Dark Fall: The Journal

by Dreamcatcher

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000A341P
• Item Weight: 4 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: July 24, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,136 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Returning from work you listen to a frightened and cryptic voice message from your brother, a talented architect redeveloping the old Dowerton station in Dorset, England. Boarding a train to meet him, you travel to Dowerton alone, wondering what adventure you may be embarking on...

When you arrive, the train is empty and the station is deserted. You begin to explore--the train tunnels, the station, the adjoining hotel, and the grounds--and discover that although no one is there, you are not alone. Finding artifacts, ancient documents, and a valuable journal, you realize that the area holds a history of disappearances and hauntings dating back centuries.

Product Description

It has been triggered... many have paid... you willstand against it.Product InformationUncover hidden artifacts ancient documents and a valuable journal whichtogether hold the key to mysterious disappearances and hauntings dating backcenturies.Returning from work you listen to a frightened and cryptic voice message fromyour brother an architect redeveloping an old train station and hotel in a nowabandoned area.  Alarmed he asks for your help.  Realizing this isserious you board a train to meet him." When you arrive the train is empty and the station is deserted.  Youbegin to explore - the forsaken train tunnels the desolate station theneglected hotel and the unkempt grounds - and discover that although no one is thereyou are not alone.  Alone you  must stand against the evil presence- armed with ghost hunting gadgets and deciphering the clues left behind bythose who came before you set out on a spine-tingling adventure to uncover themystery of Dark Fall.Product Features A cryptic message.  A hidden evil.  An ancient mystery. Many intriguing locations to explore. A spine-tingling imaginative story. Original puzzles and challenges. Windows Requirements Windows 95 98 Me 2000 XP Pentium 233 MHz processor 64 MB of RAM SVGA Graphics Card with 32-bit color 24X CD-ROM drive Mouse Keyboard Speakers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

180 of 184 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Game I've Played All Year, August 24, 2003

By 

wysewomon "wysewomon" (Paonia, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Fall: The Journal (CD-ROM)

For gamers who love pure first person adventure, _Dark Fall_ dishes up some of the best that the genre has to offer. With a spooky atmosphere, engaging story, absorbing puzzles and great sound and graphics, _Dark Fall_ will probably keep you playing far into the night -- but you might not want to be alone.

Your brother, an architect, is designing a resort and club to take the place of an old hotel and train station. In an opening movie, you receive a phone message asking you to come to the site as strange things are happening. When you arrive, your brother has disappeared and the place is deserted. You soon find out that the old Dowerton Inn has a history of disappearances. As you explore the hotel and station you uncover the frightening story behind these happenings. Soon enough it becomes apparent that it's up to you to put a stop to whatever it is that's going on.

Originally published by an independent designer, _Dark Fall_ is a treat to play. The graphics are wonderful and detailed. The sound is mainly f/x replete with spooky voices just beyond intelligible, giving you the sense that, though you are alone, you may find otherwise at any minute. The interface is very simple and easy to use, allowing you to get caught up in the story. I found the pace of this game ideal. Although there are numerous locations to explore, you never get the sense that you are wandering around looking at things to no apparent purpose; there is always some information to be collected or a puzzle to solve.

There is a nice variety to the puzzles: some inventory, some mechanical, some sound and a lot of putting information from difference locations together to come up with solutions. The inventory is minimal, which I appreciated; I'm a bit tired of games where you collect forty-eleven different pieces of inventory, many of which you use only once. Most of _Dark Fall's_ inventory has multiple uses. Once you have all the pieces you need, the puzzles are relatively simple and straight forward. There is no need for a walkthrough or strategy guide. If you get stuck, the game includes a built-in hint feature that is nicely presented as part of the plot.

There were a few places where you got close-up views of things for no apparent reason and a few things you could interact with that were merely entertaining, rather than adding to the story or helping you solve any puzzle, but these did not detract from the overall experience. There are no timed puzzles, no mazes and you can't die, although you can be quite frightened at times.

_Dark Fall_ reminded me quite a bit of AMBER, but I found it better thought-out and more engaging. It's also somewhat longer; I took about twenty hours to finish it. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

155 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thoroughly enjoyed this game, November 11, 2003

By 

Lisa Adams (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Fall: The Journal (CD-ROM)

If you are like me, you are more interested in an adventure game that has a good story, well integrated puzzles and decent voice acting than 360 degree panning and "beautifully rendered graphics". Those things are nice, but if you can't enjoy playing the game, who cares about the nice graphics?

Don't get me wrong, this is still a beautiful game with perfect mood enhancing sounds. What makes this game a treasure is the story line along with "puzzles" that fit into the story near seemlessly. I've played almost every adventure game out there and this game is on my top 10 best games along with some of the Zork games, Myst, Monkey Island, & Grim Fandango. The puzzles aren't so hard that you go away annoyed and irritated. There is no pixel hunting.

I think you will enjoy this game if you are the type of person who doesn't need flashy tricks to make up for a boring game with bad puzzles and lack of story line. This game is what all adventure games should strive to be. I enjoyed it and I hope you will too.

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How about a good scare??, August 18, 2003

By 

Catnip "Beth" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dark Fall: The Journal (CD-ROM)

I bought Dark Fall from the man who created it, Jonathan Boakes, before Dreamcatcher Games realized it was a treasure and agreed to produce it for adventure game fans in the United States. I not only wasn't disappointed; I found one of my top ten games of all time (and I started playing games in college when Zork was a new text adventure).
The game is set in England. You receive a call from your brother and he needs help. He tends to dabble in the supernatural for a living, but you don't believe in that nonsense...right? When you arrive, the train station and beautiful but somewhat rundown art deco hotel are deserted. Except for the ghosts and the voices that may speak to you from nowhere. You may be exploring a room and find that a shadow has passed in front of you, but turn around to find nothing. There are clues in the old hotel and train station, and you've found your brother's equipment, right where he left it before...well, before something spoke to him and knew his name. Now it knows your name, too, and you have to solve the mystery before it finds you. Good luck, and remember to play with the lights off if you're brave enough. But you might want to be sure you aren't in the house alone!