Return of the Phantom

The legendary Phantom of the Opera has returned! As Inspector Raoul Montant, you are the only one who can pursue The Red Death into the past and prevent him from terrorizing the present!

• Witness the tragedy that befalls the audience inside the famed Paris Opera House!
• Search for clues along the catwalks, through the wings, and into the many backstage rooms of the opera house!
• Step back in tim as you explore the opera's labyrinth of catacombs!
• Place the future of adventure gaming technology at your fingertips!

"... an overture to interactive cinema, lavishly staged and theatrically presented... its rich musical score is undergirded by a dramatic and eerie story!"

• Computer Gaming World

"Feel the excitement as you try to solve one of the most intriguing mysteries ever! Make sure you don't miss this one!"

• Computer Game Review

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Box Cover

Battle The Legendary Phantom of the Opera!

The Phantom of the Opera is dead, or is he? That's the question you must answer in MicroProse's new animated graphic adventure, Return of the Phantom, a vivid, computer-driven theater production drawn from the events of the classic novel by Gaston Leroux first published in 1911.

The story begins in the summer of 1993. You are Inspector Raoul Montand, visiting the famed Paris Opera House to attend the premiere of the legendary Don Juan Triumphant, supposedly composed by Erik, the Phantom of the Opera. But a ghastly accident stops the production before it starts, and all the evidence seems to indicate that the Phantom himself is still alive!

Then things take a truly bizarre twist. While investigating the crime you are pushed from a catwalk by an unseen assailant and plunged backward in time to 1881! Suddenly, everyone believes you are Raoul de Chagny, lover of the beautiful opera singer Christine Daae, and rival to the real Phantom of the Opera.

What follows in Return of the Phantom is a brilliant blend of mystery, suspense, and high drama. According to game designer Raymond Benson, Return of the Phantom borrows a great deal from theatrical melodrama. "It's very much like a theater piece. The story is very much character oriented and the story unfolds mostly through dialogue you will have with other characters. Conversations are not incidental in the game, they are critical for moving the plot forward so you must be paying attention at all times. The story is also told in scenes, and the characters often make the kinds of dramatic gestures seen in theater productions."

At the heart of the game's dramatic presentation is MADS, the MicroProse Adventure Development System first used in Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender, MicroProse's first animated graphic adventure game. The system features dazzling animation and rotoscoping of actual human movement and motion to give characters the most realistic look ever seen in an AGA, all set against a backdrop of evocative, sensual art that fully captures the spirit (no pun intended) of 19th Century Paris. Return of the Phantom expands MADS with multi-plane scrolling rooms, character portraits in dialogue boxes, and an enhanced conversation system more appropriate to the plot, making the game even more realistic.

Unlike many AGAs, Return of the Phantom is designed for computer gamers new to animated graphic adventures as well as veteran AGA players. "There are lots of mysteries and clever puzzles to solve, but the game is very accessible and would make a great introduction to these kinds of games. There's lots of conflict and action, but there's also lots of drama to keep players constantly entertained," Raymond said.

Having a strong theater background from which to draw inspiration for a game such as this doesn't hurt, either. "I majored in Theatre and have a degree in Directing, and spent 11 years working in New York on various productions," Raymond explained. "I have an interest in film and theatre and I look for story-based games that allow me to develop characters. I tend to look for ways to tell a story with pictures as well as dialogue."

Return of the Phantom

IBM-PC/compatibles

286/386/486 (12+ MHz) ù DOS 3.1+

2 MB RAM

Keyboard, mouse

MCGA or VGA graphics

Roland, Ad Lib, Soundblaster and Covox

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MPS FTP

The legendary Phantom of the Opera has returned to the Paris Opera House! As Inspector Raoul Montand, you're the only one who can pursue The Red Death into the past and prevent him from terrorizing the present!

This animated graphic adventure will have you searching for clues along the catwalks, wings, and backstage rooms of the opera house. Interviewing witnesses and suspects. Pursuing the Phantom through a labyrinth of subterranean catacombs. And finally confronting the Phantom face-to-face!

It's a backstage pass to mystery and intrigue in Return Of The Phantom!

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MicroProse Entertainment Software Catalog (1992)

The legendary Phantom of the Opera has returned! As Inspector Raoul Montand, you are the only one who can pursue the Red Death into the past and prevent him from terrorizing the present. This point and click adventure originally released by MicroProse in 1993 features a fully voiced cast of characters with fluid animations, a tense and thrilling story penned by James Bond novelist Raymond Benson, and an atmospheric soundtrack that sets the perfect mood for this new take on a classic story.

• Witness the tragedy that befalls the audience inside the famed Paris Opera House
• Search for clues along the catwalks, through the wings, and into the many backstage rooms of the opera house
• Step back in time as you explore the opera's labyrinth of catacombs

Source:

Steam Store Description