Uninvited

Thy Flesh Consumed

I enjoy adventures, but MacVentures are something I have yet to experience. I believe there are four, and this caught my eye because of its horror theme. Seeing as I had a bucket load of fun with Ooze and Curse of Rabenstein, I booted it up to see what it was all about. It appeared very good, albeit with many agonising deaths! But, as that is the norm for my gaming ventures, I carried on and had fun nonetheless.

Hold your horses, what's a MacVenture? That's the name given to the engine powering the point-and-click adventure by Icom Simulations. This is just one game from a series of adventures, all of which have been ported to the Atari ST Shadowgate, Déjà Vu, and Déjà Vu II - Lost in Las Vegas. We call them AtariVentures.

The story starts with my brother and me experiencing firsthand what a nasty car crash looks like. I wake to find he's missing and the car is about to explode! This is the first puzzle - figuring out a way to open the car's door and scarper before it's too late. Afterwards, you find yourself outside a creepy old house, and there is a sinister storm approaching. Thunder is booming, and we have our brother to find.

Dare we risk entering the scary-looking house to search for him? Let's see some screenshots...

Update: I've posted a new article for Uninvited. It's (not) a walkthrough! ;)

Of course, we were gonna crash because somebody put the steering wheel on the wrong side...

Oh, looks like the crash happened right outside an intimidating haunted house. Let's go inside!

User Interface

The Uninvited uses GEM, albeit with minor changes to its look and feel. Windows are resizable and used to display commands: what we're carrying, descriptions, and also the current room as we view it. All commands are limited to eight options: examine, open, close, speak, operate, go, hit, and consume.

For example, to inspect an object, you would click it and then choose the examine button. The game employs this simple method of instruction throughout, but more "complex" actions like walking through a closed door require multiple commands: ie first opening it before attempting to walk through a closed door.

Items you find can be easily carried (and sorted) in your inventory by drag & drop. The other window is for Exits - all of the possible ways to leave the current location. Being GEM'ish means we easily begin playing thanks to a functional and intuitive design, but that comes at a price, ie I'm glad my ST has a Blitter!

Additionally, you can double-click most items to select the default option. Like the closed doors: double-click once to open it and again to walk through. The same goes for the window exits.

The more observant may have noticed the "Self" button? Well, that's rarely used if I'm honest, but it may involve something that you need to do, such as drink a potion. This is another way the game shows its good sense of humour: try using the axe on yourself (save first). I love this freedom and the potential to be daft!!

Wanting to escape the oncoming storm, we head for shelter. Oh, and two more screenshots...

The first room is a little weird, especially with that giant pentagram on the floor!

This is the room just off to the right (see previous image). Not much to see... Ahem, right?

Let's play!

Uninvited is all about exploration, study, investigation, and lots of trial and error. Well, with Uninvited, the trial-and-error parts are paramount, with the earlier stages presenting a steep learning curve. This game takes no prisoners. Yes, I'm talking about you, Scarlet O'Hara, and that vicious temper of yours!

She is the lady lurking in the hallway, and no matter what you do, she will eat your face!! Over and over, I died. Too many times! The only way to safely pass her is via the stairwell to the first floor - but you need to come back downstairs at some point. Perhaps there is something up there we can use against her?

More or less everything that you see can be examined (it's now that I'm starting to realise there are a gazillion possible objects to inspect). Take a look upstairs; have a poke about and inspect each room for anything that might kill this Scarlet monster. It really is an obvious puzzle that you have probably overlooked.

Killing Scarlet is a big deal and completely opens up the game. I feel quite victorious, but there is much work to do with many more rooms to plunder for anything that might help me find my brother. Oh, there are walkthroughs on the net that I won't link to, as they'll only spoil the fun (though the maze section contradicts that entirely). Just play the game and enjoy everything that's on offer for the avid explorer.

Here are two more screenshots of the hallways that (embarrassingly) took me aeons to suss out...

Scarlet seems to be guarding each of the four doors. So why don't we sneak upstairs?

It's much safer upstairs, and you can freely explore each room... for an item to combat Scarlet!

I love big tips!

• Go slow and don't rush as you will only miss what is obvious.
• Learn the user interface properly, it's dead easy but can be finicky.
• Just escaped the impending death of a car wreck? Snoop before entering the house...
• Inspect absolutely everything, even the smallest thing can get you out of trouble.
• Read the object descriptions carefully, subtle hints are usually given.
• Don't be a vandal, not until the time is right later...
• 90% of the items are useless so remember their locations rather than carrying everything.
• Make a map. I know, I know, but this is the time for pen and paper!!
• Install to hard drive - the experience is miles better with audio on cue.
• This next one is obvious but never more so for a game like this - save regularly!

Every so often, a little critter whisks across the screen! He's a little cookie, he is!

A spider freely walks by, and then a winged eyeball appears. What is going on?!!

Aesthetics

The artwork is good, with each room well-detailed to represent its scene. It's not exactly The Pawn, but I admire what they were trying to do, and I thought it worked very well much of the time. The horror aspect is feeble, but Scarlet is a babe, and Romero would love to cast her, I'm sure of it. The severed head guy is superbly drawn, but what's even better is the glimpse we're given. That timing works well for maximum effect.

You'll soon realise just how many monsters there are. Not to mention the different ways to die! Some of these are really cool. I especially liked the zombies in the maze. However, some are rather lame - like the one that looks like a giant tomato. Yeah, the results are mixed but generally favourable with a comical twist.

I know some will disagree, but GEM works well for our version of AtariVenture. I think it's made great use of the windows, especially with the ease of issuing commands and the use of Exits and Inventory. But this means it is slower than other similar games, but a Blitter helps a bunch.

Thankfully, there is no music, as it would have ruined the atmosphere. The sound effects are superb, made with crunchy samples, and include everything from creaking doors to horrific screams. Honestly, they are amazing effects and, if I were playing this back in 1987, it would have blown my little socks off!!

Death comes thick and fast throughout your entire adventure. I hate Scarlet so much!

I'm heading back downstairs!!! (probably the scariest moment in this 'horror' game)

The CryptO'pinion?

I found the Uninvited to be a challenging and intense adventure that I thoroughly enjoyed, especially considering this is my first frolic into the world of MacVentures, erm, AtariVentures. As with any of its ilk, you have to take your time and study all aspects of a location. That's the only way you're going to get anywhere.

Sadly, it's not perfect, with certain puzzles not making any sense whatsoever and therefore impossible to figure out without sneaking a glance at a walkthrough. Not only that, but I've never known any adventure with so many red herrings - either the pointless items or dead ends (that often lead to your brutal demise!). That might sound silly in some respects, but it's not when you're restricted to a finite number of actions.

However, please believe me when I say that this is an excellent game. Whilst certain parts of it made no sense, the Uninvited offers a richly rewarding experience and, if you fancy a different kind of adventure, then this is definitely it. Demanding, interesting, infuriating, and blummin' good fun for anyone up for a challenge.

> You can download the floppies, but Uninvited is a dream running off a hard drive/UltraSatan!

I love Uninvited. So I looked on eBay, and there it was, going cheap as chips too. Excellent!!