A Vampyre Story

Just Like The titular creatures of the night, adventure games are currently proving that, for a dead genre, they've still got some life left in them. A Vampyre Story is by far the best of the recent crop (apart from the Sam & Max games) and has been seen by many as a triumphant return to the heyday of the point-and-clicker. But does it live up to expectations?

The answer is largely yes, thankfully. What Vampyre does well is to recapture the essence and feel of those halcyon days in the early-to-mid-'90s, where point-and-clickers ruled the land and Core Design was better known for producing Curse of Enchantia than it was for Lara Croft.

There's nothing that's really out of place or genuinely revolutionary on view. The puzzles are strictly 'use object with another' and involve some lateral thinking here and there. Thankfully, there's never really any point where you hit a brick wall - a slimmed-down design model means there aren't too many things to randomly click on. As such the solutions tend to present themselves a little more readily than they did back in the day. Those of you who have a substantial knowledge of games like Monkey Island and Full Throttle (the title that Vampyre reminds me of most) will recognise a few in-jokes and references from time to time. Froderick the bat, who is your constant companion, voices his hatred of purple tentacles at one point, claiming that he much prefers green ones. As do we all, Froderick.

Aural Acid

Unfortunately, there are a couple of issues that hold the game back from being a genre classic. Firstly, the voice acting is very much a matter of personal taste. To some it will be fine; to others, it will be like pouring acid into your ears. It doesn't help that the humour can appear a little forced at times - but maybe that is just me being overly cynical. The game is also a tad short when compared to some of the classics, but there's still a good number of hours to be wiled away in Draxsylvania.

All in all, look no further if you are thinking of purchasing a game that doesn't involve explosions, the permanent maiming or butchering of enemy combatants or some form of zombietype creatures heading your way. Sam & Max, Strong Bad and now A Vampyre Story - adventure gaming hasn't been this strong in years.