Score
Gameplay:	6
Graphics:	8
Sound:	10
FunFactor:	6
PlasmaFactor:	10
Overall:	8

Scratches Review
March 17, 2006 by Kenneth Seward, Jr.

by Kenneth Seward, Jr. - March 17, 2006

What happens when you take a good video game and combine it with a great book? You get something called Scratches, the new point and click PC game from Got Game Entertainment. Developed by Nucleosys, Scratches is the next best thing to good old fashion storytelling.

Point, Click...Click Some More!

 

Now I’m not a big fan of point and click games but I have played enough of them to know a good one when I see it. With that being said, I have mixed feelings about Scratches. When it comes to delivering a well put together plot, complete with an awesome cast of voice actors, Scratches is great. But, when it comes to gameplay I am not so sure. Most horror or mystery point and click games require the player to explore their surroundings and find clues/items to help them complete the game. To explore you point the mouse in the direction you want to move then click. This takes you over to the desired location in the game. This is also the way you find items, by pointing on them and clicking. Some items are more important than others in that you need them to complete the game, as opposed to the other items that are secondary and aren’t always needed. This is where Scratches starts to bother me. Every item is needed in order to complete the game, and what’s worse, is that some of the items are extremely hard to find. I wouldn’t mind this if the obscurely hidden items were found using logical means. You aren’t given any clues as to where to find these items. You just know that the game will not progress until said items are found. You will spend a lot of time mousing over objects to see if they can be picked up and used somewhere in the game.

When you mouse over things in Scratches, Michael will give you a brief description letting you know whether or not it’s something that you need. So when you mouse over a pile of brick for instance, and Michael tells you that they are nothing but useless bricks you think that you can move on. You even come back and check the pile a couple of times to make sure you didn’t miss anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were very angry to find out that the pile of bricks you mouse over a hundred times has the item you were looking for all along. All the pointing and clicking trying to find said item could have been avoided if you just would have clicked on the pile in just the right spot. Of course, nothing in the game informed you that the item you were looking for might have been with the bricks. You can imagine how long it would take you to find certain items in the game that way. I will say, however, that only a few items are this, but when you add the fact that you need every item to complete the game, this could turn an otherwise good experience into a bad one.

I spent hours trying to find certain items in Scratches because of this problem. I should note that this is a short game, spanning only over three days and two nights. If you are lucky enough to find all the items you can in the beginning, the game could be completed within ten hours. However, because of the obscure items, this game can begin to drag. The items themselves, once found, are used logically to solve the game’s puzzles. There is, however, a lot of backtracking in Scratches. You will need item A to open door B to get item C. It doesn’t take too long to figure out when and how to use the items though. It’s just finding them that can make the game frustrating to play. Especially to new comers of the point and click genre who are not as willing to stick it out to the end like veterans.

 

Ooooo…Pretty!

 

I really like the visuals in Scratches. They are pre-rendered graphics that change only when you move your character or an important event is happing. This is a good and bad thing. On the plus side the graphics in the game help to create a sense of realism. Even though the graphics are constantly changing paintings and not fully 3D, they are still able to create depth within the environments as well as convey objects with weight and body. The happenings of the game are more convincing because it is more realistic than other video games. The game is seen through Michael’s eyes (a first person view) and to us it is more believable because of the realistic looking visuals.

On the bad side, because the graphics are pre-rendered navigation within Scratches can be interesting. You can only see the environment you’re in from the angle of your current position. This means that you have to maneuver your character so that he is at a specific angle to get to certain places in the game. For example, after entering a hallway I decided that I wanted to go upstairs. Since you have to point and click in order to move to a new location, I tried clicking on the stairs. Nothing happened. I wasn’t able to go up the stairs at the current angle I was facing. I had to keep clicking on different locations in the hallway until I found the right angle to go up stairs. This problem, while annoying at first, doesn’t bother you as you advance through the game. All and all, I would say that the graphics are a well received part of Scratches.

 

"Can You Hear Me Now?...Good!"

 

The sound is the best thing that Scratches has going for it, next to the story. You’re going to want to have good speakers when playing this game. I recommend playing at night, turning off the lights, and cranking up the sound. That way you will get the best of what Scratches has to offer. In a horror game it’s all about the atmosphere and the sound really helps to create the right mood at the right time. You’ll hear the difference between the sounds your footsteps make when walking over the various surfaces in Scratches. Every item in the game that you can interact with has its own distinct sound. At different times throughout the game the music will chime in, letting you know exactly when to be afraid. Nothing in the game really scared me, but the music in certain parts gave me chills.

Then there are the voice actors. This wasn’t bad acting like in some of the older Resident Evil games (don’t get me wrong, I love that series). All the actors deserve credit for their wonderful work. Nothing felt forced or fake when it came to the actors showing emotion. When ever someone talked I made sure to listen in, not just because they were moving the story along, but because they very believable in their delivery. One of my favorite lines, which came from Jerry midway through the game, was "Have you taken leave of your senses." I commend Scratches for its great use of sound.

 

I Can’t Wait to Play it Again....Maybe!

 

Scratches is defiantly a game to check out. Fans of point and click games will be pleased, even with the problems mentioned before. Gamers new to the point and click genre might not be that forgiving. I for one feel that Scratches is a very fun experience the first time around. Being that I was frustrated out of my mind during the first few hours, I don’t think I would like to go through the game again. Ironically, the main reason the game was frustrating is the same reason that the game fun (besides the great story and soundtrack). Searching through the house in order to solve the mystery make up the bulk of the game. You can’t really do that more than once and still have a pleasing experience. You already know what items are needed, where to find them, and how to use them. That takes away from the mystery of the game and leaves little replay value. However, I still say it’s worth the price to play ($19.99 to be exact). It would be like adding a good horror/mystery book to your collection of books. You really don’t need to read it again, as the first time through was good enough.

 

Best Book I’ve Ever Played!

Remember when all you needed to have a good time was a joystick and a little hand-eye coordination? You didn’t need lush graphics, complex controls, or a story line written by Steven Spielberg. Most games didn’t even have a story and if they did, you probably didn’t care about it anyway. Of course I am talking about a time before games like; The Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy. An early video game story might have gone like this; girl meets hero, hero falls for girl, villain kidnaps girl, hero saves girl, play again. You only cared if the game was fun to play or not. Today’s games are another story (don’t be surprised if the word "story" appears again in this review). Today we have games that border on the lines of being playable movies, complete with their own voice actors. The stories (there it goes again) themselves seem to be more important than whether or not a game is even fun to play.

Scratches fits snuggly into this category. It is a horror/mystery game that has a highly developed plot. The developers over at Nucleosys really know how to tell a good story. This game will have some players so wrapped up in the plot that they will refuse to stop playing until the very end. Scratches starts when Michael Arthate, the famed horror book writer, arrives at his new home. He was able to purchase Blackwood Manor, an estate located just outside of a small English town, with the help of his friend Jerry. Like most writers, Michael feels that he can write his next best seller if he is isolated from the distractions of everyday life. What better place to come up with the next top selling horror novel than an old Victorian house secluded from the rest of civilization. His only outside line is a telephone that he uses to contact Jerry.

On Michael’s first day at the manor, he explores in hopes of finding inspiration for his to writing. He soon realizes that the Blackwood wasn’t always the quiet, peaceful place it is now. Filled with violence, murder, and wicked spirits, Blackwood has a dark past. Another shocking revelation is that Michael is not alone the house. At night he hears strange "scratching" noises coming from the basement. With no way to leave the manor, he is forced to seek out the source of the disturbance. As Michael you will be exploring an old Victorian home, a chapel, crypt, and a greenhouse all located on the estate. This is where you will find out who or what is hunting Blackwood manor.

 

The Bottom Line…..

Scratches is a great experience to be had. All you need is a lot of patience and $19.99. For all the new point and click gamers out there, you might want to check out something else.