Rating: 
Summary: Trashy - but very enjoyable
Review: These are two rather [weak] but very enjoyable games - here is a review of each one.Phantasmagoria is a rather basic interactive movie/graphic adventure in which you play Adrienne Delaney who moves into an old mansion estate with her husband Don Gordon. She then learns of the estates twisted past and Don becomes increasingly abusive toward her. The interface is basic - you click around the screen, examining objects, which may be put into your inventory to use later by clicking on them in your inventory which makes the object your cursor to use etc. The graphics are live action actors on a 3d background, are mostly quite grainy but not bad for 1995. The soundtrack is amazing, some fabulous orchestral scores. Fantastic. The game is very graphically violent, but there is a censorship option.
The first three chapters leaves you wondering why the game is rated Mature however the next three chapters your questions are answered as everything Adrienne researched in the latter chapters is now seen. Some scenes in the game are truly [strange] and disturbing and by the last chapter you start feeling very nauseated, especially if you do it the hard way. The only annoying things about Phantasmagoria are that it's to short and easy. The first time you play, you can finish it in six to eight hours, but it's worth playing again because there are plenty of movie scenes and a few "Easter eggs" you can miss the first time round. The second time you play if you know exactly what your doing and view everything there is to see you can finish it in four hours fifteen minutes. Overall great game deserves its mature rating - recommended. Phantasmagoria: A puzzle of flesh is also a rather basic interactive movie/graphic adventure in which you play ex-mental patient Curtis Craig who's been out of the mental hospital for exactly one year; he now has a good job and a great girlfriend.
However now he begins to have hallucinations, first an invisible hand punches him at his desk and his rat begins to talk to him. Then one of his co-workers is brutally murdered and all evidence points to him. Playing as Curtis you must set out to prove his innocence and unravel the mysteries of the company you work for.
Meanwhile you're cheating on your girlfriend with hot S&M babe Therese. Sounds [weak]- it is, but it is also very enjoyable, however not so much as the original because it's not as scary. The interface is pretty basic. You click on highlighted hot spots, which will more often than not trigger a movie sequence. You can collect objects and click on them, which will then make the object, become your cursor, which enables you to use them in the game environment, examine with the eye icon, etc, etc. The puzzles are also pretty basic, apart from a few password cracking puzzles which are mainly difficult because you don't know when you're supposed to crack each one within the game. The graphics are your usual pixelated movie sequences and unmoving back grounds however in high colour it's better quality than most games of its type. The game like the original is very graphically violent however there is a censorship option, which will cut four of the most violent scenes and three of the [physical ones]. As I said this isn't as scary as the original but there are a few jumpy moments, a disturbing mental hospital scene and a gory, disturbing murder scene, which I found scary. There is a fair bit of replay value mainly for the sheer heck of it because it was so enjoyable the first time but also because there is a whole "Easter egg" system in which you can click around "unclickable" places etc to trigger funny movies and weird things like Curtis picking his nose which is a laugh, you can also get scored on the Easter eggs you find. However unlike the original you will see almost everything the first time you play. It can be finished for the first time in about eight to ten hours - a bit more if your really bad at puzzle solving. The second time you play, if you know exactly what your doing it can be finished in approximately five hours so it is a slight improvement on length than the original even though its only on five CD's while the original was seven. If you want to find all the "Easter eggs" however it could take you forever - you will need a guide. There is also a fair bit of humour in this one, mostly coming from Curtis' mate Trevor, who cracked me up. There was a lot of great one liners and jokes coming from him which was refreshing because in the original there was next to no humour at all. Overall despite the bad ratings this game got I found it to be very enjoyable and am sad to say I have replayed it several times, but it definitely deserves its mature rating! To sum up two great genuinely scary games which you'll want to play again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: The scariest game I have ever played...
Review: This game (Phantasmagoria) scared ... me the first time I played it. It is one of the richest games I have ever played, with elaborate, beautifully rendered settings, an intriguing story, horrific movie clips that play out in front of you like a horror movie, and an excellent score that will send chills down your spine. It is not so much a strategy game, but rather a slow adventure game (the "slow" being a positive quality, for you become immersed in the creepy atmosphere of it all). It has an awesome chase-scene ending that takes you all over the sprawling mansion and into the bowels of the mansion- you find your knowledge of the house which had served as your background on the past 6 discs being put to the test as you flee your attacker- perhaps one of the best- and scariest- game endings ever. If you are intrigued by all of the things I just mentioned, don't hesitate, BUY IT, YOU WILL LOVE IT. (This test refers to the out-of-print "Phantasmagoria".)
Rating:
Summary: One of the best games ever!
Review: This game has a wonderful story line. A little cheese now and then but other than that very good. Very suspenseful through out the whole game.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of an afternoon
Review: This game took me only a few hours to go through. I found it disappointingly simple. I could easily figure out what was going on and what I needed to do. I found Myst more challenging. Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: The absolute best
Review: This is the most enjoyable and thrilling game I have ever played on the PC. I didn't want to move away from my computer while playing because it was so gripping. I recommend this game for any PC gamer who wants a realistic adventure.
Rating:
Summary: The absolute best
Review: This is the most enjoyable and thrilling game I have ever played on the PC. I didn't want to move away from my computer while playing because it was so gripping. I recommend this game for any PC gamer who wants a realistic adventure.
Rating: 
Summary: Good puzzles, but FAR too gory
Review: This series has a lot to offer, but the clever puzzles, interesting interface, and almost good enough writing aren't quite enough to make up for the really overdone and hideous (and not particularly logical) violence. P1 also bears the burden of aiming all the violence towards women, most of whom are mindlessly chirpy and submissive. P2 is more blatant and just celebrates gore as an end in itself. Unless you're a fan of the "blood & guts/woman in peril/shock me baby" genre, you're not likely to be enchanted by the series.
Rating:
Summary: Short and Simple
Review: This was my first experience in games of this genre, and I'm rather disappointed (I'm more of a fan of the likes of Ultima, Homeworld). In both P1 and P2 the story lines are exciting, but the overall puzzles presented are rather simple. The control panel in P2 was the most difficult, and it was more annoying rather than challenging. The interface also makes for a rather liniar, simplistic game. My greatest complaint, however, is the time it takes to complete the games. Each game took less than 10 hours to complete, and they have absolutely no replay value. Perhaps a newer game in this genre would be more satisfying (Blood of the Sacred..., et. al.) I returned the game to Sierra, and got my money back.
Rating:
Summary: uhhh, I don't know
Review: When I recieved this game, it only included the 7 CDs from the original adventure. The game was supposed to come with all 12 CDs. What do I do to fix this?
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