Customer Reviews

7th Guest

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Trapped in the haunted mansion of the mad toymaker, Stauf, with no memory of your past, you must seek out your past ... your purpose ... the fate of the six murdered guests, long ago ... and the seventh guest. To begin with, this is *not* an action title. With this game, you can give your flying fingers a rest. Everything's connected with puzzles, and there are no time limits (though you may wish there were when you hit your twentieth dead end in the Maze and hear Stauf say, "Feeling ... lonely ... ?" again ... ). Puzzles, puzzles, puzzles. A profusion and plethora of puzzles in prodigious plentitude. Switch puzzles, slider puzzles, card and coin puzzles ... even the old game of Jump-Away. (Played with knives on a pentagram, mind you ... )And with each puzzle solved (the game can even solve them for you) you learn a little more about what happened on that long-ago night. The puzzles range from, "Okay, this is tricky", to "HELP! ". But with all the walkthroughs out here on the 'Net, plus the hint book in the library, you'll muddle through eventually. Graphics: This game is beautiful. The knives, the cards, the house itself ... everything is in fully-rendered 3-D, with remarkable shading and texture. Mind you, this takes some computer time ... the Minimum Requirements list a Pentium 133MHz. My P100 made it, but the MIDI tended to stall sometimes. Sound: Speaking of MIDI, this game is loaded with it. Eerie, haunting refrains accompany most of your actions, while screams, moans, and eerie footsteps whisper in your ears. I've worked in a professional haunted house ... these guys are GOOD. That said, the voice acting is a hash. Most of the actors are almost laughably bad, playing a gam-ut of emotions that result in an almost campy atmosphere. Note I said "almost". Stauf has the biggest part in the game, and he knows how to work it. The actor really leans on it, but the character is a dyed-in-the-wool villain anyway ... he can take it. The children, on the other hand ... <shudder>. You'll have to hear it for yourself. It's chilling. On the whole, a solid game, with few flaws.

When The 7th Guest was first released in 1993, it was pretty much just a CD-ROM showcase: "Look what I can do." Further technological advancements, though, haven't proven kind to The 7th Guest, but the game remains as good now as it ever was. It's mostly an series of puzzles and brain teasers with only the barest thread of a story (and not always a clear, sensible one, at that) to connect them. Some of the puzzles, however, are pretty good, and the game has a wonderful, creepy style that infects every puzzle with an energy that definitely sets The 7th Guest apart from most other puzzle games. If you know what you're getting yourself into, there's no reason you can't enjoy The 7th Guest today.

I really liked this game, it had just the right mixture of subtle creepiness and intrigue to keep me interested. As it's an older game the graphics might not look impressive by today's standards, but the store more than makes up for it.

The premise is that Stauf, a former criminal turned rich toymaker has invited people to his mansion and offered whomever can solve his puzzles whatever they desire. It's hinted to you that none of the guests were ever seen from again so not only do you have the mystery of the mansion itself to solve but you also have the mystery of finding out what happened to everybody to figure out as well.

The interface is clean and easy to use. You wander around in a very Myst-like first person perspective and your cursor changes whenever you wave it over something you can look closer at, a movie you can watch, or a puzzle to solve... it's nice to have this little detail instead of clicking madly on the screen trying to find the 'magic pixel' that will take you further into the game.

The music by The Fat Man is also very well done (In fact you can buy the soundtrack right here on Amazon!)and adds a lot to the game. Overall it has just the right mixture of intrigue as you watch Stauf set the guests against each other and play his little psychological games, and puzzles as you progress your way deeper and deeper into the mansion.

For the price, you get a lot. And its worth it.

This is one of the most amazing games I have ever played. This game was originally released in 1992 or 1993 and for it's time, it was way ahead in terms of graphics and story telling. Hell, it still has better graphics than some of the games that come out now. For me, this is the game that made me want to buy a computer which I did less than a month later. It has very challenging puzzles and some comedy along the way as Stauf adds his comments to either the path you choose or your success/failure to do a puzzle. If you like action, this is not your game. If you like solving puzzles, unraveling mysteries, and a game that makes you use your head, this is it. One of the best games of all time and the best puzzle solving game ever. But don't take my word on it. Get this for yourself.

"Old man Stauf built a house
And filled it with his toys
Six guests all came one night
Their screams the only noise...

No one knows what happened next
There's no one left to say
But if you should see Old Man Stauf
Get on your knees & pray..."

You have been sent an invitation to attend an event by Mr. Stauf, world-renowned toymaker.

There are many legends surrounding this enigmatic man - he has quite an infamous reputation. Are they truths or lies? That is for you to decide. Either way, mystery surrounds him, just the way he likes it. Rumour has it he's a Warlock in league with The Devil...

Dare you go through the Gates of his ominous mansion?

You are set free to peruse the many darkened rooms & hallways. Each contains a different puzzle to solve, a different riddle to decipher. Eventually, you will find who this "madman" really is.....are you prepared?

Overall, this game is multi - stimulating. Aesthetically, it is just beautiful - splenderous - gloriously gloomy. The digital artwork is visually stunning, & very detailed. The artistry of it all draws you into the scenery, with third-dimensional effects - so much so, you could get lost within those lambent corridors for hours.

The puzzles are a bit trying at first, especially because you even have to figure out how they particularly work - but after that, it's one brainblending / gratifying riddle after another.

The music therein provides for a thickly eerie atmosphere that makes one want to jump right into the screen.

The CD Music on disc II

If you play this CD on your CD player alone, there are a series of songs available just to listen to, based upon those within the game. Some songs contain lyrics, some are instrumentals. The first is a rather mediocre attempt at replicating the Gothic, or Death Rock style.

Most of the same effects are used throughout, with sound samples of Mr. Stauf & terrified guests.

It seems the music was orchestrated to accentuate Stauf's "insanity", or genius, depending upon how you look at it.

There are a couple of Noiresque tunes, the most notable being "Dry Bones", sung with a very sultry female voice, which I picture being sung by a cross between Jessica Rabbit & Morticia Addams.

The 7th Guest is a veritable ghoulish conundrum that will have you become a regular guest of The Stauf's Manor again & again.

Kudos to the Technomancers. The 7th Guest is Spooktacular.

This game is worth 4 stars--however, the volume for the voice acting is turned way down, and there isn't a way to fix it, so you strain to hear everything said--a real problem when you're trying to follow the story!

Aside from that, however, it's a wonderfully creepy trip through a haunted house, where you must solve some fiendishly difficult puzzles in order to find out who you are, and why you're there (and how to get out!). A great game to play with a group of friends, or alone with the lights out...

This is a great game if you like to solve puzzles. Some puzzles are really easy, but others are immpossibly hard. If you get stuck you can easily get a hint either from the book in the games library, or from searching the internet. I really love this game and would give it 5 stars if I hadn't already done it, now I'm going through it again trying to get to the puzzles that I never solved myself but the ones I did solve the first time are sooooo much easier even if I don't remember the answer. One plus is that compared to the older version for DOS, the new one for windows goes much faster and you don't have to wait a long time for things to move around (like yourself or the puzzle pieces)

For the people who said that they couldn't hear the characters speaking over the music:
All you have to do is go into your computers music settings by double-clicking on the speaker at the bottom right of the screen. Then make sure that the WAV sound is set louder than the midi sound.

We've finally reached the time where computer games have been around long enough that some of them are "classics." This game, independent of its entertainment value, horror value or anything else, was so new and revolutionary that it belongs on the "classics" shelf for innovation alone. Its use of real actors in ghostly situations was an innovation. Its CD-ROM platform was an innovation, its use of video driver technology was innovative, etc...If nothing else, buy it and play it for its "historical value."
Besides, though, I think it's quite fun and entertaining. The horror still spooks me out: it doesn't have me shaking or fearing the dark, but its still creepy. (and, by the way, you can bet it was tremendously frightening when it first came out: it was the first time people were actually IMMERSED--personally involved--in the stuff of even the lightest horror flicks). I think the music is an excellent compliment to the game (although it makes some of the dialogue hard to hear). As a musician, I also find it fascinating on its own and the listen-only track on Disc 2 is worth a look-see. It highlights the game's atmosphere of being a horror of awkward weirdnesses rather than a horror of monsters etc.
The story is unveiled in an extremely non-sequential way, quite confusing. But if you accept the reality that these are "hauntings"--ghostly replays of the events of a previous night--then even that fits in nicely. And the final plot, once you piece it all together, is entertaining enough (not enough to make a movie out of on its own, but it serves its purpose of holding together the game.)
The puzzles are the clincher--brilliant. Varying levels of difficulty, mostly moderate, though. The game of exchanging four white bishops with four blacks is beyond me to this day--EXTREME difficulty--but the piano "simon says" game was easy enough that I conquered it on my first try. There is also an excellent mix of puzzle styles: chess puzzles, mazes, word games, image/slider puzzles, and even one puzzle that's not a puzzle at all, but rather a match-off battle against an adversary!
I highly recommend it to anyone from the hardcore computer-gamer to those who just play from time to time for a little entertainment. You can save your game, so you can pick up wherever you left off.
Enjoy!

This was one of the first computer games I played. My whole family ended up playing it, and we all loved it.
All these years later, it remains the standard by which all other games we buy are measured, and usually fail.
I will skip the storyline and puzzle specifics as they have been pretty much covered in other reviews.
Puzzles are plentiful and the ability to roam around the mansion is alot of fun, especially when you find the secret passageways!
There is a hint book you can access twice for each puzzle if you really hate one of them or get stuck.
The rooms are fun, and the voices are creepilicios!!
I wish I could play it today.

Ive been playing the 7th Guest since i was 6 years old! its fun, scary, and challenging. Its like an old horror movie. I recomend
this game to anyone who likes challenges, verry patient, and wont get scared stiff in the room while playing alone (like i did hehe) Im planing to get the sequel The 11'th hour soon
It looks really FUN!