Do you ever wish that there was a simple point and click game out there where you could just sit back and enjoy a story? Dark Fall reminds me of those great games such as The Seventh Guest and Shivers. The style of it is puzzle type game. It has a mildly creepy atmosphere. It starts out much like Myst, where a brother is involved in the storyline. You get a call and he says there's a problem with the hotel. Now he needs your help. You appear near some train tracks. Then you need to solve puzzles in order to get some secret words which are used to stop the evil presence.

The game play is similar Myst. Using the mouse you simply click on the screen to interact with objects and move. The game might be relaxing because it focuses on puzzles instead of shooting. The puzzles in the game aren't too hard. Most of them involve clicking things in the proper sequence. Usually the clues are given to you prior to the puzzle points so it isn't too difficult to figure out. Or you use items from in your inventory to make something happen.

Dark Fall has a spooky atmosphere. You hear dead people whispering in the background and the atmosphere is dark. There are ghosts lurking around but this is no Silent Hill or Fatal Frame. So it isn't scary at all.

In Dark Fall it feels like you're doing the same thing over and over. It's repetitve. You use a computer which had web browser in it. It was cool using a little web browser inside a game. The graphics are pre-rendered environments and movies. The game is rather bland. The graphics are a bit dark and spooky. You get a lantern to light dark areas. This made some pretty good lighting effects for its time. Shadows would be cast and it is better than the same old flashlight in many other games. You'll also hear the sounds of children singing, ghosts whistling, and footsteps in the empty hotel.

Adventure company usually makes a better-than average game. This game does a decent job of combining Myst type gameplay with Shivers style art design. The system specs aren't souped up so you don't need a top of the line gaming PC to run it which is a plus. For under twenty dollars it's a good value. I could see a lady my mother-in-law's age sitting down and playing this game with a glass of white wine on a Saturday night.
I give it a 6.5.

Category : Adventure
Publisher :The Adventure Company
Developer :XXv Productions
Release : July 29, 2003
MSRP (US): $14.99
ESRB : Teen

Minimum Requirements:
CPU: 233 Mhz or faster
Memory: 32MB Ram
Video: SVGA Graphics Card with 32 bit color
HDD Space: 502MB

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