Roberta Williams' Phantasmagoria

Review by CyosisCMR

"Reminds One of the Full Moon Productions of the 80's and 90's"

Phantasmagoria is definitely a classic of the point and click genre. Not necessarily because of it being a point and click game but because of the use of actors on blue screen and the time and money that went into the whole production. I played this back in 95 when I was just about 14 years old and at the time I thought it was quite brilliant. I was a huge horror flick fan (still am) and this game delivered all the goods to a young teenager. Fast forward roughly 15 years later. I decided to give this game a whirl once again after all these years and realized that I had lost my discs for the game. Fortunately, I was able to download the game for a low price and spent the next 5 to 10 hours of non-stop gaming!

Story Score (9): The game is a rather fine example of 70's and 80's genre horror but updated to a 90's setting. Like how a lot of the Full Moon Productions were in the late 80's and going into the mid 90's. The story involves Adrienne and husband Don and the mansion that they have just moved into. The mansion is set on a rather tiny island with only a few others living on the island as well. Don is a photographer and he begins work on a red room for development of his pictures. As well, Adrienne is an author. After Adrienne annoys Don while working on his red room, she decides to explore the mansion (possibly for research for a new book). Upon exploration, she discovers a secret chapel and inadvertently releases an essence of pure evil that possess Don. As the story progresses, Don becomes more and more psychotic while Adrienne tries to stop the increasing madness all the while discovering murderous secrets of the mansion.

Ok, if you're into horror the story has been recycled many times. You have a spooky mansion, secret rooms, a family member possessed, ancient evil, etc. This was a very standard storyline for horror films going back a very long time. Some people criticize the game for this but I give it praise. Yeah, the storyline is formula and predictable but as a fan of horror watching is one thing but playing along makes the experience all that more thrilling. Having said that, even a veteran of horror will have a few surprises.

Control/Gameplay Score (6): Not much to say in this area. The point and click system is here and it is very simplified. You simply use the mouse to point and the left button on the mouse to click. That is all the controls. The main portion of the game is using this method to take or use items or to start a video (example: a mirror looks hazy, click on it and a video plays out events you have no control over). You will also know when you can click on something by the color of the click icon. If the icon is red, you can click on it.

I liked this simplified gameplay but I felt a lot more could have been done to make the world of Phantasmagoria more interactive. There are only certain items you can click on and use thus making the game very linear. It would have been nice if you could have been able to click on many objects even if they didn't have anything to do with moving the plot. On the other hand, every chapter in which you play there are multiple videos you can view as long as you know where to look. Usually, these videos were of murders or ghosts.

Graphics/Video Score (7 {this would have got a lower score but I had to consider the time it was made}): Back in the day this was really groundbreaking. I remember being 14 and thinking this was the best looking game I had ever played. Age, unfortunately, can be cruel. The video imaging in the game is hard to watch today. Many images are incredibly grainy making it so it's very difficult at times to know what's going on. Shadowing in the game simply doesn't work and just makes the videos look sloppy. Though the videos were fun to watch because of the subject matter it actually made me feel like I was watching a beaten up beta tape from the early 80's. Sound was terrible as well and volume fluctuates constantly. It was somewhat frustrating but the story keeps you going. One thing I will say though was development was actually pretty amazing at the time. Victoria Morsell (Adrienne) had to spend many weeks in front of a blue screen filming all her scenes and as well, simple movements for gameplay. Now-a-days this technique is used in film regularly (Sin City anyone?). Even though the way this game was made is totally obsolete, it was still pretty amazing.

Acting/Actors Score (5): The acting went from decent to hilariously, over-the-top, bad. Let's start with our heroine, Adrienne, played by Victoria Morsell. Victoria has a few films and television work to her credit but the only acting I found was good from her was when she was being a scream queen at the end of the game. This may not have been her fault because a lot of her script was just not well written. For a main character she comes across as being a total moron at times. She doesn't believe in ghosts even when they are right in front of her face. And she sees that Don's mentality is quickly falling apart but doesn't do anything about it until it's too late. As the heroine I could have cared less about her other than her fun B like acting at the end of the game.

Next we have Don, played by B movie actor David Homb (Witchcraft 2, Shock'em Dead). He was the most hilarious part about this game. First off David is just a terrible actor unless he is acting totally psychotic, then his performances go well past the point of absurdity. One of the funny things about David is that he has long hair that he usually pulls back into a pony tail. As the part of clean-shaven Don the long hair looked really hokie. It only worked when he becomes totally mad near the end of the game. Also, apparently Don and Adrienne have a strong love for each other but I never felt any of that. From the beginning I thought Don was a loser and when he becomes possessed I wondered as to whether he was just a jerk in general.

There were, as well, a few veteran actors in this game. No one that is particularly famous but these actors actually have a real filmography to back them up. We have Robert Miano playing the part of Carno, a major character and antagonist in the game. Miano has acted in such projects as TJ Hooker, Sliver and Donnie Brasco amongst many others. He was actually one of the few good performances in the game and truly came across as a true psychopath.

Stella Stevens puts in a performance as Lou Ann, a antique shop owner. Stevens has also quite a filmography going back to the 60's. Having said that, her role as Lou Ann was fairly generic and somewhat boring. She has some important storyline dialog but it's delivered as if she has no interest at all in the project.

Lilyan Chauvin plays a very small role in this game as the nurse Ethel. The only reason I mention her is to most people that liked the Silent Night, Deadly Night movies, she's played the infamous role of Mother Superior. You just loved to hate her. Of course, she has a mammoth filmography.

Last and least was the mother and son characters of Harriet and Cyrus. I won't mention the actors because more than likely you have never heard of them. The characters serve as the comedic relief in the game. Harriet is a self-proclaimed clairvoyant. She actually comes across more as a con artist than anything else. Her son, Cyrus, is a gigantic man/child. He has the mentality of a 5 year old and is relatively harmless. His part was total comedic relief and kind of took away from any seriousness the game had to offer when he was on camera.

Music Score (10): Finally an area where the game truly shines. Although the sound of the game was not pleasant, the music saved and carried the game throughout. Much of the score sounded a lot like something Richard Band (Ghoulies, Re-Animator, Puppet Master) would compose. Much of the music sounded like it was done electronically with keyboards and synthesizers but the best part of the soundtrack was done with a real Gregorian choir that really helped to make this game creepy. Particularly the last chapter. I think most people would agree with me that it's easy to say the best part of this game was its soundtrack.

Overall Score (7): Phantasmagoria was great for its era. And for someone that grew up playing these kind of games it will always hold a special place for me. But for a lot of the new gamers that are used to first person shooters and amazing graphics, I wouldn't recommend this for them. But anyone that loves the old stuff I would highly recommend giving this one a good day or two to play though. The last chapter only makes it worth your time!