Lighthouse
Sold Out		(Win95/Win3.1) (Retail Box) (004589)

Sierra

Ratings:

B+ from Just Adventure

7 out of 10 from Computer Player

The Dark Being

Outwit Evil in a Supernatural Mechanical World

Pass through a shimmering portal into a world teeming with invention, discovery...and evil. An exotic parallel universe is terrorized by a dark beiing. Alien technology, unearthly treachery, and brain-twisting danger skulk around every craggy cliff and corner. You are summoned on a rescue mission; lives and worlds hang in the balance. Do you have the courage to leave yoru world and enter the unknown?

You are the beacon of hope in a strange and desolate world

Fascinating characters provide clues to solve a mystery

You alone must learn the lessons of technology gone mad

Complex mechanical devices transport you into an alternate world

Fathom elaborate puzzles to aid in your search

Lighthouse creator Jon Bock invites you to journey to a hand-crafted world of exotic architecture, inventions and characters. Drawn with brilliant precision and tinged with ageless folktale imagery, Lighthouse is a visual and literal masterpiece that pulls you into its beckoning beam of hope.

Requirements:

486DX66, 12MB RAM Win95, 8MB RAM for Win3.1 and Dos 5.0+, SVGA 640x480x256C, mouse, 2x CD-ROM drive, Win compatible sound card w/DAC for Windows or Sound Blaster & 100% compatible or Pro Audio for DOS, 20MB freed hard drive space required.

Preferred: Pentium or higher, 16-bit sound card, 4x CD-ROM drive, 16MB RAM.

Note: Sierra decided not to mark the packages or CDs but we think we only have version 2 CDs in stock. The README file on the CD will tell you. Worst case, an upgrade patch from all earlier versions to version 2 is available for download on the Sierra web site.

Reviews:

Just Adventure by Stuart Yoder

"Is it a fantasy adventure? Is it a sci-fi adventure? Is it a puzzle adventure? Ever get into one of those debates? What category does Lighthouse fit in? Fantasy? Sci-Fi? Puzzle? I would say all three. But, more importantly, it's a great adventure. Read on and find out why."

"The graphics are excellent. One of the reasons I like Sierra games is because I can always count on the game to have clear, colorful, well-done graphics. Lighthouse is no exception. This game is a visual masterpiece that pulls you into the story."

"Sierra must have gotten a lot of response about the difficulty of some of the puzzles because they produced an enhanced version of the game: Version 2.0, which enhances the gameplay. If you buy the game, make sure you get Version 2.0. There will be an emblem on the front of the box indicating that it is Version 2.0. This is very important! Trust me on this one. I played the original version and the enhanced version, and it is a world of difference. Kudos to Sierra for producing version 2.0. The puzzles in Version 1.0 get a C and the puzzles in Version 2.0 get a B."

Computer Player, December 1996

"One of Lighthouse's strengths is well-crafted storyline. As in Myst, journal entries and notes provide intriguing hints about event that have occurred before the start of the game. You gradually piece things together as you solve puzzles and travel through the gameworld. This journey will take you to unusual and varied locales that range from a lost culture's temple to a sunken battleship to the Dark Domain, home of the Dark Being. Much of the ethereal scenery in the parallel universe reminded me of Myst, Zork Nemesis and other games in the same vein. From the stately stone structures to the dark, imposing passageways, all the signature elements are there."

"In spite of the resemblance, Lighthouse has some unique touches. In the parallel universe, you encounter mechanical devices that look and move like animals. For instance, you pilot a submarine with fishlike fins and a tail and face a metallic birdman with visible bolts and hinges. The best way I can describe these clever creations is to say they're a cross between Leonardo Da Vinci's renderings of his ideas for inventions and the creatures in Tim Burton films. The sound effects are similarly well-done. Noises like the creaking of the birdman's hinges and his angered shrieks make the game environment sound as intriguing as it looks."

"Lighthouse's main fault is that many of its puzzles are excessively difficult. To operate the submarine, for example, you must manipulate numerous unlabeled controls in different parts of the ship. If you don't set all the controls correctly and throw all the necessary levers, you won't be able to get where you need to go. Also, you must return to some of these complex, mechanical puzzles and redo them later in the game, and this becomes tedious. The point-and -click interface is no better or worse than that of the average adventure game, but I did appreciate being able to view my entire inventory simultaneously."

Quandary Computer Game Reviews by Rosemary Young (Novermber 1996)

"The game opens with you in your study and, much to my chagrin, the first obvious thing to do is to check out the phone. Well I suppose it's fortunate that the writer's didn't dispense with this aggravating piece of technology because your telephone messages set you off on this first person perspective adventure that is very reminiscent of Myst with its eerie atmosphere and the emphasis on mechanical-type puzzles. If anything, Lighthouse is more 'mechanical' and the problems posed are not so much 'myst-like' as 'fog-like'."

"In short this is a game that is best suited to people who like mechanical puzzles and have some mechanical know-how, although this is not to say that mechanical inepts like myself won't enjoy it -- but maybe not quite as much. For instance, though I found many of the problems interesting and even 'solved' them after a few 'colourful' words, sometimes I was doing things I didn't fully understand."

"So, did I enjoy this game? Well yes and no. I loved the environment, the story and the puzzle box, and didn't mind the mechanical problems as my ineptitude made them even more of a challenge, and this I appreciated. All in all, I had a couple of frustrating moments when the device I was using didn't do what I thought it should be doing but, I have to say I also had a couple of nightmares as well..."

Copyright © 1993-2001 CDAccess.com, Inc.
Questions: info@cdaccess.com