Phantasmagoria stands as a testament to a specific period of video game history. It was the 90s, CD's had just started to hit the mainstream, and game designers were catching on to the idea that they finally had enough media space to include video recordings of live actors. Phantasmagoria was one of the first to do this, allowing you to control real people in a horror movie. It has a plot ripped out of The Shining. Adrienne and her husband Don have moved to a new house and Don has gotten possessed. As Don spirals out of control he becomes abusive and erratic, even raping Adrienne in one scene that caused a lot of stir back then. As Adrienne you have to save yourself and undo the curse left on the house. Of course, you won't be doing a whole lot besides watching videos. One of the drawbacks to this format, which was why it was quickly abandoned after the glamor wore off, is that you can't really do much but sit back and watch pre-scripted videos, with little or no input. Much of the action in the game involves getting Adrienne from one point in the game to another in order to watch the next cut-scene. Also, this game being one of the earliest to utilize the technology, the videos themselves aren't the best quality. Compression technology was still in its infancy, and even though this thing came on 7 CD's, it's still a little hard to watch sometimes. Still, don't get Phantasmagoria for the game, get it to experience a piece of gaming history. A period where the word CD-ROM meant instant attention.
For me, Riven was a game changer. It's immense and beautiful world. It's gorgeous soundtrack and it's enticing puzzles became for me the standard for adventure games, and few if any titles have ever matched the feeling I got discovering the world of Riven. Riven, like Myst once again puts you in the role of an unnamed protagonist. This time you're sent by Atrus into the collapsing world of Riven to stop his psychotic father, Gehn and rescue his wife Catherine. Riven drops you right into the action and gives you nothing to go on other than a short journal by Atrus describing his attempts to save the world and his wife. Everything else you learn by exploring the rich world, moving through structures that depict Gehn as a God, villages, palaces and secrets. Despite the lack of hand holding, Riven, like Myst is easy to pick up and play thanks to its simple interface. Like Myst, the world you interact with is largely deserted of people, save for a few cutscenes. So if you need to have heart pounding action in your game, or heavy dialogue, Riven will disappoint you. The thrill of Riven is more subtle. It comes from a feeling of being part explorer, part archeologist picking through the relics of a world beautifully imagined and brought to life.
What can be said about Myst that hasn't already been said. Myst has been called both the savior and murderer of adventure games, and the debate about its place in the canon still rages. What is clear is that Myst changed all expectations afterword with its amazing visuals and puzzles. I can still remember going out and buying our first sound card so that we could hear this game properly. This game affected our family quite a bit. Myst and its sequel Riven is what inspired my brother to become a game designer (he now works for a major firm) and it inspired countless other imitations, homages and rip-offs. If you haven't played Myst (what the hell?) it places you the character in a bizarre island, whose central feature, a burnt library features two books, each containing a broken message from people trapped inside them. You must search through the island for various linking books that take you to other words. All the while you'll be solving puzzles, and exploring. There are no enemies in Myst, just ambiance, allowing you to solve these puzzles at your leisure, just beware the twist at the end. Myst has often been accused of having a less than stellar ending. And while that was certainly true when you had to wait years and years for the sequel, in this case, GOG will likely have Riven out in a few months. So download Myst for old times sake, it never disappoints.
I played the Sanitarium demo when it first came out, but never got my hand on the actual game. I was so intrigued by the demo, that I regretted that decision. Well now, thanks to GOG I finally had a chance to play the full game, and it was well worth the wait. Sanitarium follows an amnesiac mental patient who wakes up in an asylum after an explosion. Throughout the game, the character seemingly gets transported into various dimensions based on his own twisted psyche. The game often leaves you to wonder what is real and what isn't, as the game slowly reveals who your character is and what he's doing there. The graphics are nice, especially in the bizarre dimensions your character visits. Voice acting is done tolerably well and there's a good learning curve on the puzzles. The ambient sound and score are all excellent, and the game even manages to get in a few touches of off beat humor, with several prominent red herrings throughout. By the end of the game, the puzzles get challenging without ever requiring the kind of moon logic leaps that often accompany these kinds of games. All in all this is a great example of the classic adventure game format.
