Call of Cthulhu: Prisoner of Ice

Howard Phillips Lovecraft is almost a cult character for every enthusiast of good horror and it's a wonder that his prose, full of ancient, mysterious and bloodthirsty deities, is still treated in a miserable way by computer game developers today. Apart from the few loose references to the mythology of Cthuihu, of which the American writer was the father, only one company regularly tried to make players interested in the sick products of his imagination. French Infogrames, because it is just being mentioned, already in 1992 published a game based on stories by Lovecraft, and it was the famous Alone in the Dark. Only a year later, their next production was released on the market, this time prepared in cooperation with Chaosium Inc. (a company with full rights to use the name Call of Cthulhu), and it was a full-blooded adventure game entitled Shadow of the Comet. Despite a rather clumsy interface and somewhat archaic graphics, it is still a must for all enthusiasts of the genre, mainly due to the solid scenario, but considering the sources from which the authors of the game drew, it should not surprise anyone. In 1995 Chaosium and Infogrames decided to join forces again and so Prisoner of Ice was created, the second adventure based entirely on the mythology of Cthulhu and it is this product I have the pleasure to present....

The action of the game began in 1937, but the theatre of action is not, as it might seem, Europe preparing for World War II, but the southern regions of our globe: Antarctica, Falkland Islands and Argentina. The main character of Prisoner of Ice is Lieutenant Ryan, an American agent, docopted on board the British submarine H.M.S. Victoria. The ship, which during a rescue mission off the coldest continent, takes on board two mysterious boxes, is suddenly attacked by a German destroyer and tries to get to a British base located in the Falkland Islands with serious damage. As a result of internal damage and fire, an unidentified monster escapes from the hold, which devours the captain on a good day. As the next officer, Ryan must save the boat, carry out an investigation to explain what he really is dealing with and, as is usually the case in such stories, at the same time save the whole world from extinction. Although it may seem a bit naive, it is the scenario that is the strongest point of the game - it draws in like a bright cholera without a doubt.

Since Shadow of the Comet, the gentlemen from Infogrames have significantly modified the user interface and praise them for what, like what, but clumsy control, can effectively disgust any adventure, even the best prepared in other respects. In the case of Prisoner of Ice, operation comes down to the use of two mouse buttons, the left one responsible for lifting and using objects, while the right one allows Ryan to watch them, which can sometimes result in specific instructions from Ryan. And the latter may be simply necessary, as the game is not the easiest one to play. The puzzles are difficult and demanding, but most importantly - logical - so that we will not encounter absurd situations in which the use of idiotic objects that have nothing in common will determine the success of the game. An additional difficulty, which spends time sleeping with eyelids, are the moments when we have to make further decisions in a flash, otherwise the game will end in our death. This happens, for example, every time we stand eye to eye with the Ice Prisoners, or when we try to avoid execution by escaping from a Nazi cell. Yes, such solutions raise the level of adrenaline, but on the other hand, another unsuccessful attempt to get out of a stalemate may turn out to be a traumatic experience. In order to have a full picture of the attractions prepared for us by the authors of Prisoner of Ice, it is also necessary to mention the microscopic objects, the finding of which is bordered by a miracle. If you dream of completing this game yourself, be prepared to patiently explore each room, pixel by pixel. Finally, a few more words about aesthetic values. The program works in both VGA and SVGA mode, but the first one is probably for masochists only. Compared to other adventures of the period, Prisoner of Ice presents itself in low resolution extremely ugly. Fortunately, there is a second option left and it's quite decent here. Graphics, according to the spirit of the times, is two-dimensional, but the authors have tempted themselves for a light avant-garde: static, painted backgrounds are combined with rendered characters of the characters - the final effect is interesting, but not everyone likes it especially. An unquestionable taste of all the adventures are film interludes and additional animations - there are quite a lot of them in Prisoner of Ice, although apart from the rendered intro they don't knock you to your knees. It is completely different with music, about which one can only say one thing: it is sensational. When you need to be calm, sometimes disturbing, it can also dangerously speed up at key moments in the game, increasing the overall experience.

The final price of Prisoner of Ice is high, because it is a product at a high level. Nice both to the eye and ear, it surprises with solutions in the storyline layer, and yet it is these factors that determine the strength of adventures. It has one more important advantage: it is demanding, but not to such an extent that after another defeat it can be thrown into the corner. On the contrary, it forces you to make even more effort and does not allow you to break away from your computer. It has only one small drawback: it is too short, but on the other hand it can be better, after all, what's too much is unhealthy...

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Last updated on August 14, 2015