WA

Phantasmagoria 2

by

Sierra On-Line

Click
to view advertisers
Click on image to visit site

After having explored the horror and supernatural in Phantasmagoria, Sierra On-Line is back with another shivering title called "A Puzzle of Flesh". Even more frightful than the first adventure, Phantasmagoria 2 (PH2) features intense and scary scenes that will truly deliver a heap of emotions to the player. Delving this time into the psychological, PH2 blends reality and hallucinations together, plunging Curtis Craig, the hero of the game, in a drama where his own sanity could be questioned. Knowing that Curtis was released from a mental hospital exactly one year earlier is a sufficient reason to doubt his clairvoyance, but it also puts the player into the delicate position where he or she does not know for certain if Curtis' problems are back or not.

The scenario on which PH2 is built, is quite intricate, holding many surprises and disturbing events that are sure not to leave you indifferent as the truth unfolds. Curtis is now working at the Wyntech Corporation, and if you didn't know he was in a mental hospital a year ago, you couldn't say so. Except for Bob, Curtis maintains good relations with his co-workers, especially with Trevor, his best friend, and Jocilyn his girlfriend. He has what we could qualify as a normal life, but as you are going to discover below, it will soon become a true nightmare!

Wherever he is, at work or at home, Curtis experiences terrible visions. Whether they are from his stay at the hospital or from his miserable childhood, Curtis can't bare them anymore and he is faced with the reality that he may be losing his mind once again. It is in this troubled atmosphere that the first murder of a long series is perpetrated at the Wyntech Corporation. Bob's body has been discovered in his cubicle brutally and sadistically tortured in the most vicious way. The horrible news shocks everyone at Wyntech, but strangely, Curtis doesn't feel anything about it, which makes him slowly wonder if he could be responsible.

This resumes what is presented in the first chapter of PH2, which introduces most of the characters and set the mood of the game. The four other chapters will be even more violent and will feature scenes that are not suited for children. Indeed, PH2 is heavily oriented to an adult audience, notably with scenes containing sexual material and horror. To prevent access to the game by children below the age of 17, you can enter a password that will censor the offending parts of the game as in the first title of the series.

Except for a few locations, the beautifully 3D rendered screens of Phantasmagoria were replaced in the sequel by full motion video, in a way similar to what was done for Gabriel Knight II. Besides a better integration of the character within the background, it definitely gives an improved realism over the computer calculated environments. The only disadvantage is that you can't walk your character on the screen; for each move there is the corresponding video motion sequence. As a result, the game is packed with hundreds of cinematic sequences that take a total space of five CD's for the entire game. Loading times are relatively fast, although the hard disk space taken by the installation is limited to 23 Mb as a maximum. Using SVGA graphics with thousands of colors, the cinematic sequences achieve great performances, and you will no doubt be impressed by the heavy content they carry. If you need to watch a scene again, either to frighten your friends or spot something you may have missed, it is only at a click away!

PH2 runs under the Windows 95 environment with Microsoft's DirectX library, but should you prefer DOS, a patch is available from Sierra On-Line's web site. However, the quality of video sequences is slightly degraded as a consequence of a palette reduction to 256 colors when playing under DOS. As in a movie, the sounds really add to the dramatic experience in which Curtis has been propelled, and immerse the player as well in the fantastic universe. Plenty of sound and video effects were added to render the scenes as realistic as possible. Bloody victims, gruesome creatures and stunning visuals will easily convince you!

Conclusion:

One thing that many criticized in the original Phantasmagoria was its difficulty, judged too easy. In "A Puzzle of Flesh", it has been corrected to provide players with enough adversity, while maintaining a similar simplicity in the interface. Overall, Phantasmagoria 2 features a thrilling and compelling story in which serious adventurers will find a good treat.

Written by Frederick Claude

Click here for screen shots.

Ratings:

Graphics:90%
Sound:88%
Music:80%
Gameplay:80%
Interest:87%
Overall:85%

System Requirements:

Pentium 75 Mhz or faster,
Windows 95,
Min 12MB memory,
Hard disk with 23Mb free space,
Quadruple speed CD-ROM drive or faster,
1Mb SVGA video graphic card capable of displaying 640 x 480 with 256 colors (65,000 colors recommended),
Microsoft mouse or 100% compatibles,
Windows 95 compatible sound card.

Developers & Publishers

In North America:

Sierra On-Line Inc.,
P.O. Box 85006,
Bellevue, WA 98015-8506.

Technical Support:206-644-4343 Monday to Friday 8:00am - 4:45pm PST
Fax Support:206-644-7697
BBS Support:206-644-0112
Hint Line:1-900-370-5583 $.75 per minute
Canadian Hint Line:1-900-451-3356 $1.25 per minute

Web site: Sierra On-Line

In Europe:

In UK:

Sierra On-Line Ltd.,
2 Beacontree Plaza,
Gillette Way, Reading,
Berkshire, RG2 0BS.

Technical Support:+44-(0)118-9209111 Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm GMT
Fax Support:(+44)-(0)118-9875603
Hintline:(0)891-660-660 45p per minute cheap rate, 50p per minute at other times

Web site: Sierra On-Line UK

In France:

Coktel Vision,
Velizy Zone d'Emplois,
Immeuble Le Newton,
25, rue Jeanne Braconnier,
92366 Meudon La Foret.

Technical Support:(+33)-(0)1-46014650
Fax Support:(+33)-(0)1-46317172
BBS Support:(+33)-(0)1-46324290
Hintline:08-3668-4650 2.19FF per minute

Web site: Sierra On-Line France

In Germany:

Sierra-Coktel Deutschland,
Robert-Bosch. 32,
63303 Dreieich.

Technical Support:(+49)-6103-994040
Fax Support:(+49)-6103-994035
Hintline:0190-515616 0.23DM per 12 seconds

Web site: Sierra On-Line Germany

In Spain:

Sierra-Coktel Espana,
Calle Tomas Redondo 11F,
Edificio Indo Building, Luarca,
28033 Madrid.

graphic line

MAIN ISSUES ISSUES
[Main][Back issues][Feedback]

All content Copyright © 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 Coming Soon Magazine, Inc. All Rights reserved.