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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Fri Jul 10, 2020 7:54 pm

This fully complete and minty specimen has been a long time coming. I've had the Amiga version of Lurking Horror for years, and frankly it's the best version ever made. Why?

Well, if you don't mind a little spoiler:
It's because the Amiga version actually came with sound.

I'll never forget playing this game and not realizing the game had sound (no Infocom game had sound!). And while deep in the middle of finding myself on a pentagram during a demonic cult ritual, I heard... something. The hair on my arms and back of my neck stood up! Then this horrific cackle, and then weird rhythmic chanting. Was my imagination that intense and out of control? No! The game had infiltrated my ear canal and I didn't realize the source until after several seconds of confusion and fear.

It had utterly freaked me out.
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What absolutely epic box art. Talk about depth that makes you uneasy no matter how many times you look at it.

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Look into my eye...


Anyhoo - that's not to be found here in this version. They never packed that into the C64 version, probably due to the file size not to mention the sound chip. Don't get me wrong - I adore the SID. But it's not going to handle digitized speech or music very well under the limited constraints of a 5.25" floppy and 1Mhz CPU - plus the game, mind. Shame this version wasn't made to support 128 80-column mode, though, but it's still great regardless. These are just teeny tiny nit-picks.

Out of all the games I've played in my life, two in the horror genre really stand out for me because of how they affected me emotionally: Resident Evil 2 for the PS1, and Lurking Horror for Amiga. I think most folks with an Amiga history look at Infocom games as a weird anomaly that never took advantage of the system. They didn't take advantage of the C64, either - that was never the point.

This text adventure, if played right and with all the feelies from the box, will not only scare the crap out of you. It'll blow you away. If you give it a chance, it'll suck you in (and yes, you'll die several times if you ever get to the end - I've yet to go all the way myself).

I keep saying some day I'll finally sit down and finish this game. I'm not scared, I swear. I've just had to do some laundry. And the lawn. And gee, now I'm tired. Maybe tomorrow.

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I'm SO glad someone had the foresight to cut out and save the Dave Leibling sticker from the front packaging. They stored it carefully inside the box all these years, just for me. Like a badge achievement of completeness, almost.

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Tingler, or Wrath of Khan, anyone?


User avatar
Zippy Zapp
CA, USA

Posted Sat Jul 11, 2020 9:06 am

Dude you always hit my nostalgia bone. Awesome find. I say this a lot but that is part of my Commodore stuff I wish I would have kept, all my Infocom titles.





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