This could have been a great game.

Step into this chilling world based on John Saul's six book series called "Blackstone Chronicles". The setting of the game is within the walls of an old Asylum. The Asylum is in the process of being restored and turned into a museum of Psychiatric History. The renovation, for some reason, revived the evil within the Asylum. The player takes on the role of the last superintendent's son, Oliver Metcalf. The spirit of the old super is holding Oliver's son somewhere in the Asylum.

Oliver's task is simple, but only in concept. In order to find his son, the player must solve the puzzles that unravel. The game is definitely a mind teaser. I found myself going around in circles at some points in the game. The game engine is slow and can be frustrating when you have to do some backtracking. With all the development milestones passed in 3D platforms, one would think game companies would use the latest technology available to heighten the gaming experience. Even with a PII 450 with 256 MB SDRAM, two 12 MB 3D cards and a 32X CDROM, this game still lumbers through loading scenes.

Cheesy still photos of a real little boy add to the deltas for this game. The game basically runs off the CD, so why not use movie files instead of still frame photos? The use of movie files along with diffusion to create that supernatural effect would have enriched the game greatly. Instead, when a still photo is plastered on top of some truly beautiful Asylum scenery, the player is reminded that it is only a game. The Blackstone Chronicles would be a complete waste if not for the artistry used to create the Asylum. The use of subtle lighting produces a chilling ambiance. The sound is fairly decent. Some of the sound effects, coupled with the scenery, made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. However, some of the dialog was really corny and poorly read.

Probably the most enticing part of this game was the story and the characters. I was so enthralled by the story and the setting, I had to run out to the bookstore and get John Saul's book, The Blackstone Chronicles.

The Blackstone Chronicles had potential. It is apparent that a solid effort was put into creating the world John Saul envisioned. However, it appears that some poor decisions were made in this game's development. If this game had a more fluid game engine, more emotionally read dialog, and better supernatural cutaways, it would have been a great game. The days of slow loading games are over. This is the era of power PC's with high performance graphics cards. Give us games that push the envelope.

Reviewed by Thomas Kemp.