Ludography
Dracula Unleashed cover

1993 · ICOM Simulations · Adventure · Historical

Dracula Unleashed

Sega console exclusive

In Dracula Unleashed it is the year 1899, ten years after the destruction of count Dracula chronicled in Bram Stoker's novel. You take the role of Alexander Morris, the younger brother of Texan Quincey Morris who died defeating Dracula. Alexander has come to London to investigate the circumstances of his brother's death, but became sidetracked when he fell in love with and proposed to a local girl named Annisette.

Released
1993
Platforms
MS-DOSSega CDWindowsmacOS
Genres
AdventureHistoricalVampireVideo game with LGBT character
Developers
ICOM Simulations
Publishers
Viacom
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
First person
Themes
ActionHorrorThrillerMystery
Country
United States
Age ratings
ESRB M

About

Dracula Unleashed is a video game created by ICOM Simulations and published in 1993 by Viacom New Media for MS-DOS, Mac, and Sega CD.

It was one of the earliest games to focus on full-motion video as an integral part of gameplay.

›Story

In Dracula Unleashed, the player assumes the identity of a young Texas businessman named Alexander Morris, who has come to London, England during the winter of 1899 to research the strange surroundings involving his brother Quincey's death 10 years earlier. In the process, he meets an English woman named Annisette Bowen and becomes distracted and engaged to be married too.

Due largely to their "extremely close relationship", Quincey's good friend, Lord Arthur Holmwood, has proposed Alexander's induction into the mysterious and exclusive Hades Club.

However, Alexander Morris soon discovers a part of his brother's life he had no knowledge of: Quincey Morris was part of a group which destroyed the legendary vampire, Count Dracula.

As Alexander Morris, the player must travel to specific locations in London at certain times with certain items gathered throughout Morris' travels in order to gather clues about the events which occur during the game and achieve victory over Dracula.

Keywords

  • interactive movie
  • vampire
  • cinematic
  • full motion video
  • live-action cutscene

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Story

The player assumes the identity of a young Texas businessman named Alexander Morris, who has come to London during the winter of 1899 to research the strange surroundings involving his brother Quincey's death 10 years earlier. In the process, he meets an English woman named Annisette Bowen and becomes engaged to marry her.

Due largely to their "extremely close relationship", Quincey's good friend, Lord Arthur Holmwood, has proposed Alexander's induction into the mysterious and exclusive Hades Club. However, Alexander Morris soon discovers a part of his brother's life he had no knowledge of: Quincey Morris was part of a group which destroyed the legendary vampire, Count Dracula.

Reception

Computer Gaming World in January 1994 called the PC version of Dracula Unleashed ICOM Simulations's "most compelling interactive adventure yet" and "the most effective 'interactive movie' to date". The reviewer compared it to Dark Shadows and MacVenture games such as Uninvited, and approved of the improvements on the Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective series' graphics and user interface. He concluded that "computer and theater have been brought one step closer together". In April 1994 the magazine said that players "can count on many hours of haunting play ...

Live actors and sets add a strong cinematic realism", with "memorably creepy performances throughout", recommending the game to "anyone with more than a passing interest in the horror genre". GamePro gave the Sega CD version a positive review. They criticized that the slow-moving cursor and long load times can make the game painfully slow, but highly praised the audio, gameplay, and "well-acted and nicely staged video", especially the "eerie" dream sequences. Electronic Gaming Monthly commented that despite the full motion video being excessively grainy, the riveting storyline and "excellent" soundtrack keep the player invested in the game.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Sega CD31 December 1993North America · Europe 31 December 1994 · Brazil 31 December 1994
MS-DOS31 December 1993North America
macOS31 December 1993North America

Editions and related releases

Included in
5 ft. 10 Pak: Award Winning Collection

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Collections7 collections

Platform libraries

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Themes

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.