Penumbra: Overture
Penumbra: Overture is a video game that consists of 2 releases
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Originally slated as a tech demo to showcase the physics of Frictional Games' HPL Engine, Penumbra: Overture was later released as a standalone game as the first part of a planned trilogy. The game play style of Penumbra is a mix of first person adventure and a point and click system which heavily utilises the use of the games physics to manipulate and solve 'real world type' puzzles. Examples of this include holding the mouse button down and dragging it along to perform certain actions such as closing a door or swinging a weapon. The genre of this game is horror and heavily promotes stealth and hiding in place of combat.
The game was released universally on 30th March 2007 via digital distribution. The game also received a simultaneous, hard copy release in the United Kingdom. The game's box edition was also released in the United States in May later that year.
Penumbra Overture follows the story of Philip, a thirty year old physicist who is drawn into the events of the game after receiving a letter from his dead father which was passed onto him after his mother dies at the beginning of the game. When he receives this letter he is given information about a lockbox containing information about his father. Philip is intrigued, having just lost his mother and never really knowing his father, he investigates the lock box to find a map and information about a secret facility somewhere in an isolated region in Greenland. The information his father provided in the letter is a warning about the facility and its dangers and that by all means he must not endanger himself journeying their to find out what happened. Philip however needs to know and goes anyway.
A plane trip, boat ride and hike later, Philip is stumbling around in the Greenland wilderness, lost in a huge snowstorm. Before dying he finds a hatch, and desperate to escape the storm breaks in to take refuge. Upon entering he is trapped in an abandoned mine. As he goes through the mine further he begins receiving radio transmissions from Tom Redwood aka 'Red'. Red promises to tell Philip about what happened once he comes and rescues him.
Throughout the game Philip descends deeper into the mine to find Red, all the while coming across the various new inhabitants of the mine and reading over dated entries of previous work. The information he uncovers indicates a secret military facility and laboratory which had been used secretly during World War II, and only recently reformed to study strange, xenomorphic phenomena which had been developing in the deeper parts of the mine.
Working his way through the abandoned tunnel system and avoiding detection by the new ecosystem of deformed animal inhabitants, he finally reaches Red who has lost his mind after being trapped in the mine for an unspecified amount of time. The evidence of diary entries and his living quarters indicate that Red had been isolated from human contact for at least ten or more years. His suffering has driven him into insanity and he requests salvation from Philip by asking that he incinerate him in the furnace, deep in the underground. Philip obeys without ever meeting Red face to face. His death allows Philip to progress further through the mine into a section known as 'The Shelter'. This marks the second area of the underground, housing the primary research labs and setting the scene for the events of the second game.
Penumbra: Overture is a 2007 first person horror/adventure game, and the first installment of the Penumbra series.
Overview
The game's inventory
The game was released universally on 30th March 2007 via digital distribution. The game also received a simultaneous, hard copy release in the United Kingdom. The game's box edition was also released in the United States in May later that year.
Plot
A plane trip, boat ride and hike later, Philip is stumbling around in the Greenland wilderness, lost in a huge snowstorm. Before dying he finds a hatch, and desperate to escape the storm breaks in to take refuge. Upon entering he is trapped in an abandoned mine. As he goes through the mine further he begins receiving radio transmissions from Tom Redwood aka 'Red'. Red promises to tell Philip about what happened once he comes and rescues him.
Working his way through the abandoned tunnel system and avoiding detection by the new ecosystem of deformed animal inhabitants, he finally reaches Red who has lost his mind after being trapped in the mine for an unspecified amount of time. The evidence of diary entries and his living quarters indicate that Red had been isolated from human contact for at least ten or more years. His suffering has driven him into insanity and he requests salvation from Philip by asking that he incinerate him in the furnace, deep in the underground. Philip obeys without ever meeting Red face to face. His death allows Philip to progress further through the mine into a section known as 'The Shelter'. This marks the second area of the underground, housing the primary research labs and setting the scene for the events of the second game.
| Game Name | Penumbra: Overture |
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| Original US Release |
March 30, 2007
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a list of 193 items by Bluepixie
a list of 193 items by Bluepixie
