Focus Interactive will be bringing Benoît Sokal’s first DS adventure game to the DS. Sokal’s a renowned comic book author and creator of some best-selling PC adventure games including Syberia and Amerzone.

The Last King of Africa is a highly-polished adventure game built from the ground up to take advantage of all the features the DS has to offer. It is not a port! The game uses 3D characters with 2D environments. In addition, cutscenes are prerendered.

4cr was given some hands-on time away from the expo floor at PAX this weekend to check it out. It’s very much your classic adventure title fare, and with the DS’s touch screen controls, you have to wonder why there aren’t more point and click titles available for the system. Rather than be a clickfest like many adventure titles eventually succumb to being after time, The Last King of Africa gives subtle hints when you’re near something that requires your attention. So if you walk by a particular table with an item on it, the scene actually changes to a first-person perspective for you to survey the items.

When it’s time to use items, you don’t just select one from an inventory screen and point at what you want to use it with - instead, if you need to use a lighter, you actually will have to flick the flint of it with the touchscreen. You’ll need to turn keys to open doors, too. It’s little detail like this that will get players into this particular title. The game features four chapters, dozens of locations, and over 60 characters to interact with.

Screenshots and video after the break.

Compilation of artwork.

Higher quality video