The Collection Chamber: December 2023

Monday, December 4, 2023

BATMAN RETURNS

Frigid winter winds swept over an already chilled Gotham City. Random street crimes were running at an all-time high, despite the holidays. Down below, in the city's frozen sewers, Oswald Cobblepot, known as The Penguin, planned more mayhem and schemed the takeover of the frightened metropolis. His loyal army of missile-packing Penguin Commandos and the bizarre Red Triangle Circus Gang are energized by the evil genius of the web-footed orphan. A desperate call to Batman goes up.

Partner with Batman to salvage Gotham City from The Penguin's cold-hearted plot. Guide him in swift, life-like moves from dark alleys to rooftops in vivid scenes based on the hit movie, "Batman Returns." Control his combat style, and help conduct relentless interrogations of The Penguin's many allies. Use the Batcave computer to input clues, analyze evidence, and review enemy bios. You're in charge of weapons too. Stock Batman's Utility belt with enough heat to match the diverse fighting styles of The Penguin and his cold-blooded, sewer-dwelling minions. Gotham City is in trouble.

~ from the back of the box

Tim Burton's second Batman movie got its fair amount of video game adaptations, with a variety of console-based versions already covered in the Batman vs Superman Collection. There was one anomaly amongst the platformers and beat-em-ups that was not featured there; the PC game. Published by Konami in 1992, Batman Returns running on DOS is - wait for it - an adventure game!

The investigative nature of the World's Greatest Detective (as he is so often described in the comics) suits the puzzle-solving point-and-click playstyle of such a game. Nevertheless, but it's still a pleasant surprise to see it realised in something other than an educational title made for kids. Consider me intrigued.

Visually, the art style is very nice, with an aesthetic that is very much in keeping with the pulpy, gothic vibe of the film. There are no sound effects, but the midi music that plays throughout is a nice enough rendition of Danny Elman's main theme. When we get into the gameplay, though, it becomes another matter.

Essentially, playing the thing goes like this; pack your utility belt with weapons in the Batcave. Visit every location you can on your map and pick up anything that isn't tied down. Go back to the Batcave to examine what you picked up, then end your day. Do this for 9 short days and you're done.

Well, that's not entirely true. Depending on what you do in those given days, you could get one of the many 'bad' endings which suddenly pop up without explanation or warning. You won't know it, but the most likely place you screwed up is the combat.

There are a few moments where you have to fight The Penguin and/or his circus-themed henchmen but it's handled in a very strange way. You don't control Batman directly, but guide him with a series of button presses. He can attack in an 'easy', 'normal' or 'fierce' fashion (always go with fierce) and a computer will control the on-screen action. If it appears to end in a stalemate with neither party getting in a hit, use one of the Batarangs to incapacitate them. The Caped Crusader will only use them when he's good and ready, so be prepared to watch seconds - maybe even minutes - of AI-controlled fight scenes. When they're tied up, you can now interrogate them with a single, solitary question! Choose wisely. The fate of Gotham depends on it!

There is also a time mechanic that goes beyond the day-by-day structure of the plot. Some events will only happen at a certain time, which you can wait around for but by pressing ESC and entering the main menu screen, you can also advance the clock manually an hour at a time. You'll just have to pay attention to conversations and clues to know where you should be and when.

Despite the inviting visuals and the promise of a thrilling Bat-venture, Batman Returns left me slightly cold - and that's not because of the winter city setting. I wanted dialogue trees, inventory puzzles... Catwoman. She barely appears at all by the way. As such, I can't really recommend this rather hollow experience unless you really are a Bat-freak.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses DOSBox to bring the game to modern systems. Tested on and Windows 10.

File Size: 9.13 Mb. Install Size: 20.6 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

Download

Batman Returns (the game) is © Konami
Batman Returns (the movie) is © Warner Bros
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

BAD MILK

Bad Milk is an interactive video environment to explore and a puzzle to solve. To succeed, gather the hidden clues spread throught the game. Explore new areas by clicking objects that you have not clicked before. To activate some objects you will need to click and drag.

For tips, go to:
www.dreamingmedia.com

~from the back of the jewel case

It's going to be a daunting task trying to describe Bad Milk to you. It's a short puzzle adventure designed by brothers Ted and Mick Skolnick as an art project and sold on their Dreaming Media website as if it were almost an advertisement for their company. This was the beginning of the new millennium so any expertise in web design or programming was potentially lucrative.

The game was said to combine both of the brothers' skills in art design and programming respectively and took a year and around $12,000 to complete. It wasn't cheap for a couple of siblings fresh out of college, but the game did garner some attention in 2002 where it won two awards at the Independent Games Festival, including the Seumas McNally Grand Prize and Innovation in Audio.

If anything, the game's audio is its strongest aspect. There are two blind mazes where you have to navigate through audio clues so vivid you could get a real sense of what the location would look like if you could actually see. Broken windows shatter as you stumble through them and crunch when you walk back. A murmers of patrons at a jazz club convince you that this is a champaign social and not a vodka and coke kinda night.

Find the obtuse numeral clues to enter them into the head-shaped combination lock.

Gameplay-wise, it's extremely lacking. You select various single-screen puzzles in order to learn clues to enter at the end of the game. There are three numbers and two words. It will take about 30 minutes to reach the end, which I suspect even novice codebreakers would see fairly quickly too. There's not much to do, but boy is there a lot to think about.

I urge everyone to play the game before reading on, as I will get into spoilers for what little content the game has, but I wanted to get into it as every image, audio cue and puzzle serves a greater theme. That theme is death and reincarnation. In the opening FMV scene, shot on a Sony Handycan and edited on Adobe Premiere, our nameless protagonist drinks some severely off milk in his coffee. The next thing we know, we are in some kind of void where an image of an early 2000s flip phone spins in a circle. Click on it and a distorted voice mocks you about the contents of your fridge and hints that you are in fact in purgatory. That place between life and death.

Listen carefully to find the words to enter them at the end of the game.

When you head back to the spinning circle, a new image appears - that of a suited man underwater (played by Mick Skolnick himself no less). He will eventually come up for air to give you a clue. Another screen in the circle is that of a man against a concrete wall and two levers. Solve this puzzle and you're taken to the first of two blind mazes with a telephone ringing in the distance. Stumble your way towards it and that distorted man will give instructions as if we were starring in a Saw movie. The closer you get to the phone, the louder it will be so pay attention to the background audio to find your way. If you walk into a wall, or a beehive, you'll definitely know about it.

The game continues in this fashion, with more images appearing in several spinning circles. I read each one as being a slightly tongue-and-cheek metaphor for death. We already have death by drowning, detonation and blindly stumbling into danger, but later puzzles could represent smoking, boredom and simply time. It's no secret that the final puzzle is a combination lock in the shape of a head (Mick again), but what is more subtle is the facial hair growing as you try and solve it. It's a time-lapse video that the brothers entered into an online exhibition called Refresh: The Art of the Screen Saver, though I'm yet to find the actual screen saver file.

This all culminates in a final scene that ties the whole theme together, retaining the off-kilter humour and art installation ethos. As a game, it is severely lacking. It is short, a little unweildy and obviously cheap. As a piece of art, it is eminantly fascinating. Go in with that mind set and I'm sure you'll find those 30 strange minutes were well spent.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber QRes to run on modern systems. The game must run with an actual desktop resolution of 800x600. Read the ChamberNotes.txt if your current desktop resolution is anything other than 1920x1080. QuickTime for Windows (included) or compatible alternative required to play. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 315 Mb. Install Size: 411 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

Download

Bad Milk is © Dreaming Media
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

BACKPACKER: THE LOST FLORENCE GOLD MINE

An ancient indian myth called the "Cave of Death"...

A 60 year-old unsolved murder mystery...

A strange note, a desperate plea for help...

Adventures await you along the trails of the Great Northwest as you pursue unsolved mysteries in the role of Detective Chuck McBlade.

Hiking, Hang-gliding, Rock Climbing, White Water Rafting, Wild Animal Encounters, Nature Discoveries, and more...

Features:
Stunning full screen graphics.
Easy point and click interface.
Engaging game play.
Challenging Puzzles.
Onscreen guides for identifying plants and animals.
Natural world with over 100 scenes.
Authentic Indian myths and ceremonies
Natural sound effects.

~ from the back of the box

There were a few obscure adventure games in the 90s that completely passed me by. Some were buried during the so-called "death" of the genre. Others came from small developers with a limited run. Many were even denied a world-wide release. In the case of Backpacker: The Lost Florence Gold Mine, all three are true.

The point-and-click adventure was developed and published by a small California-based company called Animagination founded by Richard Williams and Paul Grabmiller. Along with a small team creating the artwork, most of the game was created by these two in their spare time over the course of four years. When it was finally able to be purchased by US residents on their website, the game looked dated, almost archaic. Backpacker would be their only game and Animagination slowly morphed into a Christian company, highlighting the kind of news and information that makes non-religious folk uncomfortable.

But there's no bible-thumping in Backpacker. In fact, the game was heavily inspired by the real-world legends and locations of the American midwest. You play Detective Chuck McBlade, an unassuming fellow who's been asked to solve a 60-year-old murder at Payette Lake, Idaho. John Florence went missing in 1886 during the gold rush. Legend has it he found a rich gold mine before his apparent murder, and his journal just so happened to find its way to your doorstep. You seemingly have nothing better to do so you travel out of the city to investigate (or perhaps the thought of gold had something to do with it).

Maps, books and other documents are useful to help you solve puzzles.

When you arrive at the Payette Inn, your wallet gets stolen and it appears one of the establishment's co-owners, Bart, is responsible. Thankfully, the other one is more pleasant to be around. He's known as Old Joseph around these parts and Bart is plotting to buy out his side of the land by any means necessary. Old Joe has a history with the Payette Forest. It was his father that was murdered in mysterious circumstances all those years ago. He has one daughter, the beautiful Meagan, who helps out in the restaurant. Being very concerned with Bart's obvious yet unprovable shenanigans, she sent for you to help. Without the cash to pay your bill, you are forced to do chores while exploring the mountainous surroundings looking for clues at the same time.

Like the main character, it's an overall unassuming story. Chuck has no relation to Meagan or her father and beyond some flirtation-at-first-sight he has no need to put himself in the middle of that family's struggles. It often puts him great danger too. Much like an old Sierra game, Chuck can die at the slightest wrong move. Pick up a mushroom; death. Step into a river; death. Misidentify a berry; death. It's not quite as aggravating as King's Quest at its worst, but it definitely caused me to grumpily replay certain moments multiple times. Thankfully, there is a quicksave feature (F6) which is often a lifeline.

The story may be a little threadbare, but the puzzles are for the most part well done. You can collect books that detail the flora and fauna of your surroundings, and they can be used to identify poisonous plants or how to use a snake bite kit. You're gonna need each piece of information at some point. All of them are diegetic to the location with little in the way of moon logic. The true difficulty comes in the mini-games.

The mini-games can be frustrating. Test your mouse skills by playing darts (left)
or fly through an impressively rendered (for its budget) mountain range on a hang glider (right).

The first mini-game you'll come across is a game of darts. Get exactly 301 points before your opponent to arbitrarily carry on the story. It's implemented pretty poorly, requiring dexterous mouse skills over accurate aiming. First you set your target, marking it with a red 'X' on the dart board. Then select a dart on the right hand side. The Speed slider will quickly rise, so click the Speed button to stop it as close to the black line as you can. The Accuracy slider will then instantly activate so tap that Accuracy button in much the same way too. To be successful at this game has more to do with accurate mouse manoeuvrability than timing, but it's doable. That's more than can be said for the confounding hang gliding segment where you have to fly over the lake and land on the island in the centre. None of these can be skipped and in some cases failure means death.

Backpacker came to market in the March of 1997, just when rumblings of the adventure game's decline were being whispered about in gaming magazines. In comparison to other such games of this year, it looked simply archaic. Graphically, it's five years older than it is with static screens and low-resolution, pixelated artwork. Only the fully voiced speech differentiates it from games from the past. While certainly a gripe to complain about in 1997, it barely crossed my mind today. Graphics mean nothing to a retro gamer, but I still would've liked a little more pizazz in its presentation.

If you like the adventure game genre, Backpacker: The Lost Florence Gold Mine will surely win you over. It's not big or brash but it does have a few nice puzzles and a quaint, low-key charm not normally found in interactive media. I, at least, am glad I came across it.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the DOSBox-X build of DOSBox running Microsoft Windows 3.1 to get the game working on modern systems. Manual included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 185 Mb. Install Size: 484 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

Download