Penumbra Overture

This is a first person adventure game, not an "fps" adventure. So if you walk into this with the 'shooter' word stuck in your mind you will be disappointed. The interactive environment, which I'll admit isn't perfect, sufficiently serves its purpose once you're used to it. I didn't have a problem with it at any time... well... maybe there were a few mishaps with dynamite.

Speaking of the environment, it is done quite well overall. You're in a mineshaft, its gonna be dark! If its that much of a problem to you, you have your trusty torch (ie flashlight, which is dependent on batteries - GASP, realism) or you have your glowstick, which is infinite (whoops, there went the realism). Both provide certain advantages over the other. You will often find yourself without any light source however, as you do have to sneak around quite a bit. Fortunately they implemented a "night vision" feature into sneaking, which helps significantly in the earlier stages of the game.

And why do you have to sneak around? Well just running around an empty mineshaft would be somewhat boring and easy. So there are feral "creatures" that you must avoid. Sadly, sneaking is the only effective way to bypass them, as they CANNOT be killed with weapons (there is a way to kill them later on, and at that point it is a dish best served steaming). A smack will simply knock them back, then you're supposed to run for your life and hide, but that is a rather tricky endeavor as they don't go down for long. The eight legged friends which appear later on can be killed with two good swipes, but as they usually come in groups which eat you alive, you're once again forced to find an alternative method of dealing with them.

This brings us to the combat system, which is by far the most aggravating part of the game. You must click, move the mouse one way, then move it the other way. Sounds easy, but in mid swing your movement is limited (due to the fact that your mouse is preoccupied with swinging) while your target is moving like Muhammad Ali, dancing around you until its ready to strike. When you only take 3-4 hits to die, you will die... often.

The combat is the only, truly bad part to the game. The fear/horror factor was implemented quite well, with the environment, lighting and sound all adding to tense moments. I didn't say much about the puzzles because there isn't that much too them, they may only challenge you for one of two reasons: you didn't find that one important document, or you need to re-read everything you've found. Everything else is simply like other adventure games, where you may find yourself loading often after taking a wrong turn or not hitting a switch in time.

This was a great game, the only thing i have to complain about is the lack of replay value, but all in all it was worth the time and money. This game literally scared me out of my seat a few times and the plot is very well thought out.

The sequel is very much the same; great story, enviromental puzzles, and shocking scares, but no replay. I recommend it as well.

I really enjoyed this game. I'm a horror fan and have to say the horror element was well implemented. I also really love the controls. It's very innovative and fun once you get used to it. They way you interact with objects reminds me very much of the Wii, except with a mouse. The storyline holds my interest and I can't wait for episode 2.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 20 reviews  3.1 out of 5 stars