"A Spooktacular Game!"

To begin with this game is old. It is very old by gaming standards. Its copyright is in 1982, which makes it 21 years old!

So how does one score a game that is just shy over two decades old? Very carefully. Actually no. With some way of playing it recently I have been able to go back to when I was six and relieve the suspense, excitement, and disappointments this game had to offer.

For starters this is not an action game. You do die, but if you solve the puzzles to the game you will live quite easily. The game is set up such that it is like a book, a graphical book. You enter commands like going North, get this, move that, etc. The only action that really plays out is removal or addition of objects to the location you are present at.

Without much adieu, let the spook begin, and if you able to play this game I hope you enjoy its ghastliness along with the fun it had to offer.

Graphics: 8/10
It has very good graphics for its time. The game is set at night and has that night time ambient quality to it with overhung trees, dirty cabins, and even a broken down horse carriage with a coffin. (Would you expect anything less in Transylvania???)

Sound: N/A/10
There are no sounds. There is no music. The only sound is what you will read from on the screen. You will see descriptions of a witch cackle, or a description of a cat hissing at you, or a frog howling. Onomatopoeia is what drives this game, sound explosions are spelled as ''BOOM.'' Other examples like this are present through out the game. Sound is left for the imagination. I will say this much, however, reading the sounds and their descriptions plays into the overall feeling of the game.

Gameplay: 9/10
This is the bread and butter of the game. No, there is no finger twitching here or bullets to dodge. It is quite suspenseful however to run from a relentless demonic looking werewolf. You are almost desperate to find a means to rid it from you. Gameplay consists of fetching and solving limited puzzles. There is some dispensing of the baddies, but it is quite trivial.

Overall, the game for its time was remarkable. It reads like a book with pictures, and you, as the player, interact with the game. This game is the precursor to the point-and-click genre that has Myst as its flagship title. There aren't many other games like this around. Very few were made and some were successful, but since videogame equaled action and quick reflects this game has fallen by the wayside.

When you have a chance, try it! You won't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/11/03