I would repeat verbatim the first paragraph of the main article, and probably the rest as well. Yeah, great storyline which is not just an excuse for gratuitous f*** scenes, as many different endings as there are girls, and interesting, engaging characters.

The music is nice, and I never found it distractingly repetitive or intrusive. Interface is a bit unusual, although JAST's standard one, I believe. Easy to use, but perhaps unfamiliar. If you do get this, it will probably be best to run it out of DOSBox or similar -- I first played it on W95 and it could be erratic -- I would have to start it several times before it "caught" and ran cleanly; sometimes transition screens froze up randomly.

My only real gripe was one bit that seemed just a bit too tacky -- yeah, I know it's Japan -- one of the girls has thought about becoming a nun -- dresses as one for one scene -- yeah, THAT scene -- in an abandoned church -- of course this is from the place where they had Santa Claus nailed up on a cross for a Christmas decoration --

But altogether a great game, very replayable -- by all means go for it.

Agree with the others, unique and engaging. Lots of neat puzzles, and completely screws with your head. Get it, play it!

If you are Python fan, this is for you! I think just about every scene from the movie gets played out, or played with in this game. And lots more fresh material as well, all in the inimitable MP style. And it starts from the moment you put the CD in: you start the "online registration" process and after the first 50 questions or so, you begin to suspect you've been had.

This game does an excellent tightrope walk -- faithful enough to the movie to satisfy the hardcore Pythonites, but not so beholden to it that someone who has never heard of MP can't figure out the puzzles and gameplay.

It contains a number of minigames which can be accessed at will after unlocking them in the normal course of play. My favorite is Python's take on Tetris: called "Drop Dead", you are the body collector now dumping grotesquely twisted corpses into the mass grave. And yes, there is the occasional one who is "Not dead yet!" , and will wriggle about twisting position as you attempt to manipulate him, and will frequently ruin your nicely-planned plot. What else? The "Simon"-type game: four witches burning at the stake, repeat the order of jumping flames; "Right!", where knights who can only turn right must be evacuated from the arena before cows are dropped on them, "Spank the Virgin", the less said of which the better.

All in all, terrific game. Get it if you can find it, even if you have to pay money for it. It's still that good.

d) Cindy Crawford

But what kind? The writer of the main article admits he is biased towards harder games -- this should be his all-time favorite! Sierra actually released a patch to make a couple of the more ridiculous puzzles a bit easier. I believe at the time of its release it was recognized as the most difficult game ever made. And yes, I do believe that a game can be too difficult, and that this one probably crosses that thin line between playing it for fun and playing it for grim, fanatic, masochism. And this is a shame as the story itself is so engaging -- tracking the "Dark Being" to his realm -- another dimension? another Earth aeon? -- a number of memorable characters to meet or defeat (a mechanical parrot seems to stand out), lots of interesting gadgets to get working. The graphics and artwork were beautiful, too. I really would like to try playing through this again- this is the only game I have reviewed which I didn't actually complete -- almost there, then another ridiculous looking puzzle to get the last piece of the warp gun or whatever it was (which I thought I had all the pieces for, already!) and I just hung it up. Yes, utter frustration and very little fun. As I say, I would like to give it a second chance, just for old times' sake, and morbid curiosity -- kind of like going on a date with the ex-wife I guess . . .

Well, those of you who might like this kind of thing, go right ahead, if you can find it. The rest of you -- don't worry about it too much.

Ya srsly. A classic. An original. Get it. Play it. Along with all the other KQ games.

"Unlock 40,000 Years of Lies"

"Conspiracy, and some good old fashioned soul searching make for a whole new twist on computer gaming.

The Bible and Darwin were both wrong.

That is the premise of Drowned God, a point-and-click, hi-res graphic adventure that will rattle a few cages and get plenty of ink. "It's obviously a contentious subject," says the game's producer, Algy Williams. "If we piss off a few zealots, so much the better.

The game purports that many thousands of years ago an alien race from Orion not only genetically engineered humans but also guided their social and scientific development. Then along came the great flood, erasing much of that work and concealing the world's greatest artifacts: the Rod of Osiris (the Egyptian god of the dead), the Holy Grail, the Philosopher's Stone, and the Ark of the Covenant."

One of my favorite games ever -- if you ever were an "X-Files" fan, this is right up your alley. This is an acid-trip of a game which takes you from Stonehenge and the Holy Grail to the Illuminati Lodge Room and on to Area 51. You will meet a Knight Templar, Einstein and Newton together in one puzzle, The Man In The Iron Mask, Aleister Crowley, alien Greys, Leonardo da Vinci, Morgana de Fey (looking somewhat the worse for wear), and a mysterious "Man In Black" character who pops in on the scene very much like the "G-Man" in the Half-Life games.

First the downside: very buggy. Always was, and more so now getting it to run on newer machines. Patches are still available for it; I would recommend installing the Patch #4 first off, that seems to solve the worst of them. Another criticism of the time was that most of the puzzles were not terribly original, despite the window dressing put on them, and they became such a distraction in themselves that the actual storyline got swamped by the static. Also, this is a 3 CD game, and the frequent disc-changing tended to chew up the original game discs. I have not been able to get this to play reliably going off disc images, I did have to actually burn CDs.

The upside: everything else. Immersive and atmospheric, beautiful graphics, a helluva ride. Well worth the time of a download (and probably 3 CDs.) Unfortunately HOTU doesn't seem to have any downloads for it, so I think I am on safe ground saying that this is findable as a torrent -- search your favorite torrent site -- I have been seeding this since last summer, and it is almost constantly going up! I'll see if the Underdogs will let me upload the torrent itself.

Just remember: "As above, so below."

The main article just about says it all, and this is to agree -- hugely atmospheric game which relies on minimalist sound effects to really, really, be scary! Virtually no background music for soundtrack. Footsteps, slamming doors, the bar piano playing on its own, the occasional violin 'sting', the train rumbling through -- oh, except the train isn't really there at all . . .

One of my favorites. The puzzles are quite original, and challenging without being ridiculous, although I admit I had to look up hints for two: one involves placing a series of objects around another object, and evidently the game is excruciatingly demanding on exact placement; and another required a specific inventory item to find the solution, which I had overlooked. (Hint-- look twice behind and under >everything< ! )

And yes, there is a definitely Lovecraftian vibe going on, as you explore deeper into the history of Dowerton Station, discovering the history of the locale, and the sense that something not-quite-right is lurking at the threshold, a shadow out of time haunting the darkness.

Yes, I actually bought and paid for this game, and it was well worth it. Maybe not much for replayability, but even once is plenty!

Fascinating and educational! Two words which usually don't go together too well. I found the artwork/animation especially refreshing -- despite what the main article states, I don't really see anything of modern anime in the drawing, and I don't know enough of medieval Japanese art to judge that. Truthfully, it reminded me more of classic Monty Python animation, both in the "moving cutout" look as well as a lot of the near-surrealistically distorted faces. As to the game itself, yes it is more in the way of an IF than a graphic adventure, but it remains a game in the sense of your having to find your way around the maze-like streets of Kyoto, how to get into, and around, the marketplace, how to complete certain sequences. There is one very entertaining mini-game, where you play an early form of backgammon with an old man who gives you a surprising prize. And yes, it is educational -- virtually every episode portrays some bit of Japanese history, folklore, or faith. In a supporting role is a very thorough encyclopedia (an encyclopedic encyclopedia!) which is available contextually in-scene throughout the game. That is, for nearly any scene you are in, click for it and the encyclopedia will pop up, often with four or five entries explaining different aspects of the scenario. Also, all the entries can be accessed through a regular index.

Oh, and don't panic if you think you did something wrong and get killed. You WILL die many many times! And visit all the Buddhist Hells along the way -- inhabited by hungry animals, hungry ghosts, demons, etc.

All in all, not a game for everyone, but quirky and distinctive enough to leave a lot of you with a smile and a good feeling. Just remember -- Namu Amida Butsu!

I am so psyched to find HOTU back in action, and this game available! Congrats, HOTU, on an amazing comeback. just found you returned two days ago. Now, Amber. I played this game first when it was new, or just past new -- I think I got it off the closeout rack at OfficeMax. Loved it! Looking forward to playing it through again. Not sure how much I do or do not remember, but I will say it a very creepy and atmospheric game -- play it at night, with the lights low! It is not so much 'scary' outright but very poignant and (appropriately) haunting. (Although talking clown puppets are usually good for a good chill, aren't they?) The overall feel of the game is more grief than horror. A few very visual moments stand out in the search to discover the history of death in this house -- (caution -- semi-spoiler) the scene of a child's sled, abandoned on a frozen pond . . . and a hole in the ice . . . speaks volumes and is more chilling than any supernatural event. So by all means, give this one a whirl, even, or especially, if this isn't the kind of game you usually like. It may surprise you, and if it is the kind of game you like, it will thrill you. And the price is right, too.