Amber: Journeys Beyond - PC Games

Driving out to the house in a thunderstorm, you are run off the road by a shimmering apparition and are sent crashing into a lake. In short order, you discover other things have gone wrong--Roxy is in the garage, apparently dead. It's up to you to save yourself and the overzealous scientist from the forces lurking in the house.

Patience and close attention to detail are musts for playing Amber: Journeys Beyond. Critical items are sometimes hard to spot, and one or two of the scenes take place in very dark locales. When you can see, the graphics are crisp and drawn with a faint gothic sensibility, surrounding the player in a milieu of creepy sounds and ghost-catching gadgets.

The game is especially suited to beginning or younger gamers, as the problem-solving challenges are on the simple side. Even so, Amber: Journeys Beyond is spooky and engaging, a worthy electronic heir to campfire stories everywhere. Alyx Dellamonica