Dracula Unleashed

The Good
Dracula Unleashed is one of the better efforts to combine graphic adventure gaming with full motion video (FMV). Everything from the computer version -- i.e. the puzzles, items, moody music, B-minus acting and supernatural elements are here for Sega CD gamers. Well, almost...

The Bad
This is not a perfect translation of the computer game, mainly because of the hardware limitations of the Sega CD. While it was common for personal computers to be able to display 256+ colors on screen, the Sega CD could only display 64 colors on screen. As a result, the video quality is worse then the personal computer, but the video is shown in a large screen.

The other faults are the same as the computer version. If you do not enjoy graphic adventure games -- with their emphasis on talking to people, collecting items and solving puzzles -- this game will bore you quickly.

The replay value is somewhat limited after you have solved all of the puzzles. You might want to play the game again to see what happens if you fail to solve a puzzle or to impress your friends, but otherwise the game gets old.

Last, but not least, the game is not terribly scary and sometimes, as was often the case with FMV video, the B- acting might invoke more humor then suspense or sheer terror.

The Bottom Line
Dracula Unleashed was one of a handful of games to appear during the early days of CD-ROM gaming that sought to combine traditional point and click adventure gaming with full motion video.

Given the significant hardware limitations of the Sega CD, this game is a near perfect recreation of the original computer game with the quality of the FMV being the major exception.

If you enjoyed the 'Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective' games and want a longer mystery, involving vampires, then you should give this game a try.