Based on the excellent short story by Harlan Ellison; I have no mouth and I must scream is an expansion on the story. it features numerous characters to play as(each with their own story and in conflict) and the choices actually effect the game. also; Harlan Ellison is excellent as the voice of AM. so yes. I would recommend this game to people(if they don't mind a little disturbing imagery).
5 Reviews
Dark, creepy, and great for fans of Harlan Ellison
ezridax22 September 2002
I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream is based off one of Harlan Ellison's short stories of the same name. A supercomputer gains the power of conscious thought, and kills everyone on the Earth except for 5 humans, which he takes down to the middle of the Earth. Your goal is to jump through the hoops that AM lays out for you and retain your humanity at the same time. A typical point and click game here. use commands such as Walk, Ask, Get, Use, Swallow on objects in your inventory or on the screen. The system is very intuitive, so you won't spend hours struggling on what to do with an object. The only reason this category didn't get a 10, is because there are several times you have to find an object that may only take up a few pixels on the screen, leading to some annoying hunting with your mouse. When you have to talk with people, you get several conversation choice, most of which will affect the plot. Say the wrong thing, and you might fail your task. You also can't just kill people to get your way, as in games nowadays. You have a spiritual barometer that measures how human you are. Treat a person with kindness and it'll go up, and your character will become happier and more-self confident. Do something against their moral beliefs and they'll go into panic attacks and possibly die. Ah, now this is where IHNM really shines. You get to play as each of the 5 humans AM has brought down with him. You must make it through a scenario for each character. You'll have to confront your past mistakes and your one character flaw that caused it. Locales will range from Egyptian electronic pyramids to Nazi Germany to a honky-tonk road side cafe. As you make it through scenarios you'll encounter forgotten machines that let you in on AM's past. And there are plot-twists galore, especially in the final scenario. The best thing about this game in my opinion. The music is ranges from creepy and bonechilling, to sorrowful and depressing. It all fits together with the story. You'll find tunes stuck in your head up to days afterwards. And the voice-acting. Harlan Ellison himself voices AM, the computer God. From the moment you hear him expound on his hate for the humans, you couldn't imagine anyone but him in this role. He speaks with passion and exuberance, making just sitting back and listening a joy. And the rest of the characters are done wonderfully too. With the exception of the child actor, none of these voices will make you cringe in embarrassment or turn down the volume. This game is a definite must-have for fans of the adventure genre, Harlan Ellison, or horror fans.
Good plot, tedious game
paul5128 March 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I'm not extremely knowledgeable about Harlan Ellison, just about all I've seen or read about him is a scathing TV Guide article he wrote about his ill-fated run in with the Star Trek crew concerning the episode he penned (and was heavily edited) and spotting some editorial feature he did on...Sci Fi channel, I think. While the guy is brilliant (and I think he'd be the first one to tell you that) I'm not sure I'm a big fan.
The world he creates in the game and the short story it's based on are excellent. His characters seem awfully Steven King-ish (or maybe Stephen King's usual characters are awfully Harlan Ellison-ish). That is, they're the protagonists but there's a lot about them that is unsavory or at the very least makes people not want to entirely identify with them. The characters in the game are at least somewhat less...estranging...than they are in the short story.
The game itself has the potential to end much more happily than the short story, though like a lot of quest games, it's so tedious getting through that about 4 hours into it you're probably doing a web search for a walk-through.
As far as the acting goes, Harlan Ellison does a great job reading for the role of AM. When I say reading, I mean just that. He sounds like your favorite librarian reading a story to you and adding life to the characters, only in this case his reading is limited to just the one part. It's not bad, it's just not what you'd call acting. That may be the intent. After all, the guy is a writer, not an actor. Considering the other voice actors do their parts in much the same manner---95% of the speaking is what you'd call "inner monologue"---that may be why they sound more like they're reading than acting.
Anyway, good game for its type. Unfortunately this game, like many others, is an example of why quest games have died: no real re-playability.
The world he creates in the game and the short story it's based on are excellent. His characters seem awfully Steven King-ish (or maybe Stephen King's usual characters are awfully Harlan Ellison-ish). That is, they're the protagonists but there's a lot about them that is unsavory or at the very least makes people not want to entirely identify with them. The characters in the game are at least somewhat less...estranging...than they are in the short story.
The game itself has the potential to end much more happily than the short story, though like a lot of quest games, it's so tedious getting through that about 4 hours into it you're probably doing a web search for a walk-through.
As far as the acting goes, Harlan Ellison does a great job reading for the role of AM. When I say reading, I mean just that. He sounds like your favorite librarian reading a story to you and adding life to the characters, only in this case his reading is limited to just the one part. It's not bad, it's just not what you'd call acting. That may be the intent. After all, the guy is a writer, not an actor. Considering the other voice actors do their parts in much the same manner---95% of the speaking is what you'd call "inner monologue"---that may be why they sound more like they're reading than acting.
Anyway, good game for its type. Unfortunately this game, like many others, is an example of why quest games have died: no real re-playability.
You Have A Mouth, And You Will Scream!
garden-174 August 2011
Warning: Spoilers
"I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" is one of Harlan Ellison's best and most re-printed short-stories, and arguably one of the best short-stories ever written. However, is the game as good as the short-story? Plot: The Allied Mastercomputer (or AM, for short) loses his mind, after being given limitless creativity and sequestered to a massive underground labyrinth. In his fury, he destroys all of humanity, except 5 people. After torturing them for over a century, AM becomes bored, and decides to give them a gift they've never received before: The chance to either kill themselves, or escape. However, they must relive some of the darkest days in their lives in order to do it.
Acting: The acting is very believable, and Harlan Ellison--as the voice of AM--is perfectly over-the-top.
Game-play: It's one of those point-and-click adventure games, only with a focus on ethics (and the human condition) that many similar games lack. AM throws many puzzles at the player, and most of them are not very easy (not as hard as, say, "Myst III: Exile", but far from too easy). To my knowledge, however, there is no multi-player; unlike most games these days, this isn't a down-side to the game (or most adventure games, for that matter).
Graphics: Considering that the game was made and released in 1995 (on CD-ROM), the graphics are pretty good. I've heard of many complaints, stemming from bugs and glitches, but I've never seen any.
Music: The music is pretty good; it's definitely above average for a non-"Myst" adventure game. It's also certainly above average, considering the mature-content. Speaking of which...
The Mature-Content: Naziism is the primary aspect of one part of the single-player campaign; it's as sad and terrible as one can imagine. Human sacrifice is also depicted, although, not in a very graphic manner. Rape is implied, but--fortunately--never seen (although, I've never lost during Ellen's campaign; it could be one of the potential "bad endings"). There is also some sexual content, although--if it were on television in America--it would probably only be rated "TV-14 S"; the sexual content is also by-passable, and is something you can choose to pursue or not pursue.
Differences Between The Game And The Original Short-Story: Bennys' character's back-story is somewhat different from the short-story; AM communicates with the other characters much more often; the original ending from the short-story can only be seen if the player loses towards the end of the game; there are some other things, but none of these differences interferes with the entertainment value of the game.
Overall: "I Have No Mouth" is a very unique game for its time, in that there's no clean, "scot-free" way to win the game. Mr. Ellison always stressed when making this game that it shouldn't be about winning, but rather about losing in varying ways with varying consequences. It's all about ethics, human dignity, and perseverance. It's excellently written, wonderfully acted, and very engaging. I give it a 10 out of 10!
Acting: The acting is very believable, and Harlan Ellison--as the voice of AM--is perfectly over-the-top.
Game-play: It's one of those point-and-click adventure games, only with a focus on ethics (and the human condition) that many similar games lack. AM throws many puzzles at the player, and most of them are not very easy (not as hard as, say, "Myst III: Exile", but far from too easy). To my knowledge, however, there is no multi-player; unlike most games these days, this isn't a down-side to the game (or most adventure games, for that matter).
Graphics: Considering that the game was made and released in 1995 (on CD-ROM), the graphics are pretty good. I've heard of many complaints, stemming from bugs and glitches, but I've never seen any.
Music: The music is pretty good; it's definitely above average for a non-"Myst" adventure game. It's also certainly above average, considering the mature-content. Speaking of which...
The Mature-Content: Naziism is the primary aspect of one part of the single-player campaign; it's as sad and terrible as one can imagine. Human sacrifice is also depicted, although, not in a very graphic manner. Rape is implied, but--fortunately--never seen (although, I've never lost during Ellen's campaign; it could be one of the potential "bad endings"). There is also some sexual content, although--if it were on television in America--it would probably only be rated "TV-14 S"; the sexual content is also by-passable, and is something you can choose to pursue or not pursue.
Differences Between The Game And The Original Short-Story: Bennys' character's back-story is somewhat different from the short-story; AM communicates with the other characters much more often; the original ending from the short-story can only be seen if the player loses towards the end of the game; there are some other things, but none of these differences interferes with the entertainment value of the game.
Overall: "I Have No Mouth" is a very unique game for its time, in that there's no clean, "scot-free" way to win the game. Mr. Ellison always stressed when making this game that it shouldn't be about winning, but rather about losing in varying ways with varying consequences. It's all about ethics, human dignity, and perseverance. It's excellently written, wonderfully acted, and very engaging. I give it a 10 out of 10!
Better Than Changed.
imnotjohncandy8 May 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This is the game Changed wishes it was instead of the blatant fetish-fuelled mess it turned out to be, this is how you do transformation horror in a game, it's genuinely dark and creepy and the game genuinely does leave you thinking and wanting to know more, definitely worth while.
The gradual transformation of Ted into a 'jelly thing' is mortifying and more than a little bit clever, it's brilliant. This is how you do. A transformation horror story correctly, you don't hyper-sexualize it, you make it as creepy and dark as possible.
This game is not just good but it's perfection, pure horror gold.
The gradual transformation of Ted into a 'jelly thing' is mortifying and more than a little bit clever, it's brilliant. This is how you do. A transformation horror story correctly, you don't hyper-sexualize it, you make it as creepy and dark as possible.
This game is not just good but it's perfection, pure horror gold.
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