[Fien]

Aren't cheap scares in the eyes of the beholder? Yep, it's much more scary than the first Dark Fall, that's for sure.

Haven't finished it yet, but I like what Jonathan Boakes has done.

[Sik]

Originally Posted by kotkin

Sorry but I never understood why mr Boakes games considering to be really good. This was the last time to play a game from this creator. I need more intelligent games...

I like his games because they are atmospheric and intelligent, relying more on creating a creepy something-could-happen-at-any-moment setting to be scary than throwing cheap scares at the player at all times. I'm sorry you didn't like Lost Souls, but I suspect it has more to do with personal taste than the quality of his games.

[Mohlin]

Give us an example of an "intelligent" game then Kotkin, so we know what you like.

[renna]

What I want to know is should I buy it and is it worth it? Really? I'm waiting for adventure gamers to review it before I buy it but darn it it's taken them awhile. (lol) Anyway, I played the first one and liked it - so we'll see.

[kotkin]

I can compare the Lost Souls to Scratches, because they have similar points. But Scratches managed to build the tension.. In the beggining everything seemed to be normal in the house.. But slowly, you start to feel that something is wrong there..Not because you see a ghost right in front of you.. The fear there it was allusive... And as you progress into the game you take more and more but in a very ambiguous way... You never know if there a ghost there, or it was in your mind...Until the end..For me this was more frightening, comparing to Lost Souls.
I fount very intelligent games the broken sword series, the longest journey, gabriel knight series, syberia, still life 1, last express, grim fandago, fahrenheit, hotel dusk., and some other.. I know that these are the classics, but sorry those are really good games with original thinking.

Lost souls for me its the ready made formula to make a horror game, using all the cliches and without economy in the horror. Right from the first second of the game it reminds me "now you are playing a really scary game"..The effort it was very obvious...
But a good adventure makes you forget that this is a game. Because you loose yourself inside the story and the whole world of the game..

This is my point of view.

[smulan]

I agree with Kotkin. I've bought and played all of Boakes games and that's because I think he's a really good and intelligent game developer. Dark Fall 1 and Lost Crown are both masterly crafted, Dark Fall 2 was a bit of a letdown, still a nice game, but Lost Souls is a failure.

[Mohlin]

Ok, I will receive mine i a few days, should be interesting to compare.

[danigar]

I have to agree with kotkin, as much as I like and respect Boake's games. I really like the first Dark Fall and love The Lost Crown, but here I can't help to get the same feeling, that he's just trying too hard to make it scary, with too many "boo" moments that it just becomes uhmm predictable? But the atmosphere is really creepy and obviously there are many things to enjoy if you're a Boakes fan, like the story and puzzles but yeah for the scare factor it feels really tired. (Although I also agree that this is also a matter of personal taste)

[Sik]

Maybe I've watched so many horror movies I've gone numb. To me, a "cheap scare" is a scene that is only scary because of sudden unexpected visual effects and/or loud noises. These tend to startle me, and annoy me if I happen to be holding a coffee cup at the time. I can honestly say I wasn't startled once while playing Lost Souls, but I got that lovely "this is creepy" sensation that I want from the genre every time I explored a new location. I never got that sensation from playing Scratches, but I gave up on that after a few hours because of boredom and bugs.

[Fantasysci5]

Oh dear. I love Jonathan Boakes games for two reasons-the creepy atmosphere, without "pop out" scares, and the characters and plot. I'm dearly in love with anything Jonathan Boakes makes, but I'm a little nervous for the new game. I'm excited about going back to the hotel from the first game, but I'm wondering if it will be different enough to not feel like the first game, and now the mention of cheap scares makes me a little uneasy about "Lost Souls". But I'll probably end up loving it.

[Fien]

Fantasy, Lost Souls does not feel like the first Dark Fall. You'll recognize the locations of course (and there's also other stuff from the past which I won't spoil for you) but it's the bare bones which are the same, the flesh is quite different.

[Fien]

I finished Lost Souls a few minutes ago. Wonderful environment, interesting story. Only a few real boo! scares, as far as I'm concerned, plus a fair number of yuck! moments. I didn't like the interface much but it added to the very very creepy atmosphere, which kept me on my toes. The voiceactors were so-so. And I. Heard. Those. Same. Boakes. Pauses. from the Lost Crown again.

Played it in the Easy mode because it's such a letdown if you start with the Difficult mode and play Easy the second time. That might be the reason some of the puzzles were of the trial-and-error or go-back-and-check variety. Other puzzles were quite clever (the very last one for instance). Sometimes I was at a loss what to do and I have used a walkthrough a couple of times.

Okay, so the game isn't flawless. But I had a thoroughly good time with it and that's what gaming is all about.

[Fantasysci5]

The same Boakes pauses?! As much as we hated them from the "Lost Crown", I've come to like them. I wasn't aware that players could choose a difficulty level. Man, I wish it would get here in the post already!!

[myfinalheaven]

He's an above average developer, but dear god he's a terrible voice actor.

[tomplaneswalker]

What I found very dissapointing about this game is that Boakes doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes from Lost Crown, we have the same lousy voice-actor from 'the lost crown' as the main character (is this boakes himself?) which really drags the atmosphere he's building up down, you still can't fast forward the dialogue (is this that hard to implement) + the interface is very slow. A bit of a letdown on that front...

[Fantasysci5]

Well, I just heard word from Sendit.com. Not only has "Lost Souls" not shipped yet, they don't think they can get it to me before Christmas. I've been dying with anticipation, and I'm no where closer to playing it then when it first came out!

I really want a boxed copy, so do any of you know somewhere that has already shipped "Lost Souls"?

[Mohlin]

Fantasysci5, I got mine today, and it was shipped a week ago (we were snowed in - no mail for a few days), from Play.com.

[Fien]

After I finished the game, I played with the Easy/Difficult settings and my saves (the manual says you can switch whenever you want to) but I haven't noticed any difference. I didn't do all the puzzles again, just five or six. It's possible I had less time in the Difficult mode to finish a certain timed puzzle, or it may have been my imagination. Disappointing.

[tastebud]

i've just finished the game and here are my opinions:

+ very creepy atmosphere
+ beautiful graphics
+ several creative locations and plot devices
+ boakes' trademark "voice acting" (at first upon hearing it in lost crown i thought wtf, but i've started to like it, very unique)
+ first dark fall game that i was able to finish (i do admit the first 2 sort of bored me but i got em after playing lost crown to support the developer, this one kept my attention beginning to end)

- puzzle difficulty for me is too hard. i had to constantly refer to a walkthrough. the slow movement sort of gave me the "ah, i rather will look up the answer, rather than spending half an hour walking around before being able to check if my idea works" attitude
- controls (i.e. movement) are somewhat slow
- i would have preferred more "cheap thrills", i.e. stuff popping out at you

overall very pleasant experience which makes me eager for more of boakes' creations (please dont let us wait too long for "last crown")

[PolloDiablo]

No-one else seems to be mentioning the thing I got annoyed with most of all, the way you have to move away the same sheet of corrugated iron each time you want to enter the station, the same mattress time and time again when you move through the hotel, and each and every time you get to the second floor you have to use your

Spoiler:

mobile phone as a torch

. I hate that. Once I've created an opening, it's open and it should stay that way. Also, the story wasn't quite as interesting and gripping as the first two. Some of the ghost stories felt like they were just added to make the game a liitle longer.
Apart from that, a solid adventure game with a great atmosphere (good graphics and sound) but mediocre voice acting. 7 or maybe 7.5 out of 10.