gingergal's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:15,535
- Reviews Submitted:193
- First Review:November 19, 2011
- Most Recent Review:July 23, 2013
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Help Rosangela Blackwell and her spirit guide Joey Mallone discover a sinister conspiracy that ties terrible events together!
Overall rating
3
/
5
10 of 12 found this review helpful
3rd in this series of graphic text adventure
PostedJuly 23, 2013
gingergal
fromoutside Seattle, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
rating out of 5 not love/like
This is the 3rd in the blackwell series
1) The blackwell legacy
2) blackwell unbound
3) The blackwell convergence
4) blackwell deception (big fish don't have at date of writing)
2) blackwell unbound
3) The blackwell convergence
4) blackwell deception (big fish don't have at date of writing)
Don't even think of playing this game without at the very least playing the first game and I'd strongly suggest to play them all in order to get and understand all the story. And these games it's all about the story, there are no mini-games, and you pick up only about 5 things so if you don't like a lot of dialogue then this isn't your game.
This is like the second game as in you help multiple ghosts realise they are dead and help them through the 'afterlife' portal. The first game was more about setting up the stage of Rosangela life and how this began.
You have to switch between two characters during gameplay (click on initials on inventory bar at the top) as each character can do different things.
This game isn't hard but it is more fiddly, you have to ask questions in the right order a couple of times to unlock the next set of questions. You have to click on everything as both characters (if you're stuck) and sometimes like the first pick up it was so hard to see.
It still is good for those that are beginners as if you are very methodical in travelling everywhere and questioning everything, you'll be fine as there aren't that many places to visit and you have a transporter map to jump to the places.
The first three games (this included) is sold elsewhere as the blackwell bundle and you often can get it in sales and I feel that makes more sense as it plays as one game and I recommend that. There is no way I can recommend this one game at full price due to this being short and I do think it's a certain type of player who will like this, partly due to the graphics which although deliberately done like a 20yr old game, some may not like.
The opening of this game just seemed to jump in to a case and I felt for the first half of this game, there was no witty banter or main characters 'what's been happening since last game.' I felt I was just doing everything that I did in the second one, it needed to be slightly different. But the story and interaction did get better towards the end but I didn't like it quite as much as the first two, although I still enjoyed it.
I appreciate quirky, just different types of adventure games, so I love playing them and I really encourage you to try it and big fish to keep giving us them. But in all good conscience I couldn't give this series 5 stars as it's not as good as say Syberia etc and I can't actively recommend them individually due to shortness as I feel they should be sold as a bundle.
Unearth sinister secrets in an ancient Egyptian tomb!
Overall rating
5
/
5
97 of 103 found this review helpful
Great game (quite a few puzzles in this one)
PostedMay 21, 2013
gingergal
fromoutside Seattle, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I've only 3 old ND games yet to play and this is a really good one. I've just finished playing this last week and I paid more than double than this and it is worth it.
This has the new interface and you will note that there is a journal! So your note taking you used to have to do on all previous ND games is now WAY reduced. Some ND games don't have that many puzzles in it, so for those that hate puzzles and especially cryptograms there are quite a few of them in this game. And like all ND games you can't skip them.
I love Egypt and mummy's etc so I loved the story and I learned a lot - that is the theme throughout this game. - especially Nefertari. Like all ND games (when there are some) the BF still do the achievements and ND games always do the best achievements - a mixture of fun ones and weird ones! You can't see what they are until you are finished so if you want to know what to find, look it up online. There are also easter eggs in this game (do something expected you get a literal easter egg in game) which are so fun to find.
If you pick amateur mode, the puzzles are slightly easier, you get a fuller task list and can get hints by phone (in game). I've played some previous ND games in amateur/junior mode and it's still challenging. I love that the DEVS don't insult our intelligence and actually give some puzzles that take some puzzling to work out. But I understand some people don't like puzzles and just like adventure, so be aware there are a lot of puzzles in this game.
I'm giving it 5/5 for hardness as I do think it's a challenge with those puzzles. Remember it's a manual save button like the other games so save often but there is a 'second chance' button if you make a mistake which means it will take you back to just before you made a mistake.
The only nitpicking I'm doing is that I think ND games should be fullscreen and not have black bars down the side which is why I'm taking a point away.
So if you love cryptograms (among other puzzles), want to do some excavating in a tomb in Egypt and do some sleuthing - have fun!
I recommend this game!
Thirty years before the Legacy, comes Blackwell Unbound! Follow Lauren Blackwell and her spirit guide as they track a killer!
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 10 found this review helpful
follows on from first story/game nicely.but still too short....
PostedMay 19, 2013
gingergal
fromoutside Seattle, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is the 2nd game in the series (legacy being the first) and you need to have played that to understand what is going on in this game. As I said in the legacy review even though these are fairly recent games the developer has decided to go down the retro feel of very early 90s text style adventure games.
I thought the story here was good and there is slightly more to do than in the first game which was very easy if you are an experienced player. Here you have to remember to right click on things to get more information and hit the tab button to change characters. Writing down names is helpful as you then look it up in the phone directory at home. It's a manual save game which you get if you go into your inventory bar at top of screen (right hand side). It's still very straightforward if you are experienced as there are very limited locations, so you just go back and forth most of the time talking to people and trying combinations in your notebook (click on one item then another)
There are 3 ghosts to help - different chapters in the game but the first ghost is by way the longest - the 3rd is over so quickly.
I can't actively recommend the individual games as I feel there is a reason the games are being sold in a bundle elsewhere, this feels like a first chapter of a game. If all 3 games where joined together, I would have if you are looking for a very quirky (but not great quirky), different game and don't mind pixelated graphics that looks like it was made 20 years ago. But each game is SO short, I'm just getting into it when it's over.
I do like the addition of the 'bonus' features in this game - if you take bonus photographs at the beginning of the game at the end you get music unlocked amongst other things. The music especially in ghost 1 was very good.
When I say short this is over in less than 3hrs. Way less if you are very experienced.
I don't do love etc but try and be objective and do it out of 5 hence my 3 star rating.
Rosangela, a medium, must assist tormented spirits by investigating supernatural mysteries with the aid of her spiritual guide.
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 9 found this review helpful
Short, quite easy, old fashioned adventure
PostedMay 17, 2013
gingergal
fromoutside Seattle, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
At least there is a demo so you can see the graphics for yourself, even though this was released in 2006 you would think it was released in the very early 90's. Wadjet eye games was obviously going for the retro feel and it brought me back a couple of decades, so I didn't mind that but some will.
It's a manual save game (inventory bar is at the top) and you also combine things in your notebook by clicking on each item. There are no mini games or puzzles in this game.
This is the first of four games in this series, your character is Rosangela Blackwell who is a freelance journalist and who discovers through this game that she is a medium. It's more of an interactive novel so expect a lot of dialogue. You can speed up the dialogue by clicking through it. Although there is a choice of dialogue you end up with the same outcome so there really isn't a choice.
I was surprised how short it was, if you are an experienced adventure player I'd say around the 3hr mark or 2hrs if you speed up dialogue. It is a very good game for beginners to try as you are limited in areas to go to and there is very little to actually pick up and use.
As long as you know the type of game (flat 1D characters with mega pixels, short) then you can enjoy it for what it is. It's certainly not the best adventure game there is which is why I can't give it 5 stars but it passed the time nicely and if you are looking for a retro game this fits the bill.
Help a tribe rebuild their village after a volcanic explosion! Gain members and advance their technology in this Strategy game.
Overall rating
4
/
5
50 of 51 found this review helpful
Short main game but good mini-games - great resource game for a beginner.
PostedApril 27, 2013
gingergal
fromoutside Seattle, WA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
My favourite games from ERS is always their non hidden object game and this is fun especially for me who loves strategy games but am useless at timed modes and this doesn't have any, which as a beginner I love.
I rated it 3/5 for hardness as a beginner, so it's not hard and even I found quite easy. If it didn't have the mini-games I'd have given it a more solid 3 stars - good but not stellar. This is a resource strategy game with a tutorial, you can see all the playable area in the demo although the left hand side is locked at the beginning.
You unlock mini-games as you progress which will earn you resources or you can just come back and replay at any time. There is a progression bar for each mini game and it shows you how many variants there are - there are a lot.
match 3
- with character moving along the board like hidden wonders of the depth. I don't usually like match 3 but ERS has made me love them because of how they are done.
timed pipe puzzle (variant)
- I love pipe puzzle and there are loads of different configurations. I usually don't like timed elements but this made it more interesting and harder as you went along.
match pairs
Like hidden wonders of the world if you've played that. Some are on top of others to make it harder.
There is a slider which is the same design.
There are two set mini-games (it doesn't change and once you've done it, it's over) - a simple jigsaw and a spot the difference.
If you don't like them you can skip them and you don't need to play them. If you don't like mini-games then there are better and longer strategy resource type games out there but if you do and don't mind an easy short main strategy game then it is fun and worthwhile, especially for a DD.
I wish there were more things to do and places to uncover in the main game and would have liked it to be longer but they won me over with the mini-games which I wasn't expecting.
I recommend this game!
After finding an artifact, you're whisked away to a dying world. Can you save it from the darkness?
Overall rating
2
/
5
131 of 166 found this review helpful
2.5 - Bit below average
PostedMarch 3, 2013
gingergal
fromoutside Seattle, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
As I do out of 5, it's not that I think this game is really bad but I give 3 stars to games I quite like and if 3 is average for a HOPA feel this is a bit below.
Plot is NOT 100% tied up in this game – you needed the bonus to finish the personal quest – your character side of it. If you’re not that fussy about this then you’ll be glad to hear that there isn’t a cliff hanger and they tried to make a sort of ending to the game – with the main quest (what was going on with the people you encountered.)
I only bought the CE game in sale because of all the many extras in it as the game isn’t my taste, and I wouldn’t have bought this SE as it’s one of those games that without the extras (which this doesn’t have and they seem to have taken them away so you don’t even see them in this version which is good) I would never play it.
This game is from the DEVs who brought us final scene death on the silver screen (it's nothing like that.)
In the ship at the beginning I thought it could be good despite the cons and the graphics were quite good in ship and I liked the ship area but it ended up for reasons below not being my taste and fell apart later, but it wasn’t bad. I just felt more like a daily deal game, an older game – nothing really bad but just old and a bit stale.
I think it will appeal to those who hate puzzles or love simple ones and like quite a few HOS, here it’s two different types.
Let’s get the negative (for me) out of the way and the following is on the hardest level (choice of 2 which you can change during game)
- constant big on screen notifications of ‘objective’ and objective complete (what’s the point of the diary?)
-black bar tips
- map but it isn’t a transporter map
- mega sparkles for HOS on hard
- such simple puzzles
-backtracking
-random click penalty on both levels
-I didn’t like the graphics especially at the middle to end – not crisp and sharp kind and a lot of stone coloured as there was a lot of outside stone buildings but could have used at least some more differences in colour if not more sharp
-black bar tips
- map but it isn’t a transporter map
- mega sparkles for HOS on hard
- such simple puzzles
-backtracking
-random click penalty on both levels
-I didn’t like the graphics especially at the middle to end – not crisp and sharp kind and a lot of stone coloured as there was a lot of outside stone buildings but could have used at least some more differences in colour if not more sharp
Pros
-no auto tips on puzzles
- no map tips on hard but as it wasn’t a transporter map anyway, wasn’t using it so didn’t see the point of it on hard mode.
-live actors, they tried to minimise the lip synch by making them small and at least it was just language barrier and not off timing like some games. I thought they were well blended and it looked right, didn’t stick out, acting was OK (bit melodramatic at times)
-credits were well done – humour and making it more personal
- no map tips on hard but as it wasn’t a transporter map anyway, wasn’t using it so didn’t see the point of it on hard mode.
-live actors, they tried to minimise the lip synch by making them small and at least it was just language barrier and not off timing like some games. I thought they were well blended and it looked right, didn’t stick out, acting was OK (bit melodramatic at times)
-credits were well done – humour and making it more personal
Plot was nothing special (I've seen it before) but it was well told and the strongest feature of the game. There are a lot of cutscenes which I didn't mind as it made gameplay more interesting telling the plot.
Hint button is not a spoiler kind but a ‘there is something in this location to do or back arrow’.
Hint button is not a spoiler kind but a ‘there is something in this location to do or back arrow’.
21 simple puzzle (17 I think official ones) but I counted 21 that either had a “?” beside it or I felt was one.
Most of them (apart from maybe 2 that you could class as medium, one took me a while) were very simple, and even boring. There was one kind that was repeated that was good (the one at the very end) and at least that although not hard was fun. Most of the others felt stale – no facelift, just straightforward, even the graphics weren’t nice.
29 Hidden object scenes
17 list mild interactive type, at end of each one was a simple riddle which I thought was different. You repeat one as a list type. Random click penalty on both modes of play. I did find them easy to recognise the item is which is good (I don’t mean that some weren’t blended), and quite a few were not junk pile and they weren’t dark or depressing to look at. Some of them are quite sharp like the first one (which was well done) others not so much.
12 find the same items type (ie find 12 screws) of these most of them were repeats from the list kind. I’m glad there was that kind as I prefer them and it did break them up, especially as I don’t like that many HOS and it did feel on the heavier side on HOS.
-EXTRAS (what was in CE that is NOT in the SE) and they were good extras.
3 Collectables (spoiler on one) Achievements – They were mostly good achievements (apart from gameplay ones)
All puzzles and HOS and cutscenes are replayable
Making of video and before amaranthine – if you ever wanted a behind the scenes the look this is excellent (although couldn’t hear anything) plus the usual.
3 Collectables (spoiler on one) Achievements – They were mostly good achievements (apart from gameplay ones)
All puzzles and HOS and cutscenes are replayable
Making of video and before amaranthine – if you ever wanted a behind the scenes the look this is excellent (although couldn’t hear anything) plus the usual.
I can’t recommend it due to a few things (one of which is the bonus plot isn’t a bonus although if everything else was wonderful and to my taste, I wouldn’t have put an active I don’t recommend on it, as it’s not that bad or cliffhanger situation. But coupled with ‘clunky’ graphics from middle to end and just a bit boring gameplay, along with all the other cons I can’t recommend it. But for a DD or a coupon if you like playing a lot of HOPAs and don't mind the above then do look at it.
4hrs (roughly) for main game
I don't recommend this game.
An organ grinder seeks revenge, marking his victims with cards. Can you stop him before he destroys the entire city?
Overall rating
3
/
5
57 of 72 found this review helpful
Short CE - bonus review at bottom
PostedMarch 2, 2013
gingergal
fromoutside Seattle, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
REVIEW (as usual) ON FINISHED GAME
I rate CEs and SEs so differently as the CE is double the price so I am not recommending this CE version of the game on length alone. If it was even 45mins longer I would. There are other considerations as well why this game isn’t working for me and for a CE although I had fun in parts.
PLOT
It’s a junkpile plot – lot of things going on but never quite working in harmony with each other. The plot is a bit like detective quest – creatures are cursed and you have to uncurse each creature. There is a background story of girl wanting to rescue her father. I know I have an attention span of a gnat in games and like a lot going on but not in stories as you are never then fully invested in any of them if there are so many stories and widely varied creatures. I honestly thought this game felt more like an ERS game, in plot and in easiness of puzzles and the feel of the game.
I did manage to play through the gigantic snake (which wasn’t in much of it thankfully). I realise this is one of the cotton candy fluff plots (no depth or substance to it) but it was all over the place.
GRAPHICS
I know when it’s not elephant’s A game as there are inconsistencies. I know a lot of people work on games but some scenes look hand drawn and not that sharp and others look like ‘elephant’ trademark. The HOS also were so varied in type and look but no consistency in graphics. Some ultra sharp and clear others not but at least you can make out what each item is.
12 list HOS
Always the same with elephant (thankfully) – no random click penalty, never repeat, no sparkles on HOS scenes in either advanced or hardcore. Here it’s all list type, some more interactive than others, mostly junk pile. They have done far better HOS in other games, in graphics and look. No tiny items or well blended in.
12 puzzle
I know most devs give ultra simple puzzles in the beginning and here it’s no exception with a literal 3 click and turn rings – it’s not even a rotating ring puzzle! I can’t even say varied hardness as there wasn’t a hard puzzle in them and at the most, for a HOPA only about 3 could be classed about medium hardness. If puzzles are unique enough or fun enough, I don’t care how hard or easy it is but if it’s one we have seen before then to make it interesting it has to be at least medium hardness – a puzzle I can sit down with and take more than 1-2 minutes to do.
The easiness is more pronounced as gameplay wasn’t hard, or that unique (mostly but it did have moments) and as usual they have black bar tips on hardcore. I have grown accustomed to it and don’t look at top of screen but it’s the map tips that are very obvious. I’m now fed up with saying I’d love if map tips could be turned on and off like another DEV, as if I’m in a lazy mood I’m sure I’d want them a couple of times. I do try not to use the transporter map but as I hate backtracking like poison, which this game had a lot of, especially near the end I used the map (BTW there is a lot more active locations than the map shows).
Since royal detective I have found elephant is making most of their games all round way easier and shorter as well so their oldest customers who liked them as they were one of the harder DEVS around, I feel they don’t care about us anymore and just cater to the new people who are discovering them or only play their recent games. I keep expecting their next game to bring us back again but this isn’t it.
EXTRAS
10 morphs (lost pets) not many and very obvious even sparkles on hardcore (seriously I’m not joking – they are so big to begin with I couldn’t believe the ‘sparkles’.) 8 are in main game and 2 in bonus.
Lost pets is just a screenshot of the 10 morphs you get in the game (2 in bonus) it’s a bit more interesting than a medal in the achievements room but that’s all the area is, completely non interactive.
Cursed cards - I don’t understand as it’s just cards that you have to pick up in gameplay – very obvious not collectables.
Bestiary is 9 jigsaw puzzles of the main baddies in the game (at least that had different shapes and is a bit different but with bad collectables, it’s the only real extra in the game which isn’t enough for me.)
Extra minigame you make limited music in a barrel organ – you get 3 discs which are 3 different sounding melodys on (one melody a disc) and 2 barrels which change the tone of it. Bit different but not as good as it sounds.
4 music, wallpaper, concept art,
BONUS play
3 hos
4 really simple puzzle
2 morphs are in bonus
4 really simple puzzle
2 morphs are in bonus
The plot ending is 100% tied up in main game. The bonus plot they literally took the last scene in the main game and decided to suddenly change it and you help that character throughout the bonus. You didn’t need it at all, and I thought the ending in the SE was better so you didn’t need the added plot (or was that interesting) but it ended up the same ending anyway in the CE. About 2 scenes were brand new but quite a few scenes were changed so much to be nearly new and actually a couple of beautiful ones in it. It was about same quality as main game but it was just on the hour. One of their poorer bonus games I thought.
The main game took me 3hrs and 30 mins. I don’t give 5 stars out to CEs that main game is 4hrs and have been voicing my concern with this DEV for shortening some of their games recently but this is going into other DEVS shortness and again I have to say something or they think this is acceptable which it’s not. For a SE I’d be mentioning shortness in a game but a CE sorry think it’s dreadful.
They used to do such long and quality and harder games so I know they can do it on the budget.
I don't recommend this game.
The Order’s most closely-guarded secret sleeps deep beneath the ancient Spanish streets. What lies within this mysterious box?
Overall rating
4
/
5
47 of 55 found this review helpful
Very enjoyable game - bonus review at bottom
PostedFebruary 27, 2013
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Blam games brings us a good plot and gameplay, beautiful scenery over the city, mostly not easy puzzles and it was well done. Although it’s one of those games that again I just wasn’t wowed at, but it had some of those moments.
For a CE it sort of ticks the right boxes with achievements, 35 morphs and some other extras but the achievements apart from no hints in 10 hos and no skips in 10 puzzles and get all morphs was all auto given if you play the game, which a lot of achievements are but it would be good to see some good ones and not just playing the game ones.
Morphs were mostly noticeable, some very slow to morph and I often picked them before I saw them morphing but there were some that were hard to see. You need to get them as you go along especially in the beginning. But I love morphs so it did make this game for me.
Plot was well told through letters and cutscenes and you don’t need to read all the information but I thought it was interesting so read everything.
There is a transporter map and no map tips on the hardest mode which you can change during play. The transporter map you had to hover to bring up the picture, I’d prefer if it was there and also sometimes even after you discover a place it was taken away from you and you had to rediscover it again, which was annoying.
There are black bar tips on hardest mode but I replayed part of this game and noticed that it was less than what you get on easy mode although it would be good if that kind was on middle mode and hardest mode didn’t have any. Also there are auto tips on puzzles. I play hardest mode not for locked skip and hint button (can easily restrain myself from using them) but in hopes there is no auto tips given or hints. There is random click penalty on middle and hardest mode, which I hate and would have played on middle mode if that didn’t have it.
After the first chapter I was excited as I thought it would be completely new areas and map for each chapter, but it wasn’t. Although near the beginning it mostly was in a new area in each chapter at the end there was a lot of backtracking through places.
14 list HOS
Random click penalty but nice and defined, mostly nice to look at – quite colourful. After the first game in the series I was disappointed as there was a lot more junk pile or very cluttered scenes, although there were a few that weren’t like that. I thought some interactions in them took me a while so that made it harder. I can’t remember any tiny items or so well blended you couldn’t see them. You repeated one hos, which I’ve noticed a few devs are doing and it makes no sense to me, why? But at least all the rest were new.
19 puzzles
They had automatic tips on them. I wish that was put in a “?” button so if I needed it I could use it, as I like to work things out in hard mode! I did like that they weren’t insulting easy and quite a few took me a while to do them. I don’t think I’d class any as hard but as so many were medium the game felt bit a harder which was good.
CE EXTRAS
Wallpaper, music, concept art, SG
Achievements
morphs
9 cutscenes in game unlocked
9 puzzles unlocked (and for once the good ones or ones that make sense to replay like dominoes and match 3)
Achievements
morphs
9 cutscenes in game unlocked
9 puzzles unlocked (and for once the good ones or ones that make sense to replay like dominoes and match 3)
Bonus play
About 50% or more was in new area. 4 morphs are in the bonus. It was a prequel (bonus plot) about pandora’s box. The plot was completely tied up in main game. I thought the plot was interesting, gameplay good, I just was disappointed in the length of it after the very long bonus plot in the first ‘the keepers’. It wasn’t much over an hour for me and although enjoyable and the same qualtity as the main game, I just wasn’t blown away with it but it is good.
5 list hos
7 puzzle
5 list hos
7 puzzle
I really enjoyed the first half of the game, but all the backtracking over the place made it for me, fall a bit and that’s a lot of the reason why I wasn’t loving it and just enjoying it (although it was about the same amount as most other games) Also the achievements weren’t very good so I’m not all jumping up and down about the game although it is very good and I do recommend the CE due to having an hour in bonus, and the extras.
I played this over a couple of days and times, so my time is out but I think it was along the lines of 4-5hrs for main game another 1hr (over it) for bonus. I did think the main game seemed quite long, especially staring at all those scenes for morphs.
I know it seems I just put 4 out of 5 for all of them, it actually was 4 out of 5 for each component.
I recommend this game!
After finding an artifact, you're whisked away to a dying world. Can you save it from the darkness?
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Great extras, just a bit below average game (bonus game review at bottom)
PostedFebruary 26, 2013
gingergal
fromoutside Seattle, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
REVIEW OF COMPLETED GAME
I only bought this game in sale because of all the many extras in it as the game isn’t my taste, and I wouldn’t even have bought the SE as it’s one of those games that without the extras I would never play it. I think it will appeal to those who hate puzzles or love simple ones and like quite a few HOS, here it’s two different types.
I was glad of the achievements and collectables as it made this easier game that bit harder.
Let’s get the negative (for me) out of the way and the following is on the hardest level (choice of 2)
- constant big on screen notifications of ‘objective’ and objective complete (what’s the point of the diary?)
-black bar tips
- map but it isn’t a transporter map
- mega sparkles on hard
- extras locked until finished
- such simple puzzles
-backtracking
-random click penalty on both levels
-I didn’t like the graphics especially at the middle to end – not crisp and sharp kind and a lot of stone coloured as there was a lot of outside stone buildings but could have used at least some more differences in colour if not more sharp
-black bar tips
- map but it isn’t a transporter map
- mega sparkles on hard
- extras locked until finished
- such simple puzzles
-backtracking
-random click penalty on both levels
-I didn’t like the graphics especially at the middle to end – not crisp and sharp kind and a lot of stone coloured as there was a lot of outside stone buildings but could have used at least some more differences in colour if not more sharp
Pros
-no auto tips on puzzles
- no map tips on hard but as it wasn’t a transporter map anyway, wasn’t using it so didn’t see the point of it on hard mode.
-live actors, they tried to minimise the lip synch by making them small and at least it was just language barrier and not off timing like some games. I thought they were well blended and it looked right, didn’t stick out, acting was OK.
-credits were well done – humour and making it more personal
- no map tips on hard but as it wasn’t a transporter map anyway, wasn’t using it so didn’t see the point of it on hard mode.
-live actors, they tried to minimise the lip synch by making them small and at least it was just language barrier and not off timing like some games. I thought they were well blended and it looked right, didn’t stick out, acting was OK.
-credits were well done – humour and making it more personal
-EXTRAS
Collectables (spoiler on one) – I loved that there are 3 different types which is great and I thought a clever one (although no one else seems to have) – as the 3rd one you don’t take it but that gives it an art of mystery – what is this? Why? And you only know what it is, if you get them all at the end through the achievements, so it gives mystery to one achievement. It gives the gameplay a slightly added hardness/mystery to an otherwise quite easy game. I wouldn’t appreciate if it was on the one and only collectable but it wasn’t. (look up the achievements if you want to know what it is)
Achievements – They were mostly good achievements (apart from gameplay ones)
All puzzles and HOS and cutscenes are replayable
Making of video and before amaranthine – if you ever wanted a behind the scenes the look this is excellent (although couldn’t hear anything)
Pictures (wallpaper, concept art, and pictures of green screen actors)
Plot was nothing special (I've seen it before) but it was well told, there are a lot of cutscenes which I didn't mind as it made gameplay more interesting telling the plot.
With getting all acheivements and collectables it might be more 2.5/5 for hardness so if you want a harder game try for everything.
21 simple puzzle (17 I think official ones) but I counted 21 that either had a “?” beside it or I felt was one.
Most of them (apart from maybe 2 that you could class as medium) were very simple, and even boring. There was one kind that was repeated that was good (the one at the very end) and at least that although not hard was fun. Most of the others felt stale – no facelift, just straightforward, even the graphics weren’t nice.
Most of them (apart from maybe 2 that you could class as medium) were very simple, and even boring. There was one kind that was repeated that was good (the one at the very end) and at least that although not hard was fun. Most of the others felt stale – no facelift, just straightforward, even the graphics weren’t nice.
Hidden object scenes
17 list mild interactive type, at end of each one was a simple riddle which I thought was different. You repeat one as a list type. Random click penalty on both modes of play. I did find them easy to recognise the item is which is good(I don’t mean that some weren’t blended), and quite a few were not junk pile and they weren’t dark or depressing to look at. I prefer mine to be the sharper kind but that’s my taste of graphics which this game isn’t.
12 find the same items type (ie find 12 screws) of these most of them were repeats from the list kind. I’m glad there was that kind as I prefer them and it did break them up, especially as I don’t like that many HOS and it did feel on the heavier side for HOS.
BONUS CHAPTER
Although there one aspect of the plot is tied up – the main part you do need the bonus for the personal aspect of it to conclude as well as tree aspect. As I wasn’t so engaged with everything (as I said above this isn’t to my taste) it wasn’t until I started playing the bonus that I realised ‘of course, it isn’t all concluded at the end of the main game’ and had a duh moment of not realising before that.
I will say that I preferred the gameplay of the bonus to the last bit of the main game. It was 99% in new area and I thought there seem to be more thought in it. It wasn’t wonderful etc but I enjoyed it more than most of main game.
I will say that I preferred the gameplay of the bonus to the last bit of the main game. It was 99% in new area and I thought there seem to be more thought in it. It wasn’t wonderful etc but I enjoyed it more than most of main game.
5 list HOS
5 find same item HOS
9 puzzle (unofficial)
It was right on the hour.
5 find same item HOS
9 puzzle (unofficial)
It was right on the hour.
I can’t recommend it due to a few things (one of which is the bonus plot isn’t a bonus although if everything else was wonderful and to my taste, I would have as it’s not that bad or cliffhanger situation) but I’m not going to not recommend it as for a CE it had loads of extras and they put work into the extras. I just felt the gameplay on it’s own wasn’t good enough to warrant a recommendation from me, and I would have if it was, even if it wasn’t to my taste.
4hrs (roughly) for main game
1 hr for bonus
1 hr for bonus
Your brother is kidnapped during an air show. Search for him in a beautiful world where the sky is as wide as your imagination.
Overall rating
5
/
5
105 of 115 found this review helpful
Great addition to the series
PostedFebruary 22, 2013
gingergal
fromoutside Seattle, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Review as usual of finished game - here the CE - the plot is 100% tied up here in the SE version, if it wasn’t I wouldn’t recommend it to you. See below all the extras they have in the CE (that IS NOT in this SE version – to help you make up your mind SE vs CE)
Elephant is back at the flagship of the series – surface – their stand alone series (you don’t need to have played any of the other games in the series to understand this one.) I say that over their Mystery trackers series as they always seem to have put more effort into surface – never repeating old areas, new transporter maps. Although for the first time in surface history you do go back for a short while to an area, you were in previously. I know I’m nitpicking but I wish they didn’t.
I did love this game, surface has a different feel than their other games and even from each other. Although the first one IMO is the best and the second one was close - this for me didn’t beat them but as the first surface (mystery of another world) is in my all time top 3 HOPAs and the second is a close favourite, it’s hard to top!
When Elephant games is at their best, it clearly shows – you can take any scene of a game and know immediately it’s an Elephant game and you are never reminded of any other game (even their own) as it’s so different and unique. That for me makes the difference between a VG good game and a truly great game, which this one is. It doesn’t at any time feel formulaic, it felt fresh and different and for a jaded (seen it all before HOPA player) that’s hard to accomplish. They put the effort into this game. I replayed this game and thought about if I was a SE player with all the trappings stripped away would I still love this game? And even though all the many trappings in the CE was the cherry on top, I still did, so it’s not like I’m seeing the SE game through the rose tinted glasses of the CE game.
After the many fairy tale games, this may seem more male driven with elements of steam punk but it’s very clever as there is a more feminine thread of a storyline throughout so again it appeals to both sexes. I’m not at all mechanical and I don’t think there is much of that at all in it as I don’t like that and I as a woman loved it. I will say it is a bit slow going at the beginning of the game, although frequently I find elephant games get much better after the demo.
There are no witches, demon possession or anything like that in this game.
The transporter map is a bit different as it’s not entirely new ones, but more a scrolling one with old areas locked and then hidden. As usual with elephant they still give black bar tips and map tips on hardcore which I wish they didn't. You can always change the mode of play during game.
The live actors which I love they still need to work on the lip synch. If the game is going out in English can’t the lip synch be in English? The voiceover is in English.
25 PUZZLES (all the ones that had a skip button on them)
I nearly despaired at the puzzles at the beginning of the game as they were so easy and so mundane and also at the small screen most of the puzzles seem to be in. I like full screen puzzles. But then I noticed that one of the extras (in the CE) was all 15 puzzles unlocked and I realised a lot of those puzzles, although they have a skip button on them aren’t technically puzzles but more interactions that they put a skip button to, in case people who hate puzzles want to skip them. So if you view them instead of just using a key, or putting an item on a box to open it, it is more interesting than that.
It wasn’t till a fair bit through it, I found a couple of fun not that hard puzzles. I loved the hamster one. Most of them though were just OK only a few I thought was really fun. I do wish most of them were either a bit harder as the first surface had more puzzles that were about a medium in them or more that were different. At least there were a few that were different later.
Challenging game seems to be dying out as more devs are catering for a wider range of people. So those of us who like that have now nowhere to go to although later on the gameplay did get more challenging as it went on but that was more memory. So I did think the puzzles could be more challenging like some of the other surface games. I gave the CE 4/5 on hardness scale for a HOPA because of getting all the collectables was hard - so that's why this gets 3/5.
Challenging game seems to be dying out as more devs are catering for a wider range of people. So those of us who like that have now nowhere to go to although later on the gameplay did get more challenging as it went on but that was more memory. So I did think the puzzles could be more challenging like some of the other surface games. I gave the CE 4/5 on hardness scale for a HOPA because of getting all the collectables was hard - so that's why this gets 3/5.
12 HOS
As usual, no repeats, no random click penalty, no sparkles on HOS on advanced and here it’s all list type and you need inventory items on them. If you are a stuck at one come back later when you have more inventory items. I’d say all of them were junk pile but at least colourful. Most were well defined but I have noticed of late that some items don’t have as sharp edges to them which is a shame.
GRAPHICS
Cutscenes were mostly pixalated or a bit blurry (some weren’t). I don’t know if that is because they are trying to get the game into the smallest download but I do wish they would then offer two different games – one uncompressed for us who have unlimited broadband. They haven’t had that in previous MT or surface games so don’t know why that is.
Below is what IS NOT in this version (so skip it if you don’t want to read it, sorry can’t do spoilers here)
CE extras
Achievements
Collectables
“Philanthropy” (area you can spend your collectables on – great addition)
Screensavers
Wallpaper
Concept art
15 unlockable all mini-games
4 music
4 bonus video
Bonus chapter
SG
Achievements
Collectables
“Philanthropy” (area you can spend your collectables on – great addition)
Screensavers
Wallpaper
Concept art
15 unlockable all mini-games
4 music
4 bonus video
Bonus chapter
SG
main game was over 5 hrs (on hardcore so no hints, skips etc) I did think the others were a bit longer.
I loved it all - I really recommend the CE as for once it’s really worth it but if not, SE should please and plot is all finished in this version.
I recommend this game!