Starting off with, this was a CE. It included the extras: ~Wallpapers ~Concept Art ~Screen Saver ~Hidden Object ~Mini-Games ~Movies ~Music ~Calendar ~Strategy Guide ~Bonus Game One thing I'll mention before going in- no map. There's glitter, but if you HAVE to have a map, right off the bat this'll tick you off. I had no qualm, there's the strategy guide if you get too lost, but I've never really needed maps, nor the "click on the map and you'll teleport right there". I loved the graphics- I noticed in the beginning cutscenes the voices and animation were off just a hair #just enough to notice, though...everything else seemed fine so maybe a glitch?#. The Colors and everything...wow. And they have you hopping from one interesting place to the next :# The music is good, not repetitive....I usually use that as a description, yes, but some games don't have music that you can describe, lol. It changes with the theme of the game, or intensity, rather. The plot had no holes I saw. You're dying with leukemia, and your twin would "give anything for you better". Wow, that old fashioned mirror we bought the other week really was special...and now, you're fit as a fiddle and rescuing her from insanity, lol. This game also has a PYO ending. I've only chosen one, and plan only playing through again later on tonight, picking the other one and getting all the achievements in the game throughout. Granted, I have yet to play the Bonus game, so I can't say anything there... Like I said before, achievements #solving so many hidden objects w/o hint#...they earn you little dolls/figures that go on a display on the menu. You also collect fortunes throughout as well, if you collect all of them then you get something. I liked this game. Do you NEED to get the CE to like it? Dunno. I like that I can replay all the mini-games #really, I can#, and some of the wallpaper is beautiful. The screensavers are plain, but pretty. Overall, I recommend my usual for a game- try it before you buy it. I think it's great, and congrats on their 50th game- they definitely did a good one.
I usually figure out 30 minutes in if I'm going to like a game. That being said, this one I knew in 15 that enough was enough, and it was just to....boring for me. Nonetheless, here I am to review what I did find on this gem.
~GRAPHICS were good, but dark....the cutscenes aren't really cutscenes as much as just (for all I saw in the time I played# either one character on a loop 'talking'...or a flash of pictures. ~MUSIC I either have gone deaf at parts of the game, my sound card is faulty #I hope not :I#, or the simpler is that either the music is so low you really don't hear it or there isn't any. The voices with the cutscenes I can't honestly tell you if they match because the character you see all the time has his mouth covered. #lol# ~the PLOT is okay that I've seen, but there's so much walking that you want to scream by the end of a *vision*. It's mostly collecting one specific item to get onto the next one- because you're trying the demo, I'll mention the first...you've got to get the diary to get to the next vision...where #is it John?# proposed to her. My decision to not buy was also based on the unresolved ending I've heard everyone complain about- something about you need to buy the CE to see the conflict resolved. All in all, I definitely say try before you buy with this game.
I'm reviewing a bunch of diff games I've played long after buying/playing them. That being said, this is just a couple weeks after "The Final Cinderella" (or the fifth in this series# came out that I'm doing this, just so you know if I say anything comparative, lol... The graphics are....well, dark. Not blurry or grainy. They're good, for sure. One thing is for sure, Dark Parables screws with your eyes with the 'morphing objects' you find throughout the game. You don't have to have CE for this- these are SE objects. You don't even HAVE to collect them; but if you are one of the elite with extraordinary eyesight you'll feel great about yourself. The puzzles are medium. You can skip on easy...which is the only mode available in the beginning. But, play through the second time with the same name, and the hint/skip is locked completely and all puzzles are upped level wise...I think they're hard second time around, but that's me. The music is good, not overly annoying #like we know some games can be, lol# and when you get into more intense scenes it'll change. The storyline is good- you're the detective, solving the mystery of the briars. You just get whopped with something else along the way. The cutscenes are good. I might be slightly misjudging them at the moment though, after playing 4 other newer ones today. Which leads to length of game- I've played this game quite a few times, as well as the others, so know my around. It took me three or three and a half hours without skipping ahead, though, the first time. And, all Dark Parables give you the added bonus of a hint at the end of your game of what/where your going next :)
Like I noted above, I reviewed this after playing all three games. Why? Because I really didn't take the time to review any of my games to begin with, and now that I own 30 something, I had the bright idea to start doing so. Anywho... This game has a good plot. A highly used one, mind you, but a twist on a highly used one. I'm sure with how old the game is someone's let the cat outta the bag what it is, but I won't go further, except to say that the girl your saving ISN'T your girl. Your just a really, really (emphasis on really# kind prince. The music...is okay. I'm okay with it, but I usually have my laptop down low except for cutscenes...which, by the way, this game doesn't have. There's a map, but you don't need to go to it to get to your item you need- which I won't go into- because you can just click on the needed/had thing and be there. Puzzles...there aren't any here, really. More like mini-games. Which is why the level is low #it's on three only because some can be tricky to figure out at first# instead of up there like my usual rates. In all honesty, I like it because of the theme. I come back to the game once in a while for some fun, but can beat it in three hours #if not less with knowing the game). Some won't like it because it's older and the way it's played, which is why I recommend you try the demo first before being hasty and buying- not to say it's a bad game at all, it's good, it's just not for some people.
If you've been playing all the Love Chronicles, like I have, you've seen as well how it's developed sound and graphic wise. Salvation certainly doesn't disappoint- starting where The Sword and the Rose left off, it begins in the hero prince's homeland this time. The storyline was great, including the bonus chapters'. The game is separated into chapters, with major puzzles #or just solving things# breaking them.
~3 game modes ~wallpaper ~soundtrack ~concept art ~strategy guide ~bonus quest
The graphics were great- including the cutscenes- and the music was beautiful. I especially like the main menu theme myself. The bonus adventure was one worth getting- although it isn't needed to see the whole ending of the game #the game resolved itself, unlike some other games where you know there's more there...#. As a side note, I usually DON'T get CE's, and wait for the SE to come out. This game grabbed my interest anyway #I'd been waiting for the next Chronicle#, but I played maybe 15 minutes worth of the demo before deciding to buy. The concept of the game, and all mentioned before, made it good for me. Not to mention it was bought with Dark Parables: The Final Cinderella CE during the Memorial Day two for the price of one ;)
As review title implies, I bought this game for my iphone. I wasn't disappointed with it at all, and only had one or two problems with tapping to get the object...and most the time I solved by using just the tip of my finger. The game is creepy, plotwise. The Shade is scary as a creature, and isn't anything I'd want to run into, and her friends...well, one or two ain't right (no more after this, since I don't want to ruin the fun#. I can't say much that they don't say in the description for the game without giving it away, either. The graphics are good- the cutscenes not overly long. It's a "dark"-themed game, keep in mind, so not many scenes are really "bright" if you catch my drift. That's not to say that it's hard to see, it isn't at all. The music...I usually play with music low, so I honestly can't judge. I turn up for cutscenes alone, and that's the way for all my iphone games #I'm not hinting at the music being bad, at all#. Extras...for the pc I imagine it would be standard stuff. I got the CE on my phone, so my extras were the fairies #if you get the CE version, while you play the game there are collectible trophy-like fairies that you gather in the game...they're scattered in random areas#; and the bonus game #where you play as the "young girl" on the day of the happenings#. Do I think it's worth the extra money for the CE over the SE? I think that the CE things- music, wallpaper, concept and such aren't really ever worth the extra money. Well, unless there's some really good wallpaper, but you don't KNOW until you buy. The extra gameplay was okay, but wasn't awe-inspiring in my opinion. In fact, it kind of dragged. But, I'm not judging basing on the extras, I'm going on the main play.
So, 12:37 AM here and I just finished both main and bonus content. I got the CE version just today, along with Love Chronicles, which I have yet to do, because of- you guessed it- the memorial day sale, lol. I couldn't wait for either for SE so I jumped it, and got the free game because of all the punches...and didn't regret it, in this games' case. Now, I'll start with the music. It's not annoying or repetitive, in fact, it switches a couple times with the scenario going on at the time of the game. Graphics good. I mean, with how it's been going upwards graphic-wise, you knew it'd be, and if you thought you wouldn't like it enough that it'd nag you than you wouldn't have bought after trial. The plot was something that threw me for a loop, and someone else in reviews mentioned that other character prior are cameo'd, which is, yet isn't, true. The game DID make me think of another game series #you'll see what I mean once you get there, if you've played it# which was odd at first...who wants that? I mean I love both series so it was kind of akwardish...and yes, at the end it leaves us with our hint of where we're going next, of course. New to this game are "closets" where we dress up prior Cinderella's for key items, which I found cool, but not, because looking for the clothes is much like looking for parable pieces, lol. Which brings me to the CE stuff. Music from the game, wallpaper, concept art, all the parables you've collected throughout as well as... Bonus chapter is you playing as the prince for Princesss Shan, the "Cursed Princess" #one of the separate Cinderella parables...4 girls have their own stories#. The one thing that nagged me while playing said chapter though is I was still wearing detectives' gloves #whoops#. But all said and done, I recommend. The chapter gives you a run for your money, and has a good storyline. .
I've been off-site for some time, due to my computer being infected and all, but when I came back I was happy to see the next in the Dark Parables up...I'd already known it would be Red Riding Hood in some form (the Snow Queen mural on the wall hinted as such# but had no clue how they'd go about it, lol...when I started the trial, when I saw the first sister my main thought was "wow, she grew up". You get past that into the game, though, and how many differences in plot there are, much like the other Parables. This one's just kinda in your face, considering last you thought of little red riding hood she was, well, little. Like the rest of the Parables, great graphics. I liked the voice overs, they were smooth. And the background ambience wasn't one of those "for the love of god, would you stop looping" ones, it was actually good. I loved the surprise appearance of __ __#major spoiler if you haven't played to the end of game, lol#. Shocked me. And like all Parables, it left a major hint at what's coming next. Overall, my favorite Parable will probably always be The Exiled Prince, so I WON'T say it's my favorite. But I like it as much as the others.
This was the first Mystery Legends game I got, and by far it's the best. I've always loved the story of Beauty and the Beast, and the game puts a good twist on it, what with the sorceress' reasons and all. The mini-games were fun, not too hard but not so easy with some of them. They definitely could've gone a little harder with them but I'm not complaining. The visual was beautiful- eerie yet beautiful, dark yet light. There's no squinting or other things that hurt your eyes like some games do. The music and voice-overs were well done. Like some said, if you stick in one spot too long than you'll get some annoying phrases repeatedly. I didn't have a problem, though. The hidden object scenes themselves were good. Some of the objects were way obvious, though. I've played this game multiple times, and own the collecters' edition. Do I recommend? Yeah.
I had to force myself to complete this game. Really, I did. It's bad on your eyesight, because the objects are so small you're constantly squinting at your screen. I put that it's really challenging because how hard it is to find the objects. Most are so hard to find that you want to just stop playing the game (see first line, lol). The plot was eh. If they'd made the game longer, put better graphics in, and not rushed the whole thing...maybe I'd rate it better. If you go against my word and play, you'll see what I mean. But for me, it was a headache, figuratively and literally. I was grateful it was a freebie game with a two-collector pack I got at wal*mart, or I'd be p'od. Would I play it again? No.