LunaNik's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.8
- Helpful Votes:12,435
- Reviews Submitted:670
- First Review:November 2, 2012
- Most Recent Review:August 19, 2020
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Kuros
When Katya awakens on Kuros, she finds a mysterious alien world teetering on the brink of destruction! Piece together her past!
Overall rating
4
/
5
23 of 25 found this review helpful
A beautifully immersive adventure game!
PostedApril 8, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
TITLE—Kuros
VERSION—Standard Edition (full game)
DEVELOPER—Sandlot
GENRE—Adventure (fantasy)
STORYLINE—You play as Katya, a young woman who awakens in a strange realm with no memory of who she is. Fortunately, the Exarch, Katya's teacher, soon appears and tells her she must restore the glyphstones of Kuros, the realm she is in. The very fate of the Universe depends upon it, in fact.
OVERVIEW—Kuros is a graphically beautiful adventure game reminiscent of Myst. As such, there is no hint button on which to rely. You actually have to use neurons, folks. (There is a BFG blog walkthrough if you really get stuck.) I truly miss games like this.
GAMEPLAY—Point 'n' click adventure with inventory, lots and lots of puzzles, and some "find 10" hidden object quests. (I use the term "quests" rather than "scenes" because they're generally not all in the same area.) The puzzles range from swap the piece puzzles to series logic to connect the pipes to simple jigsaw puzzles…and more.
INTERFACE—Inventory is across the bottom. Items aren't automatically placed there; you pick up and place things there. You can store multiples in the same slot to save space. The options menu is at bottom left, and this is also the area that keeps track of the map pieces you've found, and the interactive area for the series logic puzzles.
TECHNICAL—No issues.
GRAPHICS—Beautiful 3D rendered graphics in stunning colors and textures. Kuros is a feast for the eyes.
CUTSCENES—Gorgeous animation. The cutscenes can be skipped, but I don't recommend it. They're not long and they convey storyline you need to know to be truly immersed into the game.
MUSIC—Perfect for the game without being intrusive. Instead of repetitive musical compositions that you get tired of hearing, the background music was more ambient, again reminding me of the Myst series. Devs pay attention! This is how the music should be done.
SOUND—Game sounds were appropriate.
VOICEOVER—About 70/30 really good to awful. Katya's voice, which you heard the most, was well done, as was the Exarch's. A couple of the minor characters had voices that seemed wrong to me, and the villain's voice was just awful. He was supposed to be evil, after all, and all I wanted to do was give him a time-out.
SUMMARY—Other than some improvement on the voiceovers, Kuros is an overall excellent adventure game. I only wish it had been longer. The initial location had several areas to explore, while each subsequent area had fewer and fewer areas. I would have liked Kuros to have been about doubled in play time, and I could have given it 4 and a half stars. But I still highly recommend it for fans of straight up adventure games.
I recommend this game!
Lead Saturn's son to the top of the Pantheon and help him become a mighty god in All My Gods! Use divine powers to change the life of Romans!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Hurray! NO TIMER! More like this one, please!
PostedApril 7, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Strategy
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
TITLE—All My Gods
VERSION—Standard Edition (full game)
DEVELOPER—Realore Studios
GENRE—Resource Management
STORYLINE—You play as the son of Saturn, destined to take your place in the pantheon of gods. But you must prove your worth first, both to your people and to the other gods. From a small settlement, you must build a true civilization, answer the prayers of your people, and satisfy the whims of the other gods.
OVERVIEW—This is a more relaxing resource management game, as opposed to a time management game. The key is balance. Not enough resources? Build a new producer or upgrade an existing one. Too many resources? Sell extras in the market. All at a relaxed pace. There are a few timed quests, but the consequences of not fulfilling them are simply part of the game, rather than being held against you.
GAMEPLAY—At the beginning, you're directed to place a few buildings to get the hang of how the game works. You'll get quests that will provide additional direction as well. Mostly, you can build wherever you like, although there are certain types of buildings that can only be placed in certain areas. If you're having trouble, look for the lighter green areas.
INTERFACE—The two interactive menus are at the bottom corners. At left, the Build, Science, and Market menus. At right, the "God Hand," Move, and Destroy icons, as well as your Mana counter (your "god" power). Across the bottom are your Resources and Statistics in two overlapped bars. You can lock these open.
The Build menu opens up into a window showing you the types of buildings you can build, and they're categorized as to type. The Science menu opens up into a window showing you the types of things you can study which will help your civilization. And the Market menu opens up into a window showing you all your resources so that you can sell extras. Additionally, you'll learn to build wooden and stone roads, and to drain swamps and clear volcanic crusts.
The "God Hand" allows you to directly affect your people and their environment. You can collect resources, demolish things in your way, put out fires, and repair buildings. The Move icon allows you to move buildings around (a nice feature!). And the Destroy icon lets you demolish buildings and monsters.
The Resources bar shows what you have, when you max out, and how much you'll get at the end of each day. The Statistics bar shows the demographics of your civilization.
TECHNICAL—Not truly a technical issue, but I found there were several areas where instructions would have been helpful. I'm going to include them here, as they're not spoilers.
When you start to max out your resources quickly, it's time to build/upgrade barns. They don't just hold food. To increase your science points, build/upgrade schools and universities. To increase gold, build/upgrade markets, banks, and trading posts. To increase your mana, build/upgrade shrines and temples. Civilization points increase every time you study something new, meet a new achievement, and complete a new award. You can see the achievements and awards under the statistics bar.
GRAPHICS—The buildings are fairly architecturally realistic. The landscape is painterly. And the people are just adorable.
CUTSCENES—Done in a comic book fashion, somewhat dramatically.
MUSIC—I had it turned off since music in these games is usually repetitive.
SOUND—Ambient sound for each area and event: splashing near the sea, fiery sounds near the volcanoes. Game sounds for different events: the "cha-ching" whenever resources are collected (which happens automatically, thank the gods!).
VOICEOVER—Narration is a bit dramatic. Other than that, there's a "hurray!" whenever you do something epic.
SUMMARY—Just an overall fun game. Oh! I almost forgot the best part. Once you've won the game, you're in "free play" mode and can customize your little town to your heart's content! Build whatever you like, move things around, and create your perfect Roman city. I definitely recommend this game.
I recommend this game!
A mysterious force from a parallel universe wreaks havoc on a small town as a scientist fights to stop it from taking over the world!
Overall rating
2
/
5
9 of 13 found this review helpful
Potential unrealized...undeveloped storyline, boring gameplay
PostedApril 4, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
TITLE—Deadly Voltage: Rise of the Invincible
VERSION—Standard Edition (demo)
DEVELOPER—Alawar
GENRE—Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure
STORYLINE—You're delivering a package to a scientist when a mysterious forcefield surrounds the town, trapping you within. A strange force that can travel through electrical lines seems to have taken over the town. Fortunately, the scientist is in communication with you…and knows how to stop it.
OVERVIEW—For a "world in peril" type of game, this moved along like a snail through molasses. The voltage did not appear to be deadly, nor those rising invincible. I did play the entire demo, merely to see if the pace of the game would increase past "arthritic elephant." Alas, it was not to be. The lack of drama was aided by the jaunty piano music, inappropriate to the game theme.
GAMEPLAY—Standard point 'n' click adventure, heavy on the HO scenes (which are junk piles), with some puzzles and mini-games, none of which were difficult.
INTERFACE—Journal: Yes; it records the story and stores clues. Map: Yes, and it's a jump map. Hints: Recharge fairly quickly. Specials: None. Strategy Guide: N/A. Other: Nothing else special to mention.
TECHNICAL—No issues.
GRAPHICS—Quite well done, actually. Probably the best part of this game.
CUTSCENES—Good 3D animation. Shame it was wasted.
MUSIC—Upbeat piano which was bizarrely inappropriate to the storyline.
SOUND—Not much in the way of ambient sound; most of the scenes were silent. Game sounds are cutesy robotic noises.
VOICEOVER—None.
SUMMARY—I'm a bit at a loss here. Clearly, the storyline was intended to be menacing, judging by the title and the anxiety of the scientist when he communicates with you. But the game doesn't follow through at all. You, the player, are never menaced, frightened, threatened, or bothered in any way. There's no element of drama here, no feeling you should rush to save the world. It's frankly impossible to become immersed into this game.
And that's just a shame, because with different music, some voiceovers, and some work on the storyline, this could have been an excellent game. As it stands, I can't recommend it unless you have severe, intractable insomnia.
I don't recommend this game.
A wonderful story of the citizens of Joyville. Can you change their destiny? You will see – nothing is impossible!
Overall rating
2
/
5
23 of 34 found this review helpful
Formulaic, predictable, and boring...a disappointment
PostedMarch 29, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
TITLE—PuppetShow: Destiny Undone
VERSION—Collector's Edition (demo)
DEVELOPER—ERS
GENRE—Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure
STORYLINE—The puppet master has disappeared under mysterious circumstances and little Felicia has asked for your help to find him.
OVERVIEW—I'm afraid I must diverge from the majority opinion. I found nothing to rave about in this game. It was the typically formulaic offering from this developer.
GAMEPLAY—Point 'n' click adventure with HO scenes and puzzles. Gameplay is linear and quite simple; items needed are found relatively near to the place they're used.
INTERFACE—Journal: Yes. Map: Yes. Hints: Point out object in HO scene; guide in adventure mode. Specials: Find 10 dolls/puppets, plus there's a "good" version of the spider puppet who helps you. And you can collect hat patterns to dress him up, a trend I detest. Strategy Guide: I didn't use it. Other: The inventory is the same as in the other games in this series, and it's an annoying fan-shaped pop-up in the corner. You can't lock it open because it obscures part of the screen, but it's slow to open, which really interferes with player immersion.
TECHNICAL—I found the game rather slow to respond, and it seemed to take forever to move the cursor across the screen.
GRAPHICS—Typical pastel impressionist style of this developer. Objects are difficult to recognize.
CUTSCENES—Choppy animation, totally unlike the beautiful intro animation.
MUSIC—That same music this developer always uses. Just turn it off.
SOUND—Ambient and game sounds appropriate, but nothing special.
VOICEOVER—Adults voicing children. Enough said.
SUMMARY—I'll probably pick up the SE when it becomes a DD, just to complete my PuppetShow collection, but I can't recommend it.
I don't recommend this game.
If you have enough courage to challenge the darkness, then you’ll manage to find out the mystery of the Rossolimo family.
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Another excellent game in a brilliant series!
PostedMarch 23, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
TITLE—Secrets of the Dark: Mystery of the Ancestral Estate
VERSION—Collector's Edition (full game)
DEVELOPER—Orneon
GENRE—Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (supernatural)
STORYLINE—For the third time, you'll have to use all your skills to defeat the evil that threatens to engulf the world. This time, you've been called to Greece to investigate the estate of a young woman named Dayona. The family crypt is the focus of the darkness, and it soon captures Dayona. Her fate, and the fate of the world, rests in your capable hands.
OVERVIEW—Orneon doesn't disappoint in the third installment of Secrets of the Dark. From the lush graphics to the unique light/dark morphing scenes, this game pulls you in and doesn't let go.
GAMEPLAY—Point 'n' click adventure with inventory, HO scenes, puzzles, and mini-games. The HOs are of three types: standard list, misplaced item, and combination.
In the combination scenes, you're presented with an incomplete Rube Goldberg device and 4 misplaced items. For each one you replace, you get a list of 3 related items to find in the scene. Each list completes part of the mechanism. Once you've found them all, the device is set into motion and you're rewarded with a necessary item. These scenes were beautifully done and a lot of fun to play.
The puzzles and mini-games range from quite simple ones we've seen before to complex ones that take a lot of time (rotate pipes to make all connect, match pairs, arrange books from clues, etc.). There are a lot of puzzles!
INTERFACE—Journal: Narrates the story and keeps track of clues. Map: None, but the backtracking isn't onerous. Hints: I only used a few, so I'm unsure about the recharge rate. Specials: None that I saw as far as collectibles or morphing objects. Strategy Guide: Searchable by chapter, but not within each chapter. Other: The Bonus Play has you rescuing Dayona's ancestors. Additionally, you can replay mini-games.
TECHNICAL—There were some truly bad translations in the black bar text. Orneon should get itself a new translator.
GRAPHICS—Rendered 3D with lush colors and lifelike textures. The characters were more cartoonish.
CUTSCENES—Fell short of the rest of the game, but the in-game animation was excellent.
MUSIC—Fit the mood of the game (when I noticed it).
SOUND—Ambient and game sounds appropriate and not annoying.
VOICEOVER—Decently done.
SUMMARY—Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable game to play. It made me want to marathon play all three games in the series, and I not only recommend this game, but also recommend that you get all three.
I recommend this game!
Dreamscapes: The Sandman
Be the one to save Laura from her nightmares
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Wonderfully surreal adventure!
PostedMarch 22, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
TITLE—Dreamscapes: The Sandman
VERSION—Standard Edition (full game)
DEVELOPER—Shaman Games (via Playrix)
GENRE—Adventure (fantasy)
STORYLINE—As a child, Laura had horrific nightmares until her father gave her the dreamcatcher. Now an adult, the Sandman has stolen Laura's dreamcatcher and plunged her into a nightmare from which she cannot wake. You've volunteered to go into her subconscious to try and rescue her from the Sandman.
OVERVIEW—Dreamscapes is a delightfully surreal adventure game with a variety of interesting puzzles that will challenge your skills as a gamer. The storyline, graphics, and music ensure you will be immersed in this alternate world of good versus evil.
GAMEPLAY—Point 'n' click adventure with inventory, plus puzzles and mini-games of varying types and difficulty.
INTERFACE—Journal: Yes. It's Laura's diary. Map: None, and it's not required. Each chapter is a smaller area. Hints: Recharge fairly quickly. They guide you, but don't spell out what you need to do. Specials: Find all the beholders. Hint: they'll see you before you see them.
TECHNICAL—No issues.
GRAPHICS—Hand-drawn and -colored style similar to the Drawn series but more detailed. Beautiful use of color to evoke mood.
CUTSCENES—Animated using posers (with lip-synching to voiceovers). In-game animation is physics-based and quite well done.
MUSIC—The music was thoughtful; it added a lot to the atmosphere of the game.
SOUND—Ambient sounds were prevalent in each scenario and, again, did a lot to help the player become immersed in the game. Game sounds were appropriate.
VOICEOVER—Not bad, but not great.
SUMMARY—I thoroughly enjoyed playing this game, and am eagerly awaiting the sequel. If you like adventure games, I highly recommend it to you.
NOTE TO REVIEWERS—The ending of this game is not a cheat; it's called a cliffhanger, and it's a legitimate "literary" device when a writer has satisfactorily wrapped up the main storyline but wishes to continue writing about the characters. The storyline of The Sandman was perfectly wrapped up; you were not ripped off, and downgrading this game for this reason is childish.
By the same token, this is an adventure game. Downgrading it because it's not a HOG and you only like HOGs is also childish. And it's disingenuous because other Fishies rely on these reviews. If you're not going to give a thoughtful review, don't bother giving one at all.
I recommend this game!
Free the trapped souls and reunite a love long lost in Haunting Mysteries: The Island of Lost Souls!
Overall rating
4
/
5
14 of 14 found this review helpful
Gets progressively more difficult! Awards & achievements in SE
PostedMarch 20, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
TITLE—Haunting Mysteries: The Island of Lost Souls
VERSION—Standard Edition (full game)
DEVELOPER—Fuzzy Bug Interactive
GENRE—Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (supernatural)
STORYLINE—You're flying north of Scotland when an unnaturally strong storm suddenly forms and forces you to crash land on an uncharted island. You soon discover the island is uninhabited as well, with the exception of a myriad of spirits trapped by an evil ghost bent on fulfilling an unrequited love. In order to escape the island, you must free the spirits and banish the ghost, presumably to you-know-where.
OVERVIEW—I bought this on a whim when it was offered to me at discount after acquiring another game. Many Fishies who reviewed it indicated they thought it should have been a CE. That, plus the attention to detail I noticed in the graphics shown in the screen shots intrigued me. I was pleasantly surprised to find a familiar storyline extremely well done, brilliant graphics, and a game that became progressively more difficult.
GAMEPLAY—Point 'n' click adventure with HO scenes and puzzles. The HO scenes start out relatively simply—zoomed in views with larger objects—and progress to incredibly difficult—full rooms with small, well-hidden objects. Similarly, the "haunted souls" are, in the beginning" easy to spot. Near the end, there were several scenes where I couldn't find the soul to save my own life. Puzzles were mostly familiar, but saved by the gorgeous graphics and level of difficulty.
INTERFACE—Journal: None. Map: None, and while there is some backtracking, it's not onerous. Hints: You'll need them! See the rest of my review. Specials: 32 awards to be won, and 40 "haunted souls" to be found. The "haunted souls," while remaining in one place, tend to morph in and out as shadows move, candles flicker, etc. Strategy Guide: N/A.
TECHNICAL—Didn't accept my trackpad's tap setting; I had to actually click.
GRAPHICS—Incredible use of color, texture, and light and shadow to accent the mood of each scene, to aid in hiding items in the HOs, and to add to the player's immersion into the game.
CUTSCENES—The "storytelling" cutscenes were mainly each spirit just shimmering while the voiceover filled you in. There was good in-game action animation (when putting a key into a lock, for example).
MUSIC—I heard two themes repeated ad nauseum, and often abruptly cutting off to dead silence. This is an area where the devs could use improvement. And, really, you don't have to have a melody playing all the time. But at least give us some ambient sounds, some moodiness. Go back and play Myst to see how it's done really well.
SOUND—Same complaint as "music." Other than waves crashing onto shore when you were near ocean, there was often dead silence. Ambient sounds add a LOT to player immersion.
VOICEOVER—Absolutely perfect. Other devs should play this game just to see how voiceovers should be done.
SUMMARY—If the music and sound had been on point, I could have given this game 5 stars. The devs took an old story and retold it beautifully with the help of brilliant voice acting, excelled in the graphics department, and developed a game that grew progressively more difficult from beginning to end. If they step it up in the music/sound area and give us some unique storytelling, I can't wait to see what they do next.
I recommend this game!
Is it just a high fever or something much worse? One doctor's house call is about to become an investigation!
Overall rating
2
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Has anyone seen the storyline? It went missing after the intro.
PostedMarch 19, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
TITLE—Fallen: The Flowers of Evil
VERSION—Standard Edition (demo)
DEVELOPER—Taba Games
GENRE—Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (supernatural)
STORYLINE—You play a physician who is treating a young woman who claims to have been bitten by a red-eyed monster. Only the flower she holds keeps her from excruciating pain. Meanwhile, the City of Blackburn is under quarantine and it's up to you to figure out what's going on.
OVERVIEW—There is a LOT to do in this game and a LOT to keep track of. Almost too much. The storyline started out fairly well, but came to a screeching halt for the rest of the demo, that is to say, it didn't advance at all. No more bitten patients. No more flowers. No more red-eyed monsters lurking in the shadows. Yawn.
GAMEPLAY—Standard point 'n' click adventure sprinkled with HO scenes and puzzles. Nothing at all innovative or original, I'm sorry to say. HO scenes are repeated (and with the items you already found magically back in place). Puzzles are all too familiar; none break new ground.
INTERFACE—Journal: There is one, but I didn't even open it. Map: No idea. This game would be helped by a jump map, because there's a LOT of backtracking. Hints: In HO scenes, the hint points to an object on the list. In adventure mode, the hint guides you to where you can do something. Specials: None. Strategy Guide: N/A.
TECHNICAL—Where to start? This game did NOT like my trackpad at all. Often, I had to click multiple times to get it to recognize the click. It wouldn't recognize my tap setting at all; I actually had to click. There were numerous bad translations in the HO scenes. "Knife" on the list was actually a cleaver. "Needle" on the list was a hatpin.
GRAPHICS—Hand-drawn in very monotone pastels, which made the HO scenes difficult, as they were junkpiles.
CUTSCENES—Cartoonish stills; no animation. Strange, because there was action animation during the game (key into lock, and such).
MUSIC—I didn't even notice it.
SOUND—Again, I didn't notice it.
VOICEOVER—Not badly done, but not brilliant.
SUMMARY—The major fault of this game is that the devs didn't do a great job integrating the storyline into the game. I felt like I was running around Blackburn finding items here and using them there for no real reason, as I didn't seem to be getting anywhere new or finding out anything new. There was no impetus to keep going…no glimpses of red-eyed creatures or bizarre flowers. No new victims or strange events. The storyline seemed to just drop off right after the intro. And, thus, so did my interest.
I don't recommend this game.
Experience the birth of the terror that gripped the island of Tormente! Every story has a beginning, but few are as horrifying as this!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Learn how the Lands became Twisted!
PostedMarch 13, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
TITLE—Twisted Lands: Origin
VERSION—Standard Edition (full game)
DEVELOPER—Alawar
GENRE—Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (supernatural)
STORYLINE—In this prequel to Shadow Town and Insomniac, you play a detective hired to find his friend's missing daughter on the island which, we discover, is named Tormente. Uncover the backstory behind the events of Shadow Town and Insomniac; find out what happened to the people of Tormente.
OVERVIEW—Origin answered a lot of questions about the mass disappearances and strange creatures of the island. In that way, it neatly tied up a lot of loose ends for the series. However, I'm still hoping for one more sequel to take place after Insomniac as I think there are still unanswered questions.
GAMEPLAY—Point & click adventure interspersed with HO scenes and puzzles. There are plenty of HOs to satisfy fans. Scenes repeat but objects within them do not. There are lots of items to collect and use. Puzzles range from simple to medium difficulty.
INTERFACE—Journal: Yes, and it also contains a task list. Map: There is a map this time and, while it's not a jump map, it does indicate your location as well as areas with current actions. Hints: Available both within HO scenes and in adventure mode. Specials: Collect miniature architectural sculptures to fill in a diorama. Strategy Guide: N/A.
TECHNICAL—Minor issues only. The cursor tends to cover the description of the inventory item. When you're finished with an area, it doesn't close automatically, which makes you think there's still more to do there. (This was true of the other two games in the series as well.)
GRAPHICS—Painterly, but crisp in the HO scenes. Fantastic background design.
CUTSCENES—Animated this time, as they weren't really in the other two. And pretty decently done as well.
MUSIC—Dramatic and orchestral, but also with some ambient pieces. Not intrusive or annoying.
SOUND—Game and ambient sounds appropriate.
VOICEOVER—There were voiceovers this time, and they occurred throughout the game and were pretty well done. The detective's narration was done in a sort of gritty film noir style.
SUMMARY—Well worth the time and money, especially if you have the rest of the series.
I recommend this game!
Help Angel figure out what is real and what is in her head as she attempts to escape from a Mental Hospital!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Insomniac will keep you on the edge of your seat...
PostedMarch 12, 2013
LunaNik
fromMassachusetts
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
TITLE—Twisted Lands: Insomniac
VERSION—Standard Edition (full game)
DEVELOPER—Alawar
GENRE—Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (supernatural)
STORYLINE—This time you play as Angel, who awakens in an insane asylum with scattered memories of Shadow Town. Threatened by an impending lobotomy, you must escape. But time, your shattered memories, and the ghosts of the past keep playing tricks on your perception of reality.
OVERVIEW—Insomniac continues the storyline from Shadow Town, and is a simultaneously fragmented and coherent story that completely messes with your mind. To be honest, I'll need to play it again to fully grasp the twists.
GAMEPLAY—Standard adventure interspersed with HO scenes and puzzles.
INTERFACE—Journal: Yes, and there's a task list as well. Map: No, and there's backtracking, though not as much as is Shadow Town. Hints: Available in both HO scenes—where they show you an object on the list—and in adventure mode—where they guide you in the right direction. Specials: Collect photos of children to complete an album you'll need later. Strategy Guide: N/A.
TECHNICAL—No issues.
GRAPHICS—Painterly, but nicely clear in the HO scenes. The background scenes are appropriately moody in color.
CUTSCENES—Stillframe series style, but they work to convey to you what you need to know.
MUSIC—This time, I didn't notice it (so at least it's not annoying).
SOUND—Ambient and game sounds appropriate. Period sounds of children laughing and someone weeping added to the overall creepiness.
VOICEOVER—None.
SUMMARY—An effective sequel to Shadow Town, although it asked as many questions as it answered, IMO. Perhaps they were answered in the CE's Bonus Play, but I can't speak to that. Overall, I feel Insomniac was worth my time and money, but you really do need to play both games—Shadow Town and Insomniac—for full effect. I recommend both. Off to play Origins!
I recommend this game!