Dracula Unleashed
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| Dracula Unleashed | |
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| Developer(s) | ICOM Simulations, inc. |
| Publisher(s) | Viacom |
| Platform(s) | Sega CD, Windows |
| Release date | 1993 |
| Genre(s) | FMV adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | VRC: MA-13 |
Dracula Unleashed was a full motion video and computer game with a similar format to Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. The game was released for the Sega CD and Windows 95 in 1993. Both versions of the game are identical, except the quality of the full motion video was better on the computer version of the game.
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[edit] Story
In the game, the player assumes the role of young Texas businessman Alexander Morris. Living in London during the winter of 1899, he has been accepted into the exclusive Hades Club and is about to be married to the lovely Annisette Bowen. However, it soon becomes clear that Morris' late brother was part of the team that destroyed Dracula, and that now the prince of darkness has risen again to seek revenge. Players must venture to various locations in London and watch the full motion video scenes (totaling about 90 minutes) to pick up items, gather clues about Dracula, and gain access to new locations. Visiting the correct locations at the correct times with the right items in hand is crucial to achieving victory.
[edit] Criticism
Dracula Unleashed was a part of the new wave of video-based video games released in the early 1990s, when the videogame industry was moving toward interactive movies. This trend eventually ended because these interactive movies often lacked movie-quality acting and production quality. Due to technological restrictions, interactivity was also very limited during gameplay and video quality was worse than television or movies. The Sega CD videogame system helped in the decline of these games' popularity as the severe hardware limitations of the system (only 64 on-screen colors at once from a total selection of 512) meant that the quality of the full motion video was never the same as watching a television show or film.
[edit] DVD
In 2002, Infinite Ventures, Inc. released the game in DVD format, making it accessible to a new home market. The game is identical in play, but the advantages of the new format allow for full-screen, DVD-quality video. Furthermore, the game is playable in any DVD-compatible player, to include game consoles like the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It also has a "behind the scenes" featurette, as well as some audio bloopers.
There are some minor differences between the DVD version and the Sega CD and PC versions:
- The woodblock carving-style still graphics displayed as backgrounds in many locations and during several exposition scenes in the Sega CD version are not present in the DVD version.
- The Sega CD version had several different carriage driver phrases, spoken whenever the carriage was used to change locations. These are not present in the DVD version. However, you can still hear the some of the lines being performed in the bloopers.
- In the PC and Sega CD Versions it was possible to be arrested at night when spying on a character at the bookstore. The DVD does not include this, possible because the event happens at random in the other versions and because of the lengthy save-game procedure in the DVD version. The scene is included as an extra on the DVD.
- During the intro and ending credits as well as some climatic points in the story, the PC and Sega CD versions included Carl Orff's O Fortuna as a music cue. The DVD version has replaced these cues with a synthesized variation on the tune.
- The PC and Sega CD Versions, during some scenes in the game, would cut away to still illustrations particularly when someone is describing a past event. The DVD version does not cut away in the same scenes.
[edit] Parental advisory
When it was released for the Sega CD, it was given an MA-13 label by the Videogame Rating Council. This would be similar to a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America. The game has a spooky atmosphere and musical score, along with some images of blood however, it is not up to the level of typical R-rated horror films.
