By way of preface, I feel I should point out that a voyeur is someone who likes to watch, not participate. Fair enough. The hell of Voyeur II is that you don't even necessarily get to watch. To further explain: You're a reclusive photographer living a quiet life in a lonely cabin, writing in your journal, listening to talk radio when reception permits, photographing the local fauna, and, occasionally, snooping on the affairs—literally—of the mansion a thousand yards across the canyon. Yes, it's another FMV “interactive adventure.” A widowed scientist (Jennifer O'Neill) has just become sole heir to her late husband's genetic research foundation, and a number of her peers—warring siblings, scheming vixens, sexually frustrated husbands, college rivals, bisexual nymphomaniacs, and potential murderers in various combinations, plus a cultured-but-tough businessman (David Groh) who was clearly chosen because Ricardo Montalban was too expensive—are not happy about it.
As you spy into each window of the mansion with your high-tech camcorder, observing arguments, alliances, seductions, and random disrobings (Kari Whitman naked in the sauna is the only, do your hear me, only reason this reviewer gave this thing a value of 5), it is up to you to piece together select bits of the meta-intrigue and prevent a murder. The original Voyeur was an Interplay product, but now the ball is in Philips Media's court. Say what you want about Philips, they sure didn't back off on the “mature” content—Voyeur II actually has very good acting and decent writing ... not to mention nudity, violence, blatant drug use, lesbianism, and even The F Word a couple of times. There's also a catch which did not exist in the original Voyeur: Everything in your cabin runs off solar power, so conservation and quick thinking become factors. The solar-power catch performs an “edutainment” function as well, because after the fourth or fifth time your camcorder croaks on you during a critical scene, it becomes academically clear why Interplay decided to unload this prime hunk of real estate: Pretty it is; entertaining it certainly can be; a game it ain't. And a save function? Forget it. Voyeur II is intentionally designed to be played through in one sitting. Observing the action across the way is an activity which you will almost certainly screw up, and badly, on your first attempt. The idea is that once you've learned certain critical pieces of information, on your next attempt you will begin to see the larger picture, and can approach winning the “game” in a piecemeal, hit-or-miss way. This seems horribly unsporting to me. The company line notes that “watching is not enough,” but for the casual computer gawker who just wants to show off her computer or immerse herself in some risqué situations, Voyeur II will do nicely. The gamer, on the other hand, will instantly notice a rifle on the cabin wall, and may well debate whether it is for intervening in the transcanyon FMV drama, or simply for blowing her own brains out to bring the experience to a close.
