Well, I don't understand the mixed ratings for this one. This is hands down the scariest game I have ever played. I have never played a game 3 times , now starting the the fourth time without a game in between in my 22 years of PC gaming. Every time I play it, I see new things. I'm still not bored. I do not find the mechanics clunky in anyway. They are as close to point and click (my preferred genre) as they come. To me, it's kind of like playing the original Nine***do, directional buttons with 2 action buttons... WASD and the mouse.

*A little about the fear factor: Jumpscares, it's got 'em, but not so many as not to wear out the scare factor. I don't like jump scares in general, but they are well done here and as I said, few and far between when you least expect them. I hate to give too much away, but expect tons of paranormal activity, especially if you have patience and just stand around like one of the walkthroughs advises. Expect to be pushed, see things thrown across the room and things thrown at your face. It's first person and you can expect to be levitated or lifted from the floor being strangled by chains just to name a few. You will be lit on fire, frozen in place, surrounded by dark entities and so much more. I used every walkthrough I could find and did everything advised to see as much as possible. But, there are things I just cannot get to repeat which I would love to see again, although I don't know if I could handle everything in one play through, LOL I am now doing my best to desensitize myself to the fear factor! LOL These things are not mentioned in any walkthrough, althought to give the WT writers credit they try not to give too much away. I gave more away in this review as to try to encourage people to play it. Maybe if you have some idea of what you are in for it may make the game more appealing than it's rating allows. It is a game of patience and replays, which is obvious with 8 endings! However, it does seem as though you can hit many of the endings and then continue with save points. I enjoy just standing around waiting for the next rumble (which signifies activity) to see what will happen next. Then move to a new spot in the room and repeat. In my experience, the events never stopped. Some of the walkthroughs will state if you hear this or see that you will not see anything else, but I found that not to be true. You won't see any of the "events" required for 100% compIetion but there will still be plenty to freak you out! I will be playing this for a while. If you want the story first you will need a walkthrough to get it. Otherwise when you get to the end scenes you will get a message saying "you haven't learned enough" and a bad ending, which made me so freaking angry!!! LOL

*A note about the DRM: I guess I find it difficult to understand why it seems like I am the only one bright enough to create a junk email account. Go to one of the many services out there, hotmail, yahoo, whatever and create an account. You do not even need to use your real name! Use this account for occasions in which you do not want to use your personal email address. I have an account, always have, just for situations like this. I rarely visit it because it is full of spam but if I need an address to activate something, I have it. I use this account for all kinds of things. But, those spammers are not sending crap to my personal email. If anyone has any questions about this please feel free to message me. *Please see edit #2 below.

I highly recommend this game, but, if you can't take the fright or don't have much patience stay away. It is not a shooter or action game. It is an adventure game, my favorite so far. Great job!


Update: I just finished the original version (here on referred to as OV) of Anna. I've seen questions about it in the forums and thought would add a few thoughts here. If people complained about the controls, etc this is probably why. This version could be considered a "demo" of the extended edition (hereafter referred to as EE). It is very short, less than half the size of the EE. The controls are clunky with a click on an object resulting in a menu with choices of use, examine and pick up. The inventory has the same scheme with every item clicked. LOTS OF CLICKS to do anything. There are no books, letters, intuitions or sanity bar. It is very much like an adventure game of the 90s. If you played the OV and think the EE will be more of the same you couldn't be more mistaken. This is quite a makeover with many more areas, new ways to do things and just more of everything! I fear this may be where many of the lower reviews came from, but these guys fixed it and then some. Enjoy!

Edit #2: I finally learned about the horrible antitheft program for this game. I got a new computer and actually had to email them to release my key so I could play it again. I still think the game is worth it, but I will never buy another product with this particular setup again. Good news is, the developers have personally informed me they will also never use it again. So, we can happily await their next release without fear!