Preface

Prisoner
of Ice is another good game from Infogrames and another
must have for Lovercraft fans. The sequel of the top Lovercraft game
Shadow
of the Comet might not be as atmospheric as its
predecessor, but it is still worth a shot.

Scenario

J.T. Parker was the main
character in Shadow of the Comet, and he
is still here, holding a terrible secret about the Prisoners of Ice.
We are now in 1937, 27 years after Shadow of the Comet.
Alien creatures (Prisoners of Ice) have been trapped in crates in
the submarine Victoria, and you, Lt Ryan of the Royal Navy must survive
the attack. Then you will have to travel to Argentina and find more
on these creatures, and much more.

The scenario is not as
overwhelming as in Shadow of the Comet,
but is good without any leaks.

Scenario grade: B-

Graphics

Comparing
this game with Shadow of the Comet, you
will see a major improvement in the graphics. You can either run the
game in 320×200, or 640×480 recommended). The animation is also very
good. Some pixel hunting seems to be always present in Infograme’s
games, but you will soon get used to it.

Graphics grade: A-

Sound

Sound is the top reason
why this game is really atmospheric. Plenty of scary and agony music
themes will keep you glued to the screen. Some older versions of the
game had a problem and kept crashing when sound is on; but do not
dare playing this game with sound off! You will lose some great themes
and effects which will create an atmosphere that isn’t easily
found in today’s games.

But the bad thing is really
the speech. There are funny and weird voices, not matching at all
with the game atmosphere. And frankly, even If I was the one talking,
I would sound better.

Sound grade: B+

Control

It should be noted here
that this game copies no files in your hard disk except the saves
and the configuration. I love such games!

Prisoner of
Ice is a mouse & click game. Click on somewhere
and you go there. Also, click on an object to operate it. On top of
the game screen is your inventory (which is seen only if you put the
mouse there), and you can combine an item with something in screen.

Screen hints are available,
i.e. the game tells you when there is something to click on as you
play with the mouse. This certainly makes the game easier, but watch
out because some items are very small and you cannot see them easily.

The ESC key drives you
to game’s control panel where you can save/load and configure
sound options. The game also provides automatic saves so, if you were
unlucky and you die, you might find a game saved just before you lost.

Note: Some versions crash
under DOS, especially when sound is on. Make sure that you play this
game under Windows XP & VDMSound.

Control grade: A-

Atmosphere

Prisoner
of Ice’s atmosphere is very good; however it is
not even a bit as overwhelming as in Shadow of the Comet.
In short, I would say that on each step you start with an enthusiastic
introduction, but the rest of the section is not as good. This game
gives you the feeling that you always run after somebody/something,
but there is not the sweet kind of mystery and Cthulhu horror that
Shadow of the Comet had.

Atmosphere grade: B+

Action

The game is divided in
a few parts parts, but unlike other games, you will never notice a
change in the day or night (strange eh?). First you have to save the
submarine from the Prisoner of Ice attack. Then you go to Falkland
Islands, in a Navy base, in which one of the officers is actually
a traitor, a real Prisoner of Ice and you must discover him. Then
you go to Argentina to learn more about the alien creatures and finally
, you are caught by the Nazis (which are also for some reason interested
in the Prisoners).

The major problem in the
action is that these parts are not logically connected. You will finally
not understand how, why, and when you ended up in Illsmouth and in
the famous Stone Circle to kill Narackamous. This is the major drawback
in this game; the action does not proceed smoothly.

You
will encounter a lot of characters from Shadow of the
Comet, like J.T. Parker and Narackamus. The finale of
the game is similar to Shadow of the Comet as
well.

Overall,
the game isn’t as hard as other Infogrames’ games, and its Action
is a bit short.

Action grade: B-

Riddles

The puzzles in the game
are inventory based, and are rather easy. Most of them involve a good
search in the screen to find and combine inventory items, and some
of the puzzles are time-limited. I would expect more imagination in
creating the puzzles from Infogrames.

One hint: Whenever you
discover a number/word that you might need it after (code, password
etc), write it down. You cannot see it later in the game and you do
not get it in your inventory.

Note
also that when you have to face a Prisoner of Ice, you must act really
quickly. Because game speed is a little high, you may need a few saving/restoring
in order first to find what you have to do, and then actually doing
it.

Riddles grade: B+

Overall

Prisoner of
Ice is a good game, like most of Infogrames’ productions.
A must have for Lovecraft fans, but do not expect the gripping experience
that Shadow of the Comet offers.

Final Grade: B

System Requirements:

• DOS, but plays under
  Windows box or Windows XP using VDMSound
• CD-ROM
• Soundblaster or adlib
  compatible sound card is required.