Who Killed Sam Rupert? Review

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Who Killed Sam Rupert?

Review by MWNovember 2002

Just One Chick’s Opinion

I sit down, ready to dive into a new adventure and explore the world of Crime Scene Investigation. I have in my hands Who Killed Sam Rupert?, the first installment of four investigations in the Virtual Murder Series. I pull out my magnifying glass, pen and paper, and set out to become one of the few, one of the elite, a virtual super sleuth. Donning my Sherlock gear and filling my virtual pipe with the necessary sleuthing tobacco, I settle in … only to I find I am done!

That’s right, you heard me correctly. I play the game twice through and manage to finish both rounds (combined) inside of half an hour. My first round is “orientation.” (A puff of smoke wafts upward from my pipe.) I need to figure my way around the game, which means I squander the time allotted me and lose the first round. The second time through is even shorter than my orientation and I solve the murder within ten minutes. What is my state of mind by this point? I feel shock, horror, and revulsion that this type of game can be allowed to go unchecked and pose as fun, a challenge or, worst of all, an adventure game. (I am choking and gasping for air, eyes tearing up, as I suddenly remember that I don’t smoke.) Putting on my Sherlock gear and doing my finger warmups has taken me infinitely longer to get through than solving the murder just did!

Despite the fact that with one blink I could actually miss half of the game, I’ll give you the lowdown on the perp … what little there is, anyway …

Just the Facts

The game itself is what I would term “point-and-select”; you just select the information you want to look at rather than using your clicker to click your way to adventure … or at least to some fun. You are the detective assigned to the case at hand, and although everyone else in the game has a name (including your partner Lucie Farewell, whom you never see but can hear), you don’t; so much for being a Lead Investigator.

The game revolves around the murder of a restaurant owner by the name of Sam Rupert who has been found lying dead in a wine cellar. You are given a crime report, forensic information, a notebook to detail your findings (which I did not discover or use until after I had selected my suspects) and all the usual stuff you’ll see cops digging through on a top forensic show …  Okay, it’s not as high-quality, but look, I am trying to make myself feel better. Can’t you show me some compassion here?

Here is the kicker: You are given six hours to solve the game.  (This is the point where I start to hyperventilate, “Six hours, only six hours, how can I possibly solve a murder in six hours? This will be one of those games that I’ll have to play through three times before I solve the mystery … That means I will have a total 18 hours of fun to look forward to and all the money spent on the Sherlock getup will have been well worth it!”) Well, it turns out that the six hours to which the programmers allude is a virtual six hours; I guess players are supposed to read between the lines. After questioning my eight suspects, I use up most of my six hours within the span of less than eight real-time minutes, and my “Ah ha!” moment has just turned into a hugely resounding “Huh?” After reading a few of the reports, I find the killer, file my warrant for arrest, and that is that. Yes, I have chosen wisely: After five long, grueling minutes of late-night reading, sweating the details, and not wanting to accuse the wrong person, I find out that my laborious efforts have paid off …

Graphically speaking, I am of the belief that the bigger the better! (And just where is your dirty mind? I’m talking games here; pay attention!) I have a 19-inch monitor for a reason: I like the graphical immersion. I pop in WKSR, click on the game icon, and instead of pleasure, I get pain. I have been rooked.  The screen pops up, and what I get is a dinky little window that only takes up a third of my monitor screen, so I can see my desktop while I am playing. (I have definitely shown up overdressed for this occasion.) No resizing is allowed; you get what you pay for, bub … (Well, I only paid a buck, but it was a hard-earned buck, I tell you, and I have squandered it like some little rich kid cloaked in bills. WKSR is the repercussion of frivolity, and I have to pay.) The graphics are standard and not much to get hyped over. A lot of the shots are just stills with a few short movie clips inserted, so that a player can pretend to be playing a game. Oh, those cunning gaming fiends over at Creative Multimedia Corporation sure know how to throw a “par-tay” and keep a gamer interested!

Considering the source, don’t expect a lot of extra frills. The soundtrack is minimal at best, and in the Movement and Direction Department, there is none. Rumor has it the rest of the series is virtually the same (pun both intended and not intended)—even going so far as to use some of the same clips! (Hey, is anyone getting the feeling that I have a slight distaste for this game?  I am sorry if I am giving you that impression; I actually mean to impart a feeling of utter disgust.) I feel that I have given this game too much of my time considering that I could have been out searching the adventure gaming frontier for a good game to play during those minutes instead. I hope this review serves to steer a hapless gamer away from the dangers of this “game,” instead of becoming CMC’s next vic (to all you novices, that’s CSI talk for victim). The game touts itself as being exciting, witty, and challenging, which I guess could be the case if you are a sixth grader—I just happen to be in the seventh.

(For those considering this game for a child, please be advised that it does have a couple of instances of soap-and-water language.) The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Creative Multimedia Publisher: Creative Multimedia Release Date: 1993

Available for: Macintosh Windows

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System Requirements

PC: Windows 3.1 386SX or above 4 MB RAM 500K free hard disk space Super VGA with 512K+ video memory 256 colors with Windows drivers supported Sound card CD-ROM drive

Macintosh: System 6.0.7 or later 3.5 MB RAM 8-bit color and color monitor

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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