The visuals in this game are beautiful, and I found the music very relaxing. The voice acting could have used better direction, but overall the story was passable.
What I loved most was the variety in both the puzzles and in the hidden object scenes. I never found myself skipping either one, which is rare.
My only criticism is that there are more paintings around the central portrait than you will get to experience, which makes the game end quite abruptly, but it's still a title I enjoyed, and I'm even looking forward to replaying in Free Mode.
And, just in case, like me, you can't figure out what the gold coins are for - go into the Trophies section. You'll get a nice surprise. :)
I was probably a bit jaded by the poor quality CG in the opening sequence, and the 20-second loop of music in the first room, but this was really not of the quality I was expecting, given the amount of advertising it received. The Hidden Object Scenes were interesting, but I ended up skipping the majority of the puzzles, simply because the hints on how to solve them were completely unclear. For example, one hint was, "Find the correct sequence." What sequence? How will I know if it's correct?
The story was also quite fragmented, so it loses a star just for that. People were talking about characters I hadn't met yet, doing deeds I didn't know about, for reasons that were unclear. Overall a disappointing title.
While the visuals are stunning, and the team has done some amazing things with colour in regards to the evidence room, overall the lack of sound effects and short levels are a bit of a disappointment. I appreciated their (reasonably) accurate portrayal of different time periods, and the concept itself was an interesting one, but the ending disappointed me, so I'm sorry to say it's not a favourite.
I do look forward to checking out their other titles, however, and the match 3 minigame you can use to recharge your hints was a welcome break from hidden object and spot-the-difference scenes. Just try to pick it up on a $2.99 sale, like I did, and you'll get good value for your money.
Both of the Haunted Halls games have excellent atmosphere and storytelling, with twists on common fears creating a spooky and irresistible setting. This installment deals with the creepy aspects of fairy tales, which caught my attention immediately. The quality of the audio and visuals is excellent and, unlike most hidden object games where I will play them over a week or two, I sat down one Saturday and followed this one all the way through. A definite recommendation!