Oh, I’m so spoiled! Today we have a treat in the form of long awaited screen shots from The Last Crown - Haunting Of Hallowed Isle!
Created by one of my favorite game makers, Jonathan Boakes of Darkling Room, The Last Crown: HoHI is sequel to The Lost Crown, a ghost hunting adventure that was one of my favorite games of 2010 (check out 45 min. of footage on my YouTube page, and ). If you enjoy horror, this man’s work is one to keep an eye on, as his projects only get better as time goes on. Playing Darkfall: The Journal, followed by the stunner that was Darkfall: Lost Souls (first 70 min. footage , , , , and the best ), is an experience I think no gamer should miss. As I told Mr. Boakes, it’s interesting my career is built on my skill at reporting games industry news, especially Nintendo, but my interest in indie point and click horror games has gotten me a bigger following than anything else I’ve ever written about. That really started once I began hearing things about Boakes’ work. Darkfall: Lost Souls continues to have a strong effect on me, even in memory. The contrast between the Dowerton of The Journal and Lost Souls is so stark and striking that I’ve yet to find a horror experience since to match it. I spend most of my days playing, watching, or reading horror in some form, and despite the dilution of the genre by my repeated overexposure, Lost Souls continues to have an effect on me, many months later. In many ways it helped to reignite an interest in horror as a whole, which has enabled me to transition from technical to creative writing, a switch that I’d yet to be inspired to make. That he has accomplished so much without the support of a big publisher is also very inspiring—as such I’ve been brave enough to start work on my own project for iPhone and Droid, with the idea that maybe mobile phones are the next place for point and clicks to go.
In addition to these screen shots, I’m also happy to point out the little-known news that The Lost Crown is now actually a trilogy, with a third already in the works. At my persistent barrage of endless pestering (lol), Boakes also tells me that there will soon be a place holder on the official site for this new installment in what is now undoubtedly a series. More news on that shortly.
On to the snaps!
This shot of Saxton seems to show that The Last Crown- Haunting of Hallowed Isle will have a better camera angle on the ghostly port town than its predecessor. Boakes has gone and re-shot much of the town of Polperro in order to get the needed footage.
Nigel’s character model has much improved, and as a whole the graphics look softer and smoother, while retaining the original black and white photo aesthetic. I’m pleased to see an on-screen mini map. Boakes notes that given the game’s non linear and quest based structure, the map will now serve as a record of sorts, reminding you of what you’re doing and why. In the corner is the GhostGadget, combining the various paranormal activity gadgets from The Lost Crown into one for ease of use. It can also be customized and upgraded, with help from your old acquaintance Bob Tawney (more on that at Boakes’ blog).
“They’re not migrating. They are leaving. Forever.” Something’s got the birds all stirred up.
Good to see Lucy, even if she does look a bit different. I love her in the role of the skeptic. In The Last Crown: HoHI, Lucy unsurprisingly takes on the more detective side of the investigations, while Nigel taps into his psychic abilities.
This haunting screen shot is accompanied by the text:
Guardians can take many forms. They serve to protect that which is precious. As Halloween approaches, it is the crop of pumpkins that needs guarding. They will be needed to protect people’s homes, during Samhain, when dark forces descend upon the town. The scarecrow was created for this very task, oh so many years ago. The crows never linger when he is present. Is it the crude half formed face, or the ragged coat? Or, do the crows know something more, about the scarecrow, which we dare not?
The crows don’t seem to like this fellow.
Saxton was flooded with high tides when we first visited her, in the spring. It will be interesting to visit in the fall.
Dare I say it? I find Nigel kinda cute now, even when he’s peeping on Nanny Noah. Speaking of her, what’s she up to? While the matron-saint kept a watchful and concerned eye over Nigel in The Lost Crown, it was unknown exactly what, if any, her powers were. Now described as a “white witch”, Nigel and Lucy’s advisor in all things ghostly is pictured here leaving for a secret meeting before Samhain, details of which she refuses to share with her proteges.
Other entries on The Last Crown detail the game’s use of the supernatural concept of psychometry, and it’s definitely worth a read, giving some new insight into the dynamics between Lucy and Nigel as they continue their ghost hunting adventures together, all under the tutelage of Nanny Noah. Be sure to check it out!
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