Most people know Ben ?Yathzee? Croshaw for his foul mouthed, fast talking, often hilarious Zero Puncation reviews on www.escapistmagazine.com. What most people don?t know about him is that he?s also a freeware games designer in his spare time. Obviously raised, like some of us older folk, on the Sierra and Lucasarts adventure games of yesteryear(when Sierra wasn?t just a publisher and Lucasarts actually cared about something other then milking the Star Wars Brand name to the point of absurdity, like making really good, clever, and often funny adventure games), Yathzee, over the course of several years, has created a quadrilogy of horror-themed graphic adventures known affectionately as the ?X days a Y? series, though also called ?the Chzo Mythos? after the turn the series took in the latter two games.
After having stumbled across Yathzees reviews several months ago, it was only a matter of time before I found out about his games. Actually, I?d heard of 5 days a stranger, 7 days of skeptic, tribilys notes, and 6 days a sacrifice(the games in the series) several times, but always gave them a pass because they didn?t sound interesting. Then, around new years, I broke down and downloaded the games, one by one. Having recently replayed the special editions(available for $5 each or $15 for all 4), I felt compelled to review them, separately and in order.
5 days a stranger (5das) is a somewhat primitive adventure game concerning a master thief, who goes only by the name of tribily(not unlike his hat), who breaks into a deserted mansion after hearing of valuables inside. The ill reputation the house has, namely the tendency for all the houses previous owners to die horrible/mysterious deaths, does not deter him in the least, a decision he soon regrets. Almost immediately, it becomes apparent that he is unable to leave the house by any means. what?s more, 4 other people, who have all come to the house for their own reasons, are trapped with him. With an initial lack of trust, things only get worse when all of the characters begin having horrific nightmares about murder concerning a Jason voorhes-ish freak with a welding mask and a machete, who begins killing the strangers one by one. All of which is tied in the houses history.
The plot doesn?t go a whole lot deeper then that, and unfortunately, most of the time, neither does the atmosphere. The highlight of the game is the nightmare sequences that show up every so often, and are very effectively well done.
The sound is sparse, though decent. Most of the sound effects are footsteps, though the most effective of these are the sounds of footsteps coming from other parts of the house(which is creepy when you can?t find anyone else). There only one or two musical tracks, but they are decent.
The puzzles are for the most part logical and sometimes inventive. However, the game?s major flaw, if there is one, is that sometimes, particularly on the early days, it?s difficult to know what to do or where to go next. Despite four other people in the house, you may only be able to find one of them at any given time, which seems quite absurd considering how small the house is and how it?s laid out. Not to mention one of them is in an unlikely spot that you probably won?t think the look.
The next game in the series, 7 days a skeptic(7das), takes a bit of a departure from the Defoe Manor of 5das and takes place in a star trek like space ship of the 24th century, the Mephistopheles . This Mephistopheles is a scout ship, recently refurbished, with skeleton crew of five, one of which is your character, Dr. John Sommerset. Soon after the game starts, the ship recovers a metal coffin floating in deep space. On the side is a warning that says ?Here lies John Defoe. Do not disturb his sleep?(John Defoe was the name Tribily gave the villian from 5das). Of course, being the stupid horror movie characters they are, they ignore it and instead of dumping the damn thing back into space, soon enough, people start disappearing, only to have their dismembered corpses show up later.
The action this time takes place takes place over the course of a week, but the days get shorter and shorter as the game goes on and the crew starts going to pieces long before that. The interface has improved significantly with this version, however, the gameplay still suffers from some of the same flaws as 5 days a stranger. Namely that sometimes it?s hard to know what to do, where to go, or how to trigger the story to advance. On a ship so small and designed the way it is, it shouldn?t be possible to walk around for so long without encountering another crew member. In addition, now there are chase sequences involved on some days, with the last one being rather annoying, particularly when the bad guy, comes out of a sealed room that you need to enter, forcing you to get around him.
Also, some of the game logic is dodgy, considering how the killer in the first game worked, but I?m not going to dwell too much on that as this is a horror game.
I guess one of the problems was that the characters didn?t really elicit a huge amount of sympathy from me, being either annoying or retarded. I guess this is supposed to be indicative of the crew breakdown due to the situation, but it gets really annoying to have to do all the legwork and do everything when there are other characters who would be the more logical choice. My pet peeve here would be the engineer, who apparently decided to take the week off, since you never actually see him do anything resembling his job. Elevator died? Oh, it?s probably a power failure. It?ll fix itself. Of course, if you want to poke around in the machinery you know nothing about, go ahead while I sit here and eat. The engines died, stranding us in deep space? Sorry, I?m too busy picking the lint out of my ass to do anything about it. The comm system went down? Here, go outside the ship and fix it. It?s not like that?s my job or anything. Perhaps he?s really good at waxing the captain?s shaft, because he can?t seem to do anything else except sulk for most of the game. Or maybe the entire point was to send a POS ship off to the middle of nowhere with a POS crew who nobody else wants to be around to get them out of the way.
However, the sound effects and music are sparse, but effective.
All in all, 7das was my least favorite game in the series. If I had played it when it originally came out, I might not have bothered playing the next game, tribly?s notes, when it was released a few years later. Tribilys notes begins the 2nd half of the John Defoe Trilogy, both numerically and thematically. In the wake of Defoe Manor incident, as depicted in the first game, Tribly was heavily affected physiologically by the murders and becomes obsessed with the Defoe idol, the small wooden doll that houses the soul of the infamous killer. Eventually he tracks it an anquities dealer in a small hotel in Wales, and attempts to buy it. However, it soon becomes apparent that something far worse then Defoe is at work, as the hotel shifts to a dark, twisted version of itself, stained with the blood of the tortured dead, the silence broken only by disembodied whispers that seem to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. This dark hotel is haunted by the tall man, a monstrous thing that kills and tortures at will, for reasons unknown. And tribily is trapped in a nightmare he can?t escape.
The game is spent wandering the hotel, both in it?s normal form and it?s diseased, dark form. Early on, tribly learns to control the shifts between worlds, which allows him to gain access to areas in both. The ultimate goal is to unravel the mystery behind the hotel, the tall man and the origin of the adventure, John Defoes soul idol. This is done nicely through a series of partly interactive flashbacks, each tracing the history of the idol to it?s origin.
This combination of strong plot, not to mention atmosphere, goes a long way towards not only making the gameplay deeper, but also scarier then either of the previous sequels. However, perhaps the most important achievement of Notes, in my mind, was to justify the existence of the previous games creating a meta-plot around them. The idea of a dark and light world the hero shifts before isn?t exactly original(and in the commentary, yathzee freely admits this) but it?s pulled off well.
Another unique feature that will no doubt turn some people off, is the introduction of a text phaser. For those of you who don?t know, when adventure games first started appearing, and for a while after that, all actions had to be taken by typing something, like ?take golf ball? or ?suck golf ball through garden hose?. Depending on how good the phaser was, this could be a fun or frustrating experience. Fortunately, Tribilys Notes is more fun then frustrating, with the commands needed being logical and the phaser being robust enough to work(most of the time), so the lack of mouse support isn?t a problem.
Overall, a tremendous step up from the previous games, both in storytelling and staying power. The special edition changes the ending slightly, both to be slightly less ambiguous, and also to better tie into the next games, 6 days a sacrifice.
6 days a sacrifice continues the new direction started in tribily?s notes and brings the series to it?s final conclusion. The game takes place in 2189, 196 years after 5 days a stranger and 196 years before 7 days a skeptic. A building inspector is sent to investigate a new fad religion called Optimology, only to be nearly killed for his troubles and discovers that the fad religion is merely a front for a sinister cult called ?The order of Blessed Agonies?. However, now he is unable to escape from the complex below the building, and very bad and disturbing things begin happening short order.
John Sommerset, from 7das, and Trbily, from all the other games, both show up in the game and have a large effect on the plot. John Defoe also returns(you really just can?t get rid of that guy, it seems) and a big portion of the game explores the relationship between Defoe and the Tall Man. The mouse interface is back and perhaps the best yet, but otherwise the gameplay is similar to the other games. Two things have changed, though. One, there are no real action sequences. If you are killed, you basically go back a minute or so minutes, and your character just acts like he has woken from a nightmare(I?m told something similar was used in the prince of Persia series). While this cuts back on the difficulty, it does little to affect the atmosphere. The other is that the fall down the elevator shaft early in the game crippled your character, making some puzzles more complex then they would be otherwise.
The plot of the game is somewhat more complex and ambiguous then the other games, particularly towards the end, which may be why I liked it so much. I can?t say I fully understand it, but I liked it. The atmosphere is darker(if such a thing is possible) then any of the other games, but in an appropriate manner that befits it. The special edition has a longer ending, which makes it a little more understandable.
To help the experience, Yathzee also created 3 text only mini-games that set the stage for 6das. They are all very short, but do help flesh out the transition between Notes and 6das. Playing them after 6das will not change your enjoyment of the game, but are nice, if optional, companion pieces.
In conclusion, if you like adventure or horror games at all, go to http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/
and start playing these games. Then, if you like them, donate a few bucks to Yahtzee for the special editions(the commentary being the most interesting feature), if for no other reason to reward someone who actually takes the time and effort to make good games.
After having stumbled across Yathzees reviews several months ago, it was only a matter of time before I found out about his games. Actually, I?d heard of 5 days a stranger, 7 days of skeptic, tribilys notes, and 6 days a sacrifice(the games in the series) several times, but always gave them a pass because they didn?t sound interesting. Then, around new years, I broke down and downloaded the games, one by one. Having recently replayed the special editions(available for $5 each or $15 for all 4), I felt compelled to review them, separately and in order.
5 days a stranger (5das) is a somewhat primitive adventure game concerning a master thief, who goes only by the name of tribily(not unlike his hat), who breaks into a deserted mansion after hearing of valuables inside. The ill reputation the house has, namely the tendency for all the houses previous owners to die horrible/mysterious deaths, does not deter him in the least, a decision he soon regrets. Almost immediately, it becomes apparent that he is unable to leave the house by any means. what?s more, 4 other people, who have all come to the house for their own reasons, are trapped with him. With an initial lack of trust, things only get worse when all of the characters begin having horrific nightmares about murder concerning a Jason voorhes-ish freak with a welding mask and a machete, who begins killing the strangers one by one. All of which is tied in the houses history.
The plot doesn?t go a whole lot deeper then that, and unfortunately, most of the time, neither does the atmosphere. The highlight of the game is the nightmare sequences that show up every so often, and are very effectively well done.
The sound is sparse, though decent. Most of the sound effects are footsteps, though the most effective of these are the sounds of footsteps coming from other parts of the house(which is creepy when you can?t find anyone else). There only one or two musical tracks, but they are decent.
The puzzles are for the most part logical and sometimes inventive. However, the game?s major flaw, if there is one, is that sometimes, particularly on the early days, it?s difficult to know what to do or where to go next. Despite four other people in the house, you may only be able to find one of them at any given time, which seems quite absurd considering how small the house is and how it?s laid out. Not to mention one of them is in an unlikely spot that you probably won?t think the look.
The next game in the series, 7 days a skeptic(7das), takes a bit of a departure from the Defoe Manor of 5das and takes place in a star trek like space ship of the 24th century, the Mephistopheles . This Mephistopheles is a scout ship, recently refurbished, with skeleton crew of five, one of which is your character, Dr. John Sommerset. Soon after the game starts, the ship recovers a metal coffin floating in deep space. On the side is a warning that says ?Here lies John Defoe. Do not disturb his sleep?(John Defoe was the name Tribily gave the villian from 5das). Of course, being the stupid horror movie characters they are, they ignore it and instead of dumping the damn thing back into space, soon enough, people start disappearing, only to have their dismembered corpses show up later.
The action this time takes place takes place over the course of a week, but the days get shorter and shorter as the game goes on and the crew starts going to pieces long before that. The interface has improved significantly with this version, however, the gameplay still suffers from some of the same flaws as 5 days a stranger. Namely that sometimes it?s hard to know what to do, where to go, or how to trigger the story to advance. On a ship so small and designed the way it is, it shouldn?t be possible to walk around for so long without encountering another crew member. In addition, now there are chase sequences involved on some days, with the last one being rather annoying, particularly when the bad guy, comes out of a sealed room that you need to enter, forcing you to get around him.
Also, some of the game logic is dodgy, considering how the killer in the first game worked, but I?m not going to dwell too much on that as this is a horror game.
I guess one of the problems was that the characters didn?t really elicit a huge amount of sympathy from me, being either annoying or retarded. I guess this is supposed to be indicative of the crew breakdown due to the situation, but it gets really annoying to have to do all the legwork and do everything when there are other characters who would be the more logical choice. My pet peeve here would be the engineer, who apparently decided to take the week off, since you never actually see him do anything resembling his job. Elevator died? Oh, it?s probably a power failure. It?ll fix itself. Of course, if you want to poke around in the machinery you know nothing about, go ahead while I sit here and eat. The engines died, stranding us in deep space? Sorry, I?m too busy picking the lint out of my ass to do anything about it. The comm system went down? Here, go outside the ship and fix it. It?s not like that?s my job or anything. Perhaps he?s really good at waxing the captain?s shaft, because he can?t seem to do anything else except sulk for most of the game. Or maybe the entire point was to send a POS ship off to the middle of nowhere with a POS crew who nobody else wants to be around to get them out of the way.
However, the sound effects and music are sparse, but effective.
All in all, 7das was my least favorite game in the series. If I had played it when it originally came out, I might not have bothered playing the next game, tribly?s notes, when it was released a few years later. Tribilys notes begins the 2nd half of the John Defoe Trilogy, both numerically and thematically. In the wake of Defoe Manor incident, as depicted in the first game, Tribly was heavily affected physiologically by the murders and becomes obsessed with the Defoe idol, the small wooden doll that houses the soul of the infamous killer. Eventually he tracks it an anquities dealer in a small hotel in Wales, and attempts to buy it. However, it soon becomes apparent that something far worse then Defoe is at work, as the hotel shifts to a dark, twisted version of itself, stained with the blood of the tortured dead, the silence broken only by disembodied whispers that seem to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. This dark hotel is haunted by the tall man, a monstrous thing that kills and tortures at will, for reasons unknown. And tribily is trapped in a nightmare he can?t escape.
The game is spent wandering the hotel, both in it?s normal form and it?s diseased, dark form. Early on, tribly learns to control the shifts between worlds, which allows him to gain access to areas in both. The ultimate goal is to unravel the mystery behind the hotel, the tall man and the origin of the adventure, John Defoes soul idol. This is done nicely through a series of partly interactive flashbacks, each tracing the history of the idol to it?s origin.
This combination of strong plot, not to mention atmosphere, goes a long way towards not only making the gameplay deeper, but also scarier then either of the previous sequels. However, perhaps the most important achievement of Notes, in my mind, was to justify the existence of the previous games creating a meta-plot around them. The idea of a dark and light world the hero shifts before isn?t exactly original(and in the commentary, yathzee freely admits this) but it?s pulled off well.
Another unique feature that will no doubt turn some people off, is the introduction of a text phaser. For those of you who don?t know, when adventure games first started appearing, and for a while after that, all actions had to be taken by typing something, like ?take golf ball? or ?suck golf ball through garden hose?. Depending on how good the phaser was, this could be a fun or frustrating experience. Fortunately, Tribilys Notes is more fun then frustrating, with the commands needed being logical and the phaser being robust enough to work(most of the time), so the lack of mouse support isn?t a problem.
Overall, a tremendous step up from the previous games, both in storytelling and staying power. The special edition changes the ending slightly, both to be slightly less ambiguous, and also to better tie into the next games, 6 days a sacrifice.
6 days a sacrifice continues the new direction started in tribily?s notes and brings the series to it?s final conclusion. The game takes place in 2189, 196 years after 5 days a stranger and 196 years before 7 days a skeptic. A building inspector is sent to investigate a new fad religion called Optimology, only to be nearly killed for his troubles and discovers that the fad religion is merely a front for a sinister cult called ?The order of Blessed Agonies?. However, now he is unable to escape from the complex below the building, and very bad and disturbing things begin happening short order.
John Sommerset, from 7das, and Trbily, from all the other games, both show up in the game and have a large effect on the plot. John Defoe also returns(you really just can?t get rid of that guy, it seems) and a big portion of the game explores the relationship between Defoe and the Tall Man. The mouse interface is back and perhaps the best yet, but otherwise the gameplay is similar to the other games. Two things have changed, though. One, there are no real action sequences. If you are killed, you basically go back a minute or so minutes, and your character just acts like he has woken from a nightmare(I?m told something similar was used in the prince of Persia series). While this cuts back on the difficulty, it does little to affect the atmosphere. The other is that the fall down the elevator shaft early in the game crippled your character, making some puzzles more complex then they would be otherwise.
The plot of the game is somewhat more complex and ambiguous then the other games, particularly towards the end, which may be why I liked it so much. I can?t say I fully understand it, but I liked it. The atmosphere is darker(if such a thing is possible) then any of the other games, but in an appropriate manner that befits it. The special edition has a longer ending, which makes it a little more understandable.
To help the experience, Yathzee also created 3 text only mini-games that set the stage for 6das. They are all very short, but do help flesh out the transition between Notes and 6das. Playing them after 6das will not change your enjoyment of the game, but are nice, if optional, companion pieces.
In conclusion, if you like adventure or horror games at all, go to http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/
and start playing these games. Then, if you like them, donate a few bucks to Yahtzee for the special editions(the commentary being the most interesting feature), if for no other reason to reward someone who actually takes the time and effort to make good games.
