This is an expansion pack to Penumbra: Black Plague, the second episode and conclusion to the story(and it's far inferior to those). It doesn't tell you what happened in them(I suppose you do need the 2nd one to run this... all three came packed together for me), even though nothing in this will make sense if you don't know(...not that it does if you do). There is no plot in this. It's a half-cooked trip through Philip's world(they really hope you liked the screwing with your mind of the last installment... I did, but that's because that drew me in, it had a compelling mystery, and it had an impact), with a twist you'll see coming practically before this begins. Why does this entirely abandon the careful and effective build-up of atmosphere and hints of what's actually going on we got in Overture, or even the direct tone, Silent Hill grotesque sights, and more expository nature of its followup? Because there isn't time to work on a mood, and there is no story left to tell. So why was this made? Paycheck. People liked it, and money talks(and it's not like it even has anything interesting to say), that's the sad truth. This is shorter than the other two, meaning less than a day of playing to complete. Three hours of playing time, one difficulty setting, two on/off settings to make it challenging or not, nearly no extras, no replayability. There are no enemies in this. Oh, there's stuff that threatens you, if it hardly manages to present any sense of danger. Nothing to hide or flee from, to barely fend off, to inspire terror in the hearts of men. You can still die(at a moment's notice, if you aren't careful) and get hurt(not necessarily in that order) in this, so you can find stuff that improves your health. That's all the inventory is for, now, in case you were wondering. Almost everything you find, you have to hold out in front of you(and yup, the really long arms remain... and you can hold a source of illumination in the left hand and...something else in the right, at the same time). Then why leave the same setup intact? Why not replace it with an actual HUD, maybe an indicator of how much you're carrying of this or that(and why leave the battery display? It never drains, anyway!)? I suppose this isn't a big deal(if it does show the laziness inherent to this entire product)... what is, however, is leaving the notepad when it is literally never used(well, one thing, the least needed thing you could think of). I'm not kidding, they left it just because it was in the others, it appears. So, what we're left with is first person perspective puzzle-solving. You know, those obligatory portions inbetween the shooting(the actually fun part, that would get repetitive if there was nothing else... compare Max Payne 1 and 2 for a good example of the importance) in FPS games. I'm not kidding, there are jump puzzles in this! How could this series fall this far? I can't put words to the kind of weird crap that's in this. No, it's not the only VG I've seen do that... it's a stand-by for some, when they have no proper content, to keep us busy and prolong it by some(I'm looking at you, Path of Neo). Basically, this is really clearly divided up into actual levels(where did immersion go?), and you have to make your way through each to the portal at the end, and find the 1-3 MacGuffins to "unlock" it and go through it. It's entirely linear and feels it a good deal of the way. Granted, there are cool environments, if we've seen them before(some new designs and objects)... it ain't enough. Not by a long shot. It hardly connects to the other two, it certainly adds absolutely nothing(in fact, it quite distinctly takes away from it), and these tasks(when they aren't simply busywork) are not that memorable. Seriously, replay Half-Life or something instead. Don't spend money on this(I didn't, so this isn't coming out of bitterness... I got a deal on the trilogy; what I object to is the wasted potential and how this did not at all need to exist, and it shouldn't). The environment interaction is still strong, and the realistic physics remain, and this continues to be a point-and-click adventure. You don't merely click to activate something, you "pull" a drawer out, a door open(using the mouse, "dragging" it... and it isn't as smoothly programmed this time), and things have "weight" to them, if, like in the immediate predecessor of this, some large boxes shove a tad easily. There also appears to be a new "throw" function, albeit it may have been there before(this definitely didn't tell me about it... it doesn't tell you how to do anything, so, well, don't start with this one. Don't proceed to this one at all, really), and I just didn't need it or use it. Or were told about it(it came without a manual). The voice acting is well-done, and this brings back some characters that we knew from before. It doesn't bring anything memorable there, and it's a pretty cheap ploy to have something attractive to advertise this with. The controls are still easy to remember and nicely stream-lined Assassin's Creed style, so you can sit right down and start playing this right off the bat. You still have to bring light into the darkness, using a torch(that has a limited supply... oh, wait, no, not anymore), a glowstick(that doesn't reach very far) and flares(that you have to find and that are finite in amount... really, you'll essentially only use the first-mentioned in this one). This doesn't really play on any primal(or any other types of) fears, at all. There is a little disturbing content and bloody violence in this. I recommend this only to those looking for exactly what this is... a series of brain-teasers and tasks. 6/10
