excellent graphics and sound, but also a proper narrative storyline. The reviewer also mentions the story's similarity to that of the Tom Selleck film High Road to China. Computer Gaming World stated that "Heart of China is everything a good adventure movie should be: fast-paced, tense, ingenious, witty, varied of locale and light of plot. Above all, it is entertaining". The magazine praised the graphics, music, and story, and concluded that it was "a cinematic experience to be savored". In Dragon, the game got 5 out of 5 stars. British gaming magazine The One reviewed the MS-DOS version of Heart of China in 1991, stating that "Now that Dynamix has combined full-colour paintings, live actors and digitising to achieve the stunning look of Heart of China, the 'interactive movie' seems just that little bit closer." In 1991, PC Format declared Heart of China one of the 50 best computer games ever. The editors wrote, "Stunning digitised scenes are the stars and create a tremendous atmospheric experience that has a tough adventure in there as well."
