The game is utterly short, as it was meant to be the first episode of a series, it gets sliced in half at a cliffhanger which is never sorted out. However, when it does cover the story, it excels at pushing your emotions and doubts the same way it apparently was happening to the people out there. The plot is as twisted as you'd expect from a complex political issue; little is certain as it develops. The graphics might be somewhat simple, but it shouldn't put off anyone. Worth a try in spite of its obvious drawbacks. Get thrown into the open mouth of revolution that - as we nowadays realise - finally ate its own children.
I remember when this instalment came out. It was utterly difficult, yet surprisingly satisfying. Almost 30 years have passed and it's still the best entry in the series! Great strategy and action, enormous replayability potential and a satisfying challenge. The game sets its bar high in the beginning, but ultimately it's so engrossing, it quickly turns out it's more than worth to learn how to play it. Plus the colourful setting of the Dutch countryside gives you graphics somewhat above the standards set for 1997 - even though it's a birdeye-view game. Be sure to check out some community advice online, you can get the game running in widescreen and improve compatiblity greatly using a wrapper. I succeeded with DDrawCompat, the other options are dgVoodoo or DXWND.
The game's story is enthralling. While I'm not usually into parnormal fantasies, this one really got me. I'd love to dive into the whole background even more, however the problem lies in the way it's served. The only option of skimming through the setting and the story behind it is by collecting letter pieces scattered all over the island. Which is a pity! In any other game these collectibles would be extra irrelevant items rather than this quite rudimentary pieces of information that give you actual data on the game's plot. To make it even worse, the exploration isn't at all that easy. Yes, you do walk around a lot, although with constraints felt all the time (and no "run" button as well). It's not an exploration-friendly game, really. Dialogues are another drawback. While interesting, you don't really get to interact the way you'd like to. You only get seconds to pick the line of your choosing and in the end your character might say something vaguely related to your selection. But, there are pros anyway. The characters, even though modelled as stereotypical american teenagers, are profound enough to make you think of them warmly. The story, like I said, is worth it. Graphical style is neat. The game is choice-driven, so (some of) your actions influence the ending (although early in the game you might choose sides unwittingly, as the importance of choices is unobvious). Note that the game has its creepy moments. I probably wouldn't play it while home alone at 3 AM. Long story short, some will like it, some won't. I, likely, won't replay it, even though the five hours of gameplay I had were OK. Or maybe it was "just OK".
