Dramatic black cape. Check. Fake fangs. Check. Glass of red wine… I mean blood… check. Turn out the lights, lock the door, and I’m all ready to play Alawar’s new upcoming release. Vampire Saga: Breakout!
Are you ready for this? Let me set the scene for you… you, a grieving doctor, have just lost your young daughter Grace, when suddenly… you get an urgent call from the local hospital where you work. They need you right away for an emergency autopsy.
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But what could be so wrong that you are forced to set aside your grief and head to the hospital? You soon find out at the barred gates of the quarantined hospital that something has gone terribly… horribly wrong here.
Visions of Grace swim before you as she flirts at the edges of your vision as if beckoning you further into the hell-stricken town, haunted by red-eyed monsters, lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack you at any moment.
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Your explorations take you through the panic-stricken streets of the town, as you guide your way ever closer to the source of all this carnage. Can you claw your way through the dredges of the town and solve the mystery of this epidemic before it’s too late? Can you? CAN YOU???!!!
I can and I will!!! I just need to get another glass of wine… I mean blood…. And let my roommate in before she starts thinking I’m a weirdo or something…
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Yes, this game hooked me. And here’s why… the story is wonderfully murky, as if I’m indeed wondering around this forsaken town without a clue as to what’s going on. Little by little, it starts to come together for me, just like a good book. The graphics are good, nothing to run around the halls of the dorm screaming about, but good nonetheless. The music and sound effects were adequately creepy and appropriate for the surroundings.
But I do have one minor complaint. The game is… wait for it… hard. Nothing is really obvious. You know how some games practically tell you what to do next? This one does not… sometimes I just walk from room to room clicking on anything I can, just for some clue as to what to do next.
And that brings me to my next point… it’s not the easiest gameplay to deal with. You have to be pretty precise with your clicking, or you won’t be able to interact with an object. I admit… it got frustrating… I knew a certain object had to be used in a certain place… but, unless I clicked in exactly the right spot… it wouldn’t work.
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The hidden object scenes are a little different than what you might be used to. They really are not your typical HOG scenes. Once you click on the sparkling areas, you go into a scene and the wheel opens up. You have to find certain objects in the scene, click on them and drag them…. Sometimes multiple objects too… for instance, I had to find 6 sugar cubes. Once you find all the objects, then you have to find the object you actually are going to add to your inventory. It’s actually a nice twist from the traditional mode and I liked it for its originality.
Anyhow… despite some of the extra challenges… Vampire Saga: Breakout is still going on my list of must-finish games. So now, if you’ll excuse me… a town needs saving and I know just the person to do it.
