Dear oh dear...
OK, so I'll be fair, this game has some positive points. The most significant of these is the plot. I was able to pick this game up for less than £5, and having read the back of the box I couldn't wait to play. The story is a dark fantasy horror and from the short overview it sounded really interesting. And it was. I enjoyed solving the mystery, I was always keen to find out what would happen next and some of the plot twists were genuinely shocking. The story is a sinister, brooding creature, but it rewards those who persevere with the game.
Secondly, for the most part the game looks very nice. The backgrounds are detailed and believable (I found the morgue really unsettling!). The movie sequences are also attractive, though by todays standards not overly memorable. The character animation is average, though this in itself is not something that detracts from the game. Also the puzzles are logical and for the most part varied. Almost all the actions you take are logical and realistic. Some puzzles are a little obtuse, but this is to be expected with this genre of game. There are no puzzles that will completely stump you.
These elements come together to give a taste of what this game could have been. Sadly they are not enough to hold it together.
The main problem is in the script and voice acting. Clearly the games producers didn't realise what a fantastic plot they had on their hands as they put together the most unrealistic wooden script I've ever encountered. The characters dialogue is unbelievably stiff, unrealistic and lacks emotion. The main character Samuel goes through a rough time in this game, but I found that I didn't really care about him or the other characters seeing as they all lacked depth and spoke phrases that you'd expect more from a robot than a human. The acting also is abysmal. I have no idea where the actors got their "English" accents from. They sound completely unrealistic.
The poor voice acting and dire script give the game an almost comical feel to begin with. After a few minutes when you realise that its not supposed to be funny it just becomes tiresome and ultimately I was looking forward to the game ending just so I didn't have to listen to it anymore.
Not all is bad with the sound though, the ambient music is appropriate and there are some nice sound effects, particularly the storm.
The other key problem is the pace of the game. It is poorly balanced. The story lurches along very slowly (this sensation of course enhanced by the tiring dialogue), before speeding up rapidly at the very end, thus making the ending feel rushed. The ending seems very contrived as well, a real let down considering the brilliant plot. Its almost as though the writers didn't know how to end the story properly. Also, with one ending (that I know of) and only one way of reaching that ending the game has no replay value at all.
So in all, this game should have been excellent. Visually it is appealing, it has a brilliant plot, and the puzzles are good. However it is let down by a lack of care. I get the impression that it was made very quickly by people who didn't put enough money or effort into it. This is a great shame, as it could have been one of the best games of its genre, but because of this lack of care it ends up as one of the worst.