Once you play (and finish) Phantasmagoria, it's very unlikely you'll forget it. The game is populated with memorable characters and the story is very engaging. Best of all, it's incredibly easy to pick up and play and therefore can be recommended even to beginners. The game's "hint" system is even accessed via a large, round button on the interface so that if you're stuck you can quickly receive advice. In Phantasmagoria, you play as the wife of a husband who becomes possessed by a demon you accidentally free shortly after moving into a huge mansion formerly owned by a renowned magician. As you progress, it's fascinating seeing your husband's downward spiral and how you must deal with it and eventually overcome it. As fun as the game is to play and explore, however, it also falls just short of excellence thanks to a few nagging issues. The one that hit me hardest was the length of the game. Even if you decline to use a walkthrough or receive hints, you'll probably be able to breeze through the entire story in a matter of a few hours. The game consists of seven "chapters," none of which are very long at all. Another issue I had with the game is the way in which the final segments are handled. Obviously, I won't ruin the surprise with this review, but the last parts of the game are played in a manner that knocks you over the head with repeated trial-and-error mechanics until you're frustrated to the point of calling it quits all together or seeking a walkthrough. The way in which the story wraps up isn't entirely satisfactory, either, but it could be worse. Overall, despite its flaws, Phantasmagoria is a tremendous FMV adventure game that nobody should miss. Although it ends rather quickly and doesn't necessarily answer every question you might have about its characters and story, you'll be sucked into its world and captivated to the point of not wanting to leave your computer.
Buyers beware: If you have an itch for some classic Earthworm Jim action, you'd best start scratching elsewhere. To put it bluntly, the Earthworm Jim being sold by Good Old Games is a crippled, PC-specific version which suffers from incredibly poor controls. On consoles such as the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo, Jim is smooth, easy to control, and a blast to play. On PC, although the music is arguably of higher quality, it's nigh impossible to play effectively thanks to the inability to shoot diagonally 50% of the time and other control quirks. The game simply doesn't feel as responsive as it should, and the lame keyboard remapping, which questionably prevents you from choosing several letters on the keyboard in the process, doesn't help matters. Thanks to crippled controls, the only thing these Earthworm Jim games have going for them are the high quality tunes and extra goodies thrown in by Good Old Games. The price is not steep, either. But for $5.99, you could purchase a better, completely functional game rather than a clunky, broken one which plays correctly only half the time and as a result is not even as enjoyable as its Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo counterparts. Avoid at all costs and go pick up one of the superior, smoother, more responsive console versions instead.
