Penumbra - Final Thoughts

Penumbra was definitely a crazy roller coaster ride with plenty of ups and downs. Here's my break down:

Loved

• The physics system. The drag a door/spin the valve/flip the switch mechanics were just a whole lot of fun. It's something I had never seen in a game before and added a lot to the tension. There were a couple of moments for me that were made more awesome simply by my trying to move stuff out of the way and drag a door open in time.
• Old school feel. Penumbra felt like an old school adventure game. It had inventory combining, puzzles, and even a spot of pixel hunting. It truly felt like a throw back to the old days of adventure gaming. I think it was the only adventure game I've ever played that combined a first person view with world interactions in such a way.
• The setting. The whole cave/installation system was a great place to set this game. It was a perfect explanation for it being dark most of the time while definitely adding to the tension.
  
• Horror. This had both nervous, heart beating moments and as well as jump out your chair scares. It think it's incredibly difficult to make a game that is actually scary, but Frictional definitely did it here.
• Price. I paid $5 for all three on Steam... I declare that to be the deal of the year! Honestly, even at $10-$20 for all three, it's still a solid value, even if the individual episodes aren't more than a few hours each.
  

Hated

• Enemies. In Overture they were absolute pushovers and I dispatched every single one I came across with my pick. In Black Plague, I had no way of attacking them at all, and I just ran from all of them. They should have combined the trapping idea from Overture with the no weapons of Black Plague. In Overture, there were crates to trap the dogs in as well as fenced areas where you could lure the dogs and then turn on some steam. There was no reason to ever lure a dog into either, as the dogs were just so easy to kill. If that had existed in Black Plague, however, I would have gone out of my way to get rid of the infected one at a time.
• Inconsistencies Between Games. On a 1 to Scary scale, Overture was like a 5, Black Plague was a 9 or 10, and Requiem was probably a 1. The inconsitency in scariness made the games feel really disjointed. The enemies were another huge discrepancy. In Overture, there were spiders and dogs, in Black Plague there were infected only, and Requiem had no enemies at all. Seeing spiders in Black Plague or infected in Requiem would have helped tie the games together a bit more I think.
• Requiem. While probably not a bad game on it's own, Requiem was a HUGE let down after playing the first two games. I won't rehash it's short comings too much as it was the topic of a previous post, but they definitely should have done something different there. If Requiem was the first game in the series and it was used to introduce you to the game play mechanics, I think it would have worked a lot better. In fact, it would probably be worthwhile to play it as the first game in the series. The story elements won't make sense and could possibly spoil something for you (not sure if it would), but the excitement/fun would steadily ramp up as you went through the other two games.
  

All in all, the 3 Penumbra games are excellent. I would recommend them to anybody who likes a good scare and especially people who enjoy puzzle games.

Still not sure what I'm going to play next, but hopefully I'll have something for you all in another day or two.

Ending on a low note

As you've probably already read, I think the Penumbra series is great: the setting, the old school adventure game feel, the physics system, and pretty much everything in it is really top drawer. That being said, the final installment in the series, Penumbra: Requiem, can only be described as a severe let down.

Requiem picks up right where Black Plague ends; you are sitting at a computer when you are suddenly clubbed on the back of the head. You are then taken to a (dream? hallucination? real place?) new area where you make your way through 9 "levels." Now, in all fairness, Requiem is billed as an expansion pack to Black Plague rather than a proper third chapter, but I still felt like it should have carried its own weight.

In each of these levels, you must find 1-3 "keys" which open the elevator door a portal that takes you to the next "level." Just so we are clear, the game actually calls them "levels," something which felt like a crazy departure from the setting of the game. The gameplay is instantly familiar and plays exactly like the previous two games. Each level is set in a slightly different, familiar area (outside, the temple, the installation, etc) and basically just throws at you a handful of the same sort of puzzles you've already faced. There is even GLaDOS a computerized voice that informs you how many keys are remaining or that you need to exit "before it becomes compulsory." The game completely lacks any sort of enemies which felt exceptionally bland and completely devoid of tension compared to the first two games. As you've probably guessed, the game felt more like a very low-budget Portal remake than a part of the Penumbra series.

Another thing that really annoyed me about the game were the futuristic elements. In at least two levels, I was rolling a kind of blue glowing ball around that was meant to power something or another. I even had to dodge some laser beams that would inexplicable cause it to teleport back to where I had originally obtained it. In another level, I had to pickup an exploding ketchup bottle (okay, I actually thought that was kind of funny) and then throw it into a particle field where it would then be teleported to one of three locations... but that was only after I had set some boxes on anti-gravity platforms to get up there. All things considered, it really didn't feel like it fit into the Penumbra world at all.

I think if I had played Requiem on it's own, I would have thought it was a decent little (2.5ish hours) Portal clone with an interesting physics system. Having played it at the end of the Penumbra series, however, I was only let down.

This was a short post, mostly because Requiem just didn't really have any "moments" for me. It was largely forgettable. Next time, however, I'll do an overall likes/dislikes for the Penumbra series as a whole.

For now though, I don't know what to play next and I'm looking for suggestions. I have Gothic 3 Forsaken Gods and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, both of which seem to be broken past playable (I blame my ATI video card). I also have Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii which I've never played. I'd also be willing to entertain any game suggestions for sub-$20 PC games, or perhaps pull out an old game (Oblivion/Morrowind playthrough? DLC for Fallout3?). Anything you guys would like to see me play?

Penumbra: Black Plague

I'm not giving this post a catchy title because, frankly, this game doesn't need one. This game was absolutely superb; it is hands down the best horror game I've played since Clive Barker's Undying.

Black Plague picks up directly from where Overture leaves off. In Overture you navigate through some mines and find yourself in a much more modern installation of some kind at the end. The last thing that happens in Overture is Philip (you) gets a smack in the back of the head and blacking out. As Black Plague beings, you awaken inside a locked room. Soon after escaping, you begin to learn of the dark secrets that surround your father and this "abandoned" research area.

As for actual game play, there is honestly very little to distinguish Black Plague from Overture, which quite honestly is a good thing. One thing that is VERY different here is a lack of melee weapons. As I mentioned in my previous Penumbra post, the enemies in Overture provided relatively little tension due to how easy it was to merely pull our your pick axe and swing until said enemy was dead. Due to the lack of weapons in Black Plague, I was forced to be much more creative.

Not far into the game, I had my first run in with an "infected." Let me set the stage:

I found a door that was electronically locked. Luckily enough, there was a relay box nearby and I was able to sever the wires. Just down the hall from the locked door was another door that the game made pretty clear I could not enter. I entered the room I had unlocked and walked towards the back where I could see there was a syringe inside a cabinet. As soon as I picked up the syringe, I heard something that sounded VERY unfriendly come through that other door out in the hall. Philip then informed me (via an on screen message) that it was time to hide. My heart was pounding as I frantically searched the room for some where to hide... I couldn't see any place! I got behind the door and ducked down hoping for the best. As I sat there holding my breath, I saw a flash light beam throw its light through the doorway as the door was ripped open. As the light beam turned to focus on me, I was greeted by something very similar to this:

The sound that then escaped my throat could probably be described as a cross between a weeping child and a slowly dying rabbit.

After a few attempts, I eventually figured out I could hide behind a desk whilst willing Philip to pray for invisibility. I’m not sure which god(s) he believed in, but it seemed to work.

The infected in this game were a VERY nice touch and added a lot of tension; throughout the entire game, you face a handful of these guys and there is never any way to dispatch them. Which, perhaps, is my one criticism of the game: I went from trivially killing my enemies to having no choice but to run from them. I definitely think that it was better here, but there were at least two times I was being chased in an enclosed space by an infected and all I did was run from one end of the space I had to the other dodging the attacks while trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing. Minor quibble aside, they were a LOT creepier than the lame zombie dogs in the first game.

Seriously, what the hell ARE these things?

Hands down the most delightful twist in this game was Clarence. Without spoiling too much, Clarence was the entity that took up space in my head as he worked to infect me. His ability to affect my perception made for some very nervous moments as fake dogs and spiders would appear out of thin air and run directly for me. Additionally, he basically spent most of the game making fun of me for being pathetic; I kept waiting for him to call me meat bag. It just seemed appropriate.

Towards the end of the game, I managed to flush Clarence from my body… who quickly took up residence in a nearby deceased infected. As you can guess, he was NOT very happy with me. A room away, I realized he was coming for me so I bolted for the exit. A minor expletive escaped my mouth as I realized that there was a file cabinet in front of it. I quickly pulled it out the way and heard a more serious expletive escape my mouth as I discovered that the door opened inward and I had failed to move the cabinet far enough back. Clarence merely laughed as he ripped me apart from behind.

The setting in Black Plague was a lot better than in the first game. The research installation was an exceptionally creepy place and I was definitely on edge throughout most of the game. In my opinion, the puzzles were better, the “companions” were more interesting, and it was just overall much more polished than the first. Finally, it did a fantastic job of tying up all the loose ends from both games. Play Overture to set the stage for Black Plague and play Black Plague to be impressed.

That only leaves Requiem, which will be the topic of my next post. Not to spoil anything, but it was definitely a let down. I may wrap that into my overall final thoughts depending on whether or not I can come up with anything interesting to write about it (it may be challenging).

Doggies and Spiders and Worms, Oh My!

I finished Penumbra: Overture last night, and the episodic nature of the games became readily apparent when the game ended on a very serious cliff hanger. I decided that instead of providing final thoughts for this and each of the other two episodes, I would wait until I finish all three. In the mean time, I'm going to share some of my experiences with this first episode.

Penumbra does a great job of providing tension in ways I've never seen in a game before. While I feel that the zombie dogs fell short in that regard (more on that in my final thoughts), the spiders in the game were awesome.

In the early stages of the game, I found myself crawling through some webbed tunnels and finding numerous notes left by a previous occupant. They detailed his experiences living with the spiders. While he feared them at first, he eventually started eating them (which eventually poisoned his tongue and he had to cut it out!). He also chronicles how the spiders slowly started getting bigger up until the point they couldn't fit through the cracks in the tunnels. The whole time I was in those tunnels, I was a little on edge, constantly expecting them to jump out at me. When I did experience them, they provided a great little scare.

I had just climbed up into a new tunnel. I started down the cave and saw some HUGE eggs on my left side. The next thing I knew, spiders were pouring out of them and swarming me. After a quick reload, I ran past them into the next chamber, turned and rolled a rock in front of the whole, only to realize I had opened up ANOTHER spider nest. I ran from that chamber and quickly lit some spilled paraffin that was on the ground. I gleefully watched the trailing spiders burn. From there, I moved a boulder out of the way and started down a pretty steep downward incline. The rumbling behind me (gotta love surround sound) signaled the oncoming boulder. I rushed down to the end of the corridor and made a quick right turn... and of course found myself face to face with ANOTHER spider nest. One quick girlish shriek later, I was desperately running in the other direction frantically swinging my pick axe at a cave in trying to get away. It was a superb moment of game play filled with a constant, very palpable tension.

The other creatures I encountered were rock worms. VERY large rock worms.

In my first encounter with them, I had walked into a new area, crossed a wooden bridge and tried to open a door. I had no sooner taken my cursor hand off the door than a large pounding started on the other side. I was close enough to the door that I didn't even see what came through and killed me. I quickly reloaded, repeated the previous steps, and then ran back away from the door. The worm that came through was so massive and nasty looking, I literally just stood there, frozen, as it killed me.

Later on, the game had a great chase moment where you frantically run from another (the same?) worm, hopping over acid pits, bashing through boards, and closing doors behind you... only to find the crank that opens the final door is working WAY too slowly. As I sat there frantically spinning my mouse trying to get that door to open (remember the fun physics system at work here), my heart was practically pounding out of my chest. It took me two more playthroughs in that section to finally calm down enough to realize I could collapse the chamber behind me.

Creepy crawlies aside, the first episode finished pretty strong. There was a great moment of flipping on a light switch (turned out it was a black light and it showed some... hidden... things) and I also discovered the shocking history of my "friend" I had been communicating with via a radio. The final fate of said friend (don't want to ruin anything) was also something absolutely crazy.

I'll leave my final impressions until I finish all three games/episodes, but so far, I am thinking that it was $5 VERY well spent.

Penumbra: Overture - First Impressions

My most recent video game purchase was the Penumbra series (Overture, Black Plague, and Requiem) on Steam for the tidy price of $5. I had heard relatively little about the series, only having a basic idea of what it was about, but for $5 I figured I couldn't go wrong. What I ended up with is a delightful little first person action adventure horror game (that's a lot of adjectives).

Penumbra begins with your character, Philip, on a boat for Greenland to investigate some of the mystery concerning your father (I don't think I was paying attention carefully enough here as I've already forgotten the exact details). I quickly found myself inside an "abandoned" mine of some kind.

I was immediately impressed by the interface. While it has traditional WASD first person shooter controls, the majority of interaction is actually done with a little hand cursor. It instantly reminded me of countless adventure games I've played. You can either directly enter interaction mode in which the mouse controls your cursor rather than your looking direction, or use the mouse to look around which moves your center point (I turned on a cross hair) over stuff until the cursor appears. Again, in classic adventure game style, the right mouse button performs a "look" and provides more information (often witty and sarcastic) about whatever your cursor is over while the left mouse button picks things up. The place the game really shines, however, is in its physical interactions.

Penumbra has a pretty decent physics system and forces you to use it to interact with the environment. To open a door, for example, you click on the door and drag the mouse until the door opens... the same goes for opening drawers and chests, even for flipping switches or turning cranks. It works surprisingly well and adds a nice level of immersion to the equation.

It also features another adventure game staple: combining inventory items. In one area, I had to find some string, combine it with a coating of some kind I had picked up, then dip it into some black powder I had found by breaking open a barrel. All to make a wick which I eventually stuck into a barrel of TNT and used to blow open the way to the next part of the game.

While combat exists in Penumbra, so far the game has more or less discouraged it. I've yet to find any enemy except for some zombie-like dogs. So far, it has been rather easy to either avoid them outright or lure them away using the plethora of stale beef jerky I've been finding. The few I have fought have been in melee combat with a pickaxe I found. Instead of just pushing the button to equip your axe and then clicking to swing it, the game actually forces you to swing your mouse back and forth (or up and down) to swing the pick. It adds a bit of difficulty to the attacks, but again, also adds some immersion.

So far, I must admit I'm relatively impressed. The puzzles have been pretty interesting without being impossible (I really liked the one where I had to listen to a Morse code message being played over the radio and then figure out the numbers involved which became the pass code for a gate) and the setting is reasonably creepy. My only big problem has been some graphical issues (see my screenshot) which seem to be limited to ATI cards... however the problem isn't constant and usually goes away if I restart the game. I'm anxious to see where the game goes (a friend of mine promised me a "wow" moment) and will be updating you all as I continue to play.