Curse: The Eye of Isis

Download Curse: The Eye of Isis and solve a chilling mystery set in Victorian England! Unravel the curse of an ancient artifact, battle supernatural forces, and save the world from imminent doom in this atmospheric adventure. Dare to play now!
a game by DreamCatcher Interactive
Platforms: XBox, PC, Playstation 2
Editor Rating: 6/10, based on 1 review, 2 reviews are shown
User Rating: 9.0/10 - 4 votes
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See also: Horror Games
Curse: The Eye of Isis
Curse: The Eye of Isis
Curse: The Eye of Isis
Curse: The Eye of Isis

Before we start tearing into Curse: The Eye Of Isis like it's some kind of foul abomination, let's first make it dear that Curse is actually a very atmospheric game. If you want creepy, make-you-jump cut scenes that blend into gameplay along with tense, worrying music that sends shivers down your spine, you may well enjoy Curse immensely. Of course, there is a 'but' to all this and it comes in the form of gameplay that simply doesn't match the tension.

First, as a direct clone of all the Alone in the Dark games, Curse doesn't have an original line of code in it. Locations like the torture chamber may look scary and give you the chance to inadvertently behead and dismember some mutated museum staff, but ultimately there's nothing new here.

Games like this thrive on immersive puzzles and yet Curse persists with find-the-key-for-the-door routines. And this is a shame, because with its interesting plotline which involves a master thief trying to steal an ancient Egyptian artefact, 'The Eye', and accidentally releasing some kind of evil spirit, there's scope for some interesting scripting. Alas, no. All we get is A-to-B puzzles mixed with a huge amount of zombie splatting that takes you from London to The Pyramids.

Give Curse a go if you're after a fairly scary, atmospheric 3D action-adventure, but be warned: you'll have to be in a forgiving mood to get the most from the experience.

Download Curse: The Eye of Isis

XBox

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
PC

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Playstation 2

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP

Game Reviews

Horror video games - either you love them or you hate them. For rabid fans of the genre like myself, you either cringe at the bad (Resident Evil Nemesis) or champion the good (Eternal Darkness). So it was with an elevated amount of excitement that I got to review Curse: The Eye of Isis. Curse has all the necessary accoutrements for the making of a killer title; tense music, creepy era (1890 London), sinister locale (Museum) while all being centered around an ancient Egyptian curse. This all add ups to making the finished product that much more disappointing.

The first thing I noticed about the game is the very poor control schematic. Options in this category are very limited and players will wonder why the programmers chose such an unfriendly control system. Essentially, players will use the arrow keys to move while using the mouse to spin the characters in the direction needed. If this sounds strange to you, don't worry, it is. Saddle these controls with an inventory screen that uses the 'F'? keys at the top of the keyboard make the whole thing feel clunky.

As each new 'horror'? game comes out, game makers need to up the ante, so to speak. Relying on tried and true ideas in order to scare gamers just won't cut the mustard anymore. I liked the visuals the game provided and the creepy music definitely sounded good (more on this below), but I couldn't help but think that the game was merely another chapter in the Resident Evil series. Sure, using the Egyptian mythology was a good idea for driving the game, but the game ends up more of the same by needing to find a crank, or a key, or a whatever in order to move the game along. Plus, and I hate to admit this, maybe it's time for a game maker to have another monster (besides the zombie) be the primary bad guy in these games. The game uses a novel idea to infect the recently departed with the introduction of an evil mist that infects the dead, turning them into zombies, but still, time for something new.

From an audio standpoint this game is very good. Playing late at night with the lights off gave me a good sense of dread thanks to the disturbing music. This is very cool and definitely the game's strongest point. Only slightly less so was the impressive visuals. The well-textured backgrounds conveyed the London's seedier alleys and dingy old hallways surrounding an absolutely phenomenal looking museum. Character design was also done well. You play the game primarily as a man Darian Dane, an engineer who refuses to follow in his father's footsteps as an Egyptologist. But finds himself caught up in an ancient curse. Darian certainly looks the part with proper mannerisms and clothing, but if there is one beef about the graphics, it's that all of the characters move about too stiffly, and uncoordinated.

A medium of the road horror adventure that has unfriendly controls and a less then inspiring storyline but with slick graphics and spot-on audio, all of which disappoints because I could see how good this game might have been with minimal adjustments.

Snapshots and Media

XBox Screenshots

PC Screenshots

Playstation 2 Screenshots