The third game in the series of Hallowed Legends by Elephant Games -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, after such a long wait, the next game of Hallowed Legends is out! Different than Mystery Trackers, this game is more dark and spooky (the title says it all!) and you are with Hamlet, a wise raven.
The mystery surrounds the city roamed by the dead is not strange enough, there's a woman in white stealing the souls of the people. I think she is creepy.
The hint recharges pretty quickly, and the puzzles are quite easy. The HOG combines many interactive objects which is great but take time to solve.
One thing lacking from this game is the Bonus Content, they are just the usual stuff. No collectables or anything like that. Luckily the bonus chapter is good.
The tenth game in the series of Mystery Case Files by Elephant Games -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MCF is usually made by BFG Studios but this time round Elephant Games carried on, which at first made me worried, although I like EG, I love how BFG made the series (except the previous one, Shadow Lake which is a flop) creepy and very spooky. I never encounter any creepiness in any EG game so far.
However I was wrong. EG delivers an wonderful sequel to Madame Fate game and aside from abundant creepy factor (except those scary clowns!), the whole game is perfect. Great MCF music, animation, superb graphics with 5(!) difficulty levels, that's awesome.
If in Mystery Trackers (MT) games you get Elf the dog, in this game you get Isis the cat, which is as helpful as Elf. It's like having a very trustworthy assistant. The hint also teleports you like a map, to the point where you have current task. Very helpful for me as a Beginner. The puzzles are various, but the simple one take requires 1:30' before you can skip and complicated one requires 5:00' to skip.
Bonus section is a charm in itself, very diverse and have lots of nice things. There are games, collectibles, and so on. Secret Room is my favorite. The bonus chapter is also a great play, and let you finish off what is done at the main game.
A wonderful game overall. I hope they will continue next, as they advertise on the game's main page.
The second game in the series of Fierce Tales by Blam Games -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This game surely beats the first one in the series! In this game adventures awaits for you, with lots of interesting scenes and the presence of the very helpful Dolphin.
The story is different than the first one so you don't have to play it if you don't have it. It is an aquatic adventure. You play as Marcus himself, and you need to find Delores, your girlfriend to restore your memory.
VO is great, and overall graphic is also fine. Cutscenes are a bit blurry and grainy at times but body movements are natural. The map is useful and handy, the hint also, but it was pretty easy so you won't really have to use it. The HOG scenes are of different variety, find objects and combining them, which is fun. The dolphin can be called at times with the whistle and it's great to ride one!
There are lots of extras in this game, divided into two parts: the usual stuff and Sea World, with sea creatures album, decorate your own aquarium and a Dolphin's Pool which I like.
Very well made game, IMO. I hope they make another sequel of the series soon!
The fifth game in the series of Mystery Trackers by Elephant Games -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, MT team is back! I expect great graphics and story as usual, and as always they never disappoint. This time you return with lots of element abilities to help you with your tasks such as fire, hypnosis and freezing, it was pretty cool! The Levitating Masks are unfortunately not scary :(
Elf as usual is cute and super helpful here. The VO is great and they combined both live actors and drawings, which look more natural. In this CE you can also collect MT pets, basically strange mutant animals and also there's pet shop for Elf. A bit too cutesy but I don't mind this at all.
One thing that I don't like is the hint using sentences instead of transporting us to where we should go even if you are on the right spot. It takes time to figure it out, plus I am not an expert detective.
Overall a great game, may not be an MT best, but still a wonderful game to play!
The sixth game in the series of Mystery Trackers by Elephant Games ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I bought this game without trying the demo because Elephant Games is my most favorite game developer, and I know they always deliver excellent games.
The story begins by finding a journalist who has gone missing while investigating Raincliff. You and your loyal dog Elf are assigned to find the missing woman. The plot sounds boring but it gets better with the presence of shadow people or the Raincliff phantoms.
In this game you have to collect heat source by finding morphing objects. I found out that from previous MT game (Silent Hollow), EG doesn't use live actors anymore, to my relief. I would prefer simply just characters, they are more believable. I also realized that the background music is not as annoying as their games usually are, with sudden upbeat/loud music at the end of every cutscene. This time, although still exists, it is much more bearable.
While playing you will also need to collect video tapes, watch them and get photos to match a certain spot in the game to earn items.
The extra contents in this game is the usual stuff, and you don't have to even play the bonus chapter, the main game itself is sufficient. But still, if you are a fan of MT, like me, you might want to add this CE to your game collection. Totally worth it.
A HOG game, second in the series of Christmas Stories by Elephant Games. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have ever played the first in the series (The Nutcracker) then you will expect nothing less of this one. A Christmas Carol story with a twist, this will make your Christmas holidays the merrier.
As always, the awesome graphic design and music that fit the atmosphere. Your 'helper' is good Scrooge with a penchant of animating objects. Cutscenes and voice over are great.
You will collect 34 cute penguins in this game, hidden as morphing objects. Some are difficult to spot, as they blend really well with the background. I have trouble with the skater boy puzzle on Chapter 5, I think many people experience this too. I had my game solved the first time, but the second time I tried it is very difficult. You might want to consult the forum blog in this website for tips. Map is readily available, and can transport you to places where you want to go.
Extras are as the usual variety but the bonus chapter is one of the most interesting story ever given for a CE. I love the cute cats! even if you don't play this in Christmas time (like I do), this still makes a very enjoyable game time. Play in summer and you will feel cool at once with the very snowy feel and scenes abundant and everywhere in this game.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
A FROG game by Blue Tea Games. ---------------------------------------------
A dark game with twists, similar to their Dark Parables series, the story tells about a crooked man with its crooked cat pet who likes to kidnap maidens. Your job is to find out what happens with them and your sister who was also kidnapped.
If you are have ever played any of the games from BTG, you will surely know their graphic is very well done, but you will soon realize that their graphic style didn't change at all over the years. I hope that they are more innovative with the graphic design.
There are lots of puzzles in this game. They are intricate and everywhere. I am not a fan of puzzles so I skipped every single one of them. As always, their HOG scenes are FROG, and it goes throughout the whole game. I think it will be better if they add some HOG scenes there, for a change.
The music is very beautiful, sometimes creepy, really fits the game. The game flows nicely, chapters are marked with time, so it is as if we progress through the day. The ending is unexpected, maybe they continue the story in the bonus chapter, but I am satisfied with just the main story. Great game!
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
3/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
3/ 5
A HO game by Taba Games. -----------------------------------
When I first tried this game I thought this is going to be a dark game, but it is nothing of the sort. In fact it's a kidnapping story with no scary elements at all, unless you think skeletons in tuxedos are scary..
The game's story is pretty standard, you have to save your girlfriend who was kidnapped to the dead world. The game progresses quite slowly, 5 chapters are spent with you trying to be "dead" yourself so you can go to the underworld. The rest two chapters are about you trying to free your girlfriend, but then it seems way too easy (not trying to spoil anything here).
Your hint is a Harry-Potter's-Book-of-Monsters lookalike. It also serves as your journal. It looks crazy with its tongue sticking out all the time but it is pretty helpful. The map is basic but still can transport you to places where actions are available, so I think it's pretty neat.
The graphic is fine although the movement of characters is a bit stiff in the cutscenes. My cursor goes a bit slow in this game. The music is OK at first but it was repetitive so it was annoying after some time. I found no creativity from the developer for the music. During the HOG scenes, the music is sometimes non existent, and sometimes, the same old song is played again~~ over the entire game!
The HOG scenes are very standard, and annoying IMO. At the end of each scene you need to find one more object which is the actual objective of the search, but it is not on the original list.
When the game ends, it ends just that, maybe there's a continuation in the bonus game but I think SE is enough for me. If you like challenges then I'd suggest you to skip this one. If you'd like a mystery game with no dark twist, this game is for you.
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
Second game from Botanica series by Boom Zap. -------------------------------------------------------------------
The story continues from where it left off from the first game. It is recommended that you play the first game first but if you don't, you will be able to know a bit anyway since they start the second game with the ending cutscene of the first game. But if you want to play the first game after this one to know the background of the story, you might have the whole 1st game ruined for you as they showed what really ends in the first game.
You will play as Ellie and Ian, two main characters of the game in every other chapter. The image, as usual of BZ, is crisp but a little bit cartoony. They are nice to look at but I have problem with the cursor being so small it's quite difficult to see. The music is soothing, very island, tropical atmosphere.
The game is easy, you practically don't have to use SG, the map is very helpful, it shows where actions are available, and the hint also can point you directly to the location. The puzzles are random, some are easy, some are not. I am not a puzzle fan and had to skip many of the puzzles because I am too lazy to solve them. The HOG are combination of simply hidden objects to fragments and objective scenes (combine stuff to get certain objects). Quite diverse.
Even if you don't love plants, this game doesn't have that many plants/ science thingie like the first one. In fact, there are more weird animals in this game than plants. I think the clawcrab is the cutest creature in this game.
As many other BZ games, I expect there will be lots of proceeding games after this one although the ending looks like it finally ends but I see how it went with Awakening that I think this will be the last of the Botanica game I will buy.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
Second game from Enigmatis series by Artifex Mundi. ------------------------------------------------------------------
The story from the 2nd game in the Enigmatis series picks up from where it left off, but a little bit different with a twist. So if you are playing Enigmatis for the first time, I suggested you play the first game first. Compared to the previous game, this game offers more suspense than spook.
There are lots of cut scenes. Voice over is great but IMO too slow. I found the central character (detective) too bland and lack emotion in the voices. The music, is the same with the first game, however since the atmosphere is not spooky, I found it not suitable for this game. It reminds me of ERS games which use recycled melodies in all their games, if you know what I mean.
The HOG scenes are more diverse than the 1st game, where we are presented with regular hidden object search, fragmented objects and objective search. Many of the items are also not junk, which is great. However there're not many puzzles and HOG scenes in this game. In this game you also can collect ethereal butterflies and shape shifting objects, which were difficult to find in early chapters but as the game progressing become more visible and easier.
The image, as in all other AM's games are rich in detail. The use of pastel colors are soothing to the eyes.
Map is interactive, better than the 1st game, but still not detailed enough to bring you to the exact location.
Game length is pretty good. It was long. Especially since I am not that good with game puzzles, I spent lots of time wondering around figuring out what I should do next.
Overall, a fine game, but to met the first one is the winner.