Posted March 02, 2010
Having recently played this game as well as its prequel, I must say that both games are perfect examples as to why the whole FMV "interactive movie" craze of the mid-90s died out almost as quickly as it came. It's like watching a Bollywood movie where you have to click from one badly acted cutscene to the next.
To even consider this an adventure game is almost a stretch. Most adventure games have a variety of logic puzzles to keep the player occupied. This game's puzzles are almost nonexistent, and when they are there they're usually based off of really vague (and I mean REALLY vague) clues that you hear maybe once throughout the game. For example, there's one point in the game where you are locked out of your computer system by your not-so-nice coworker Bob, and you have to insert the right word to get back in. Are there any real clues laying around the office? No, of course not. That'd make too much sense. Instead, all you have to go off of is a single word uttered by Bob during one of the game's many cutscenes. What's worse, there are a couple of "puzzles" (and I use the term very lightly here) at the end of the game that involve combining random objects that you would never EVER think to combine, and even then if you do the wrong combination you're dead.
The game's storyline appears to me an attempt by the game creators to throw together as many overly controversial subjects as they possibly could. I guess they didn't get enough attention from the media from that fully-clothed rape scene from the first game? This game has references to homosexuality, bondage, and S&M among other things, and contains a fair bit of violence. I must say, however, that the level of violence doesn't quite top some of the death sequences from the first game. Still, the story is lackluster and often borders on nonsensical.
If you're looking for a real adventure game, look elsewhere. Much like the original Phantasmagoria, I think it's worth the time just for the sake of pure amusement, so if you're in the mood for playing a game-- I mean, interactive movie-- that is so bad that it's funny, perhaps maybe this might be a good game to pick up.
To even consider this an adventure game is almost a stretch. Most adventure games have a variety of logic puzzles to keep the player occupied. This game's puzzles are almost nonexistent, and when they are there they're usually based off of really vague (and I mean REALLY vague) clues that you hear maybe once throughout the game. For example, there's one point in the game where you are locked out of your computer system by your not-so-nice coworker Bob, and you have to insert the right word to get back in. Are there any real clues laying around the office? No, of course not. That'd make too much sense. Instead, all you have to go off of is a single word uttered by Bob during one of the game's many cutscenes. What's worse, there are a couple of "puzzles" (and I use the term very lightly here) at the end of the game that involve combining random objects that you would never EVER think to combine, and even then if you do the wrong combination you're dead.
The game's storyline appears to me an attempt by the game creators to throw together as many overly controversial subjects as they possibly could. I guess they didn't get enough attention from the media from that fully-clothed rape scene from the first game? This game has references to homosexuality, bondage, and S&M among other things, and contains a fair bit of violence. I must say, however, that the level of violence doesn't quite top some of the death sequences from the first game. Still, the story is lackluster and often borders on nonsensical.
If you're looking for a real adventure game, look elsewhere. Much like the original Phantasmagoria, I think it's worth the time just for the sake of pure amusement, so if you're in the mood for playing a game-- I mean, interactive movie-- that is so bad that it's funny, perhaps maybe this might be a good game to pick up.