The Collection Chamber: WEIRD: TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION

OUT THERE ON ITS OWN

Throughout the centuries people have always been fascinated by:
Tales of the SUPERNATURAL
STRANGE events
MYSTERIOUS or UNEARTHLY characters
INEXPLICABLE occurrences BEYOND SCIENTIFIC explanation
MYTHICAL creatures outside civilization
Incredibly, some of these otherwise unbelievable stories are supported by factual evidence.

Weird - a word invented to describe those things which are beyond description...

Weird is a blend of fact and fantasy, gameplay and exploration, information and puzzles, education and reference.

Weird presents you with photographs, documentary evidence and expert testimony which proves that truth is stranger than fiction.

Weird is a multimedia experience beyond belief. Explore the world of strange phenomena.

Expect the Unexpected - Open your Mind and challenge the way you think about the world.

3000 SCREENS OF EXTREME WEIRDNESS
Visit and explore a stunning 3D world beyond your wildest dreams
Beautifully illustrated, painstakingly researched content
Terrifying narrated tales of paranormal activity
Video interviews with leading investigators into the unknown
Real photos of some very strange things
Amazing surround sound effects and atmospheric ambience
Puzzles that will tax even the sharpest of minds
And loads of really Weird stuff...

~ from the back of the box

If you like strange things, then you can't get any better than Weird: Truth is Stranger than Fiction. Developed by TwoPointZero and released in the tail end of 1996, this interactive museum contains a treasure trove of urban legends and paranormal phenomena that would've inspired many an X-Files episode.

Whether is be the Loch Ness monster, alien abductions or Uri Geller's spoon bending magic trick, there are some great anecdotes to pour over, many of which are accompanied by a wealth of video and photographic documentation. So-called experts in the field including a former investigator for the UK Ministry of Defence and a journalist for famed paranormal publication Fortean Times chip in to give us a talking head on the subject at hand. Being 1996, the video resolution is very small, taking place in a tiny window the size of a postage stamp, but they often impart some interesting facts.

Solve puzzles to access new exhibits. To enter a hall of interviews, solve the first-person maze (left).
The audio clip puzzle is a bugger to solve if you're tone deaf (right)

The 256-color depth does mean the photographic evidence isn't as high quality as you'd want. Dithering is very noticeable, offering up images that are easily found in much higher resolution on line. That being said, Wikipedia doesn't present this 'proof' in the same interesting fashion. You see, much like the producer Philip Nash's previous multimedia CD-ROM, Ghosts, Weird is also something of an adventure game. In fact, this one much more so.

You begin the game in a large hanger with six doors surrounded by strange wires and technology, three on each side. Only one is open at first, so in you go. Through a series of Myst-like still images, you will explore exhibits room-by-room in a fairly linear fashion. There are two rooms in this first door, the first sporting a distinct nautical theme with displays about krakens and flesh-eating sponges. After a detour through a corridor where a cool hidden exhibit and hidden treasure can be found, we emerge in a mist-filled Egyptian-themed room. Here, the exhibits aren't as focused with musings on the Leeds Devil, the Abominable Snowman and some Giant Balls. Find the exit of this room and you'll re-emerge at the hanger on the opposite side of where you cam in. Now, a new door has opened up.

Press TAB to access the map (left). You jump to any exhibit in an explored room from here (right).

With its twists, turns and teleports, the museum's layout can get confusing very quickly. Thankfully, once you've entered a room you can bring up a map and head straight for your favourite exhibit. Some rooms are harder to find than others, with many later excursions requiring you to solve a puzzle before you can head back to the hanger. There are five puzzle in all, each one introduced in the manual, but most are simple affairs experienced adventure gamers will have no trouble solving. We have classics like a Simon knock-off, a first-person video maze and yet another iteration of the Tower of Hanoi. One puzzle did stump me. You have to hear a series of audio clips from one side of the room, and enter them in at the other. The problem is you'll not only have to remember the order, but also discard the slightest of deviances in sound. Without much feedback about whether you've input each of the 10 codes right or wrong, it makes for a frustrating and time-wasting experience.

That being said, the puzzles aren't why anyone would give Weird: Truth is Stranger than Fiction a go. It's the plethora of paranormal pieces presented in a particularly pleasing manner. Each of the pre-rendered screens make you want to find every factoid you can. And that's the mark of a good edutainment title.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the DOSBox-X build of DOSBox running Windows 3.1 to bring the game to modern systems. Manual included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.

File Size: 508 Mb. Install Size: 730 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

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