Soul Trap Review

Your worst nightmare is... playing this game!!!

When I was young, I used to have this really bizarre dream. I would see this world of black. During this dream, I would hear very odd noises. The noises would soon become visual and take the form of lines. I would first hear very high pitched treble noises and a thin white line would appear against the black background. It was very similar to a guitar string. Soon after my high pitched friend would play it's lovely tune, a deep, strong bass sound would appear taking the form of a thick, white, energy stream. The bass sound would slowly overtake the thin treble tune and eventually envelop it, destroying the treble altogether. I would wake up screaming in a cold sweat. This was, as bizarre as it may seem, my worst nightmare for years.

In Microforum's Soul Trap, you will confront all the fears that have plagued Malcolm West for years. Being trapped within your own mind is no fun. Just think, all those books and TV shows taking control of your brain? Well, after a deteriorating waking life, and neglecting his job responsibilities, Malcolm West decided to go to a dream specialist to stop his horrid nightmares. The doctor tried every treatment with no success. Malcolm decides to take on his own mind in one final attempt to stop his evil dreams from destroying his waking life. He enters the Soul Trap....

If the premise sounds cheesy, that's probably because it is. In Soul Trap, you control Malcolm West. You will come across many horrible monsters and eventually face every fear that this poor fool has. If you ask me, It's not worth the trouble. Microforum did put a lot of work into this one, but it just doesn't stand up to the fantastic games out on the market now. I actually felt like I was playing a warped version of Super Mario Bros. mixed with Doom.

The idea of the game sounds simple. You control Malcolm through a myriad of levels trying to pick up special items, weapons, and a key to get you to the exit. At the end, chances are that your going to face a what!?!?....That's right an ending boss monster. Kill it with the items you find and 'whalla!' you're off to the next level doing the same.

The graphics in Soul Trap are not half bad. Some really cool 3D work was done to give you the 'I'm there...' feeling. There are even three point of viewsfrom which to view the character. The sound effects, on the other hand, need a major revamping! Bad horror music plays on repeat during each board (or should I say bored)...

Most of the game I found myself fumbling around trying to jump to a stupid ledge to get to the next area. Miss the ledge, and lose a life... You do however, get several lives, which go quicker than you may imagine because of the ledges. The graphics made me want to turn on my version of Quake instead and that's not a good thing in my book. If you can't love the game your playing, go out and find another...

All in all, I'd say skip it! Soul Trap is a game that could have been really fun and exciting (if it were done differently), but it just didn't make the grade. And although the nightmare theme may sound cheezy, I feel that it could have been a real winner in the right hands. Go out this holiday season and buy a fab game like Daggerfall or Hyper Blade. Don't waste you hard earned dough on this one....