Sanitarium
Sold Out		(Win95/98/ME/XP) (Jewel Case) (SANITARPJ)

DreamForge Intertainment Inc. / ASC Games

Game

ESRB Rating: Teen (Ages 13+) - Animated violence, strong language

Ratings:

89% from PC Gamer

A from JustAdventure

Is This a Nightmare? Am I Insane?
Is This Reality? Maybe This Is Death

A journey through the depths of one man's consciousness to confront the demons from his past and escape the imprisonment of his mind.

Embark on this surreal journey through Sanitarium's nine episodes.

Uncover the mysteries behind a conspiracy of impending doom.

Interact with over 80 freakish denizens and bizarre environments.

Features:

• Non-tile based worlds with translucent fading create riveting visual realism.
• Photo realistic full screen cinematics.
• Eerie point sourced sound effects.
• Haunting digital soundtrack.

Requirements:

Windows 95/98/Me/XP, P90 (P133 recommended), 16MB RAM (32MB recommended), 4x CD-ROM drive (6x recommended), 1 MB PCI video card (2MB recommended), Windows 95 compatible sound card. 30MB free HD space (80MB recommended).

Tested OK on Windows XP.

Reviews:

PC Gamer, August 1998

"...This is an 'old school' graphic adventure complete with characters to talk to, objects to collect and use, and a dark, atmospheric story that's likely to keep you glued to your computer for hours at a time."

"Luckily, Sanitarium backs up its intriguing story with extremely solid and highly addictive gameplay. Despite the inclusion of a few mechanical puzzles, this is definitely a traditional graphic adventure: The emphasis is on interacting with a host of strange characters and collecting sundry objects to use in solving puzzles in order the progress deeper into the game..."

"...In Sanitarium, though, you're given enough feedback by talking to characters and examining your environment that there's hardly any instance where you'll wonder 'how was I supposed to know to do that?' Some veteran players might think the game's a little short, but for intermediate and beginning players, there's more than enough gameplay here - and at the very least, you'll be thoroughly enjoying yourself the entire time."

"Nevertheless, I had so much fun playing this game that after the first couple of hours none of these flaws fazed me in the least. Sanitarium will keep you engrossed from start to finish and still leave you wanting more - and I can't think of a much higher compliment for an adventure game than that."

Quandary Review by Rosemary Young

"With a name like Sanitarium it's no surprise that this game has disturbing episodes in an insane asylum that are definitely not suitable for children. In keeping with this 'not suitable for children' theme it also has lavish servings of mutilated and malformed characters and oodles of bloody, mangled bodies. As I am usually unimpressed by such 'embellishments', both for their own sake and because they often signal that gameplay is lacking, it was surely a surprise that I quite enjoyed Sanitarium.

"The surprise came in the form of a game that takes many cues from the much loved Sierra and LucasArts adventures as you move your sprite around and negotiate your way through the story (or should that be stories?); talk to characters, find objects and solve problems as you go. In fact there is quite a lot of conversation as well as a lot of exploration and, especially, when I was talking to a stubborn tree, or to the freakish creatures in the freak show and doing their bidding, that deja vu feeling kept creeping up on me. But don't let this mislead you ... this game fits into the horror genre so there are also a couple of ghoulish tasks to perform and, together with the overall manic atmosphere, this isn't a game for the squeamish."

JustAdventure, by Randy Sluganski

"The Story: Sanitarium is the game that Harvester wanted to be, but wasn't. The plot, credited to Mike Nicholson and Chris Pasetto, is as good as or better than any I have ever experienced in over 15 years of adventure gaming. What begins as tritely as possible - 'who am I, where am I?' - slowly transcends into a story of true horror..."

"The Graphics:... The graphics are garishly atmospheric and colorful. Certain locations, such as the carnival, remain in your mind long after you have put the game away for the evening. The chapters in the sanitarium itself are reminiscent of the scenery from a 1930s Universal horror film. Within each chapter there are, at key points in the game, photorealistic full-screen cinematic cut scenes that are simply amazing...."

"Puzzles: There are lots of puzzles in Sanitarium, and their solutions always serve to somehow advance the plot. I did not run across one puzzle that I thought unfair or out of character... Actually, I found the majority of the puzzles in Sanitarium to be easy for a seasoned adventurer (be forewarned, though, there are some sick and gross ones), but the overall effect of immersion in this game offset the low degree of difficulty..."

"Final Grade: Sanitarium has already found a hallowed spot on my top shelf. Though I think the experienced gamer may find it a little easy and beatable in less than 20 hours, it is an excellent game for beginners, horror fans and anyone who just wants to play a solid, well-written game. The negatives in this game - some of the voice acting, long restore times - are overshadowed by the many positives - the eerie atmosphere, the uncertainty of knowing what will occur next and the mature plot development..."

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