Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14691 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Vivendi Universal
• Model: 70586
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platform: Windows 95

Amazon.com Product Description
This collection contains two terrifying adventures by Roberta Williams from the bestselling horror series in gaming history. The package's extensive film footage, realistic graphics, and orchestrated soundtrack will easily pull you into this world of psychological horrors. (Ages 17 and older)

GameSpot
Phantasmagoria is Sierra's first attempt at a full-blown, live-action, interactive video adventure, and their ambition far outweighs the results. A four-plus-million-dollar budget and over two years in production do not necessarily translate into high quality gaming.

Much of Phantasmagoria is spent on typical adventure activities: exploring, grabbing items, and problem solving. And on that level, the game is reasonably enjoyable. In addition, the graphics are excellent, the music is emotive, and there are many pleasant surprises. But problems arise in several areas: experienced adventurers will find Phantasmagoria generally unchallenging, the characters weak, the violence over-the-top, and the script just lame. For instance, during day one Adrienne discovers a secret chapel full of bizarre items yet doesn’t think it important enough to tell her husband. On day two, she barely breaks a sweat over the fact that her hubby has transformed from a loving partner to a crazed lunatic.

Many of this title’s problems come from complexities inherent in taking a huge concept and trying to wring a game out of it. Somebody forgot to do some detailed planning and fine-tuning. This is clear from the character interactions, the repetitive nature of some scenes, and the unrealistic puzzles--the telescope eyepiece "glints" in the sand only after you discover you need it, even though you’ve walked by that spot several times already.

So why is Phantasmagoria so darned popular? It's accessible to newbies, it's a new genre, and Sierra has promoted the hell out of it. The built-in hint system can turn this into a cakewalk and you'll be wowed by the occasional top notch production values. Unfortunately, the repetitive violence may turn the newcomers off just as quickly. My recommendation: Phantasmagoria is only for the gaming-challenged. Otherwise try Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within. It's Sierra's second big-time video adventure and they learned from their mistakes.--Jeff Sengstack/SpotMedia Communications
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Customer Reviews

I LOVE this game
I haven't played this game in years but no other game I've played on PC lives up to it. I want another game like it .My friend and I played this together it was like being in a movie. Too bad my computer now is to fast or I'd definitly play it again.

Doesn't live up to its expectations...
I am a huge fan of Roberta Williams, her King's Quest games have offered me hours of entertainment since I was about 9 years old. When I heard that she was taking on a more "adult" project featuring real actors and a gripping, horror-based storyline, I was more than excited. However, I received nothing but disappointment.

The graphics in this game are most impressive (considering the time that the game was created). They feature real actors who are placed in front of a blue screen with a cartoon-ish backround and props projected behind them. This gives the game a fairly realistic effect although at times the actors look so out of place in front of their backrounds that the occuring event is everything but real.

As far as the acting goes..it's about what you'd expect from a game which resembles a B horror movie. Most of the acting is barely believeable (although Adrienne, the main character, is not horrible) and the characters themselves are most annoying.

The story was just awful...cliched and robbed to the core, I found absolutely everything in this game to be entirely predictable. It focuses around a couple, Don and Adrienne, who move into a huge, spooky house on an island. The house was owned by a creepy count named Carno and it is said to be haunted. All of the islanders are afraid of the house and none of them are too keen on talking about it (with the exception of one eager old woman who serves as the "revelation of the evil within" source seen in all movies of this sort). The story proceeds just as you would predict. Without giving anything away I'll just tell you that Adrienne discovers ghosts, secret rooms, and a demon which has been wreaking havoc on the house for years. It borrows heavily from Stephen King's "The Shining" (as in..the house turns the husband into a raving psychopath). For anyone who is not too familiar with the horror genre, Phantasmagoria may provide a few hours of good story. To fans of classic horror movies and games, Phantasmagoria will become stale before the end of chapter three.

This brings me to the gameplay. The game itself is divided into 7 chapters (each chapter contained entirely on its respective disk). While this may seem as though it allows for a massive game, it must be said that each chapter can be completed in a quick half hour, even by the most inexperienced of adventure gamers. The puzzles that each chapter requires you to solve are completely lacking in challenge. They are solved by the use of obvious items in Adrienne's inventory and no logical thought is necessary. There was actually a chapter in the game which focused entirely on buying a bottle of Dran-O from the village general store and returning it to your husband. Yes - that's it. Later - a puzzle comes up where the very item you need can be found a single screen below and it is not hidden in the very least.

To fans of blood and gore - this game may serve as an enjoyable "shockfest". There is more than one moment of senseless violence which is not limited to beheading, faces being ripped open, and the funneling of human body parts down a woman's throat. For those too squeamish to even imagine such things, the gore can easily be censored with an in-game option requiring the entry of a password (to protect the little ones' virgin eyes).

Overall, Phantasmagoria lacks in every area required to make an adventure game reach "classic" status. The story is predictable, the gameplay simple and stale, and the characters annoying. For huge fans of senseless violence and B-movie horror plots, this may serve as some sort of "cult classic" piece. All others, don't waste your money.

The absolute best
This is the most enjoyable and thrilling game I have ever played on the PC. I didn't want to move away from my computer while playing because it was so gripping. I recommend this game for any PC gamer who wants a realistic adventure.