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Awesome!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: June 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Boy,do I love this game!!!!it was really good & scary!!!! it was also challenging without being fustarting! get this game!!

A haunting vacation you'll never forget...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: September 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

In the independently developed Scratches, you play as Michael Arthate, a British horror writer who's hard-pressed to finish his sophomore novel. In an attempt to seek inspiration, you arrange to stay at a dilapidated Victorian manner in the English countryside. The next three days will change your life forever. If I had to sum up Scratches in one word, it would be dark. Dark ambiance, dark motivations, dark secrets await you.

The game is set in the year 1976, and during the course of your investigations you'll revisit the shocking past of Blackwood Manor. Feverish dreams (or are they reality?) keep you from sleeping, and there are sounds that can't be explained away by creaky old houses. You are drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of James Blackwood and his misfortunes. The only sound in the manor is the grandfather clock, the squeak of ancient stairs, and your lonely footsteps...until night falls.

The game's Argentinian creators Agustín Cordes and Alejandro Graziani are horror fanatics, and their devotion to their craft shows in loving homage to Lovecraft and Easter Eggs that poke fun at other adventure games. Scratches truly shines in creating a foreboding (dare I say downright evil??) atmosphere without gore. At times, the horrifying music by Cellar of Rats makes your hair stand on end when you realize that you're not alone. Every small nuance has been seen to, from the reflection of light in cut crystal to the trinkets that line the house. Blackwood Manor is almost an art museum, what with the numerous reproductions of famous paintings. Although the prerendered environments are lush and lifelike, the animations left a lot to be desired, but hey, this is an independent developer's first game, so I'm not going to fault them on that. Like many horror games, there are "standard" areas to explore, like a crypt, chapel, greenhouse, cellar and garage (after playing Scratches, you might avoid going into your basement for a while). You may also recognize a familiar name in the credits: Jonathan Boakes, famed creator of Dark Fall: The Journal and Dark Fall: Lights Out.

Although some reviewers complain that the first third of the game moves very slowly (you are mainly exploring the manor at this point), I found the pacing to be brilliant. Little clues gradually emerge as you scour the house looking for candles on your first night...stacks of old newspapers and faded scraps of paper start to raise questions. You're able to phone several outside sources for help as the game progresses: your friend Jerry, your secretary Barbara, and two other surprise guests that are directly involved in Blackwood Manor's shady past.

The puzzles are largely intuitive and inventory-driven (no combination locks or devilish slider puzzles, thank goodness). The inventory management is adequate, but you do acquire a bloated inventory by game's end, with no way to get rid of extra objects.

Scratches: Director's Cut features a patch, but I still found mouse performance to be severely laggy on an above-minimum-specs laptop, and a very frustrating lag on opening any doors that resulted in minute-long lockups every time I tried to enter or exit a room. Otherwise, I didn't run into any crashes or other bugs.

This is the Director's Cut, which features improved resolution on the prerendered graphics, an alternate ending, and an additional brief chapter called The Final Visit, where you visit Blackwood Manor in the present day shortly before it's to be demolished. If you don't already own Scratches, this is the version to get.

Fans of horror and adventure will enjoy Scratches. If you like Scratches, also check out indie Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle. Nucleosys is to be commended on a job well done!

You Have to Know What You're Doing

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: September 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Don't let the person who gave this game one star sway you. The game will be very boring if you don't even try to solve one of the puzzles, which he obviously did. Yes, you can wander around the house for an hour and have nothing happen if you do just that; wander around the house doing nothing. And (to address another of his complaints) on a normal computer it will install in a few moments, just like any other computer game. My computer is a mediocre one from four years ago, nothing special at all, and I was able to install both discs in well under five minutes with no confusion at all.
If this is your first attempt with an adventure/puzzle game you might end up bored and frustrated as it might be a little too much for you. But don't let that stop you from trying! If you get stuck and feel yourself getting upset just go to Google and search for one of the many helpful Scratches walkthroughs and look up what you're supposed to be doing next. No harm in that and then you can move on to the next part of the game.
You eventually have to go to sleep (after you're done exploring) before anything creepy starts to happen, so that is probably why that other reviewer thought nothing ever happens.
Good game overall if you know what you're doing.

I loved the adrenaline rush

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This was a great game though if you're not big on being scared then this probubly isn't the game for you. Another thing about it is the ending is a little confusing and you don't completly understand what happened. You also don't get an answer like you do to murder mysteries (there's always a killer), but here there's no resolve, but maybe you disagree. I loved the game and you should find out your self weather or not you like it. Me, I loved the adrenaline rush.

Loved It!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 30, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I thoroughly enjoyed the game. If you just wander through the house, nothing is going to happen. Look at everything! The only problem I had, was a little lag when going through doors. I even got a little spooked. Fortunately, I don't have a basement. The Last Visit was too short, but pretty cool as well.

It's probably just the rats...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

"Scratches" is my first horror game and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if I like it. I hoped I would, but hoping doesn't make things happen. "Scratches" takes place in England during three strange days inside an old house. You take on the role of a writer who becomes intrigued with the strange stories surrounding the place.
When I first started playing, I was disappointed. I didn't think the game was scary. You were exploring an old house where you found dark accounts in some diaries. I didn't think it was much of a horror game. But now...
The house has a strange atmosphere. Spooky...maybe...but that's not all. Whatever it is, it can be uncomfortable. There are some strange...and downright evil...pictures on the walls (and some more in an old room.)
The first day is a bad start, because nothing really happens and it doesn't give a good first impression of the game; especially if you're looking for something scary. The first night is when you first hear scratching. However, the scratching wasn't emphasized enough in the game. [WARNING! Spoilers ahead!] Inside, the game focuses on an evil mask. A word of warning; near the end of the game, you must make an amulet out of some ingredients found around the manor. I had a problem with this since it seemed sort of like performing witchcraft; so if that's going to bother you, don't buy the game. To finish it, you must make the amulet.
The "scare factor" depends on what kind of atmosphere you play in. If you're playing in a room with other people during the daytime, the game will have a different effect on you then if you play it alone in a dark house at night. There are a couple surprises in the game that make you jump, and sometimes you're afraid of what might be coming next. It isn't a gross-fest, it's more physiological. If they had added things like doors mysteriously slamming and getting locked in rooms at just the right moments, that might have made the game scarier.
By the way, if you're going to buy "Scratches" you might want to get the director's cut version. There is a bonus "short" called "The Last Visit" which explains more of went on in Blackwood Manor. If I hadn't seen "The Last Visit" the ending would have been very confusing. And even then, there are unanswered questions.
One thing I don't like about most adventure games is trying to find objects to advance. This can be frustrating, and I'll generally go just to a hint site and find the answer. I like more obvious "puzzles" like the one in the greenhouse where you have to wash something out of a grate. In this game you didn't have to look for many objects but you had to complete "puzzles" that could be a pain, such as trying to figure out how to let down a rope so you could get through a window. I like how the creators of Titanic - Adventure Out of Timedid their game. Yes, there are some things in it that are unobvious, but it's a very unique kind of adventure game.
I didn't find this game terrifying, but it deserves to be classified as a horror game. But if you want to be scared, turn off the light and play alone in the dark.

Creepy, dark, and flakey...not in a good way...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Know that I love to watch people play point and clicks because I love the graphics and like the feel of the game being like a movie. I buy point and clicks so that both my wife and I can enjoy them. We also like a game that has a good mystery and a jump factor like any good thriller should. In scratches we were very pleased with the graphics, music, & overall mood of the game. There are two major drawbacks though. The first was that even though we had a screaming PC to run the game on, we still had several crashes that taught the meaning of Save-Try-n-Die. The second problem was the clues and content that would allow the game to move forward. Had we not found a walkthrough to assist with the overwhelming puzzles & clues, this game would've been a complete bust. On the positive side of things, we loved the dark content and turned off the lights for this game. A storm was brewing outside one night and we found ourselves jumping with several scenes - great creep out factor and a wonderful scare factor. Horror enthusiasts - need not apply; this game is for sure dark, but not a game that will make you jump. Just turn up your speakers and get ready for the creepy audio. A nice feature that was also displayed was the ability to mandate whether the player wishes to use the director's cut version or the standard version - very nice and thank you to whoever setup the game in such a way!

Here's how I conducted my start rating:
1) Scripting & dialog was mediocre; however the ambient & background sound track is excellent
2) Graphics performed well; see next item though
3) Overall performance was less than good; several crashes. Be sure to keep saving after each accomplishment, this was a topic that lost a star for my review
4) Storyline was good and will keep you guessing.
5) Clues, hints, and adaptability basically will require a walkthrough this aspect also lost a star in my review

Know that this game is way worth the $20 and the game play options listed in the beginning are heaven sent; did I happen to mention how cool that option is and that other game companies should model after that?...anyway...good creepy game, the crew just needs to work on stability and playability.

Made every game design mistake in the book

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: February 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Like other gamers, I really wanted to like this game. I love adventure games, especially the spooky kind, and the challenge and slow pace of them is something I relish. But this game made so many obnoxious design mistakes, I gave up halfway through and used a walkthrough just to see what would happen. Things that in my book are unforgiveable design sins:

1. Red herrings. It's very annoying to have the game point something out to you, especially something that looks like it should open, or move or otherwise function, and then never enable you to DO anything with it. If you're like me, you waste a ton of time revisiting it, trying in vain to make it do something.

2. Ignoring established game logic. Early on in a game, you figure out the logic of the game world - what sorts of things are interactive, which aren't, how you can move, etc. When a designer changes these rules late in the game, it creates confusion. This example is the annoying flip side of the above issue. I'm thinking here of a specific instance in the game wherein I tried to interact with something no less than 8 times with no result. (the player voiceover even said something along the lines of, "I don't EVER want to have anything to do with that!") Being totally stuck later on in the game, I looked for a hint and the hint was to - you guessed it - interact with the thing that up till then, had done nothing.

3. Ignoring common sense. All I can say here is "who the hell willingly climbs into a crematorium-sized furnace?" Or if a person is investigating a mystery and finds a trove of informational papers but is only allowed to read one of them, would s/he think it's possible to come back and read more later? (see game world logic)

4. Ignoring established player motivation: Having had the player character insist multiple times that he refused to leave the house until the mystery was solved, a puzzle solution shouldn't then be contingent upon him leaving.

5. And lastly...persnickety/redundant puzzle solutions. If you already have a rag in your inventory, you shouldn't have to find an equivalent but DIFFERENT rag to complete a puzzle.

The designers often seemed not to take the time to consider what they to might actually do in the situation and instead invented contrived circumstantial puzzles that were just irritating to figure out. All told, this game was an exercise in frustration and I was severely disappointed.

What happened to the 'End of the Story'???

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It was a very difficult game to get anywhere. It hung up all the time and then you had to start over. Every once in a while you would stumble over something and think, "Great, now we're getting somewhere!" alas, then it went back to boring and repetitive. I will say that it was 'spooky'. And I really wanted to know the ending. I did finish it and then sat there and wondered how it ended. It just seemed to run out of steam and a lot of the things that seemed so interesting were just dropped. Never explained or 'wrapped up'. It was like taking on a complicated jigsaw puzzle and getting to the very end only to find that too many pieces are missing to complete it satisfactorily.
Maybe I'm too critical or expect too much but I thought the ending would be a WOW rather than something so mundane.

I Wanted to Like this Game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I really wanted to like this game, but I eventually found the problems I had with it over-rode any enjoyment I was getting.

The setting was gorgeous, the storyline spooky, and the music (something that will often bother me) was completely appropriate.

However, the controls were wonky and the panning (even on the highest setting) was unforgivably slow. I am a hard-core adventure game fan, but this tried my patience to the point that I gave up on the game, something I have never done. It was getting to the point that I could get up and make myself a sandwich before the game panned to where I needed it to be to get to another room. The game offers a feature to correct for this - which I tried - but I couldn't use it, as it rendered the game virtually unnavigable.

It really is a shame. If the game had been set up like Darkfall (it reminded me a great deal of both Darkfalls) as far as navigation is concerned, I could easily see it being one of the best adventure games I had played in a while. But, unfortunately, I cannot handle feeling out of control of my game, and this was the case here. I would stop my mouse at the place I needed the pointer to stop, and the pointer would swing wildly past that point. Opening doors (once I made it to them) became a massive chore.

I sadly cannot recommend this game for anyone with my level of patience or lower. And I really feel bad about that.

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