I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream

[KillerJuan77]

After years of trying to find a copy I finally managed to get this rare and expensive game and well, I can't describe how amazing this is even with it's flaws.

The game is an adventure based on a post apocalyptic short story by Harlan Ellison (A Boy And His Dog) in which a supercomputer called AM literally becomes a demi-god and destroys mankind with the exception of a group of 5 people that he wants to use to torture them forever (AM made them immortal) and you play as those 5 people in some twisted, sordid scenarios that simbolize their flaws. Sounds depressing? It is much more than depressing, it's also terrifying but at the same time it's one of the first games to use a "morale" system which means that depending on your actions you'll get a different ending.

The game is controlled using a point and click interface along with many on-screen commands (Speak, give, use, swallow, etc.) and it's incredibly easy to control, the problem comes with the game's difficulty level, it's incredibly hard and some puzzles are pretty obtuse. The morale system is also fairly flawed and confusing but you'll easily forget those flaws due to something: The Story.

Each character is truly unique and all of them have traumas, fears, memories, etc. that AM uses to torture them physically and mentally and each scenario involves puzzles and riddles that you must solve in order to overcome your fears and that alone makes it much more than just another point and click game. The atmosphere is incredibly bleak and disturbing so that alone might turn off a few players.

The game looks fantastic even with some clunky animations, the scenery is absolutely gorgeous and it's incredibly detailed, the character models are pretty good too and the cutscenes still hold up. It's an incredibly believable post-apocalyptic world and it's obvious that Cyberdreams did their best to make it look perfect.

The sound is amazing too, the characters have fantastic voice acting, the music is excellent and Harlan Ellison voices AM perfectly, even if it's a bit enthusiastic.

You can play through the game in 6-10 hours but there are 4 different endings so there is definetely a large ammount of replay value.

Overall, if you like games that ask you to make decisions, old adventure games, sci-fi or horror this is a must buy and it's definetely worth your cash.

[BRIK]

Sounds really cool Is it on DOS?

[fvgazi]

This sounds like a precursor to Beautiful Escape: Dungeoneer. JT posted it in the free PC games thread.

The screenshots look really cool!

[KillerJuan77]

Sounds really cool Is it on DOS?

Yes, setting it up wasn't that hard TBH.

[Hatta]

It is supported by ScummVM, so you can play it anywhere.

[BoringSupreez]

Is there anywhere like GOG that sells this game as a download? The retail version is rather expensive these days.

[pakopako]

It is supported by ScummVM, so you can play it anywhere.

I thought ScummVM only worked for LucasArts games?

[winds]

Never heard of this game but im instantly intrigued by that synposis you gave of the plot. Sounds awesome! Gotta track this one down sometime and give it a try.

[Hatta]

I thought ScummVM only worked for LucasArts games?

ScummVM originally started with LucasArts games, but they've added more engines over the years. The last major update even included SCI support for Sierra games. There's not much that won't run on ScummVM these days (Gabriel Knight is a notable absence). Now that AGS is open source it can be integrated into ScummVM too, at which point it will be just about perfect.

[chupon]

Good review. There's another great review with lots of images of this game over at HG101. I'll try and link later. Anyone interested should also read what they have to say.