John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles

"A spooky, clever adventure...though a bit trying."

The Blackstone Chronicles is based on a series of serial novels by noted thriller and horror writer John Saul. Unlike most games based on source materials, this one is actually a sequel rather than a direct translation of the books, which follow the life of Oliver Metcalf, son of the late and mentally unbalanced caretaker of the Blackstone Asylum. After the ordeals of the novels, Oliver's life has finally taken on an air of normalcy: he lives happily with his wife and son, the old hospital is being converted into a museum, and the evil forces that threatened him have been put to rest...

Or have they?

As the game begins, Oliver has been lured back to the asylum by his dead father, Malcolm Metcalf. Refusing Malcolm's offer to fall back into the madness which nearly destroyed him, Malcolm decides it's time to resort to a Plan B of sorts...namely, take Oliver's son Joshua and make Josh into his own, twisted image.

As you travel through the asylum in a desperate attempt to save Joshua, you'll encounter numerous puzzles and traps, as well as a few ghosts who still linger within the place. These ghosts are mostly tortured victims of the asylum who will gladly offer aid however they can (though keep in mind many ARE in the asylum for a reason), but some are people who served there as well...your father, for instance, as well as a groundskeeper, priest, and a deranged assistant with a little too much knowledge of torture devices.

Blackstone resembles in many ways the classic 7th Guest. Moving and turning are accomplished in a point-and-click fashion, and in various places items are picked up and used in turn to solve the various puzzles surrounding you. The asylum itself is exceptionally atmospheric. Each room is rendered beautifully in high-color detail and with the eerie music gives a real sense of horror. Unlike 7th Guest, though, there's no logic puzzles to be found...these are more of the traditional 'open door using coathanger and banana' puzzles. Don't worry, though, they're far more logical than the one I've just mentioned...with a few exceptions, of course.

The big hook of Blackstone is its 'traps' system. This is a part of the game where, just after obtaining an important item, Malcolm decides he's had just about enough and throws you (sometimes quite literally) into a dangerous trap. At this point, you have only about 30 seconds or so real-time to get out of the trap before it kills you. Thankfully, unlike many other games of this genre, you are never put in this situation without having all the items you need to proceed. Plus, even if you haven't saved recently and end up...er, not completing the trap successfully, there's an option to restart right where you left off. So, rather than being an impossible and aggravating situation, the trap is instead a refreshing, thrilling sequence...unless you can't figure it out by the third time through. Then it gets a little repetitive.

Where Blackstone really shines, though, is in the story and the depth of the characters. First things first, Blackstone is not a game where enemies jump out and scare you half to death. Rather, the horror is far more psychological, which in all honesty is even creepier. Scattered throughout the place are little information booths, set up for the purposes of the renovated museum that the asylum is about to become. These booths are actually a wealth of information on actual treatments used in mental hospitals over time. And believe me, most are not pleasant. Read the segment talking about the old way of doing frontal lobotomies to understand what I mean. Worse, as you dig deeper, you'll find that Malcolm actually used many of these techniques in his work...and that the ghosts he used them on not only didn't survive them, but may never had needed them in the first place. Creepy. I don't think I've ever played another video game where I've wanted the bad guy to get justice as badly as Malcolm Metcalf (except for maybe SHODAN in the System Shock series, but I digress). He doesn't just sit back on his laurels, either. Malcolm taunts you, gives (bad) advice, and even tries to kill you on more than one occasion.

About the only thing I'll say Blackstone has against it is the voice acting. This is not to say it's bad (it really isn't, especially considering alternatives such as the Resident Evil series), but the ghosts don't sound all that...well, ghostlike. It's almost as if you're interrupting lunchtime or something and starting up a friendly chat...no echoes, no fading in and out, just straight up conversations. Out of them all, the best voice of the game has to be Malcolm's. His is effectively gravelly and sinister, with just enough emotion to give a biting, sarcastic edge to many of the comments he directs at you throughout the game.

So, if you can find it (it's not really all that old, but in the world of computer games, six months is bargain bin time for anything less than a best-seller), try it. It's fun, it's got just the right difficulty curve, and best of all, it's genuinely scary. Not many games can boast that.

GRAPHICS: 9
Rooms are crystal-clear, and depending on which movies you select (the game comes with two CDs, one with low-res and one with high-res movies), even the Quicktime-powered sequences are clean and well-defined. The only thing giving this a 9 rather than a 10 is for the scenes utilizing actual actors. A little animation for them would have been nice rather than a series of still pictures. Then again, it may be for effect.

SOUND: 9
Voice-acting is quite good; lines sound acted rather than read, they carry emotion, and no one spouts idiotic drivel, though a slight ghostly effect would've worked wonders. The villain's voice is exceptional in many respects. Music is dead-on, and sound effects are appropriate and chilling at times (electric chair notwithstanding).

CONTROL: 8
Point-and-click interface and inventory couldn't be simpler. Turning is occasionally problematic, as it happens slowly and double-clicking to hurry it will only serve to turn you more times than is necessary. Also, there are some problem spots where you must click in JUST the right place or you can't continue.

OVERALL: 8
An underappreciated classic. A clear sign that adventure games AREN'T dead...just not selling millions of copies. If you find it, get it. The pace might be a bit slow for those used to the pace of Quake (or even Monkey Island), but finding a chiller this good is an opportunity not to be missed.

PARENTAL GUIDANCE: The game is rated Teen, and for good reason. Not only does the game deal with mature subjects (torture, death, the insane), but it has scenes that younger players and those with sensitive stomachs would best steer clear from. I think the only reason this didn't get a Mature rating is because nobody visibly dies onscreen. Forewarned is forearmed.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/06/02, Updated 06/06/02