But on the other hand, did it REALLY hurt Eye Of The Beholder so badly that if you ran away and hid somewhere clear of monsters you were allowed to heal up? I know I certainly still got killed a lot of times in that game - so it wasn't all that much of a tension breaker.
Mind you, it was horribly unrealistic that you could sleep for upwards of thirty six hours just round the corner from an army of skeletons without any of them noticing you.
So is it more or less unrealistic that you're not allowed to rest despite the fact that over half the team are actually unconscious already?
Anyway - after I've had my hot chocolate and written that previous bit of blog, I come back to the game and everyone was ready to rest. When they'd had a good kip they were ready to proceed. I guess Hofstedt will've been surprised at Dirr's very casual approach to being trapped alone, half dead in a cave.
"So... you rushed to get us help did you" I imagine him asking
"Well no. I just stayed put until you were ready to take a rest" she will have replied
"you... you weren't panicked - staggering for help through a swamp?"
"Nah - and if you hadn't been such a prima donna about how and when you're willing to rest, I wouldn't have got so much of my book read..."
"oh... what... er... so... what'cha readin'? You have very nice legs by the way..."
"Shall we move on yeah?"
"Yeah... yeah, probably best... I secretly love you..."
Of we go, tramping further into the cave.
And as if this place wasn't weird enough already - as I round the corner I'm confronted with a huge cavern of pulsating green boils. Seriously - every surface is alive with squirming green pustules. I'm not sure at first that it's going to be safe to walk on this stuff, but to be honest there's nothing else I can see to do. You can't examine it so clearly none of the gang think this is anything worth commenting on.
Honestly, I'm coming to think that using first-person mode at judicious intervals in this game was a stroke of genius. The way it emphasises the freaky environments when you feel like you're walking through them is outstanding - and I don't think it's something I'd've ever considered before. If you'd have asked me before I played this game if the camera angle would effect the dramatic impact of crazy locations I don't know if I'd've thought it would. But seriously - walking up to a pulsating room in first person mode feels so much more threatening than it would've in the isometric 3rd person...
Anyway, it turns out it's safe to walk on the boils. The building stretches on for a few more uninhabited rooms - it seems even the monsters aren't keen to live this deep in the mad haunted house.
Indeed, it's almost eerily deserted back here - and since my torches ran out a long time ago, we're navigating entirely on Dirr's capacity to see in the dark. And since she's not amazing at that, there's a wall of gloom that never moves further than a few feet ahead of us.
Deeper and deeper into the old guild-hall we go... Then, as we round a corner, a huge glowing column of light sweeps past us!
This is a twirling, dangerous looking yellow tornado of energy sweeping around the chamber! And yowtch! Here comes another one!
I back away to take a proper look at the space ahead. Two whirling laser columns are rushing around the outside extremes of the room and on the far side is a sort of blue, upside down tear-drop of pulsating jelly - with a large white ball suspended in the middle...
What kind of manic traps are these then? I glance at the clock (which, once you pick it up and switch it on, sits to the side of the screen for the rest of the game). Midnight. Midnight in the heart of a haunted old building that has been twisted by the spirit of a long dead Iskai. Laser hurricanes and a jelly enigma ahead of me, wave upon wave of savage beasts behind (not to mention roof tentacles, floor mouths and wall pustules!) If ever there was a time or place to say "knackers to it, this can't get much worse" this was it.
I dash across the room, dodging the lasers. I'm heading for the blue thing since it seems to be blocking the way out - but just as I get near by, I accidentally pull the USB link for my tracker ball out of the lap-top! I try to use the rubbish finger-pad to get us out of harms way in time, but it's just too lame (seriously, who uses this horrible little pads??! They're just... RUBBISH)
WHAM! The team takes a laser column to the flank! It's got to be all over now...
But wait! Somehow it's not! Some flavour text pops up saying that "the whole party gets a tingling sensation across their bodies". Then the laser maelstrom vanishes and the guys all get back some health!
I'm sitting marvelling at this, making sure I've understood what's happened properly, when KA-BLOOY! The other one hits me too.
Again, everyone gets the tingly sensation - but this time Tom and Hofstedt don't just get the health boost, they get little green face icons on them. Uh-oh, that can't be good... The little icons look like little sickly dead faces. Am I going to have to re-load?
Looking on their stat screens, it turns our that actually the men in the team are "intoxicated".
Basically they've got themselves high off the health-lasers. What a time for it!
"Seriously, couldn't you have held out until we were back in town before you get off your faces?" I imagine Dirr saying
"Woah man! It's like the walls are... like... alive dude!"
"NOT ONLY ARE THEY ALIVE, THEY ARE ALSO HAUNTED!"
"woooooooah"
Thankfully Dirr - the leader of my team - isn't loved up on lasers and is able to investigate the blue wibbly thing we were running for (I've got the tracker ball back in now). I guess we'll have to sleep the effects of the lasers off next time everyone's tired.
Walking up the blobby tear-drop and hitting "Manipulate" prompts Dirr to press her face into it (?!?!?!) and psychically link to it!!!!
"Anyone home?" She mind-says.
"Yes. Conveniently for you, you've just pressed your face into the bulbous psychic appendage of me, Agrim, the 150 year old dead (well sort of dead) Former from ages ago. Lucky it wasn't a giant blue poop eh?"
"WOW! You're Agrim? TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PAST!!!"
"Well, I was peeved at not being allowed to be immortal in the regular way. So I became a building instead. Only now no-one wants to live in me because of the tentacles, mouth-pits, boils etc. Only monsters live in me now so I never get to talk to anyone. It's nice to chat"
"Cool! Tell me what you get up to these days"
"Oh, y'know. Nothing much. No one really comes by because of the monsters and the fact that they think this place is haunted. There was this murderer came by a while ago for no reason. But he's dead now because of the monsters..."
"Ooh! We're looking for that guy! Where is he?"
"Well he's dead. But the remains are just through behind me... But stick around and chat for a bit won't you"
"I'll be honest. I'm already bored of psychically talking to a man-building, so I'm going to keep on with the murder investigation if you don't mind..."
"Oh... Well... Ok... I guess... Could you do me a favour though? Could you bring me a music crystal... I'm so lonely, it'd really make a difference..."
"Yeah yeah, music crystal. Whatever."
"Oh, and also - TWO SOURCES OF LIGHT! WHEN JOINED WITH A PATH OF LIGHT WILL LIGHT THE WAY TO A GREAT GIFT... OF LIGHT"
"Umm... Wanna move now?"
So the huge blue dood-dad that I guess was meant to be Agrim's giant haunted Trii shuffles past us, leaving room for the team to creep through into an anti-chamber and loot the corpse of the murderer.
Thankfully the anti chamber's not blobby and pustulous - it's back to the regular flower-power moss walls now. The murderer's body is all crumpled on the floor in front of us and when we investigate it there's not a lot to show for our epic trek through this manic haunted mansion of disco freak-out.
Not a lot... EXCEPT FOR A DISTINCTIVE ANTIQUE DAGGER!!!!
Finally! Our first clue to finding who REALLY hired this guy to do in Akiir! SWEET!
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