Lighthouse/Shivers/Rama/Phantas (Sierra's mid '90s adventure games)

[Sir Perceval of Daventry]

So, a question for you all:
How do you feel about Lighthouse (1996), Shivers (1995), Shivers II (1997) Phantasmagoria (1995), Phantas II (1996)  and Rama (1996)?
These games were pretty much Sierra's original adventure series released in the mid '90s, so I figured I'd ask about them. 

I didn't include SQ6, KQ7 or GK2 because even though they were mid 90s Sierra adventure games, they were already parts of series established by the mid '90s.

[KatieHal]

I haven't played any of them directly, but I've watched LPs of the two Phantasmagoria games.

The second one is unintentionally hilarious, and I highly recommend Spoony's LP of that game to anyone and everyone

The first one was much better, but had a serious issue in the gameplay department. Adrienne did a whole lot of wandering around and looking mirrors...and very little else. She hardly ever picked things up, or commented on stuff, and just...well, if I had played it directly, I'd have been super frustrated. I think it was a great step forward in game design technically and the use of FMV was actually fairly good, but other game design areas just fell through.

[snabbott]

If that's the LP I'm thinking of, I definitely agree!
I thought Phantasmagoria was ok. I never played Lighthouse or Shivers(es). Rama was different, but I liked it. It inspired me to read the books - of course they were better, but that's pretty much always true.

[wilco64256]

Played all of them, enjoyed all of them.  Especially the Shivers games, those two were really fantastic IMO.

[Cez]

Phantasmagoria 1 is possibly one of my fav sierra adventures. Shivers I enjoyed a lot, and replayed it recently. Phantas 2 and shivers 2 I waited with a lot of anticipation and was dissapointed. Rama and lighthouse, had them both, don't remember finishing them. didn't care much for them in all honesty.

[dark-daventry]

I've never been one for horror, so I admit I've never played these games. There's a good chance I won't either.

[kindofdoon]

I've never been one for horror, so I admit I've never played these games. There's a good chance I won't either.

This. I hate both horror and FMV.

[rudy]

I like them all (no surprise there) but prefer some over others. Personal preference I guess.

Though Phantasmagoria I is legendary, I prefer Puzzle of Flesh. Phantasmagoria's most important characteristic is the gore and, with all due respect to Roberta, when it comes to gore, Lorelei Shannon simply rules with Phantasmagoria II (which was banned in some countries and had scenes cut in other countries' releases). The Phantasmagoria games do not exactly excel story-wise. It's fairly straightforward, no hard puzzles and predictable early in the game. But if you want to watch people chewing on eye balls, get electrocuted in their own blood, get decapitated with a giant axe and such, then Phantasmagoria 1 and 2 are your thing .

The Shivers games are more puzzle games than adventure games, not so much as, say, the Dr. Brain series though. They do have a story which also leans towards horror. The first is about a mysterious museum in which Ixupi (spirits which suck life essence out of human beings) are roaming around. The task is to capture the Ixupi while exploring the creepy museum. The second is about an isolated village in the desert where an Indian curse makes people disappear. The thing is that for each place you explore, you have to solve all kinds of board puzzles to proceed. Personal preference, Shivers 1.

Rama and Lighthouse, though 2 separate games by different developers (Dynamix and Sierra), are kind of similar puzzle-wise. These games are HARD, because the puzzles are highly sophisticated and not very logical, stuffed with items and machinery you've never seen before, let alone know what they are for. Recommended for the experienced adventurer who doesn't mind spending days trying out all sorts of stuff with lots of trial and error. Awesome graphics for its time though.

[wilco64256]

I think I may have actually bought a couple of these games from Rudy's recent sale 

[dark-daventry]

I don't mind FMV games, but I feel they existed before their time; with all the HD video going around now a days, FMV could have a new lease on life. I believe that if developers had spent more time refining FMV that it could become a very mind-blowing graphical experience, yet require minimal system requirements. Myst IV: Revelation is an example of how amazing FMV can look in a more "modern" time. It's far from perfect, but in terms of all the myst games, I believe Revelation has the best graphics because the FMV was refined so well. Maybe that's just me though.

I'm going to at least watch LP's of these games though; I started watching Spoony's, but class beckoned, which interrupted my viewing.

[snabbott]

Stupid real life - always interfering with gaming!

[dark-daventry]

Stupid real life - always interfering with gaming!

I know! How rude! You'd think life would be more considerate.

[wilco64256]

Heh or in my situation where gaming is taking over my life completely at the moment

[dark-daventry]

Heh or in my situation where gaming is taking over my life completely at the moment

Hey, there's nothing wrong with gaming taking over your life. It happens to me a lot. I'm just trying to focus more on my life right now. As much as I *really* want to play Gabriel Knight, I just can't afford to have my education take a hit right now. That being said, I've made some improvements in the past few weeks in my education; I'm on my way to doing better.

[rudy]

I think I may have actually bought a couple of these games from Rudy's recent sale  

The sale is still open for a few days, then I'm putting the remaining ones on eBay. Phantasmagoria I and II are both still available (twice each), as well as a copy of Lighthouse, and about 100 other games.

Did you receive yours yet, Wilco?

[wilco64256]

I haven't yet, but I'm not particularly concerned as they are coming a pretty solid distance and I've been pretty busy so I wouldn't have had time to play them yet anyway.