It took me a while to get to this famous thriller of a game because
I was, I admit, intimidated by the fact that I knew there was a lot of shooting
in it. However, after successfully blasting my way through several action/adventures,
I felt qualified to give Realms of the Haunting a shot.

The setup
of the plot is standard cheesy horror fare: your father has died; he’s left you
some mysterious artifacts and instructions to show up at a creepy old ruin of
a house. Yep, it sounds quite familiar, but no matter.

The format of the
game is DOS, first-person, with real-time rendering. Meaning, like in most action
games, you can explore absolutely every inch of the environment. As in Azrael’s
Tear, this freedom adds greatly to the enjoyment of the game. There are also
a lot of video cutscenes, many quite lengthy.

The opening of the
game is exceptionally creepy, and I recommend playing it late at night, with all
the lights off. You’re exploring a house you know damn well is haunted, and all
you have is a flashlight. It’s pretty hair-raising, even before the first specter
shows up to try to kill you.

You don’t have much to go on at first, but
that’s okay, not much of the house is open to you yet, either. In classic fashion,
you grasp for clues in your limited environment, and more and more of the story
develops as you open up more and more areas to explore.

Excuse Me, but
Wasn’t That the Lower Pit of Hell in That Hall Closet?

I thought at
first there would simply be a large house to explore, but was I ever wrong! The
house is just the tip of the iceberg. Before the game is over, you’ve pretty much
gone to hell and back, and it is quite a trip.

Through much of the game
you are accompanied by a mysterious young woman who helps you, particularly in
discussions about objects in the environment (she’s more versed in magic than
you are). This is an effective tool, but it’s got two problems. First, her comments
are often repetitive (I got awfully sick of her smug comment “Tallow, I believe,”
every time I touched a candle). Second, the woman playing the part is absolutely
awful. In fact, she’s so epically bad you find yourself wondering, “Whose
girlfriend at Interplay was this chick?” In a lesser game, she’s bad enough
to sink the entire proceedings.

But Realms of the Haunting is most
definitely not a lesser game. Unlike many “action/adventure”
games that are really just an action game with a key or two thrown in, ROTH
truly earns the title. Yes, there is a whole lot of combat. You have to fight
off all manner of demons, ghosts, assassins, evil bats, and other nasties. But
there is also a huge, rich storyline, and many puzzles to be solved.

Clear
Your Calendar and Fasten Your Seatbelts, It’s Going to Be a Bumpy Game

Told
in twenty chapters, this is one of the most generous games I’ve ever played.
It’s also compulsively playable, and I spend several very long nights unable to
tear myself away from the terror. This is not a game to start during a week in
which you have lots of important real-life things to accomplish. You’re likely
to leave the kid unpicked up at school, the soup burning on the stove, and the
cat unfed.

Some of the graphics in ROTH are standard, but many are
superb, especially considering they are not only DOS but real-time rendered as
well. There are some beautiful gardens, fountains, and palaces to explore, in
addition to all the dark, creepy dungeon-y environments.

The Mirror Has
Two Zombies

Here’s a detail I really appreciated. ROTH is the
first game I’ve ever played in which your character could approach a mirror and
actually be visible in it! This is especially impressive for real-time rendered
graphics. It’s one additional detail that reinforces the compelling “you
are there” feeling in this game.

I’m trying so hard to come up with
something negative to say about this game to balance out all this praise. The
inventory system is just a tad involved, requiring several clicks to accomplish
relatively simple goals. Plus, this is very definitely an action/adventure. If
you hate combat, this is not the game for you.

Happily, the game has both
adventure and arcade difficulty settings, which allows us non-action experts to
play the game on “easy”–and even that was plenty challenging, believe
me!

ROTH gets my “Whole Lotta Game” stamp of approval.
It’s a must-play for any adventure player who’d like to see what the best of action/adventure
has to offer. By the time you make it to this game’s apocalyptic conclusion, you
will be one exhausted and happy gamer.

Final Grade: A

If
you liked Realms of the Haunting:
Watch: Hell House
Read: Strange Eons by Robert Bloch
Play: Alone in
the Dark

System Requirements:
DOS based with Windows 95 support
IBM PC and 100% compatible computer

486DX2/66 or faster
MS-DOS 5.0 or greater
8 MB RAM minimum, 16 MB minimum
for Windows 95
Soundblaster (+Pro, 16, AWE32) and 100% compatible
1 meg
VGA/SVGA (VESA 1.2 compliant card necessary for high res)
100% Microsoft compatible
mouse