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Original and absorbing game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was wavering between four and five stars but glancing at the negative scores on this site (one star? you're kidding!) it seems only fair to give a 4.5 combo. One of the reasons I tried out this game is that I love the novels of the SF writer who apparently designed it but I soon forgot about the writer as I became absorbed in this fascinating action adventure. If you're looking for a fresh (despite its age) and layered game that involves more than searching for keys and shooting zombies, then this action adventure, with its attractive location graphics, varied gameplay, engrossing storyline and excellent dialog and acting, should definitely appeal. In fact I have played it on both PC and PSX. Martian Gothic is an overlooked and very underrated game.

Some ridiculous comparisons have been made with Resident Evil. Martian Gothic is no way an RE clone. The truth is, later RE games took certain key elements from MG, such as the item swapping system and walking while firing, and were praised for their originality! So much for fair reviewing.

A factual point. Some reviewers/users have complained about the lack of saves in MG, comparing it unfavorably with RE. This is simply crazy. There are more saves available in MG than in either RE1 or RE2. On top of that, you don't have to hunt around for typewriter ribbons. You just enter any of Martian base's many computers, using any of your three characters, open a file, and save the game. It's that quick and that simple. You can even leave one of your characters standing right beside a computer for most of the time, in which case saving takes about five seconds. Sure, it's a minor point as I said, but the phony grumbling about MG's save system all over the net really bugs me, because the complaints don't make any sense.

The official reviewer for the PC version complained that the player has to use the keyboard... Ever heard (cough) of a gamepad? That's what I used. Hardly cutting edge hardware. As Martian Gothic isn't a point and click adventure it's either the keyboard or a gamepad. What's the problem?

Oh yes, and the one-star reviewer of the PC version who claimed that all three main characters survive to the end - no, they don't. Totally untrue. One always dies. Obviously the hostile reviewer never finished the game, and for all I know never even started it.

I'm not claiming that Martian Gothic will appeal to everyone. Devotees of point and click adventures won't like the action and unrelenting menace and hard-core shoot-em-up fans won't like the problem solving. For everyone else, I would recommend it.

Thanks for your time :)

Hard to figure out..but fun

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I enjoyed the game because you could swap characters at any time and the game was interesting. The one aspect that I did not enjoy was trying to figure out what to do with all the items you pick up and trying to figure out how to combine them and use them. (i had to rely on a online game review to tell me how to combine items- especially hard was trying to figure out which of the 3 characters needed the item). No replay value, but fun for a one time game if you dont mind the old graphics and want to play a suspensful game.

Martian Gothic - Not a laughing matter

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: June 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

From playing the game I've gotten very frustrated with it. You have to watch each character as the Vita Base members get up after being shot down. I enjoy the game only by wanting to solve the grotesque mystery along With Karne, Matlock and Kenzo. Very interesting but very frustrating.

thinking about it? don't bother

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 24
Date: October 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

awkward controls, lame plot, and horrible storyline......

Someone should have fixed this mess!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: August 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Martian Gothic is a cheap "Resident Evil" clone set on a space station, and boy does it live up to the motto "you get what you pay for"...
There is so much wrong with this game, it's hard to know where to start. I'm not talking about bad graphics or script, becasue those are actually quite good. I'm talking about sheer unplayability. Did anyone actually test this prior to release? First off, the game features 3D character movement on top of static scenery and fixed camera angles, which looks ok, but on several occasions, the angle you see actually masks significant information like a branching corridor, a cupboard or shelf, or even a door...which all but halts gameplay as you find yourself totally unaware of what to do next. Secondly, the puzzles are downright evil. There's no way you would be able to work out unaided what you are expected to do in some circumstances, and the sheer amount of items the player finds in the space station or has to carry around is very wide ranging - people who have played it will surely recall the most confusing ones as the "babybug", the map featuring ants on a rock in the MOOD chamber, the stone heart, the syringes, the two screwdrivers...they all added up to one massive headache for me. Solving puzzles like these is not fun as far as I'm concerned, there are absolutely no pointers as to what you should do. Plus some items are actually functionless throughout the whole game, which in the case of keys (I finished the game with unused keys still in my inventory) is downright misleading.

Most worrying of all, there were several moments in the game where it simply did not work properly. Whether down to bugs or a faulty disc, I don't know, but I remember times when the screen would go blank between camera angle changes and ...stay blank. The game would freeze and only a re-boot would restore my poor PSX. Furthermore, on some occasions, monsters would appear from nowhere, or not even register point blank hits (I'm talking when they were SUPPOSED to, ok!). I have even read that the port over to the PSX from the PC version of the game missed out certain graphic effects that would otherwise have prompted the player to understand certain important points in the game - for example an invincible monster that had to be made vunerable before it could be killed was made in two different colours (before and after) in the PC version so that you could tell the difference - a luxury denied the humble PSX owner!!

The bottom line is that these problems combined make the game darn near impossible to complete without endless patience, psychic powers or a very good walkthrough. Shame really, because somewhere in here is a good idea trying to get out. There are three playable characters in this adventure, and the gimmick is that they are all infected with some space disease that means instant death should they ever actually meet each other. So, much gameplay revolves around solving puzzles that cannot be done by just one pair of hands...how to get three people through this death trap filled with zombies and mutant monsters, all co-operating, yet without ever being in the same room, is actually a great idea for a game. The graphics and soundtrack are fine...and the voices are very well done. I don't have a problem with the concept of Martian Gothic. But it has too many problems with it that ruin all the other good points. If anyone ever re-released it with all the bugs removed it would be great fun to play and a worthy purchase. As it stands, it's a total failure.

Harder than Hell

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 01, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game with very creepy atmosphere. It does play like Resident Evil in space, and if you're a fan of the RE series, like myself, then this should be perfect for you. The only major issue is that this game is harder than hell. The puzzles are difficult, it takes some practice to get used to the character swapping and teamwork aspect, and the enemies are cheap. It took me most of forever to get a gun and get past the first stage.

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