Microids: Dracula III [Old Version]

by Encore

Product Features

• A new story faithful to the Bram Stoker universe
• A nail-biting investigation that blurs the line between myth and reality
• Decipher mysterious manuscripts, rune stones and ancient prophesies dating back to man's origin
• Picturesque graphics and intense cutscenes engulf you in a dark and gripping adventure
• Windows Vista / XP

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001AH7VZE
• Item model number: 8020687
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 23, 2008
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,944 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)

Product Description

September 1920: As Father Arno Moriani, you are sent by the Vatican to Transylvania to investigate a candidate for sainthood . But, in the shadows of the ruins that were once the castle of Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Count Dracula, your investigation takes an unexpected turn... Carry out your inquiry amidst tales of bloody deeds and ancestral legends. Will you survive before fear takes over? Features include: ¿A new story faithful to the Bram Stroker universe! ¿A nail-biting investigation that blurs the line between myth and reality! ¿Decipher mysterious manuscripts, rune stones and ancient prophecies dating back to man¿s origin! ¿Picturesque graphics and intense cutscenes engulf you in a dark and gripping adventure.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Started off strong but fizzled out, November 13, 2008

By 

Cullen W. Monk "CM" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Microids: Dracula III [Old Version] (DVD-ROM)

I played the previous installments of the Dracula games so I knew what to expect in the gameplay. This is a basic point and click game where you go around having to solve problems to advance the plotline. There is substantially more dialogue in this game to include a choice in your questions and answers though what you choose to say has no effect on the direction of the game. Some of the dialogue can drag on and you get to the point where you just want to move forward.

Like previous games, some of the puzzles are just incredibly frustrating and don't make any sense. Some of these puzzles require long bouts of trial and error. Or you can find an online guide to show you how to get through.

Possibly spoilers below

The plotline starts off pretty strong; you're a priest who served in WWI and you are sent to investigate the possibly canonization of a nurse in a remote Romanian village. As you investigate you find odd occurances and something bigger going on. Eventually, you are put on the path of the Dragon which will lead you to Dracula.

Most of the plotline takes place in this little village and while it's fun to explore, it would have been nice to send you to more locations. You do visit a deserted cave-prison in Turkey and a professor's office in Budapest but aside from that, the game is situated in this little town of Vladoviste. As with previous games in this series, you are very limited in where you can go and what you can do. For instance, you are confined to four main streets in Vladoviste and only two buildings. You can venture out towards a ruined castle or up to a creepy graveyard but here you are limited in what you can do and see.

The plotline could have been thicker; why not send the player to other locations? Why not allow the player to search more areas? And there is almost zero action in this game where as in previous games you had to battle monsters and other villians.

The last part of the game to me was underwhelming. You face off against Dracula in a series of questions and you have to give the correct answer. Here again it's simple trial and error until you get all the answers correct and then it moves to a cut-scene. Not really all that spectacular except for the fate of the player.

The historical background into Dracula and the interwar years was interesting and that's where the game is strong but aside from that, this is likely a game I won't play again.

The scenery was good, the plotline started off strong and sputtered and the puzzles lost their fun early as it became tedious after a short while.

Not a bad game but not one I would likely play again.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dracula Mystery, September 18, 2008

By 

Kalavinka "Kalavinka" (Columbus, OHIO United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Microids: Dracula III [Old Version] (DVD-ROM)

I really enjoyed this game, and indeed it is my favorite Dracula game thus far. The graphics are rather dark, moody but look gorgeous with fairly smooth movement between scenes. The characters were quite appealing and well developed, with non-intrusive voicing. The cut sequences were actually fun to watch and contributed to the over all feel of the game. The controls are pretty much intuitive and completely mouse driven. While the puzzles and clues are challenging, at no point did I feel completely locked out by one of those impossible puzzles.

While I expected a typical Dracula story, the storyline is actually quite interesting-- more along the lines of a murder mystery-- with a priest as the protagonist. I found myself up all night playing because I was engaged in the story and because I fealt that I actually learned a few things about Vlad Tepes and Transylvania. Indeed, it was almost more like reading a book than actually playing a game. I also rather enjoyed having a full text version of Dracula in my inventory.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of atmosphere, but low on vampires, November 7, 2008

By 

S. Hodge - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Microids: Dracula III [Old Version] (DVD-ROM)

Microids Dracula 3: Path of the Dragon is the sequel to its two earlier games Microids: Dracula 1 & 2 DJC. The protagonist is Father Arno Moriani, a priest sent by the Vatican to investigate a local Transylvanian doctor who is slated for sainthood. But his seemingly simple investigation into the good doctor takes several unpredictable twists, and he soon finds himself plunged headfirst into a world of shadowy vampires, a battle that threatens not only his faith but also his life.

The main failing of the game is the *absence* of vampires; you only deal directly with the title character at the very end of a long and tiring journey. The rest of the time, you're researching obscure texts, closely examining artwork, and leafing through hefty tomes of Romanian history that deal with the origins of Dracula, or Vlad Tepes. There are also undercurrents of WWII even though the game is set in 1920 (yep, evil Nazis and bad German accents!). There are only a handful of characters, but the ones you do interact with are generally fleshed out, with unique personalities and solid voicework.

The puzzles themselves are some of the better ones I've seen in the last few years; there's a wide variety of strategy board games, locks, word puzzles, and inventory-based puzzles. Phlebotomy takes up a large part of the game; if you're squeamish, you probably won't go for the graphic how-to on drawing your own blood several times ("now all that's left is to push the needle deep into the vein!"), or poring over cells under a microscope. Generally, the solutions are quite obvious, although one of the end puzzles requires careful observation and piecing together clues collected throughout the game. One of the features which could have been better utilized was the Bible passages; whenever your character is stressed out (you'll hear his heart beating loudly), you can flip open the Bible to an underlined passage that is directly related to the situation at hand. This action isn't necessary, however, and could have been made a more central element directly related to protecting Father Arno's faith (and sanity).

The graphics are lushly drawn, bringing to life the war-torn village with its bombed-out buildings. Ghostly howls ricochet down the empty streets. The lushness of Budapest is a direct contrast to war-ravaged Romania, and you visit rural Turkey as well. Character animations are effective, and the cutscenes are downright gorgeous, with a hazy, dreamlike quality (you're able to replay videos through the gallery feature on the main menu). The only disappointment was the ending; after so many hours of research and daring escapes, the final confrontation was brief and disappointing. The end cinematics were great, though, and leave openings for future installments. Overall, this is a solidly crafted adventure with loads of atmosphere and political intrigue, but sadly, little of the title character.