7 Days a Skeptic

The Good
7 Days A Skeptic the sequel to 5 Days A Stranger revolves around the crew of the spaceship Mephistopheles nearly 4 hundred years in the future from the first ones events and begins when the crew finds an object floating in space and decide to bring it aboard but when they inspect it, it appears to be nothing so they leave it alone but when the captain disappears and along with him the rest of the crew leaving your character Dr. Jonathan Somerset to find out what is behind all this madness.

7 Days A Skeptic is a horror adventure game just like the original but this time around the play mechanics are slightly different this time in order to use an object by clicking on it then choosing the desired action to use with it for example to open a door you would right click on the door and choose the hand icon, the puzzles remained about the same using the item on an object to get further along.

The graphics are about the same as the originals so there’s not much to talk about with it the music is now an original score not just taken from RPG Maker and still holds well with the horror theme and the sound effects are pretty much the same as in the original.

The Bad
Even Though this game takes place over more days than the original 7 instead of 5 this game is the same length as 5 Days A Stranger thus meaning the game is only like 45 minutes to complete which some will definitely be disappointed by and one thing I must stress is how stupid I thought the ending was it’s not even because its downer because horror shouldn't have happy endings but it’s just stupid.

The Bottom Line
All That Said this game is a quality sequel to 5 Days A Stranger and anyone who enjoyed that should enjoy this one plus once again its free! Special Edition $5.

The Good
The first game, 5 Days a Stranger, was very good. So I wanted to complete the saga it's sequel, 7 Days a Skeptic. However while 5 was mostly story driven, 7 is mostly action driven. The graphics are very nice here, and the what plot there is is pretty well thought out.

The Bad
I don't really like the control system, but that more an issue with AGS than with this game. Also, the fact that there was really no story given in this game makes it feel like you are actually in a horror movie sequel that just exists to make money. This game even parodies the movie series Halloween at least twice. There are also two days in which you have to spend the whole (very short) day running away from The Welder. The Welder is also never named, which is too bad as all horror movie legends deserve a name.

The Bottom Line
A decent follow-up effort to 5 Days a Stranger. If you're interested in this game, I strongly suggest you play 5 Days first, and then 7 Days as it will give you a much better understanding of the backstory. And if you only have enough HD space for one of these games, chose 5 Days.

The Good
I'll be the first to admit that I can't fathom the faulting of amateur games, even mediocre ones. Especially in the adventure genre, where game designing tools for years have made it one of if not the easiest genre to create games in. Not quite foolproof, but much less prone to failure than games in other generations.

And if a game is given to you for free, created by a handful if not a singular person, and not created with the benefit of millions of dollars being poured into it... How can you complain about it if the game is even anything approaching decent?

And 7 Days a Skeptic, for what it is, is most definitely more than average.

A handful of appropriate MIDI tunes that set the mood, and the same goes for the sound effects, those few that there are in a game that only spans a few hours at most.

Some gruesome bits that a horror game like this benefits from.

Actual tension when being chased throughout the station. For a game that takes up a handful of MB at the most, that's remarkable in itself. Reminded me of Maniac Mansion to no end, being chased that is.

Diverse enough characters who act convincingly enough relative to their personalities.

The science fiction setting isn't without explanations of it's inner workings. Plants that can't grow in such an environment, no one needing more than two suits since the creation of material that dirt can't cling to, a Star Trek like food creator. It sets the stage, not letting you forget that you are a few hundred years in the future on a spaceship.

All in all the game isn't anything I didn't play over a decade over... And it's not going to change the landscape of professional or amateur gaming.

But it's a solid enough space adventure romp that'll make you think, invoke more than a few emotions, and keep you busy for a few hours. So why not?

Nice little twist there at the end too. Didn't see it coming.

The Bad
Hmm. The ship looks a little bland, and there's a lack of furnishing and general things around it. Could of used some more variety, more of the science fiction "fluff" that I mentioned above, to flesh it out.

The pitter patter of everyones feet gets a little annoying too, I guess. =)

Some puzzles are more than a little hard to piece together in your mind. And though they're not as aggravating as some adventure games, they did grate on my nerves at times.

Oh yeah, the developer didn't spell "artifact" correctly. Hehhee.

The Bottom Line
A solid enough entry into amateur adventure gaming. You could do far, far worse than playing this one for a few hours.

Kudos to the developer big time for creating a mythos and making his creation into a series. Very well done.