Cheap Phantasmagoria Stagefright (Software) (Windows 95) Price

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Customer Reviews of Phantasmagoria Stagefright

The scariest game I have ever played...
This game (Phantasmagoria) scared ... me the first time I played it. It is one of the richest games I have ever played, with elaborate, beautifully rendered settings, an intriguing story, horrific movie clips that play out in front of you like a horror movie, and an excellent score that will send chills down your spine. It is not so much a strategy game, but rather a slow adventure game (the "slow" being a positive quality, for you become immersed in the creepy atmosphere of it all). It has an awesome chase-scene ending that takes you all over the sprawling mansion and into the bowels of the mansion- you find your knowledge of the house which had served as your background on the past 6 discs being put to the test as you flee your attacker- perhaps one of the best- and scariest- game endings ever. If you are intrigued by all of the things I just mentioned, don't hesitate, BUY IT, YOU WILL LOVE IT. (This test refers to the out-of-print "Phantasmagoria".)

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Doesn't live up to its expectations...
I am a huge fan of Roberta Williams, her King's Quest games have offered me hours of entertainment since I was about 9 years old. When I heard that she was taking on a more "adult" project featuring real actors and a gripping, horror-based storyline, I was more than excited. However, I received nothing but disappointment.

The graphics in this game are most impressive (considering the time that the game was created). They feature real actors who are placed in front of a blue screen with a cartoon-ish backround and props projected behind them. This gives the game a fairly realistic effect although at times the actors look so out of place in front of their backrounds that the occuring event is everything but real.

As far as the acting goes..it's about what you'd expect from a game which resembles a B horror movie. Most of the acting is barely believeable (although Adrienne, the main character, is not horrible) and the characters themselves are most annoying.

The story was just awful...cliched and robbed to the core, I found absolutely everything in this game to be entirely predictable. It focuses around a couple, Don and Adrienne, who move into a huge, spooky house on an island. The house was owned by a creepy count named Carno and it is said to be haunted. All of the islanders are afraid of the house and none of them are too keen on talking about it (with the exception of one eager old woman who serves as the "revelation of the evil within" source seen in all movies of this sort). The story proceeds just as you would predict. Without giving anything away I'll just tell you that Adrienne discovers ghosts, secret rooms, and a demon which has been wreaking havoc on the house for years. It borrows heavily from Stephen King's "The Shining" (as in..the house turns the husband into a raving psychopath). For anyone who is not too familiar with the horror genre, Phantasmagoria may provide a few hours of good story. To fans of classic horror movies and games, Phantasmagoria will become stale before the end of chapter three.

This brings me to the gameplay. The game itself is divided into 7 chapters (each chapter contained entirely on its respective disk). While this may seem as though it allows for a massive game, it must be said that each chapter can be completed in a quick half hour, even by the most inexperienced of adventure gamers. The puzzles that each chapter requires you to solve are completely lacking in challenge. They are solved by the use of obvious items in Adrienne's inventory and no logical thought is necessary. There was actually a chapter in the game which focused entirely on buying a bottle of Dran-O from the village general store and returning it to your husband. Yes - that's it. Later - a puzzle comes up where the very item you need can be found a single screen below and it is not hidden in the very least.

To fans of blood and gore - this game may serve as an enjoyable "shockfest". There is more than one moment of senseless violence which is not limited to beheading, faces being ripped open, and the funneling of human body parts down a woman's throat. For those too squeamish to even imagine such things, the gore can easily be censored with an in-game option requiring the entry of a password (to protect the little ones' virgin eyes).

Overall, Phantasmagoria lacks in every area required to make an adventure game reach "classic" status. The story is predictable, the gameplay simple and stale, and the characters annoying. For huge fans of senseless violence and B-movie horror plots, this may serve as some sort of "cult classic" piece. All others, don't waste your money.

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The absolute best
This is the most enjoyable and thrilling game I have ever played on the PC. I didn't want to move away from my computer while playing because it was so gripping. I recommend this game for any PC gamer who wants a realistic adventure.