D For Deprived Of And Not A Laura Fun (D (PS))

Member Name: scream4bruce

Product:	D (PS)
Date:	04/08/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: There's some attention to detail in the graphics, game is over quickly

Disadvantages: Slow moving, can only time out, disappoints for scares, painful puzzles

Suddenly, from life saver to mass murderer - what has driven Richter Harris, doctor and director of a hospital, and a decent dude, to do such dreadful deeds? His daughter Laura drives down to the Los Angeles hosptial to find out...

I've seen D dubbed as a survival horror. But the game fails for frights - this coming from someone whom scares easy. And it's a game where you cannot die, despite the spiked booby traps, a battle with a suit of armour, and a boulder dash down a set of stairs - it being game over should the two hour time limit run out. D demands you set aside an hour or two to play as there's no pause function or save feature.

D doesn't do depth, and whatever does go on in this graphic adventure happens slowly. The puzzles can be a pain. There's a safe whereby opening it is almost akin to playing a slot machine, but the worst is winding a wheel to cycle through a set of doors in clock formation, in say, a clockwise fashion, as some of these doors are blocked by brick walls. If you're not sure what to do to progress, Laura's compact gives her a clue, though this can only be used thrice.

I'm guessing the quality of the graphics is perhaps highest on the PlayStation version of D, hence it being on 3 discs. The game is full with FMVs - sometimes, the sequences blend seemlessly with the backgrounds, and it shows some attention to detail, but some of the scenes seem stupid, and Laura's animation is stiff. Similarly, the voice acting sounds silly. Although the game tends to be subdued in silence, it is alright in the audio department.

D does have a few endings to see, but despite the very short completion time it would be a stretch to replay the game simply because it is so lacking. It has puzzles which needn't be set in stone but they are. Now, from the intro it should dawn on you as to what "D" stands for, but after completing the game it could be a number of things: disappointing, depraved, dull, dire, drab, deprived. You decide.

Summary: D for PlayStation