April 2, 2008

Darkness Within (*** out of four) is an adventure game loosely based on H. P. Lovecraft’s fictional horror stories, written in the early 1900s and involving the occult. In this first person point-and-click version, you play the part of a British policeman investigating the murder of an archeologist. The main suspect is a well-respected private investigator who dropped out of sight for several years, traveling the world in search of the supernatural and the occult, only to reappear in a mental institution from which he escapes.

Your job, as the policemen, is to find clues and useful items--both of which can be used to help find the suspect, solve the murder and unravel the mystery. Some of the clues come from items in the environment, such as a key in a drawer or a picture that has been moved out of place. But more clues seem to come from your having to read various books, texts or manuscripts underlying key statements that in themselves become clues. The clues are placed in inventory and can be "thought about" by your detective by using a clever "brain" interface. Thinking can foster additional clues or, when combined with other clues, create more clues. Eventually you hope to glue all the clues together to solve the mystery.

As the story progresses, however, our policeman begins having strange dreams and nightmares and suffering unusual, even supernatural, events and then begins having problems sorting the real from the unreal. This makes it difficult to continue the investigation, but on you must go.

The pace of the investigation (game) is slow, requiring patience on your part and willingness to suppress frustration because you have to backtrack often to find a clue or needed item or number sequence to be able to continue. The game plays at three levels of difficulty, with the difference being in the help and hints your are (or not) given. Occasionally, if you are stuck for a long period of time, the game (at the easiest level of difficulty) pops up with a "Hint is available" message. A few puzzles are included as a change of pace.

The graphics are adequate, and as you might guess, many scenes are dark--so dark in fact it’s hard to find needed items. Music and sound effects are spooky, as befits the overall tone. Voice acting is good, although your policeman seems pretty unruffled at times at the goings on.

If you like murder/mystery/occult storylines and sorting through clues to find answers and going mad in the process, you might enjoy this game. Rated "T" for violence and mild blood.

From the Archives: An occasional look back at some of our favorite games and productivity software from the past . . . but still available

Syberia (**** out of four) is one of the most graphically beautiful role-playing mystery adventure games we’ve seen since Myst. The story line finds a New York lawyer, Kate Walker, traveling to an old-world Alpine village. Her job is to complete the acquisition of an old historic toy company that has recently fallen on hard times. The company specializes in making life-like toys and puppets--some maybe too life-like. When Kate arrives, she finds that the sole owner of the toy company had suddenly died and apparently left no heirs. But there really was a hidden heir, and your adventure begins as Kate searches for the mysterious heir. During her investigation, Kate uncovers a secret, and the follow-up will take her on a journey to other lands and times. What she learns may change her life forever.

You control Kate’s actions as she tries to unravel these mysteries about the toy company, its founders and this hidden heir. In your quest you’ll be exploring the village and traveling to distant lands to gather information. Syberia is an incredibly crafted tale in which you must meet and interview many fascinating characters to piece together an intriguing story. You’ll also have to acquire many items, mostly wind-up toy keys, and solve many puzzles. Some puzzles are seemingly unsolvable. but that’s because you failed to pick up some needed item or take careful notes several scenes back. Some puzzles were admittedly quite contrived, but we didn’t mind because they are so beautifully rendered.

Game play is straightforward, but you’ll need to pay attention to details and, of course, take notes. There’s only one conclusion to Kate’s quest in this mostly linear story, but since you can freely explore the many paths to get there, you’ll have loads of game play. And that’s OK because, if you’re like us, you’ll love being immersed in the beautiful, old-world, sometimes dreamlike scenery, original musical score and engrossing storyline. A special feature of this program is the ability to enjoy at any time any of the cut-scenes that you have unlocked.