Phantasmagoria 2: A Puzzle of Flesh (Phantas 2) is not so much as a sequal to the previous Phantas, but much more of a sequel to the theme of the game itself. Phantas 2 shows more of that spooky feeling like that in the first Phantas. However, the content of Phantas 2 is more detailed, gory, and scary. Those with a weak stomach might not want to play this game. The game does offer a more less intense version (to prevent them kiddies from seeing TOO much) of the game. Selecting this, however, ruins the full experience of playing this game. My first experience in this game, when I first bought it, was "whoa". I honestly didn't actually expect something like this in a video game!

Phantas 2 offers a similar storyline to that of the first. You are Curtis Craig an employee of a company called Wyntech. About a year previously, you were sent to a mental institution. Now, a year later while working, Curtis begins to have hallucinogens. The game picks up after the year passes. The game begins with Curtis doing everyday tasks. The game's storyline and gameplay is very weak in the beginning of the game which may turn the gamer off from playing any further. In the beginning, it's not very sure what you need to do. For example: You need to find your wallet before you can leave your house. Looking around you'll find your wallet under your couch. You then get your pet rat Blob and put Blob under your couch to get fetch your wallet. Afterwards, you use a granola bar to lure your pet out retrieving your wallet. Why not just tell Curtis to move the couch and get the wallet? The game has similar other examples as well. This can lead to numb stupid puzzles throughout the game. While not each puzzle is like this, you have to pay close attention to the FMV's of the game.

The game's actors are pretty well done and each character does their role very well. While interaction is not as good as in Gabriel Knight 2 (you get choices), just like the first Phantas, you just click to interact with a person/object. As you progress through the game, you'll begin to understand why Curtis acts the way he acts. Curtis has a lot of curiosity in the game play. As you'll visit a shrink, visit an S&M club with a very wicked co-worker, and to uncovering Wyntechs evil experiments. The game ties well with Gabriel Knight 1. As in GK, the roots of the company and your character tie in well. While the end of the game (before the FMV/after), could have been done better (especially that last numb puzzle). The only other real bad problem is the compatibility with Windows. While Phantas 1 works great in XP/2000, Phantas 2 does not. The game will install but will NOT run. Why this is such a bad issue, especially since this is much later game with improved features.

Phantas 2 is interesting at the most, but it's not a very strong game in gameplay. Again, if you are one of those players who put a game down after playing it for good (single player games not multiplayer), then Phantas 2 is not your game. The game can be finished in a simple 8 hours or less. If you are looking for a strange and unusual game, then Phantas 2 is worth checking out.

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Graphics: 1.000/1.000: (There's nothing wrong this time around. Video is greatly improved since the last one.)

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Sound: 1.000/1.000: (Great audio [it isn't poppy], and lots of spooky music to make your heart thump)

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Control: 0.900/1.000: (Simple point and click. I was hoping for more with the control than the previous Phantas)

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Storyline: 0.250/1.000: (The storyline doesn't get really interesting til about midway on Disc 2. Despite the puzzles in the first Disc, it can get mind numbing)

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Gameplay: 0.200/1.000: (XP/2000 won't work unlike the first Phantas, cheezy numbing puzzles [like the couch] and among others make playing game rather stupid/weak/frustarting]. The gameplay would have been stronger if the cheezy stuff wasn't in there. The game does have easter eggs [crazy stuff not assocaited in the game] which makes you think how crazy these programmers are :) The game's visuals/videos make the gameplay interesting enough, but doing the puzzles, doesn't.)

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