Prisoner of Ice
HP Lovecraft inspired; pretty well done
This is an adventure game, inspired by a short story of HP Lovecraft, and one in which you are an American agent, to be found on board a submersible, H.M.S. Victoria, which is going for a rescue mission in the Arctic. There, the sub has to take two crates inside. Not a lot of time passes until the sub is mysteriously the scene of a gruesome murder; thus, you have to turn yourself into an investigator, and maybe avoid his faith. As with Lovecraft's stories, of course there is a monster at the board of the sub, and you're going to find the game to be pretty much filled with that murky horror kind of vibe, where you have to survive, but also find out what has happened. In terms of graphics, Prisoner of Ice is a classic point and click ,with a cool retro theme; as such the entire game is pretty fascinating to sink into, which is pretty fascinating and sweet. So, all in all, for a pretty scary title, it also has enough oomph, story and puzzles wise to keep you playing for hours. So, certainly, worth looking into. Similarly, download Sanitarium, which is both darker and more psychedelic, and still a very satisfying game.
Cheesy but enjoyable horror adventure
Prisoner of Ice is an indirect sequel to Shadow of the Comet that takes the horror themes of H.P. Lovecraft and marries them to a point-and-click adventure that offers a good mix of solid puzzles and an interesting, if somewhat cheesy, plot. If you haven't played the first game, then you would be advised to start there, but for those who have completed it, this makes for an entertaining follow-up. The plot sees a young intelligence officer assigned to a British submarine to rescue an important scientist from the Nazis, but as this is based on the works of Lovecraft, it's not long before weirdness and horror are unleashed. Gameplay takes a fairly traditional approach to adventuring, with an intuitive interface that makes examining objects and interacting with them extremely easy. Puzzles are usually fairly logical, without any major head scratching required but old hands at this kind of game may find them on the easy side. Visually, the game is sound rather than spectacular, and although the Antarctic setting is well used, there is a distinct lack of true dread and terror in the atmosphere that would have made Prisoner of Ice much more memorable. That's not to say it is a bad game, and indeed there is a lot to be enjoyed here if you are in the mood for an over-the-top, sci-fi/horror-tinged romp in the vein of Alone in the Dark.
