Which PC FMV adventure game did you enjoy more? Phantasmagoria(Sierra) or Ripper(Take2)

[Leeroy ST]

FMV adventure games were pretty big from the late 80's until the turn of the century, and there are two games from that era that are mentioned more than any other when forums or gaming magazines/articles look back in retrospect.

 

These are:

 

1. Phantasmagoria from Sierra

2. Ripper from Take 2 Interactive

 

These games are not only the most commonly brought up, but they are also fairly popular on video sharing sites as many people use them for walkthroughs or just to experience the games for the first time.

 

However for those who played both which did you enjoy more? Both are horror games although they seem to tackle the theme differently. Phantasmagoria seems to be going for a more immersive atmospheric horror approach, while Ripper is a murder mystery where the killer and their location remains unknown until the end of the game impacting events in the background.

 

 

Imo this is a tough choice. I do have to subtract points from Ripper due to the unnecessarily difficult/convoluted puzzles, but the world seems more fleshed out. Phantasmagoria doesn't really have stakes until the husband loses his mind and the game itself seems to be mostly confined to the mansion with a finite number of characters. Ripper allows you to explore more locals, meet & interact with new characters, and the detective angle allows for further investment in the game world so I prefer it more.

 

But I can see why some may like Phantasmagoria more, being easier to complete is not something that can be dismissed, Ripper without a guide would a lot of time and could cause major frustration. Then for those that don't want to think too much about the plot, Phantasmagoria is much easier to follow. Getting around is also much faster and I cannot stress this enough as parts of Ripper take forever. Using the medical ward as an example, moving around is a trial in patience in itself, entering the building, turning toward the elevator, getting in the elevator, turning in the elevator to face the buttons, pressing the button, the slow ride up to the second floor, turning again to get out of the elevator, taking forever to go down a hallway, to turn a corner, to go down another hallway, to turn around toward a door, then finally opening the door, then walking in the room, then walking and facing the person, then talking to the person. Holy ****

 

Which of these two titles do you prefer?

[Fyrebird]

Ripper has Christopher Walken being very Christopher Walkeny (is that a word?) so I'd have to pick that one.

 

Phantasmagoria the acting in it takes me out of the experience.

 

The best fmv game I've played is the Tex Murphy games. Especially Under a Killing Moon. It feels like your watching a 1950s B detective movie set in the future

[Leeroy ST]

On 9/16/2020 at 3:58 PM, Fyrebird said:

Ripper has Christopher Walken being very Christopher Walkeny (is that a word?) so I'd have to pick that one.

 

Phantasmagoria the acting in it takes me out of the experience.

Yeah. Phantasmagoria makes it feel more like a comedy with horror themes than a real horror game and the acting is part of the problem. The 2nd game does a better job at making a believable horror atmosphere, at least at first before the aliens.