Tuesday, 27 June 2023

Dracula Unleashed - Missed Scenes, Cut Content, and Final Rating

Written by Joe Pranevich

We made it to the end of Dracula Unleashed! Usually, these final posts are about rating the game and moving on. I am eager to move on (and have already started Plundered Hearts), but I cannot give a complete rating of the game without first looking at the scenes and endings that I missed. There were not that many of them, but I would hate to rate the game without the full picture. 

Dracula Unleashed is also the rare example of a non-Infocom game where we can discuss some of the discarded material, thanks both to the extras on the DVD edition as well as the information supplied in the hint book. None of the cut material will be considered for the rating, but I enjoyed working through the sources to see what might have been.

Dracula may rule the night, but he’s never faced a PISSED rating before. Let’s see how he does!

Saturday, 10 June 2023

Blue Force – Final Rating

by Alex
I am a slow writer. S-l-o-w. For a playthrough that began on October 25, 2022, I’m just getting to the Final Rating. I am as slow as Jake Ryan walking across Carter’s Marina for the 9,473rd time and there’s no way to adjust the speed, both in-game and in real-life. Yes, I’m that slow.

Now that you’ve accepted my apology, let’s get to the PISSED rating for Blue Force.

Thursday, 8 June 2023

Homeworld - Ghost in the Machine

Written by Reiko


We've just been collected by a huge alien artifact as we attempt to fulfill our diplomatic mission. No way out at this point except to explore the artifact and try to figure out its purpose. But before that, I can gather some supplies from the ship.
We're well-stocked on medical supplies.

Sunday, 4 June 2023

Dracula Unleashed - Won!

Written by Joe Pranevich

Welcome back to this somewhat delayed finale of Dracula Unleashed. I won! I actually won some time ago, began drafting this post, became bogged down because the post became too long, and then was swamped by real life events including a bout with COVID that left me exhausted for weeks. Most veteran writers here can attest that you must get your thoughts down quickly before everything slips away and I had long since passed that point. Too many things conspired together to make it difficult for me to get to the finish line and wrap this up for you. I am sorry. 

The good news is that we’ve made it to the end! Last time out, Alexander fell asleep while guarding Juliet and Anisette. Dracula chose that moment to attack, killing Juliet and leaving Anisette with a gaping neck wound and an immediate need for a blood transfusion. Professor van Helsing chased us out of the apartment while he and Dr. Seward raced to save her life. As I was uncertain if this was a plot death or due to my mistakes, I played the third day’s events over and over again to try to save her. That failed. I am starting this post on the morning of the fourth day: It’s December 31 and we’re only a few hours from the scene in the introduction when Alexander will sit in a graveyard pondering his Bowie knife. Soon, we will have to find a way to bring an end to Dracula’s curse.

What should we do first on such an auspicious day? Buy a newspaper. Read on for more. 

Friday, 19 May 2023

BloodNet – Grant's Tomb

Written by Will Moczarski



Finally I did it. I survived the fixed encounter in Grant’s Tomb and am free to explore the colourful world of BloodNet once more. Because it took me about 6.5 hours of pure game time (not counting thinking up new tactics, buying new weapons, recruiting new party members and generally bumbling about to find out if it's possible to skip the encounter altogether) just to win this one encounter you might rightfully say I’m pretty bad at RPGs. Still the spike in difficulty was unprecedented and quite surprising. None of the combat in the game up to this point had even been challenging. It just didn’t seem to matter where I placed my guys and which weapons I used as long as I used the expensive ones. Also, I had very good armour going into Grant’s Tomb, a rested party of six, freshly bonded and blessed soul blades, and some of the best recruits you can add to your party altogether.