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Preview

Scratches

Developer:	Nucleosys
Publisher:	TBD
Genre:	Adventure
Release Date:	4th Qtr. 2005
Platform:

Preview by Randy Sluganski

July 12, 2005

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There was a time when, if I craved some chills on a Saturday evening, I needed go no further than my television for Chiller Theatre’s weekly ‘B’ movie horror fix. Those days are long gone and my horror cravings are now supplemented by horror adventure games. Seriously, there is nothing I would rather do late on a Saturday than become immersed in a spooky adventure game – just ask my poor affection-starved wife.

So imagine my delight when the fine people at the Argentinian-based Nucleosys sent me an exclusive demo of their upcoming scare-fest – Scratches. My appetite had already been whetted by a few short, but riveting, trailers and I’ve been hungry for more.

The game is still a few months from completion, but if this early demo is any indication, then Scratches will have many adventure gamers sitting pasty-faced and white knuckled at their keyboards until the wee hours of the morning. In fact, I’ll even state for the record that the independently developed Scratches is already more polished than many of the high-budget, big-name mystery adventure titles recently displayed at the E3. Much of this can, I’m sure, be attributed to a star-studded cast of independent developers who have lent their talents to the development of Scratches.

The demo begins as your car (a hideously ugly lime color!) enters through the gates of the Blackwood estate. You are best-selling novelist Michael Arthate and have recently purchased the Blackwood mansion, an imposing Victorian structure on the outskirts of Rothbury, a small rural town in Northumberland, England. It was here that former owner James T. Blackwood supposedly went mad and viciously murdered his wife, Catherine, before taking his own life. Michael hopes to not only solve the mystery behind the killings, but to also use the information to write another best-seller. He soon realizes though that there is something strange in the air, especially in the large basement beneath the house…

Scratches is a mouse-driven, first-person point-and-click adventure. It features 3D panoramic navigation that allows you to explore the surrounding environments in all directions very naturally and smoothly. Inventory items (very limited in the demo) can be accessed by pressing the right mouse button and then left-clicking on the desired object. The main objective of the demo is to provide a feel for the atmosphere of the mansion and it succeeds admirably.

Once inside the mansion, you are free to explore the rooms at leisure, well, at least after you answer that ringing phone! For the purposes of the demo, the developers have restricted access to many of the drawers and closets and the upstairs area. We are assured though that everything will be fully functional in the final version. In fact, besides the many nooks and crannies of the mansion, you will also be able to explore many places surrounding the mansion including a chapel, a greenhouse and a crypt.

What is most striking inside the mansion, is the slavish attention to even the most minute detail. I have to assume – after playing the Darkfall series – that this can be somewhat attributed to the influence of Jonathan Boakes. Dozens of paintings hang on the walls, all of which can be closely inspected. The grain pattern can be traced in a wood table, tin cans on a kitchen shelf show evidence of a spreading rust and the slightly faded and stained wallpaper is so realistic that you can almost feel its texture beneath your virtual fingertips. A frayed mattress, chipped paint on the walls, dead house plants – all combine to create the impression of a house that has been uninhabited for the past few decades.

As you explore the various rooms, it soon becomes obvious that the lights do not work - no surprise there! – and attempting to repair the fuse box is the only puzzle in this too short demo which ends once you open the door to the cellar.

What I find most amazing is that so much atmosphere and just a feeling of overall dread are conveyed through such a short demo. Part of this is due to some brief diary entries, but mostly it is because the development team seems to have an implicit understanding of what constitutes a creepy mansion without going overboard. Even the main character’s limited dialogue – without being overtly obvious - has a Lovecraftian feel.

If I have one complaint, it would be to have seen Michael’s face when he looks into a mirror. Yes, it troubles me that the mirror reflects the entire room but not the person who is looking into it, but such a petty grievance is the price you pay when you’ve already set your standards so high and obtained them (but then again, maybe the main character is a vampire and I’ve just unwittingly exposed the surprise ending!?).

I’ll not end this preview with a lame joke, like “If you’re itching for a good game, then Scratches it is,” as I’m don’t want to steal the magazine reviewers thunder. But I will tell you that if you are compiling a list of most anticipated adventure games and if Scratches is not near the top of that list, well then, I have to question your sanity.