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Ecstatica is one of the most unique and compelling action/adventures ever
made, but also one of the most controversial due to its nonchalant depiction of
violence and nudity. You are a lone traveler who stopped to pick up new supplies at
Tirich, a small 10th century village, only to discover that a demon has been
unleashed, and is going on a killing rampage. The local sorcerer's maid, Ecstatica,
lies in a deep trance possessed by the demon. A few survivors give you some clues as
to what has been happening and how to go about rescuing the maiden. You have a choice
of playing as a male or female character, although the choice of female character is
evidently an afterthought, since you will be referred to as a "he" throughout the
game and chased by well-endowed women. Ecstatica uses a novel "ellipsoid" technology
to animate charactes, which results in very realistic movements that are a step up
from the polygonal characters of Alone in The Dark. One of the game's strongest points
is the strong enemy AI. Monsters are surprisingly intelligent: they will seek you out,
ambush you, and either try to subjugate or kill you. There are a few different weapons
you can use, but you will die frequently because combat controls take some getting
used to, and monsters are smart enough to gang up on you. Although its emphasis in
clearly on action, Ecstatica is at heart an adventure game in that there are puzzles
you must solve in order to progress, even if they are physical ones such as figuring
out a way to get to a door that is out of reach. In contrast to Alone in The Dark, you
can only carry one inventory item at a time, so you will need to wander around the
village, trying to find use for the item in hand before picking up another (you can
drop it, though). What makes Ecstatica controversial is the depictions of some scenes
that are sacrilegious, vulgar and violent. For instance, you will need to steal a holy
relic from a church, and monks may die during the course of the game. Your male
character will also take a few opportunities to pee, and witness scenes of tortures
and full frontal nudity. Despite the short length, there are many delightful animations
and novel gameplay elements in here to please fans of action adventures. In 1997, a Windows version was released with better graphics and support for resolution 640x480 |