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Post by Ex on Oct 15, 2021 11:35:02 GMT -5
Considering how controversial Doom, Mortal Kombat, Duken Nukem, etc were in the mid 90's, it's easy to see how this one pushed the boundaries for its time. Phantasmagoria was especially controversial: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantasmagoria_(video_game)#ControversyRoberta tried to use DOOM and Mortal Kombat as counter examples as to why her game wasn't as violent: "Williams said Phantasmagoria was less excessively violent than games like Doom and Mortal Kombat, and that unlike those games, Phantasmagoria is 'the good guy ... not going around shooting up people.'"I think the biggest issue with her game, was that it used live actors with practical effects for its gore. Unlike other games using hand drawn assets. The real life actors getting mutilated and murdered makes the content seem far more brutal. I knew about this game when it first released, a high school friend of mine had it back then. He asked if I wanted to borrow it, but I had not interest at the time. That's because it's an "FMV game" and I was staunchly anti-FMV back then. At the time I considered FMV to just be a gimmick used in lieu of actual gameplay. Which is an honest assessment of most FMV-addled games of the '90s. Occasionally there were releases such as this one that attempted to infuse legitimate game design into the equation. Unfortunately the game design in Phantasmagoria is shallow and unengaging. - I'm hitting this 1996 release up next: www.gog.com/game/realms_of_the_haunting
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 15, 2021 11:46:29 GMT -5
Yeah, FMV is kind of fun to look back on. But it somewhat reeks of like, the 3D TV fad and the likes, haha. A gimmick phase that doesn't have a lasting impression.
The actors generally seem pretty terrible too. I was checking out Crusader - No Remorse last night and it opened up with an FMV, that usual Commander authority figure giving you some orders haha. Anyways, I recall you weren't big on these games and yeah, I didn't stick around long. The presentation is amazing and has a cool aesthetic. But half the battle was the controls. The mouse and aiming mechanics would be a chore to re-map if possible. I think I'll just continue to admire these two games from afar and enjoy the awesome music.
Also played some Rise of the Triad... holy balls yeah, as Civvie11 and most people say, this one is terrible.
I hope I don't regret my theme this month. I installed a few more to check out for the weekend. There are some games I'm sure will be a homerun, like Fallout Tactics. But I don't want to take on something like that on top of Dragon Quest 8 right now.
Either way, it's been good to at least chip away at some of my GOG library. Think I'll make tags to try and organize this list better too like you can with Steam.
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Post by Ex on Oct 18, 2021 16:02:30 GMT -5
Dang we're over halfway through October, and I'm the only member who's beaten a game for this theme so far? - I didn't do any video gaming over the weekend, was busy with other hobbies. But tonight I'm going to give Realms of the Haunting an honest try, see if it hooks me. If it doesn't, there's an obscure PC-only fighting game I plan to play for this theme (and may still play regardless). Oh and I spent some time with Waxworks last week. It is a graphically impressive horror adventure/dungeon crawl hybrid, and quite gory. My only immediate issue with Waxworks, is the game doesn't have an auto-map. I've gotten kinda spoiled by having in-game mapping systems in more modern dungeon crawlers, so it stings when that's not there. Even if I had to make an in-game digital map Etrian Odyssey style, I could deal with that. But I don't want to have to map on analog paper while playing a digital game. If that doesn't bother you, check out Waxworks if you enjoy dungeon crawlers and horror gore.
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Post by Sarge on Oct 18, 2021 16:12:23 GMT -5
I'm probably going to try to find something soon. Outside of Metroid Dread, I haven't had much really get its hooks into me lately. And I ended up binge-watching Locke & Key over the weekend.
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Post by Ex on Oct 19, 2021 1:26:23 GMT -5
I put two hours into Realms of the Haunting tonight. From a technical perspective RotH uses a very impressive engine for 1996. Its level of world interactivity rivals System Shock's (although SS released in 1994). To put it simply, RotH is like a blend of Doom, System Shock, Tomb Raider and Resident Evil. But that makes this game sound more awesome than it has been, so I meant that statement from a conceptual level - not a quality level. I'm honestly not sure how I'd rate RotH's quality level at this point.
RotH has been entertaining from a story (lots of FMVs) and atmospheric perspective, great sound effects and the game's interface is innovative for its time. There's a lot of fine details to the interface interactivity. Graphically RotH is also above average for 1996, no doubt... it even has a dynamic real time lighting system. (Though RotH is not 100% 3D such as Quake which released the same year.) Gameplay-wise this is a horror point 'n' click adventure game combined with an FPS. Combat isn't particularly exciting, though it's about Doom level. Puzzles so far have been simple enough and not illogical.
What I haven't particularly liked is the dungeon layouts are messy-sprawling, multi-tiered, and a bit confusing at times. I'm at the beginning of the game and they're already as such. HLTB says RotH is about 12 hours long, so who knows how crazy the dungeon layouts may become. I can certainly appreciate big crazy dungeons (hello King's Field) as long as they have some inherent logic to them. Not sure if RotH's do yet.
Old reviews say the best aspect of RotH ends up being its story. Well thus far the plot's been simple, but obviously with 10+ more hours it could evolve. I'm fairly intrigued, so I plan to give RotH another session tomorrow to decide if it's worth that much time. I can tell you for sure, if I'd had played RotH in 1996 it would have blown me away. Wish I'd have had this one back then. Too bad it flew under my radar, and every other PC gamer I knew back then. Interplay did a terrible job of promoting this game.
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Post by Chema on Oct 19, 2021 5:21:41 GMT -5
I'm still playing Duke Nukem 3D. The fourth chapter is kicking my ass!
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Post by Ex on Oct 20, 2021 20:55:36 GMT -5
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Post by Sarge on Oct 20, 2021 20:57:26 GMT -5
If nothing else, it looks fantastic.
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Post by Ex on Oct 20, 2021 21:01:06 GMT -5
For a 1996 non-Carmack engine, I agree. Strong art direction and impressive 3D architectural tech, despite using sprites for many objects. The FMV cutscenes look good too, way better than Phantasmagoria's that released only a year prior.
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Post by Xeogred on Oct 20, 2021 21:07:49 GMT -5
Am I looking at 5 different games here?
Very intriguing so far.
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