By Dale Farris, Vice President
Golden Triangle PC Club
September 2004

Game Overview

British nobleman, Samuel Gordon, has just returned to his homeland after a self-imposed twelve year absence. Reluctantly returning to his magnificent home, Black Mirror Manor, he is desperate to prove that the untimely death of his ancestor, William Gordon, was not just an "unfortunate incident."

Samuel reads William's private diary and quickly discovers that there have been a number of mysterious deaths, and as he gets closer to these crimes, he realizes that he is very much at the centre of the mystery. Samuel must do all he can to solve the mystery and keep himself alive.

Summary of Features

A rich and interesting storyline to capture the imagination

Third-person graphical adventure

Six comprehensive chapters

Features 23 individual characters

More than 100 different locations, including: a medieval underground temple, a mental hospital, and a cemetery

Atmospheric effects such as rain, fog and storms

Hundreds of realistic animations

Many logical, inventory, environmental and tactile puzzles

A breathtaking game that combines suspense, terror and action!

Immerse yourself in distinct environments

Immersive, fully detailed environments

You move the character through the 2D, third person game with the mouse

Super sound effects

Thrilling game play that is heightened with detailed lighting effects

Game Play

The 2D graphics in The Black Mirror are detailed, impressive, and help to greatly enhance the mood and atmosphere of the game. Black Mirror castle is modeled like you would think a castle looks like, and the environments inside the castle are detailed with colorful paintings, richly designed furniture, and other furnishings that make the castle look real. Outside as you walk among the castle grounds, you will see a pool with rippling water, birds and butterflies that fly around, and you see branches of trees swaying in response to the wind. These rich details are mostly pre-rendered, while the active motion features add to the reality of the environments, but it does help that The Black Mirror does not require a high-end, state-of-the-art CPU and a ton of RAM to run.

The inventory is located at the bottom of the screen, and if you pick up and move an item around, it will start flashing once it is over an object that it can be used on or combined with. Double-clicking on an exit will "jump" to the next screen, which is a most welcome feature and one that should be mandatory in all games. All the many interactive, non-playable conversations and cut scenes can be skipped with a mouse click or the press of the space bar. This way, you can more quickly skip through these many dialogs, but if you do, you will miss the complex, highly interesting plot line and story. Also, hitting the Tab key will reveal all available exits in a location, a feature not strictly necessary but occasionally helpful. By hitting the Tab key, these exits pop up and you can then quickly double-click on an exit and more quickly move to another environment.

You play The Black Mirror in 3rd person view as you move the main character through the fully realized, 2D environments. The game's camera automatically changes as you move from room to room, down hallways, around corners, and into large environments when the camera pulls far back to provide you with the larger view. When you click on a close-up of an item, or a puzzle to solve, then the camera automatically zooms in for you to interact with the object or puzzle.

The character moves totally with the mouse. When you click to move the character, he walks where you click, but if you double-click an exit icon, then you quickly move to another screen. Sometimes you will need to click far to the right or left of a screen to see the game scroll wider, and in some cases you must be sure to go as far wide left and right in order to see other parts of the game you have to find in order to find objects or other items that can be clicked on.

The mouse pointer shape will be a bright red color, indicating that you can click on an object to find out about it, and in most cases, you can click more than once to hear the character say something different about the object.

Also, The Black Mirror supports the use of the right mouse click on objects, when you see the bright red mouse arrow cursor. This means you must always first left click more than once on all objects, as well as right click on all objects, in order to be sure you do not mist an action that can be performed. The right click action usually means the character will do something, either find something, pick up something, or do something to the right-clicked object, which adds further value to the game. While most adventure games are dependent on regular clicking, The Black Mirror's support of the right click on objects means you will have more information revealed or more results will occur.

The puzzles are mostly about finding the correct objects that are required in order to open doors, find other objects, or that need to be combined in order to result in a required object. All items you find that can be picked up must be picked up. The game has no "red herring" objects. Once placed in the inventory, many of these items will reveal other objects when you right click on the inventory object. This opens the object to reveal other items that will be required for use in later parts of the game.

The puzzles to solve are typical of most relatively difficult adventure games. For example, the game has one of those classic slider puzzles that require you to move fifteen (15) small tiles in a puzzle tray that has slots for sixteen (16) tiles, and of course, you must figure out which tiles go where in the tray. Once you get some tiles in the "right" place, the slider puzzle means you will have to plan your moves way in advance, in order to get all the tiles in the right place while using only one (1) free space.

There is a chess piece puzzle that involves the classic knight chess piece moves. You have 2 black knights and 2 white knights placed on a tray on the top of a puzzle box. The knight pieces can only move in the typical L-shape path, and you have to switch the places of the pieces, which again means you must plan all your moves in advance. Experienced adventure game fans will likely not have much difficulty with these puzzles, but novice gamers may find themselves looking for a walkthrough guide to help them through these more tedious, annoying types of puzzles.

The graphics in this game are nicely detailed, and environments have been well designed. The game's lighting effects also change to reflect the different environments, and the game's sound effects add to the suspense of the game. The game has pre-rendered backgrounds that are richly detailed, and you move the character in front of these 2D environments.

The sound effects are impressive and convey the sounds of opening doors, solving puzzles, walking through different environments, and of course the ambient sound that set the mood of the game.

The story also is not going to jump out at you, as you play the game. Slowly, as you play through the game, the game's complex plot and story line is revealed, providing a richly detailed plot that adds further value to the game. The voice-over narrations are all well done, and the dialogue is done very well.

The game has a ton of items you must find and use, and in many cases combine in order to create still other objects that must be used. The game also will require the character to move to and from various locations in the game, and these are opened up when you find the map and when you find certain objects or talk with the various non-playable characters.

The dialog with the many characters is essential if you are to open up all the many locations you must find in order to progress through the game. In this game, these dialog options open up as icons in the inventory bar when you proceed to talk with these characters. You will also need to go back many times to again talk with these characters, after you have progressed through the game, as these later dialog sessions will open up still other items to discuss, but more importantly other locations in the game you have to visit.

In addition, the game many times will offer 2 options for your response to these characters, either a positive or a negative response. I always chose the positive option, which apparently is required in ordered to make sure all the later locations or objects will open up in the game. This means this game uses the classic adventure game feature of "triggering" other locations you can visit, or objects you can find, and if you do not correctly "trigger" these then you may find yourself stuck with nowhere else to go or no other object to find, or no one else to talk with. This may also drive gamers to the walkthrough guide, to help be sure you do not end up in a dead end.

The Black Mirror is an excellent adventure game that provides the best of adventure game puzzle solving and environment mapping, while very reasonably priced. Compared with the price point on most all other action games, The Black Mirror is a real bargain.

About The Walkthrough Solution Guides

I urge anyone interested in this neat game to also consider getting a copy of the solutions guide. In this game, the guide will really come in handy, because of the need to be sure to know where to go and how to find all the required objects in the game. The game guide will also help with forming a better understanding of the background to the story, which will help keep up with what is going on in the game. The guide will also help in learning which objects are required in order to solve the game's puzzles. In addition, because of the many positive/negative response options, and the need to find all items and open all items to reveal hidden items, the guide will help prevent frustration with these aspects of the game.

In my situation, playing with a walkthrough means I can concentrate on moving the game plot along, and most importantly, open up all the wonderful scenes and action that the coders have worked so hard to include in the game. Without a walkthrough, I just feel I am not getting my money's worth out of the game. Also, I always appreciate having the help to get through the game so I can savor all the impressive screens and animated cut-scenes, as was the intent of the game creators.

What makes this issue even more relevant here is that DreamCatcher seems to realize this, as evidenced by their always wise price points for their games and their solution guides. You end up with a total investment that means you will be better assured you can get through the game and not end up spending an excessive amount of time with the game. So, no, I don't think using a walkthrough solution guide is any indication of any lack of skill or abilities, but instead, a more appropriate way to invest minimal time with an adventure game, that ends up much more likely to be a fun experience.

You can find a couple of walkthroughs at www.justadventure.com

Game Saves

You can save your game at any point.

Inventory Procedure

The Black Mirror includes a typical inventory scheme and the inventory shows up at the bottom of the screen. You click on the object to pick it up, and if you place this object over the correct place on the screen, the object will glow.

The use of the walkthrough guide will help you better control which objects you need in your inventory and which objects you will need to open to find other hidden objects.

Targeted Customers

The Black Mirror is a definite must for all fans of adventure games. This game provides all the classic adventure game features, including pointing and clicking to move the character, numerous dialog options with numerous interactive characters, a complete inventory system, and numerous complex puzzles to solve. While novice gamers may find The Black Mirror a steep challenge, experienced adventure gamers will delight in the typical adventure game features.

System Requirements

P-II 400MHz processor (P-II 600MHz processor recommended)
Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP
64MB RAM (128MB RAM recommended)
2GB free hard disk space
12x CD-ROM (or PC DVD) Drive (16x CD-Rom Recommended)
8MB DirectX 7.1 Compatible Video Card
DirectX Compatible Sound Card
DirectX 7.1 or Higher
Mouse/Keyboard/Speakers

Install and Setup

The game should install and set up with no problems, and the game will load about 2GB of data onto a machine. The game comes on 2 CD ROM discs, and the game disc does need to be placed in the CD ROM drive in order to play the game. The game will also you to enter an identification code (required for installation) that is included with the game, or the game will not load. This game also features the disc copy protection system, which means the program will check for the correct ID code each time you re-start the game.

Uninstalling the game involves the use of the games uninstall feature in its folder on the Start, Programs menu.

I loaded the game on a Win XP Pro machine (P III-850, 256MB SDRAM) that had a Creative Labs Annihilator 2, 32MB video card (an nVidia GeForce 2 GTS board), and a Creative Labs Live X Gamer! sound board, and the latest drivers for each. An HP CD RW 9200 drive served as the CD ROM drive. The mouse and keyboard were both PS/2 connections. I also had already installed the DirectX 9 files. My machine also had an internal Zip 250 drive, standard floppy, one 8-port USB hub, a Logitech Wingman Extreme joystick, standard microphone, Cambridge Soundworks DTS 2000 speaker system, and a NIC board connected to SW Bell's DSL modem.

Note that this system is certainly not a high-end, state-of-the-art configured system. If you have a higher end machine, with a better video and sound card, more RAM, and a faster CPU, this game will definitely be even more impressive. On my system, although the game did play, I think game play will be far more impressive on higher end systems.

Since this particular adventure game uses all pre-rendered backgrounds, this means the data load is far less than other fully immersive, 3D games that constantly pound the processor and RAM in order to produce the dynamic changes in the environment and background. This also means this game will run on relatively older, less sophisticated machines, which should help open up more of the gamer market for this game.

Price

$29.99 (Super Bargain)
$  9.99 the official strategy & solutions guide (a great bargain also)

About the Adventure Company

The Adventure Company, a division of DreamCatcher, is a leading publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment devoted exclusively to releasing titles geared towards adventure gamers. The Adventure Company is committed to publishing games that deliver maximum value on multiple platforms including, PC, Playstation 2 computer entertainment system, GameCube, and Xbox.

About DreamCatcher

DreamCatcher launched its first title in 1996, with a small band of people who believed in providing customers with quality entertainment software at affordable prices. Since that time, DreamCatcher has become one of the most successful small-sized publisher in the entertainment software industry, and was the fastest growing publisher in 2000, growing over 800% according to PC Data. DreamCatcher Interactive was listed in Profitguide.com's article: Canada's Fastest Growing Companies 2002, and ranked #5.

In 1996, DreamCatcher Interactive launched their first title and since then, they have become a very successful publisher in the computer game entertainment software industry. In my opinion, one of this company's strongest assets is their dedication to provide customers with high quality entertainment software at very affordable prices. Some of the best interactive computer games now on the market come from DreamCatcher.

Bringing to market titles that are affordable, without jeopardizing content quality, is another significant factor that helps distinguish this company from the many that flood the market with countless game titles. DreamCatcher thrives on innovative marketing strategies, solid retail and developer partnerships, and on providing excellent customer support that is well above industry standards.

A new partnership with Her Interactive has enabled DreamCatcher to now sell the super games in the Nancy Drew series, including Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill, Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger, and Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion. Check this link to read a review of these Nancy Drew Interactive Mystery Adventure Games.

Dracula: The Resurrection and In Cold Blood are two current games for the PC that will soon be released for the Playstation, and DreamCatcher also plans to release more games in the future for the Playstation 2 and the GameBoy Color platforms.

Necronomicon ($19.99) and The Legend of the Prophet and the Assassin ($19.99) are two of DreamCatcher's newer games that should also prove to be successful titles in their long list of super adventure games.

Other super games from DreamCatcher Interactive include Traitor's Gate, The Messenger, Riddle of the Sphinx, Jewels of the Oracle, Jewels II, Egypt 1156 B.C., Odyssey, TimeScape, Ancient Conquest, Beyond Time, Beyond Atlantis, Lightbringer, Legend of Lotus Spring, Nightlong, Seven Games of the Soul (also sold in Europe as Faust), SafeCracker, The Forgotten, The Sacred Amulet, and Time Machine.

All these are similarly designed adventure games, and all are priced very reasonably, the most expensive being $29.99 (In Cold Blood), with most around $14.99, and many even priced at $9.99, which I think are super prices for these super games. At the time of this writing, I have purchased and played nearly all these games, and these reasonable price points have always gotten my attention.

I think these affordable price points represent a very important strategy of DreamCatcher that has helped them achieve their success. When you consider the very expensive proposition to invest in the coding and other very expensive costs to develop and produce a computer game today, I think it is quite remarkable that this company markets their products at such a reasonable price.

I also think it is important to remember that DreamCatcher is still very much in the business of producing quality computer games, something many other companies can no longer attest to since they have gone out of business. What is even more remarkable, in my opinion, is that at the time of this writing, DreamCatcher Interactive remains wholly owned and self-sufficient, and has not yet been absorbed by a larger company.

So, with the easy on the pocket-book price of the game, and the also minimal price of the solution guides, you have the makings of a winner in the hotly contested battle for our limited disposable income and free time to invest in playing computer games. DreamCatcher Interactive is certainly a company worth watching and supporting.

Contact Information

The Adventure Company
DreamCatcher
5000 Dufferin Street
Toronto, Ontario
M3H 5T5
info@adventurecompanygames.com
www.adventurecompanygames.com

You can also order from other retailers or online vendors.