Phantasmagoria Stagefright

Rating:
Summary: "Phantasmagoria" and "Phantasmagoria: Puzzle of Flesh"
Review: "Phantasmagoria" was the first CD-Rom game I ever played and it and I can still remember being stuck on a disc for a couple of days while the skull kept telling me to "Find Don! Give him what he needs!" I was pretty sure I had the drain cleaner Don needed, but I could not remember what room of the house he was in. "Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh" is not quite as good, but that is not a big knock against the sequel, although I have never bothered to find out while Roberta Williams, who designed and wrote the original, was not responsible for the "sequel."

"Phantasmagoria Stagefright" gives you both of these story-based adventure games, where you solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. I eagerly admit that these are my favorite type of comptuer games, where you collect not only information from the locals in town but various objects waiting for the right moment when a nail allows you to do something important. The games allow you to exclude access to explicit scenes, of which there are a few. I have not played a lot of these games, but the end game of "Phantasmagoria" is still my favorite, mainly because of the delicious twist Williams comes up with for how you have to put yourself in position to win the game (I can say no more).

I am sure technology has made quantum leaps in these games since this pair first came out, but they are still a pair of solid games.

Rating:
Summary: "Phantasmagoria" and "Phantasmagoria: Puzzle of Flesh"
Review: "Phantasmagoria" was the first CD-Rom game I ever played and it and I can still remember being stuck on a disc for a couple of days while the skull kept telling me to "Find Don! Give him what he needs!" I was pretty sure I had the drain cleaner Don needed, but I could not remember what room of the house he was in. "Phantasmagoria: A Puzzle of Flesh" is not quite as good, but that is not a big knock against the sequel, although I have never bothered to find out while Roberta Williams, who designed and wrote the original, was not responsible for the "sequel."

"Phantasmagoria Stagefright" gives you both of these story-based adventure games, where you solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. I eagerly admit that these are my favorite type of comptuer games, where you collect not only information from the locals in town but various objects waiting for the right moment when a nail allows you to do something important. The games allow you to exclude access to explicit scenes, of which there are a few. I have not played a lot of these games, but the end game of "Phantasmagoria" is still my favorite, mainly because of the delicious twist Williams comes up with for how you have to put yourself in position to win the game (I can say no more).

I am sure technology has made quantum leaps in these games since this pair first came out, but they are still a pair of solid games.

Rating:
Summary: Phantasmagoria rocks!
Review: don't listen to anyone that says otherwise: Phantasmagoria is the best! I've never played Phantasmagoria 2, but the first one is one of the best games ever. it has a great plot, awesome music, and graphics better than that of most newer games. If you ever find it for sale (it is out of print) BUY PHANTASMAGORIA!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Phantasmagoria
Review: First of all, I don't understand why some people dislike Phantasmagoria 1, I mean it must be the best computer game i've ever played! I didn't like nr 2 as much as nr. 1, because the story behind nr. 1 is just... fanastic. I love the characters, the house, the story... everything! Roberta Williams did a really good job on Phantasmagoria, she should be proud.... Buy it, rent it, or borrow it today, you'll not regret it!

Rating:
Summary: Lovecraft stylistics with King's idleness
Review: Honestly, I was disappointed by the game.
The 7 CD pack goes away in less than 3 hours and so vanish the money and all hopes for a week's creep show.
The game lacks the least amount of imagination which would fill in the first 4 CDs of an average perfomance. But the laziness of Roberta Williams was evidently packed up by plenty of running around the castle and 4 houses of the nearest village.
Despite the miss in scenario, I would suggest running through the game for 2 basic reasons: to enjoy one of the rare samples of a plain storytelling computer implementation, and... to have your friends freak with a ravenous story-ending.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't live up to its expectations...
Review: I am a huge fan of Roberta Williams, her King's Quest games have offered me hours of entertainment since I was about 9 years old. When I heard that she was taking on a more "adult" project featuring real actors and a gripping, horror-based storyline, I was more than excited. However, I received nothing but disappointment.

The graphics in this game are most impressive (considering the time that the game was created). They feature real actors who are placed in front of a blue screen with a cartoon-ish backround and props projected behind them. This gives the game a fairly realistic effect although at times the actors look so out of place in front of their backrounds that the occuring event is everything but real.

As far as the acting goes..it's about what you'd expect from a game which resembles a B horror movie. Most of the acting is barely believeable (although Adrienne, the main character, is not horrible) and the characters themselves are most annoying.

The story was just awful...cliched and robbed to the core, I found absolutely everything in this game to be entirely predictable. It focuses around a couple, Don and Adrienne, who move into a huge, spooky house on an island. The house was owned by a creepy count named Carno and it is said to be haunted. All of the islanders are afraid of the house and none of them are too keen on talking about it (with the exception of one eager old woman who serves as the "revelation of the evil within" source seen in all movies of this sort). The story proceeds just as you would predict. Without giving anything away I'll just tell you that Adrienne discovers ghosts, secret rooms, and a demon which has been wreaking havoc on the house for years. It borrows heavily from Stephen King's "The Shining" (as in..the house turns the husband into a raving psychopath). For anyone who is not too familiar with the horror genre, Phantasmagoria may provide a few hours of good story. To fans of classic horror movies and games, Phantasmagoria will become stale before the end of chapter three.

This brings me to the gameplay. The game itself is divided into 7 chapters (each chapter contained entirely on its respective disk). While this may seem as though it allows for a massive game, it must be said that each chapter can be completed in a quick half hour, even by the most inexperienced of adventure gamers. The puzzles that each chapter requires you to solve are completely lacking in challenge. They are solved by the use of obvious items in Adrienne's inventory and no logical thought is necessary. There was actually a chapter in the game which focused entirely on buying a bottle of Dran-O from the village general store and returning it to your husband. Yes - that's it. Later - a puzzle comes up where the very item you need can be found a single screen below and it is not hidden in the very least.

To fans of blood and gore - this game may serve as an enjoyable "shockfest". There is more than one moment of senseless violence which is not limited to beheading, faces being ripped open, and the funneling of human body parts down a woman's throat. For those too squeamish to even imagine such things, the gore can easily be censored with an in-game option requiring the entry of a password (to protect the little ones' virgin eyes).

Overall, Phantasmagoria lacks in every area required to make an adventure game reach "classic" status. The story is predictable, the gameplay simple and stale, and the characters annoying. For huge fans of senseless violence and B-movie horror plots, this may serve as some sort of "cult classic" piece. All others, don't waste your money.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I expected more from the master Roberta Williams. Phantasmagoria was a disappointing exercise, a boring game limited rather than helped by its FMV graphics. The game actually began pretty well, but the introduction of two useless and annoying characters in the middle of the story, and a lack of interesting game play twists killed all interest I had. Only one chapter through the sequel, Puzzle of Flesh, and I was bored out of my mind. The characters were not believable, and the plot dull and lifeless.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Game
Review: I found these games highly impressive and exciting. They were well written and created. I will never tire of playing these games they ultimately captivated me. If you are a person, who likes adventures and mysteries and If you like to snoop for things, then this is the game for you! Well worth the price!

Rating:
Summary: Phantasmagoria (the original)
Review: I loved this game the first time we played it!!! I want to buy it and replay it but I don't know if it can be played on Windows XP? Does anyone know? Please email me at [e-mail]. I want to purchase it as a xmas gift(on amazon) for my husband. We set up all night and played it 10 years ago. I wish they still made games like that. Todays' games are too complicated to play. (IMO) All of Sierra games are good !!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Phantasmagoria (the original)
Review: I loved this game the first time we played it!!! I want to buy it and replay it but I don't know if it can be played on Windows XP? Does anyone know? Please email me at [e-mail]. I want to purchase it as a xmas gift(on amazon) for my husband. We set up all night and played it 10 years ago. I wish they still made games like that. Todays' games are too complicated to play. (IMO) All of Sierra games are good !!!!!!!!