GameSpot editors' review
-
CNET editors' rating:
stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 02/04/1997
- Updated on: 05/05/2000
- Released on: 12/31/1996
- Originally published on GameSpot: Realms of the Haunting (PC) Review
Ever since I was a kid, I've loved movies about people trapped inside a house filled with evil spirits; the claustrophobia, the helplessness, and the wild desperation the characters must feel strike a nerve in me that's untouched by other horror flicks. Toss some devil worship, secret societies, and transmigration of souls into the mix, and I'm even more entranced. I guess that's why I can't stop playing Realms of the Haunting, the latest creation from Gremlin Interactive and Interplay Productions. It walks the fine line between action and adventure as elegantly as any game I've seen, blending healthy doses of first-person shooter action with puzzles that are skillfully woven into a plot that unfolds at just the right pace.
The game is set in England, present day. You play Adam Randall, a young man who has been plagued by nightmares of an evil house ever since his father passed away some six months before. A few weeks after his father's death, Adam was visited by a priest named Elias Camber, who informed him that his father - who was a pastor - had sent him a series of letters before his death concerning some disturbing events taking place at a house in his parish; he also sent Camber a box containing stone fragments which Adam senses have some sort of power. The mystery intensifies when Adam does a little research and discovers there is no priest named Elias Camber, and when his dreams become even more disturbing he finally decides to journey to the house and try to sort out just what's going on.
All this is recounted through the use of some nicely done full motion video, proving that FMV does have a place in games if it's used tastefully and in the right amounts. Video is also used at various points within the game itself whenever you stumbde across a new piece of the puzzle, and while some of the segments could have been shortened a bit, the overall effect is impressive.
As you begin play, you've just entered the house - and because the doors have locked behind you there's no turning back. It may take some players a little practice to get used to the smoothly scrolling, first-person interface because you must "steer" with one hand and aim with another (you can move using just the mouse, but I don't recommend it). After you've grabbed a pistol and a few clips of ammo, you're ready to start laying waste to some supernatural baddies - just because they're dead doesn't mean they're immune to lead! But don't think this is merely a shoot-'em-up with an occult twist: You've got to use the objects you find to reveal new areas of the house and uncover new details of the mystery.
Before long, you discover the reason you felt compelled to make the journey to the house: Your father's spirit is imprisoned here, and only you have the power to free his soul from torment. But once you begin searching for clues that might shed light on how you can help your father, you slowly begin to suspect that there's a lot more at stake here than the soul of a parish priest. Freemasons, the Knights Templars, secret occult orders, crop circles - all the fave topics of conspiracy/occult fans crop up as the game progresses, keeping you constantly striving to learn more about what terrible evils were committed in the house and why it appears that you're the only one who can set things right.
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Realms of the Haunting (PC):
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