jadu2011
Since: Nov, 2011
07/11/2013 00:00:00
I played the game myself, and the enemy music will not go away until you look to see if the coast is clear. If you do sit in a corner like a coward, then be prepared to sit for an unnecessary 2:00 minutes for the track to give out. And as for the story, the ending is the best part. You get a comforting (creepy looking)companion, the villain becomes more sympathetic, and the protagonist turns out to have blood on his hands. The only stupid thing about the story is the premise itself. I mean, why go through the trouble of handing all the problems to your future-clueless-self? Why not use that time to collect the orbs and snap Alexander's neck. Speaking of which, why was the final piece of diary inside the inner sanctum?
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Not Perfect, but Absolutely Terrifying Regardless
Let me start by saying this: I did not play this game as recommended. I lack a good headset. Playing during the night only was too impractical for me. Perhaps the biggest strike against me, though, is that I never expected to get the game myself, and so watched a Let's Play of it a few months before I got it. But, to tell you the truth, I might not have been able to get through it if I had.
You've probably heard this before, but this game is terrifying. It knows what you are scared of and exploits it with sadistic beauty. The atmosphere is one of the best parts of the game; every corner feels like there's something around it, every room feels like there's something in it. However, unlike quite a few other horror games/films/etc, there is a notable absence of jump scares, and I applaud this, since it really contributes to the scare factor when monsters don't leap out at you and roar in your face every second. Another thing the monsters won't do is ambush you at every corner. Part of the scare factor is that you can't predict (well, most of the time) when they will show up and so, are constantly looking out for them.
Another great thing about this is the gameplay, which, while pretty basic, still does a good job of fitting into the game's genre and mood. Many times during a chase, you'll have to choose between two things that could either save you or kill you, such as pulling out your lantern to protect your sanity (which, when it gets too low, makes you easier to see) or keeping it off to avoid being seen. Also, the game encourages exploration, which, while you're in a dark, monster-infested prison cell, is quite nerve racking, but still worth the scares for the extra items.
This is not to say that Amnesia is a perfect game, there are flaws to it. For example, one can predict many attacks using a simple process: 1) Am I in a room? 2) Was there a puzzle in the room? 3) Did I complete the puzzle? If the answer is yes to all three, you can expect the monster to knock on the door. Besides this, the monsters have a habit of playing their theme music when they attack, which is enough to tell whether or not they've left the room, the story is predictable, and the latter parts can fall a bit flat.
But there are so many things that the game does right that Amnesia remains a masterpiece. If you have a firm stomach, definitely check it out.