Shadow of the Comet
| Shadow of the Comet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio | Infogrames |
| Publisher |
Infogrames (EU) I * Motion (North America) |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
March 25, 1993 |
| platform | Windows , MS-DOS , Linux , PC-98 |
| genre | Adventure |
| Game mode | Single player |
| control | Keyboard , mouse |
| medium | Floppy disk , CD-ROM |
Shadow of the Comet (later republished as Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet ) is an adventure computer game by Infogrames in 1993. The game is based on HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos and many elements from Lovecraft's stories used the Dunwich Horror and Shadows over Innsmouth . 1995 followed with Prisoner of Ice a follow-up title in the same narrative world, which is however not a direct continuation of the plot.
action
The action takes place in 1910 and revolves around the visit of the young British astronomer John Parker in the isolated New England town of Illsmouth (a modification of Lovecraft's Innsmouth ), where he would like to observe the passage of Halley's Comet and document it with photographs. The decisive factor for him was the discovery of old documents from a Lord Boleskine. He had already visited the city during the last passage of the comet in 1834, as he had come to the conclusion that, due to certain environmental conditions near the city, astronomical objects can be viewed more clearly and more closely than anywhere else in the world. He decided to test his theory by observing the comet from Illsmouth. But something unexpected happened and he went insane and spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital. Parker desires that this investigation be brought to a successful conclusion. But after his arrival, Parker gets caught up in a dark conspiracy. He must survive the three days between his arrival and the comet's flyby while discovering what exactly happened in 1834.
Gameplay
The player looks head-on at the backdrop in front of which the figures are moving. He controls the protagonist Parker with the help of the arrow keys. Parker can interact with given objects at the touch of a button. Objects that can be interacted with are highlighted by a white line connecting Parker's eye and the object. Some objects can be recorded by Parker and can then be called up via an inventory window. The player must solve various interaction and object puzzles in order to advance in the storyline. The dialogues are usually reproduced through text overlays that were set to music in the CD version. Important interaction sections are also highlighted with screen-filling animations that are placed over the scenery. A diary gathers all the information found and stores it for follow-up examinations and clue searches.
reception
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“The new Infogrames adventure is still a long way off from the quality class of a Monkey Island II . Puzzles and story are above average, but far from good. The sparse keyboard-and-nothing else controls also depress the gaming comfort; For Christmas you should give the programming team a mouse driver. But don't let that spoil the fun of an otherwise well-mannered and complex graphic adventure. "
The American Computer Gaming World praised the plot, puzzles, writing quality and the "rather naughty, dark Gallic humor", but also criticized the lack of mouse support and described the interaction with objects and solving puzzles without them as "painful". The tester came to the conclusion that the game was a “high-quality graphic adventure that offers nothing particularly new apart from technological progress and in a certain way looks a bit old-fashioned. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing, "given the goodness of the plot.
In 2011, Adventure Gamers website listed Shadow of the Comet as number 74 in their selection of the best adventure games of all time.
Web links
- Shadow of the Comet at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Test report PC Player
- ↑ Test report ASM
- ↑ Test report PC Joker
- ↑ Test report Power Play
- ^ Robin Matthews: Robin Matthews Launches a Detailed Investigation of France's Latest Export . In: Computer Gaming World . August 1993, p. 82.
- ^ AG Staff: Top 100 All-Time Adventure Games . In: Adventure Gamers . December 30, 2011. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012.