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What to say, I'd definitely call this a CLASSIC!
You're put back in the 19th century in a place where evil forces lurk... and yes, it's Dracula's territory you're trespassing.
The plot is simple enough, you arrive at a village in an obscure countryside with graveyards, half demolished churches and creepy castles - or at least one of each. You need to explore, gather information and items and set forth to destroy the prince of darkness.
There are many games with a similar plot, but this game really stands out from the crowd. First off, it's a text based adventure, so the game progresses slowly. This really sets the mood of the game, as you get the time to think about everything, to watch the drawings of the places you come to and above all - this slow moving pace allows the sound to work its magic on you.
Yes, apart from nice enough drawings, this game also features a full soundtrack, which really sends shivers down your spine. If there would be much action going on, you would concentrate on that, but instead you read, you observe and without knowing you are subjected to the music. Sure, you will hear the music, you will be aware of it, but there's just something more... It almost carries a subliminal message which sets the mood.
If you just listen to the soundtrack (without playing the game) there's no real effect. On the other hand, playing the game without sound just ruins it. It's still a solid adventure, but nothing more. I mean, imagine a horror movie with subtitles and a the sound set on mute - it just wouldn't work, although you could see and understand the whole thing.
Both elements combined are what makes it a whole.
Apart from that, it's a nice enough text adventure on it's own and it gives enough clues for you to be able to figure out what you should do. The thing I personally liked the most was the VOCABULARY command (just use VOCAB) which tells you exactly which verbs the computer understands (that was always the biggest bother with text adventures).
So go back to the 1800s and get frightened as you try to match whits with the dark lord.
Downloads: Music
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| GRAPHICS - 8/10 |
No animation, just static screens, but beautifully drawn and really give the right spooky feel to the game.
| | SOUND - 10/10 |
That's what made this game! It's all about the soundtrack. Music all throughout the game is rare indeed, but here, it's what sets the mood and makes you come for more.
| | PLAYABILITY - 8/10 |
OK, it can be frustrating at times, but you usually get a general idea of what to do and by typing VOCAB you actually see all the commands you can use.
| | OVERALL - 9/10 |
A great piece of interactive fiction. A great game that I recommend to just about anyone - but especially to everybody who doesn't just want mindless shooting and jumping across the screen.
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| COVER |
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; "Click to zoom!")
; "Click to zoom!")
; "Click to zoom!")
