On beginning to play Inherent Evil, by Headhunters, I can offer one definite piece of advice. Buy a nightlight! This game combines puzzle-solving action with a haunting murder mystery to create a wonderful thriller/horror environment.
Installation ran fairly smoothly. The CD is not equipped with an auto-install feature, so you will have to run the setup file. Installing doesn't take very long and the system requirements are only for a Pentium 100MHz and 16 MB Ram. It will not support Windows NT, but you can run it in 95/98 with no problem.
Getting started isn't difficult. The game is accessed via the start menu. The game itself runs quite well. The graphics are decent and it's easy to maneuver around. Plot and layout of events in the game are creative and can often times stump you in a puzzle.
This game is awfully difficult to finish without some form of a hint. These hints can be found at www.inherentevil.com, in the newsgroups chat area. Just be careful you don't read to far ahead. The game becomes rather addictive and you will find yourself spending countless hours on it. You will need to keep the installation guide out for the first chapter. In it is the Access code to "unlock" the rest of the game. Unfortunately, there is no option to save in the middle of the game. You must wait until the end of that chapter to save. Upon finishing that chapter, it will automatically end the game. You will then have to go back and reload the game. Then you can start on the next chapter by choosing "Load game" from the main menu. If you don't finish the chapter, you will have to start that section over again.
Another negative is the music control. The music is done in Midi format and there is no option in the menu for lowering this music or turning it off. The background music tries to drown you out and you can't understand what the main character is saying. To fix this you must open the volume controls for Windows and bring the Midi volume down and the Wav volume up.
Also, the game will not let you do anything out of order. The character must see something and realize he needs a fix for the situation. Therefore, you have to keep going back and forth getting into a situation, then going to get the remedy. You can't pick things up as you go along.
Those were my only real complaints about the game. Over all, I feel that Inherent Evil has been an enjoyable gaming experience. It's definitely a game to challenge the genius in us and frighten the mind.