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This thread has been linked to the game 'Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs'.
What's the scariest thing in the world? Zombies? Vampires? No, it's your imagination, as most good horror writers know. The creators of the original Amnesia knew this as well, since it was what they didn't show you that really sent your imagination into overdrive.
And now it has a sequel of sorts, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. Like the original Amnesia, A Machine For Pigs has you wandering around a range of darkened locations, occasionally being pursued by unpleasant monsters and trying to figure out what the heck's going on.
However, you're not a total amnesiac since you have a vague idea of who you are, and know that your kids have been taken away and concealed somewhere. But you do get a sense that you're not getting the whole story. Indeed, the story's slowly revealed to you as the game progresses, though there are still a few questions left at the end of the game.
Unlike other survival horror games, though, you have no means of defending yourself, so you have to extinguish your lantern - which thankfully never runs out of power - if one of the game's nasties comes your way. Should they find you, they'll finish you off fairly quickly, grunting as they go. Yes, there is a porcine theme running through the game as if you hadn't already guessed.
The game is set in 1899, and has a very Victorian look and feel to it - and the locations look absolutely superb. The locations include your house, an old church and the mysterious steam fill catacombs beneath the streets. You traverse the locations in a fairly linear manner, exploring and solving the odd puzzle as you go. The puzzles are generally rather basic and involve things like filling a fuel can to take it to a truck. Since you don't have an inventory, the objects you carry float in front of you held by an invisible hand which is mildly odd.
But the question is, is it scary? And the answer is - sometimes. The game was developed by The Chinese Room, who didn't develop the original game and as such it's missing many of the nuances of the original game. The encounters themselves are largely scripted, so there's not much point playing the game twice since you know what's going to happen. Also, the first Amnesia game used some rather unsettling techniques to scare you, including making excellent use of sound and even doing odd little things like altering portraits in subtle ways.
A Machine For Pigs, however, does none of these things, and the game is only really scary when you're being pursued. And even then, if you're caught, the game respawns you close by, sometimes past the monster itself. It has its moments, but the original Amnesia is far scarier, and you should play that game in preference to A Machine For Pigs. If you've already played Amnesia, then A Machine For Pigs is worth checking out when drops in price to just under a tenner or so. But right now, it's a poor copy of the original.
Score: 6 out of 10.
Pros:
It has some scary moments.
The story's fairly good.
Cons:
The game's not all that scary.
The monster encounters are few and far between.
It doesn't have the atmosphere of the original.
And now it has a sequel of sorts, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. Like the original Amnesia, A Machine For Pigs has you wandering around a range of darkened locations, occasionally being pursued by unpleasant monsters and trying to figure out what the heck's going on.
However, you're not a total amnesiac since you have a vague idea of who you are, and know that your kids have been taken away and concealed somewhere. But you do get a sense that you're not getting the whole story. Indeed, the story's slowly revealed to you as the game progresses, though there are still a few questions left at the end of the game.
Unlike other survival horror games, though, you have no means of defending yourself, so you have to extinguish your lantern - which thankfully never runs out of power - if one of the game's nasties comes your way. Should they find you, they'll finish you off fairly quickly, grunting as they go. Yes, there is a porcine theme running through the game as if you hadn't already guessed.
The game is set in 1899, and has a very Victorian look and feel to it - and the locations look absolutely superb. The locations include your house, an old church and the mysterious steam fill catacombs beneath the streets. You traverse the locations in a fairly linear manner, exploring and solving the odd puzzle as you go. The puzzles are generally rather basic and involve things like filling a fuel can to take it to a truck. Since you don't have an inventory, the objects you carry float in front of you held by an invisible hand which is mildly odd.
But the question is, is it scary? And the answer is - sometimes. The game was developed by The Chinese Room, who didn't develop the original game and as such it's missing many of the nuances of the original game. The encounters themselves are largely scripted, so there's not much point playing the game twice since you know what's going to happen. Also, the first Amnesia game used some rather unsettling techniques to scare you, including making excellent use of sound and even doing odd little things like altering portraits in subtle ways.
A Machine For Pigs, however, does none of these things, and the game is only really scary when you're being pursued. And even then, if you're caught, the game respawns you close by, sometimes past the monster itself. It has its moments, but the original Amnesia is far scarier, and you should play that game in preference to A Machine For Pigs. If you've already played Amnesia, then A Machine For Pigs is worth checking out when drops in price to just under a tenner or so. But right now, it's a poor copy of the original.
Score: 6 out of 10.
Pros:
It has some scary moments.
The story's fairly good.
Cons:
The game's not all that scary.
The monster encounters are few and far between.
It doesn't have the atmosphere of the original.
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What's the scariest thing in the world? Zombies? Vampires? No, it's your imagination, as most good horror writers know. The creators of the original Amnesia knew this as well, since it was what they didn't show you that really sent your imagination into overdrive.
And now it has a sequel of sorts, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. Like the original Amnesia, A Machine For Pigs has you wandering around a range of darkened locations, occasionally being pursued by unpleasant monsters and trying to figure out what the heck's going on.
However, you're not a total amnesiac since you have a vague idea of who you are, and know that your kids have been taken away and concealed somewhere. But you do get a sense that you're not getting the whole story. Indeed, the story's slowly revealed to you as the game progresses, though there are still a few questions left at the end of the game.
Unlike other survival horror games, though, you have no means of defending yourself, so you have to extinguish your lantern - which thankfully never runs out of power - if one of the game's nasties comes your way. Should they find you, they'll finish you off fairly quickly, grunting as they go. Yes, there is a porcine theme running through the game as if you hadn't already guessed.
The game is set in 1899, and has a very Victorian look and feel to it - and the locations look absolutely superb. The locations include your house, an old church and the mysterious steam fill catacombs beneath the streets. You traverse the locations in a fairly linear manner, exploring and solving the odd puzzle as you go. The puzzles are generally rather basic and involve things like filling a fuel can to take it to a truck. Since you don't have an inventory, the objects you carry float in front of you held by an invisible hand which is mildly odd.
But the question is, is it scary? And the answer is - sometimes. The game was developed by The Chinese Room, who didn't develop the original game and as such it's missing many of the nuances of the original game. The encounters themselves are largely scripted, so there's not much point playing the game twice since you know what's going to happen. Also, the first Amnesia game used some rather unsettling techniques to scare you, including making excellent use of sound and even doing odd little things like altering portraits in subtle ways.
A Machine For Pigs, however, does none of these things, and the game is only really scary when you're being pursued. And even then, if you're caught, the game respawns you close by, sometimes past the monster itself. It has its moments, but the original Amnesia is far scarier, and you should play that game in preference to A Machine For Pigs. If you've already played Amnesia, then A Machine For Pigs is worth checking out when drops in price to just under a tenner or so. But right now, it's a poor copy of the original.
Score: 6 out of 10.
Pros:
It has some scary moments.
The story's fairly good.
Cons:
The game's not all that scary.
The monster encounters are few and far between.
It doesn't have the atmosphere of the original.
And now it has a sequel of sorts, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. Like the original Amnesia, A Machine For Pigs has you wandering around a range of darkened locations, occasionally being pursued by unpleasant monsters and trying to figure out what the heck's going on.
However, you're not a total amnesiac since you have a vague idea of who you are, and know that your kids have been taken away and concealed somewhere. But you do get a sense that you're not getting the whole story. Indeed, the story's slowly revealed to you as the game progresses, though there are still a few questions left at the end of the game.
Unlike other survival horror games, though, you have no means of defending yourself, so you have to extinguish your lantern - which thankfully never runs out of power - if one of the game's nasties comes your way. Should they find you, they'll finish you off fairly quickly, grunting as they go. Yes, there is a porcine theme running through the game as if you hadn't already guessed.
The game is set in 1899, and has a very Victorian look and feel to it - and the locations look absolutely superb. The locations include your house, an old church and the mysterious steam fill catacombs beneath the streets. You traverse the locations in a fairly linear manner, exploring and solving the odd puzzle as you go. The puzzles are generally rather basic and involve things like filling a fuel can to take it to a truck. Since you don't have an inventory, the objects you carry float in front of you held by an invisible hand which is mildly odd.
But the question is, is it scary? And the answer is - sometimes. The game was developed by The Chinese Room, who didn't develop the original game and as such it's missing many of the nuances of the original game. The encounters themselves are largely scripted, so there's not much point playing the game twice since you know what's going to happen. Also, the first Amnesia game used some rather unsettling techniques to scare you, including making excellent use of sound and even doing odd little things like altering portraits in subtle ways.
A Machine For Pigs, however, does none of these things, and the game is only really scary when you're being pursued. And even then, if you're caught, the game respawns you close by, sometimes past the monster itself. It has its moments, but the original Amnesia is far scarier, and you should play that game in preference to A Machine For Pigs. If you've already played Amnesia, then A Machine For Pigs is worth checking out when drops in price to just under a tenner or so. But right now, it's a poor copy of the original.
Score: 6 out of 10.
Pros:
It has some scary moments.
The story's fairly good.
Cons:
The game's not all that scary.
The monster encounters are few and far between.
It doesn't have the atmosphere of the original.