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D
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Review by Ugur Sener
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Released in 1996 [the Japanese version was released in December of 1995 –
Randy], Acclaim’s horror adventure D is set in Los Angeles. There has been
a mass murder at a hospital and the renowned doctor Richter Harris is
responsible. Richter is apparently still in the hospital with a large
number of hostages and the police can’t get to him. Upon hearing the news,
his daughter Laura immediately drives to the crime scene and marches right
into the hospital the police are incapable of entering. Once inside, she
encounters a strange substance that transfers her to a world born of her
father’s imagination. Alone in what appears to be a large house full of
deadly traps and mutilated corpses, it is up to Laura to solve the mystery
and discover what has driven her father to commit such horrible crimes.
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In the role of Laura, players explore the strange house solving various
puzzles along the way. The plot unravels as Richter communicates with
Laura at various points in the game and as Laura has flashbacks when she
finds glowing bugs around the house. At the climax of the game, Laura
confronts her father and players find out why the game is called “D”.
Unfortunately, there is not much to the mystery, making the story easily
forgettable. What lacks in story depth is, however, made up for by the
atmosphere of the game. D is dark and scary with its detailed if not
particularly gory environments. The game also succeeds in creating a sense
of tension, giving the players the feeling that something big is about to
happen at any moment.
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The graphics are very good considering the age of the game. Players
experience D from a first person view. The arrow keys are used for
movement and the inventory is accessed with the ‘I’ key. The space bar
handles actions like picking up and using inventory items. Laura’s
movements are smooth, even though she is rather slow. Especially when
Laura is going up the stairs or leaning towards an object of interest, it
becomes obvious how much effort was put in making the camera movement
realistic. However, Laura’s character animation could have been handled a
lot better during the video sequences. Her face hardly conveys any emotion
even when she is in mortal danger, while her movements seem sharp and
forced.
The sound effects and the music are excellent in setting the game’s dark
mood. The sounds are very realistic with an eeriness that adds much to the
game’s atmosphere. The music, performed by an orchestra, is chilling and
very successfully reflects the mood of the game. The voice acting on the
other hand, is way below average. Granted the only person who talks in the
game is Laura’s father, but I found myself barely able to tolerate his
voice when I played through the game a second time. |
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What makes D a failure and the reason it is on Just Adventure’s list of
“turkeys” is exactly what is supposed to make it stand out. From the
moment the game starts, players have exactly two hours to complete the
game and there is no save function. While this seems to be a nice touch at
first, what it really means is that the game is very short. The puzzles,
although entertaining for the most part, will not be challenging for
experienced adventure gamers, especially since Laura is confined to a
relatively small portion of the house at any point in the game with a
limited number of things to examine. She is even equipped with a mirror
that can be used to get hints about the current puzzle three times before
it shatters.
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Furthermore, since some puzzles only exist to provide hints
about other puzzles, it is possible to get through the game without
solving all of them. In fact, the first time I played the game, I solved
one of the major puzzles accidentally while experimenting to see how it
worked, before solving the two puzzles that lead to the clues that were
supposed to help me with it. I completed the game successfully on my first
attempt and when I played it again to see the alternate ending, I was able
to get through it within half an hour. Although the multiple endings do
add some replay value, I highly doubt that such a short game with a thin
story will leave very many players satisfied. I can only recommend D to
those adventure gamers looking for an easy horror game.
The final grade is 70/100.
Developer: Warp/Rozner Labs Inc.
Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: March 1996
Platform: PC,DOS,Sega Saturn
System Requirements:
Win 95/DOS
486DX2/66MHz
8MB RAM
4 MB free hard disk space
2x CD-ROM
DOS 5.0
1MB VESA Compatible SVGA video card
Sound Blaster & 100% Compatible
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| *This article originally appeared on Just Adventure. |
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