There are lots of vampires these days. Lots of vampires trying new things, adding twists and attempting to be original. Mona of the puzzle RPG A Vampyre Story is not one of those vampires - and it's a good thing.
From the minds of the beloved Monkey Island series comes a rather stereotypical story; in my mind, so stereotypical that it's actually refreshing. Some people like trying new things, but for me, I'm a homebody, a slave to familiarity and things I know I like. A Vampyre Story takes everything from vampire mythology and has fun with it, presenting it in a fun, stylized fashion with interesting characters and dialogue. I mean, just look at the title. It's obviously an homage to John Polidori's The Vampyre, just looking at the spelling. The plot of the game is similar to many other horror stories as well - we have a young French opera singer who is captured by a fiendish if short vampire and taken to his castle in Draxsylvania. Young French opera singer? Sounds like Christine Daae from Phantom of the Opera. Draxsylvania? Why, what a clever twist on Dracula and Transylvania! And this is only the beginning of the dozens of references to both horror films, books, and other memorbilia as we follow the main character's story throughout the game.
You, the player, act as Mona De Lafitte who, from a very young age, has only ever wanted to be an opera singer. She is a talented singer who rose through the ranks, eventually catching the eye of Baron Shrowdy von Kiefer, who bespells Mona with his vampiric abilities and whisks her away to his dreadfully unkept castle, Castle Warg (Norse term for wolf, and sometimes applied to shapeshifters), in the gloomy land of Draxsylvania. There he transforms her into his vampire bride - but Mona is unhappy with this development, and very driven to return to France in order to continue her singing career. One night, while out seeking fresh "food" for himself and Mona, Shrowdy runs afoul of some vampire hunters and ends up getting staked. Mona attempts to seize the opportunity to escape, but leaving the castle is easier said than done - Shrowdy's evil spirit remained after his earthly form was disposed of, and is now blocking the only row boat out of the castle! And why doesn't she just swim out? Well, there's the lake monster to contend with...
Just as in Monkey Island, the point and click adventure requires you to explore the many rooms of the castle, where you will find clues and items that will aide Mona in her escape. Even the most obscure of objects can eventually solve a puzzle that might lead to a new area or answer a new question - and again, the game is rife with more references to other horror titles. Just Baroness von Kiefer's study alone has dozens of books that are all in one way or another tied to other scary movies, such as Friday the 13th and other more modern names. My particular favorite was a character by the name of Edgar Raven (and if you don't get that reference, I am going to make a shoe out of you) who requires some, ah, assistance in helping to pass a bowel movement due to some bad carrion. Hey, never said the game was entirely clean! And there are many other characters that come to life now that they don't have Shrowdy to boss them around. Static objects gain a voice and are eager to assist Mona in any way they can.
And as with any vampire, there are rules, though these tend to come into play more once you get outside of the castle and start Mona on her journey back to France. Mona can shapeshift into a bat, which is useful for getting through tight spaces to new areas, and also has a small helper named Froderick (a reference to Mel Brook's Young Frankenstein) who is a live bat himself. Mona is subjected to what I would consider are the most basic rules for vampires - sunlight is a no no, she has to rest in a coffin filled with earth from her home country, and garlic is a nuisance. Thankfully she can enter homes without too much of a fuss, which is helpful since the villagers in the town outside of Shrowdy's castle and in Vlad's Landing aren't terribly friendly to outsiders who look a bit pale and dress all in black. Eventually, though, should you be successful in navigating the various twists and turns of Mona's story, you will be rewarded with...a cliffhanger?!
That's right - the ending of the game suggests a sequel, one that never quite got off the ground. There are some fairly nifty screenshots that introduce a new cast of characters, and the lead of the next game would be Mona's sidekick, Froderick, as he attempts to rescue her from the new evil that has captured her. Damsel in distress much? Unfortunately, the sequel has hit a few roadblocks, and the last update to the website was in September of 2011. Reports have it wavering between being put on hold or being flat out cancelled - I certainly hope that things pull through in order to continue Mona's story! Check out The Pumpkin Post for the latest on everything related to AVS2, and keep an eye on it for developments. Keep your fingers crossed, and check out A Vampyre Story for PC!
No comments:
Post a Comment