Penumbra: Overture Review (Its a Review with Spoilers)

[Dr.Rumstain]

Well hello there guys, gals.......and you, I got bored so I decided to review something. The last review I made was a while back so, yeah. Remember, MY OPINION may or may not be the same as yours, so if you do not like this review, get off of the computer, step outside of your cave, take a deep breath, and find the nearest person that actually cares. LET US BEGIN!

Story: 9.3 out of 10
Out of all the Penumbra games, this one had the best story (MY OPINION) and through out the game there is a sense of mystery and isolation, although it does it well although it was not used as well as it was in Silent Hill 1 and 2 or System Shock 2, also at times the story kinda felt flat (Here come the spoilers!)

Set in the year 2000, Penumbra: Overture follows the story of Philip, a thirty-year-old physicist whose mother has recently died. After receiving a mysterious letter from his supposedly dead father, Philip follows a series of clues that lead to him to a mysterious location in uninhabited northern Greenland. The harsh cold forces him to take shelter in an abandoned mine. Unfortunately, the mine's entrance collapses as he enters it, and he is forced to move deeper inside. Within the mine, Philip discovers diary extracts written by a scientist of some sort, who was alone and gradually resorted to eating cave-dwelling spiders as an alternative food source as his supplies diminished. The unknown person also describes discovering a psychoactive toxin in the spiders and deduced that, after eight months of consuming them in the mine, it was beginning to have an effect on him, physically. Philip also begins receiving radio messages from Tom "Red" Redwood, a man driven insane by cabin fever. Red promises that if he is found, he will give Philip answers. The game follows Philip as he descends deeper into the mines in search of Red while unraveling the secrets of the mine's previous and current inhabitants.

Philip quickly discovers that the mine is inhabited by an ecosystem of abnormally large and hostile animals: dogs, giant spiders, and gargantuan earthworms among others. Abandoned outposts and various scattered papers found throughout the mine indicate that a secret society is studying some unusual phenomena inside the mines.

Following clues and solving various puzzles, Philip eventually comes to an area deep within the mine where Red is waiting for him. Red waits inside an incinerator where he begs Philip to kill him. With no other option, Philip activates the incinerator and amongst Red's remains, he finds items he needs to progress into a new area of the mine which is identified as "The Shelter". Once inside, Philip notices what appears to be a human watching him. Philip approaches the figure, but the lighting is suddenly extinguished and Philip is knocked out and dragged away. Taken from the Penumbra Wiki.

Game-play 7.4 out of 10
Penumbra: Overture is a Adventure Game with a survival horror twist, the game-play is solid having lots of physics puzzles to keep you occupied, speaking about game-play, let us talk about the enemies. There are only three types, Dogs, Spiders, and a Giant Worm, and many people complain "TEHY AINT SCAREH, TEHY IZ JUS DUGZ" let me remind you, this is an Adventure game with SOME survival horror elements, Its not a survival horror game with adventure elements (unlike Black Plague, the sequel.) The AI is rather dumb and the combat does not help either. Although I actually believe fighting back AT TIMES makes more sense than running away ALL THE TIME but it still felt like it was added at the last minuet. There also some bugs like a falling shelf gets its corner caught on a small box and gets stuck.

Graphics 8.5 out of 10
For an indie game made by a few guys, this is really good and makes the setting look alive (or dead in this case.) Although I admire what Frictional Games did with the game, there are somethings that annoy me, like at one point you go over a frozen lake, and when the ice cracks, you can see some fish in the water, but they don't move.......at all. I mean, it kinda detracts from the games feel, and there are other things that I didn't like but I'm not going into it.

Overall 8.9 out of 10
This is a very good game, and it shows that Frictional Games are capable of make very good games, and the latter games are even better. Its not perfect (what game is) and many people will be put off by the game-play, but if you stick with it, it is one Hell of a ride. This is Dr.Rumstain signing off.

*Note: I recommend that you play this before the other Penumbra Games or even Amnesia because this does not seem as smoothed out if you know what I mean. The game-play wont seem as bad if you play this first.*