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LC475 (25MHz 68LC040) |
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Reviewed by: Jon Ostenson
Ever wanted to be a character in an Edgar Allen Poe horror story? Well, here's your chance. In The Dark Eye you are cast into the roles of a variety of characters in any one of four of Poe's chilling stories (The Tale-Tell Heart, Berenice, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Masque of the Red Death). You will have the opportunity to be both victim to and perpetrator of malicious and atrocious acts. Along the way you will come to know the characters you play quite well, almost too well.
Gameplay & Interface
The Dark Eye is an interesting game with an interesting approach. You take on the persona of two characters in each of the four stories, and things don't really happen in a linear format. Throughout the "playing" of one story, you might switch between characters (by "soul jumping") two or three times. This characteristic of the game offers a unique perspective to the challenges you'll have to fulfill. And moving from story to story is also very non-linear: simply find the right "portal" in the old house that serves as a backdrop to your nightmare adventures.
The Dark Eye's interface is commendable. You control a hand cursor that changes to reflect the actions you can perform in a certain spot. For example, if you move the hand to the left or right of your screen, it will change into a pointing finger (if you can move in that direction, of course). The hand also changes to signal special interactions with objects. One interesting and effective interaction allowed in the game is to"caress" objects, evoking memories in your mind that often serve as clues or hints. The hand is about all there is to the interface--there is no inventory of items or anything like that here.
Difficulty & Replayability
The game's free and non-linear gameplay is admirable and enjoyable, but if you're familiar at all with these works by Poe, you won't find a lot challenge in this game. In fact, the most challenging part of the game won't be figuring out what you need to do, but how to get your on-screen persona to do it. And even if you aren't all that familiar with Poe's work, if you finish a segment as one character, you've already seen what the other character needs to do (you need to go through each story as both characters before you can call it finished), thus destroying the challenge.
It is interesting, though, to see the same incident through another character's eyes. And the game's creators have added interesting touches to the stories that allow you to come to know the characters (Especially the victims) more intimately. For example, when you play the role of the old man in The Tale-Tell Heart, you are allowed to explore his room and handle his belongings, something which gives insight into who the old man is. Little touches like this add to the game's overall effect on the player.
Graphics & Sound
What The Dark Eye lacks in difficulty, it makes up in graphics and sound. This game is about the closest any game I've played has come to that elusive "interactive movie" term. The graphics are very effective, well-drawn and emitting a really spooky feeling.The characters you interact with are also convincing, even though they all tend to look a lot alike and none of their mouths move while they talk (which I've always found ineffective anyway). The Dark Eye's music track is also quite appealing--it is never intrusive and always comes in at just the right moment with just the right mood. Although there is a bit of sitting and waiting in this game, it's made more enjoyable because of the graphics and music.