Vivisector: Beast Within
Windows - 2005
Description of Vivisector: Beast Within
Description from the publisher:
SOREO. A tropical island covered with an impassable jungle, hidden from stranger eyes by the endless expanses of the ocean. I guess that the ruler of human souls must have had enough fun sending us here. He must have spent a long-long time calculating the details of the hellish show made ready for us. He's probably still waiting for a murderous outcome of this terrible story, this endless bloody fight for life. And he probably still doesn't know the main thing. That he miscounted.
Vivisector: Beast Within is a dynamic, hard, straight-out 3D-action based on the sci-fi novel by Herbert Wells The Island of Dr. Moreau. Intriguing scenario that won't let you catch your breath through the whole game and will lead you to an unexpected outcome. Inimitable enemies with unique abilities, weapons and combat tactics. Character development system allowing to improve the combat abilities of the hero and upgrade weapons.
External links
How to play Vivisector: Beast Within Windows
The game version 1.1 has been tested on Windows 7 64-bit and Windows 10, works okay. By default the game works only in 4:3 resolution but you can use widescreen fix, check WSGF page. You may encounter some issues while playing, check our Notes
NoCD for English version showed some minor warnings on VirusTotal, here's the report. The game with patch 1.1 should be working without the disc, anyway, but some users said that the game still asks to insert the disc. We added that NoCD just in case if you get same trouble. As alternative - you can use exe-file from widescreen fix, it works as NoCD too and showed only 1 warning
Install & play guide:
- Mount the disc image of DVD/CD1. You will need the utility for mounting disc image files, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite
- Launch the installation (if autorun doesn't work - simply launch the installation from Setup.exe inside the disc)
- For CD version: when the installation process will ask for CD2 - mount the disc image of CD2. CD2 must be mounted in same virtual drive as CD1, so first un-mount disc image of CD1 and then mount the disc image of CD2. In example, if CD1 was in virtual drive G:, CD2 must be mounted in virtual drive G: as well
- Also it is recommended to install DirectX 9 from the disc (if you're using Windows 10 - enable DirectPlay, read this or this guide how to do it)
- Finish the installation
- After you installed the game - install the patch (instructions inside the archive)
- Optionally install widescreen fix by JackFuste (instructions inside the archive)
- Open the directory with the game and find Vivisector.exe. Right click on Vivisector.exe - Properties - Compatibility - Set "Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows XP" and "Run as administrator"
- Launch the game and play. If the game doesn't work - try to launch the game, then open Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del by default) and check for processes Vivisector.exe and rundll32.exe. Close Vivisector.exe but don't touch rundll32.exe (it's a Windows app for running old apps from 32-bit operational systems, most old games running through rundll32.exe). Now try to launch the game again, it must work. Don't forget to close rundll32.exe process in Task Manager after finishing playing
Notes:
- If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Setup.exe in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP)
- It is highly recommended to install Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 for the correct work of the game
- Also it is recommended to install RAD Video Tools and K-Lite Codec Pack for the correct work of in-game videos
- The game works on DirectX 9, so if you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - you need to enable DirectPlay: Go to Control Panel, and select 'Programs'. Select 'Turn Windows features on and off', click on 'Legacy Components' and check the box 'DirectPlay'. Select OK, once the installation is done, restart your computer
- Patch 1.1 originally was for German version but it is also compatible with English version, instructions are inside the archive. Please note that Russian version has its own patch version 1.1 which is not compatible with other versions
- Originally the game has advanced body dismemberment where you can shoot off body parts from enemies bodies. But that 'gore' feature has been removed in European release of the game, patch 1.1 restores it
- Also, patch 1.1 removes DRM protection, so you can play without the disc. In case if the game is still asks for original disc - use NoCD
- The game was using infamous StarForce DRM, so don't run the game right after the installation, first install patch 1.1, otherwise it may ruin your system. We added StarForce drivers removal tool just in case
- If you want to play Russian version - make sure to install patch 1.1 first, and then NoCD for Russian version 1.1, to remove StarForce DRM
- By default the game supports only 4:3 resolutions, but you can play in widescreen by using the widescreen fix from JackFuste. That fix adds support for 16:9 and 16:10 displays, simply copy Vivisector.exe from the archive and put it to the game folder, agree to replace original exe-file. Desired resolution can be set in file - config.cfg, for example, if you want to play in 1920x1080:
@ v.sx = 1920
@ v.sy = 1080
Note: Supports only native screen resolution. Сustom screen resolution created by video driver is not supported
- If you want to play the game version 1.1 with widescreen fix - first install the patch 1.1 and only after that install widescreen fix
- If you want to change field of view (FOV) in game: open console by pressing ~, type in
render_fov X
where X your desired horizontal FOV value (e.g. render_fov 90) - If you turn on the antialiasing in game, it will disables shadows. Use your graphics card's program settings and enable it through there if you wish to keep shadows
- If the game doesn't work even after you did all the steps above - try to run it through dgVoodoo utility (simply copy the dll-files from the MS/x86 folder, dgVoodooCpl.exe and dgVoodoo.conf to the game folder, then open dgVoodooCpl, find DirectX tab and set the desired settings; after that launch the game from Vivisector.exe)
- Don't forget to check PCGamingWiki page if you have any troubles
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
admin 2023-01-20 3 points
We have updated the game, added more languages, including original Russian version. Plus we updated the patch file, now it doesn't show any warnings
sonic_wolfe 2022-10-05 0 point
Appears there is a Trojan in the "2.VivisectorGoreFinal.exe" patch. Although I think it might be a misreport.
SZYMON 2022-05-08 2 points
The canceled Duke Nukem Endangered Species came out as Vivisector I think.
damazy 2022-02-27 2 points
I've played all eurojank fps, dozens of titles, and this one is the best. I wouldn't even call it eurojank, its an amazing game, and rivals best western fps of the time.
Hosed 2021-10-02 3 points
Found out about this from Civie11 on youtube. The start is rather bleh with all the animals, but the game REALLY takes off when the human hybrids show up. A definite hidden gem.
For those trying to install, just mount the iso, install, and then follow the instructions found in the Patch. It contains the NoCD crack.
Also, if installing on Linux via Wine, the patches don't adhere to file cases so you'll end up with duplicate files and the game won't start. To fix, just go through and do the merging by hand, keeping the files from the patches and removing the original files.
Lastly, supposedly there was a wide-screen patch, but I can't find it anywhere. The settings files won't respect wide-screen resolutions either. You can set it to run in borderless windowed mode though (PC Gaming Wiki's article explains how).
Bro 2021-08-16 -7 points
Out of curiosity,this is one of those games that is truly abandonware since you cant even buy a physical copy off of ebay or amazon so is this still illegal to download?
Rhindle 2021-03-02 0 point
Pretty fantastic. Sort of FarCry by way of Quake2. The enemy ai can be annoying, and some of the ambushes are annoying, but there's a lot of genuine effort put into the levels and effects. The gameplay is fast and intense, and even on Normal it pulls very few punches. Some of the navigation 'puzzles' are a little obtuse, but IME they were the kind that made me say "Ohhh that's cool" when I figure it out.
100% worth the data imo.
kops 2020-05-16 1 point
Liked the gameplay, feels sometimes like quake 2 or far cry 1. Sometimes it plays very smoothly. Music is very cool too, I am pretty sure, I heard it before in another game, not sure where. The AI can be very annoying at times, it sees you all the way across the map, so stealth is not an option even if the game suggests you this. The story is complete garbage but at the same time it is so hilariously stupid and full of crazily bad dialogues, so that it becomes worth listening/reading.
Clyde3D 2020-04-11 1 point
Watch the movie "Island of Dr. Moreau" then play this interesting game. There are cheats over at www.cheatbook.de
Sarabi 2019-01-12 1 point
This was a remarkably interesting romp, vivisector was consistently throwing something that was new, funny or bizarre my way. I'd absolutely recommend giving this a go if you've any interest in quirky shooters.
Who 2019-01-08 2 points
Kind of like Half-life, Serious Sam, Quake. Has old shooter charm to it. Definitely worse than those games, though, but still good enough to play it over some modern mediocrity.
h 2019-01-06 -1 point
having trouble setting it as 1920x1080. The WSGF guide isn't really helping much either.
D.Zell44 2018-12-30 -3 points
This game is very good indeed. A LOT better than today's flashy'n fancy, yet dumb and boring FPShits!
Can there be a RIP version, so it won't take so horribly much space?
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