Mad For It! (Sanitarium (PC))

Member Name: wampyrii

Product:	Sanitarium (PC)
Date:	29/07/01 (128 review reads)
Rating:

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In Sanitarium you play a man swathed in bandages following a road accident which has left you battered and bruised and with almost complete memory loss. Your first task is the escape this horrible place and then to discover what happened, who you are etc. to basically piece together your life as your mind fights against its own demons and slowly feels as if it is itself unravelling.

The game plays across 8 ‘chapters’, taking part in such areas as the aforementioned asylum where you begin, an adultless farming community, an island of freaks and a ummm beehive(dont ask) to name just some of them. On your journey you’ll come across different people who you can interact with to find out more about yourself and move the story along. Thesee sections work well and are more than just the 'pretty bits' which game devlopers add to spice things up alittle. They are in fact quite essential to the plot and understanding of it - there is no time wasting and dull, boring, and simply ANNOYING irrelevant small talk here for a change which is more than welcome. The graphics are delightfully grey, miserable and totally in keeping with the rest of the game, having a Diablo feel about them but with the ‘fantasy’ element being replace by a more ‘real-life horror’ aspect instead. Sound too is totally in keeping with the rest of the action and enhances the feeling of unease you feel throughout perfectly.

Its not pretty and its content is quite graphic throughout, and therefore is not to be recommended to children however. The gameplay is superb, with the puzzles being pitched at just the right level to make them difficult, but without making them so obscure as to confuse the hell out of you for weeks and then find that the solution is something completely off-the-wall and subsequently extremely annoying. So many games opt for stupid puzzles to make them a ‘challenge’ rather than using a little brain power to t
hink of a ‘real’ puzzle to challenge the player. This game is one of the more intelligent ones and deserves a special mention for that alone. There is a good, intelligent plot here which unfolds as the game progresses right up to its conclusion where suddenly all will become clear to you - and no copt out ending for a change either. Better still, you’ll find this lurking around the bargain bins now thanks to a criminal lack of support from the gaming press and its relative age now. Definitely one to check out!

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