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A great introduction to the survival-horror genre

Well, right off the bat, this was the absolute first survival-horror RPG I've played. The scariest villains in the other RPGs I've played were diabolical in-laws (a la Befuddle Quest) or the stereotypical Evil Overlord/Queen/Witch/Wizard/Vampire/etc. Obviously, those games were quite a different cuppa tea than Backstage.

So, how scary is scary? Hrrrm. Okay, I typically play games with the sound off because my speakers suck. I turned the music on for about ten seconds during the piano sequence (by the way, I never did figure out what the piano was for) and I turned it off almost immediately because a) I am a wuss and b) crappy speakers=a lot of static. So I can't really say much about the sound. But I think the graphics did a decent job of setting the mood. While the monsters were not actually that scary, I think the heads on the stakes (and the poor chaps in the guillotine!) kind of did it for me.

Okeydokey. I think the best part about Backstage was the plot and the story. Whoot! It's a case of what you see is never what you get: Tom Keller is supposedly the ordinary guy who's a tad pissed off at his wife (soon to be ex-wife), but then he is catapulted Alice-in-Wonderland-style through the looking glass into a nightmarish world. Is this world real or is it something that Tom's messed-up brain conjured up? The jury's still out on this one. But you can't blame poor Tom; as his story unfolds, you can't help but emphasize with the poor guy as he discovers (or rediscovers) just how messed up he is.

The supporting characters: Detective Wilks played like a brief but disturbing interlude; Alice is troubled yet oddly needy, an essential part but unwanted part of Tom's past. They are both very intriguing and also rather creepy, and what they are is never explained to you up front: you'll have to find it out for yourself.

And Mask. Ah. His graphic looks kind of like a vampire. Just thought I'd mention it. However, he is in fact NOT a vampire (at least not in the Dracula sense of the word), he is a scary-ass guy who leaves me scratching my head at the end of the game. Like the world of the Backstage, it's never made absolutely clear whether or not he actually physically exists on this corporal plane. (Or if it IS explained, it flew right over my pointy little head.) But real or not, he is...disturbing. Eeep.

Gameplay. The game can be divided into two essential halves, and I think Act II was actually a whole lot easier than Act I. But that's just me. I think Act I was actually a bit more frightening though, because it took place in an everyday, ordinary hotel building (as opposed to Act II, which takes place somewhere else). It's always more chilling to see everyday things turning against you.

The puzzles themselves are not too difficult; it's just a matter of keen observation and matching locks to keys. There are quite a few keys, but nothing too difficult. As for the monsters, kill when you can, run when you can't, and SAVE SAVE SAVE whenever you can. You won't regret it, trust me. Oh, while I would NOT suggest (as Max does somewhere) playing in a dark room with the speakers on high, it's a good idea to turn the screen brightness up so you can see the darker rooms and avoid them nasty traps.

So, to sum up. This is a snazzy game and quite chilling. Admittedly, I am a self-proclaimed coward, but I enjoyed this game a whole lot nonetheless and got plenty of good shivers from it. Me like. :-) Classic status? Well, I haven't actually played enough games to be a judge about anything, but it's certainly a brilliant intro to the survival-horror genre of RPGs. Now off to stare at The Longing Ribbon and wonder if I have the guts to play it...

(One last thing: 'weird' is spelled w-e-i-r-d. Not w-i-e-r-d. Sorry. That bugged me a lot.)

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Max McGee
with sorrow down past the fence
9159
You have no idea how embarrassed I was when I realized I'd made that mistake when submitting to "Wierd" Tales magazine. : (

Thank you for the review! : )
oh and I found out that 'amanuensis' is actually a real word. huh. who knew?
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