Brrrriiing! The sound of the phone cuts in sharp and intrusive over the persistent patter of the rain pelting the roof and the occasional angry growl of thunder rolling through the night. For a moment it's possible that the phone will go unanswered. Nights like these are perfect for turning off the lights, curling up in some blankets and watching a scary movie. They are not for listening to your mom ramble on about how you never call, or the rapid-fire pitch of a telemarketer. It is only the threat of more ringing that keeps the call from being relegated to the answering machine.
The voice on the other end is panicked. It's Sarah, barely able to get out the words between terrified gasps. Someone broke into their house. Someone armed. The power's out and she and Scott are hiding, but she doesn't know how long before they are discovered. You're the only person she trusts to come and save them from the Intruder.
Now the fate of your friends rests squarely on your shoulders, in this short and scary point and click adventure. Using your mouse, navigate your way into and throughout the darkened home. Keep your eyes peeled for anything that can be used to defend yourself and try to get to your friends before the intruder does.
As you work to save your friends, don't forget that the intruder is not likely to look kindly upon your presence either. Keep quiet and don't alert him, or he'll come after you, bringing up a "Think Fast" scenario in which you'll have mere seconds to make a decision that could save your life, or end it. You won't be much help to your friends if you wind up dead, will you?
Analysis: Intruder might be relatively old in the world of online gaming (okay, maybe it's the casual gameplay equivalent of a senior citizen), but it still stands as an example of good horror done right in Flash. There is no shortage of horror games available on the internet, but Intruder remains in the small company of those that are actually scary.
The success that Intruder enjoys on the horror front stems directly from the care it takes to establish a nearly perfect atmosphere. Most of the game takes place in grainy black and white with a few colors sparingly added at key moments. Deep, dark shadows that could be hiding anything dominate the game. Occasionally a burst of lightning will rip through the atmosphere, sending some shadows dancing malevolently against the walls while painting everything else in split seconds of glaring white. This gives you precious few moments to spy out lurking dangers before they are again concealed by the darkness.
For the most part, Intruder is a fairly conventional point and click game. But one innovation, the "Think Fast" sequences, is a brilliant device that heightens the suspense even more. It forces you to make quick decisions under duress, and does a fairly good job at simulating the kind of stresses you might feel in a real life situation.
There are only a handful of puzzles, not too difficult to get through, and there are only a few items to pick up during this short game. You have three life hearts, which means that you can make several bad decisions before your game is over. That will be a relief for those who aren't adept at this style of game, but may make things a little too easy for those who are. Also, due to the grainy black and white quality of the background, there may be some hotspot hunting in your future, which is rarely a good thing. Intruder manages to compensate for that in two ways. First, there is passive text at the top of the screen that automatically changes whenever you hover the cursor over anything of interest. Usually if you've done everything you can in a room, the room's base text will say something to that effect. Also, the game has a built-in strategy guide that gives helpful hints from room to room. In short, Intruder doesn't have many challenges, and jumps through hoops to help the player overcome the ones that do exist.
It should also be mentioned that the plot is not exactly air tight. It strikes me as a little strange that you are the person the captives trust to save them. Call me crazy, but there are people who get paid to take care of things like that. What are they called? You know the ones that wear the blue uniform? Oh, right, the police! Further, the intruder's motivation is hinted at, but never fully explored. This is a small disappointment, but an ultimately forgivable one. A good horror story doesn't need to be void of plot holes, it just needs to have enough of a plot to get the audience to the scene of the scares, which Intruder does.
For its modest ten to fifteen minutes of gameplay, Intruder manages to cram in scares of both the subtly eerie, and jump and scream varieties. So you know what to do by now. Turn off the lights, crank up the volume, and prepare to share a pitch black house with a murderer.
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October 15, 2009 3:40 PM
Walkthrough Guide
walkthrough
1. You're in front of the house. The front door is unlocked, but it's not safe to enter through there. Go left to the driveway and make your way towards the back.
2. Get to the garage. The left and right garage door won't open so go through the large middle doors. You'll need to pick up 2 batteries - one from the table and the other is in the box on the table.
3. Leave the garage and make your way to the back porch. Before you enter through the back porch door, pick up the flashlight from the table, on the cabinet-like thing, on the left side of the door.
4. Go through the back door. You have a choice of three doors - to the Kitchen, the Laundry, and the Bathroom. There's nothing in the Bathroom worth checking out, so make your way to the Laundry.
5. In the Laundry you'll knock over a can of Kitty Bits. This will alert the Intruder who will make his way into the room. You're given 3 choices - Do you hide behind the door? Meow like a cat? Hide in the bathroom?
6. Meow like a cat and the Intruder goes away. Look down at the floor. Next to the Kitty Bits can is a piece of paper. On it is a PIN number '10' and two other numbers smudged out. Remember this.
(Somewhere in the Laundry, the cat will pounce on you. It won't harm you, but watch out for it If it doesn't get you here, it'll get you in the Kitchen.)
7. Make your way out and go to the Kitchen. In the Kitchen, pick up the chef's knife that is on the counter, between the coffe-maker and the fridge. Go to the fridge and look at the calender. Take note of the date of Sarah's birthday (Oct 20).
8. Make you way towards the Pantry. The Intruder's silhouette can be seen in the Dining Room so don't go too far. Slip into the Pantry.
9. There's nothing to take on the Pantry shelves. Click right on the Cellar Door. There's a combination lock and you'll need 4 numbers. Take the first two numbers from the PIN paper and the birthday date from the calendar. (If you've forgotten, it's 1020). Click this in and click on the top of the lock. It'll open the cellar door.
10. Go down to the Cellar. Nothing to take here. You just need to throw the fuse switch so the power comes back on. The Intruder will be alerted to your presence, but this time that's a good thing, because he'll move away from the Dining Room.
11. Move out of the Cellar and Pantry and make your way to the Dining Room and into the Lounge.
12. In the Lounge you'll find a TV cabinet and clicking it will turn the TV on. That will bring the Intruder into the room, so don't do that.
13. Get out of the Lounge into the Hallway. On the extreme right is Scott and Sarah's Bedroom which is locked. Straight ahead is where the Hallway continues, and the door before that, on the right, is the Office. If you go further into the Hallway, you'll find a corner and see the Intruder's silhouette. "You are vulnerable without heavy artillery it says." Turn around and make your way to the Office.
14. Inside the Office you find Scott's body. The phone rings and this alerts the Intruder. Again you have 3 choices - Hide under the desk, run outside or hide behind the door?
15. Hide behind the door. The Intruder does not see you. After he goes away, click on Scott's desk and look at Scott's phone. Clicking on it will reveal a message from Sarah. There's a gun in the office drawer, she says. She's hiding in the bedroom. (If you click on the laptop, you'll have to play a maze game. If you don't complete it the Intruder will come into the room).
16. Click on the drawers. The top one is locked. To pry it open, drag the chef's knife from your inventory to the drawer. Inside the drawer, you see an empty box of blanks, some bullets and a gun. Take the gun and bullets. You will now need to kill the Intruder before freeing Sarah from the bedroom.
17. Leave the Office. Facing the doors that will bring you 'Back Outside', click left to go to the Hallway. You should find yourself in the corner with the Intruder's silhouette looming. Click on your gun so that you'll get a target on screen.
18. Go forward and shoot the Intruder. He will slash at you twice and leave you lying for dead. After you get up you'll find your target less steady, because you're now injured. You'll still have to look for him and kill him.
19. On the left and right of the bookshelf are two bedrooms. Go right to Sam's bedroom and aim for the Intruder's head. If successful, he will fall over and his hand will release a key. Pick up the key and make your way to Scott and Sarah's bedroom.
20. Drag the key to Scott and Sarah's bedroom door. Sarah is delirious and thinks YOU are the intruder. You have 3 choices - shoot her, tackle her, or let her shoot you. Pick one and watch the final scene unfold. (The game allows you to replay this part, to find out where each choice will lead).
Posted by: Paul | October 15, 2009 7:48 PM