Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
1/ 5
No hints. No walkthrough. Kind of limits the demographic, don'tcha think? Please, Big Fish, put some kind of warning that a game is this way. I know, I know, I could have played the trial, but when you buy 20+ games at a time, trials are too time-consuming. I definitely feel ripped off! Games are not games if they are not fun.
They must have dug this one out of a to-be-refurbed pile. It is very static. Some of the reviews mentioned animated scenes. I never found one in the Mac version. The main character moved through the scenes like a cardboard puppet on a stick.
HOS objects were also very difficult to see.
Not that I got very far into the game. I couldn't take the clunky navigation.
The art in this game is pretty good. The story premise is decent (time becomes mixed up by the cardboard cutout bad guy -- medieval towers from the past pushing through current buildings), but it is poorly executed. Too much melodrama and way too little actual story. Given the current level of quality of HOGs, this gets a solid so-so. Computer programmers write code, not stories. Consider hiring a writer, guys.
The visuals in this game are absolutely stunning and the story is quite original. This game would have gotten five stars from me but for some minor issues, which I am sure the developers can correct in future games in what seems to be an incipient series starring Elu (the hero).
The mini-games are very original for the most part, but some of them had clunky controls. If I didn't have a 27" iMac, the HOS would have been impossible to complete without hints because a few of the objects were teensy. One HOS had an object mislabeled: I was looking all over for a "sheet". When I gave up and used a hint, the sheet was a leaf! Several objects had an "Mg" in front of the name. What is this? Magnesium? It made no sense, yet did not interfere with the hunt.
Overall, an excellent game that I thoroughly enjoyed.
One of the best games ever, if you like Gothic horror. (And I do.) Great adventure story that just pulls you through the game. I couldn't wait to see what happened next.
This game is like the earlier games in the Awakening series in that the art is beautiful, the HOS not overly numerous.
Here is the BUT...... Although there were mini-games that were enjoyable, several of them were absolutely tedious and others confusing due to arcane instructions. Game developers obviously should never moonlight writing instruction manuals.
The bonus play in the collectors edition was like a hasty afterthought -- short, confusing and poorly developed.
I don't recommend this game.
+1point
1of1voted this as helpful.
Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart
Dive into an epic journey as a museum owner in pursuit of an undead pirate who has kidnapped your daughter in Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart!
Overall rating
5/ 5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
A Swashbuckling Good Time
PostedOctober 3, 2012
runauturuncu
fromPalm Springs, CA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Mahjong
I almost didn't buy this game because of the very beginning of the game (which is, of course, where you are in the free trial). You are putzing around a museum looking for banal stuff. Yuck!
But it gets much better because the game quickly takes you out of the museum. The story is quite original for one of these games. Quite surprised me, really. It's a romantic tale of true love and redemption, set in a colorful past. I was quite taken with it.
Loved the HD graphics. Eye-poppingly delicious. This was a very good story and I like the way the HOS's found objects for a master list which fulfilled an objective.
My only quibble is the anachronisms. For example, the HOS's had you looking for things that did not exist in the mid-16th century, such as a toy train, gel caps, and a photograph.
As with all of these games done by developers who have English as a second language, some of the names for things were odd at times. However, their artistry and overall attention to detail made for a wonderful game that I enjoyed playing. So, well done!
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
This review will cover both standard and collectors editions. Lush. Gorgeous. Wonderful story well presented.
Very satisfying, fully developed ending in the standard edition. Very well done, Elephant Games. A quite good, if somewhat trite and contrived, ending completes the collectors edition, as well.
Mini-games are fun and not overly-difficult, as are the HOS. I can enthusiastically recommend this game. It is a real work of art.