I have somewhat vague memories of Phantasmagoria, looking at the screenshots helped jog my memory, but the one thing I do remember is that I completed it in about 2-3 hours. It really is VERY short and not worth $9.99. At $4.99 and on a GOG sale, it might be worth it if you're a big adventure and/or horror fan. Otherwise, don't bother.
I like Evil Genius, but it takes some work to get to grips with it and it can be very frustrating until you figure out a few tips. I'd strongly recommending glancing through an FAQ first since the manual and in-game hints don't quite give you enough information. The graphics and atmosphere are fantastically done and really fit the theme well. While the graphics aren't cutting edge, the cartoon style doesn't require super high quality anyway. From that point-of-view, even if this game was remade today, I doubt it would look much better. The biggest gameplay problem is the way base-building and world domination work together. You need to work the world domination map in order to get money and you need to keep an eye on the map or the minions you sent out will get killed. At the same time, however, you have to keep an eye on your base or you'll be overrun with agents. The problem is you really need to be able to watch both screens at once. If they made it easier to know what was happening on one screen while looking at the other, or if they had better controls on world domination screen (for example, set it to automatically replace lost minions, or automatically hide when agents appear in the same region, or set it to keep heat below a certain threshold) or better AI on the base-building screen (or at least be able to set zones that will automatically tag agents when the enter them), the gameplay would be much smoother.
VTM:R isn't a particularly bad game, but it doesn't stand out as particularly memorable either. The combination of medieval and contemporary settings is a novel idea, but the game takes a long time to get going leaving the medieval section mostly forgettable. Running into some of the characters from the medieval period again in the contemporary setting adds a nice twist. Also, despite the addition of various firearms in the contemporary part of the game, I found myself mostly relying on melee because it needs less micro-managing. The gameplay itself is completely linear and the city / town environments between quests are very small leaving let sense of exploration. The quests themselves are run of the mill kill your way through a dungeon until you reach the end and the plot moves forward. The game has three endings, but nothing you do until the very end makes any difference as to which ending you get, so it's just a case of saving before the final battle and then reloading to see all the endings. The graphics show their age, but actually aren't that bad once you get use to them. If you are really into vampires, or are a big fan of RPGs, you'll probably enjoy the game. If you're more of a casual fan of RPGs (or not a fan at all), you could probably skip it.
Like I do, then make a exception for Psychonauts. Tim Schafer's genius transcends the genre making this every bit as enjoyable as his adventure games. Not to say there aren't a couple of frustrating points, but they are worth it.
I decided to get this game because of how much people gush over it, but I'm a little disappointed. It's quirky setting is quite fun, the graphics are good (but very glitchy on my system) and the story is okay, if a little uninspired and very linear, and the puzzles are fairly good without being too frustrating. On the downside, the game is short, about 10 hours. It betrays it's console roots with silly collecting parts (luckily you don't have to collect everything to finish it). The fighting is a simple button mash and rather pointless. The mini-games that might have prolonged the game are ruined by horrible camera angles and controls that make them pretty much unplayable.
I'm not a big RTS fan, but I actually really enjoyed this one. It has some interesting twists with customizable units (for 3/4 factions at least) and different resource needs for different factions which adds an extra angle to the strategy. The four campaigns link together nicely, although the final mission of the last campaign was way too easy and the ending was a bit of a let down. Graphics are pretty good, sound falls out of sync in the cut scenes (possibly because it was translated?) and some of the unit voices are a little annoying.
This game isn't terrible, but you pretty quickly see everything there is to see in the first few hours and everything else is a grind from there on. Each system, while very pretty, is basically the same and so there is no real motivation for exploring. The side missions fall into a handful of categories, repeated many times with just different systems to visit. The trading is uninteresting and because of the way the upgrades work, there really isn't anything to spend your money on anyway (also, it stops showing you how much money you have once you reach 9,999,999 credits). The story is okay, if very linear and uninspired, with a rip-off ending and very little challenge. Also, once you've finished the main story, there is no motivation to continue. The voice acting ranges from passable to absolutely horrible with, unfortunately, the main characters falling into the horrible category. Unless you are huge space-sim fan, you might want to spend your money on something else.
I remember playing this back in the day on my Atari ST, and replaying it now, I find I really don't remember any part of the actual game at all. The story is ultimately unremarkable and this game does not qualify as a classic by any stretch. Still, for free, you might want to waste and afternoon on it. I remember it being much hailed, at the time, for it's "virtual theater" system, which allows NPCs to wander around the game and engage in conversations with each other, but in practice, it's mostly annoying when your conversation with an NPC is interrupted by two other NPCs talking, or an NPC steps in your way when you are trying to move around. I won't criticize a 17 year old game for poor graphics and sound, which some reviewers seem to insist on doing, it was pretty good for the time, but obviously hasn't aged well. Note: This version does have a bug near the end of the game that prevents you from completing it, but it can be fixed with the latest snapshot of the ScummVM (see the GOG forums).
