Delightfully clumsy but satisfying action adventure!
Ecstatica's player character is made of bits and pieces that will remind you of the clumsiness of Virtua Fighter but here the clumsiness is taken a step forward, big time! This is an adventure in a blocky 3D world, with fixed camera angles and with a nice, setting, at first. Later on, when you go deeper into exploring the world the game puts at your disposal, the scenery morphs following the darker theme of the story, but at any rate, as I said, there is something weirdly cartoonish about this game, something that, at least for me, worked as a propellant to see what was next, what the developers have come up with! Do you remember that old joke that games didn't need horses? Give them double speed boots, but keep horse riding out?! Well, this game made use of 3D horses and riding in 94, so that's a feat in itself. Other than that, well, the game will have to work on your sense of child like wonder, otherwise it's not much of an experience, if you're just looking at it dispassionately, coldly! Well, for a similar type of deal, graphically, but a more mature story see any of the Alone in the Dark titles, as these use the same fixed camera 3D perspective. Or go for Silent Hill 4: The Room, a dark, twisted survival adventure with horror elements to remember, which will please a more seasoned gamer who can't really sink into a childlike story.
