Wow, it's been nearly another year since my last posted. I haven’t completely neglected my adventure gaming, but I can’t lie, I haven’t been completely faithful to PC gaming. I must admit, I’ve dipped (OK, maybe more like done a full bore cannon ball splash) into the world of console gaming (I know, blasphemy!). A little bit of Rainbow Six Las Vegas 2, a dash of Grand Theft Auto IV, a smidgen of Halo 3.
But back to the main event. I’ve started playing The Lost Crown: A Ghost-Hunting Adventure by Jonathan Boakes. Boakes, creator of the creepy first-person Darkfall and Darkfall II: Lights Out games, is back to his favorite haunts with The Lost Crown. Only this time, he takes the third-person route.
I wondered if the change in point of view would ratchet down the creepiness. If you’re looking to be scared out of your wits, play the first Darkfall game in the dark with your headphones on. Moving through the various set pieces in first person with the various creaks, moans, groans, and various other ghostly noises whispering through your headphones is guaranteed to raise the hairs on the back of your neck. But the fantastic sound work in The Lost Crown does its job of transporting you to the fog-smothered coast of Saxton, England.
A lot of people have written about the terrible voice acting in The Lost Crown. And you know what? They’re not wrong. You play the game as Nigel Danvers, a man on the run after he’s seen too much at the company he works for, Hadden Industries. The intrepid Nigel Danvers not only looks like Boakes, he’s also voiced by the developer. While Boakes is a terrific game developer, he’s a less than stellar voice actor. This doesn’t matter as the game goes on, in my opinion, because you tend to put yourself in Danvers’ place and end up not paying too much attention to his voice.
I’m only on day two of the game. I’ll have to wait until the next bright, sunny day to finish playing – why yes, yes I am a scaredy cat.
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