If you like to be daring, want to spend a night in a haunted castle, like solving puzzles as if your life depends on it, and enjoy adventure games, then you'll like Sierra's SHIVERS! OK..., its a museum and not a castle, and YOU won't really die, but you will spend the night (and probably a few more) playing this game.
On a dare, you are spending the night at Professor Windlenot's unopened, uncompleted museum of the strange and unusual. You've been locked in by your friends and they won't be back for you until dawn. Your task is to survive the night and trap the evil, freely-roaming "Ixupi" before they drain your life essence and add you to their list of victims. If only you knew about this before you accepted the challenge you might have gone to the movies with your friends instead. Fortunately, you quickly learn they can be trapped in containers comprised of pots and matching lids (referred to as talismans).
The plot is loosely based on actual myths and legends from around the world which helps us to immerse ourselves in the game (since vampires, evil spirits, spacemen, etc. are all familiar subjects). The graphics, both photos and artwork, (except for the unfortunate Ixupi design), are excellent and the sound effects really add to the mood. Saved games are limited to 20 per player and unfortunately allow only an 8 character description. The control panel is easy to use and has a "Flashback" feature that lets you re-consult various helpful reference items. This is handy since you're only allowed a single item at a time in your inventory (pot, or talisman, or a properly combined pot/talisman) and Flashback eliminates a lot of painful backtracking. A missing feature is a method of rapidly moving from one area to another that had previously been visited, such as MYST's lightning bolt. Re-climbing flights of stairs many times becomes tedious, to say the least.
For true puzzle solvers, there are 27 logic puzzles that vary in difficulty so that you neither have to beat your head against the wall until you run out of Tylenol nor feel cheated because you breezed through it all. Many of the puzzles require clues from other areas (Flashback to the rescue!), while some, like arranging figures in certain patterns to open elevator doors, can be done on the spot.
Adventure gamers will be happy to learn that Shivers requires you to poke your nose into everything possible and look at anything visible on the screen. You'll need to find clues to solve puzzles, search out pots and talismans, and of course, capture the evil Ixupi. All of this with a good old fashioned NON-intelligent cursor. Finally, a game that doesn't do everything for us. A game that makes the player look at the screen and not just watch the highlighted cursor to tell us what the important items are. Maybe soon there will be one that actually lets us type (or speak!) the commands and we can again relive the golden days of adventure game playing!
Clues must be found and puzzles solved before you can even enter the locked museum. More of the same plus multi-levels, multi-rooms, hidden doors and passages await you inside. Don't let the sights and sounds distract you from your primary goal. This is a Sierra game and you can die. Each unsuccessful encounter with an Ixupi will drain some of your life essence. Once you have expired, and are reincarnated, the nasties rearrange the items and force you to start your search again.
For new gamers, there is an accompanying booklet that gives a brief history of the evil you must contain, an overview of each puzzle (but not solutions), and a small walkthru to get you started. There is also the usual installation info, credits, technical support numbers, and the hint line numbers (maybe with all the games out dealing with the supernatural, someone will add a Psychic Hotline number soon).
For old and new adventurers, and puzzle solvers alike, this is a game that will keep you interested. Remember to enjoy the scenery! Many murals adorn the halls and walls (ignore the rough spots - the museum hasn't been completed). Statues and displays are everywhere (some still in crates). So...take the dare and spend the night...it will give you the SHIVERS!
