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PENUMBRA: OVERTURE REVIEW Posted by jayk on Jun 29, 2009 23:25 (Jun 29, 2009 23:25) |
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Enemies in the game are extremely powerful and can kill within a few seconds. Luckily, combat can be avoided almost altogether through stealth. Enemies are attracted to your flashlight or glow stick, however, crouching will increase your vision and when completely still, your vision dramatically increases. If Philip stands to close to enemies thou he will start to panic and his vision will begin to blur and shake. While enemies are powerful and deadly, if you jump on one of the many crates or barrels scattered throughout the mine, enemies cannot harm you. Halfway through the game, I found myself jumping on a crate, taking out my pick axe, and hitting my attackers until dead, and then proceeding through the area without caution. When enemies see you, they’ll chase, but the AI soon gives up, allowing for an easy escape. It really takes away from the whole, “I’m in peril” vibe when enemies start running away from you.
Graphically, Overture isn’t the best looking game on the PC, but it’s not the worst either. Everything is the same shade of grey and has a grainy look to it, yet this works to some extent with the dark areas. The game impresses upon you the age of the mine by detailing objects in rust, dated documents and old news papers. Being in a dark and dreary mine adds the feeling of claustrophobic tension as most of the environments are pitch black-luckily you have access to flares, a flashlight; and a glow stick to help you navigate the dark mine. The flash light is good for seeing long distances but it runs on batteries that need replacing after continuous use. Flares are a good source of light that you can throw bout don’t really illuminate that much and they have limited amount of light. The glow stick never goes out but gives you a short range of view and is mostly used when in tight spaces like air ducts or tunnels. Making the player decided which light source to use in which situation gives the game a survival element.
The game runs perfectly; even on my somewhat dated PC I was able to max out all the settings and the only slow down was momentarily when I destroyed a wall in the game. The controls, with the exception of combat, are great. I really appreciated the option of leaning around corners with either Q or E, as an aid when scoping out enemies. It took me about eight hours to complete Penumbra: Overture, making the game a little on the short side but at around $10 it’s long enough for its budget price. The player’s interest in Philip’s quest and the challenge of piecing together the mysteries surrounding the Shelter, will determine whether they enjoy the ending and have a compelling reason to purchase the next installment in the series.
While the combat is nothing short of terrible and the game is on the short side, Penumbra: Overture utilizes its physics system for puzzle-solving intelligently, while implementing a unique blend of tension and horror that really sets the standard for horror-themed adventure titles.
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