I love these puzzles, but for some reason, in this particular episode, I can't abide the music. It sounds just slightly off, just slightly dissonant, and it really goes on my nerves. And playing without music is no fun... So try it out to make sure you don't react to it like I do!
Favorite Genre(s):Match 3, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
1/ 5
The second game of this series is exactly like the first one. The levels still aren't related to the storyline, the gameplay is totally identical, with slightly different characters. In each level, you do the same tasks over and over. And there is no relaxed playing option either.
Favorite Genre(s):Match 3, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
1/ 5
I love this kind of games, but in this one, there is really nothing interesting going on. The levels are very similar, even the landscape doesn't change much, and they have nothing to do with the storyline. Repetitive and boring.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Mahjong, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
1/ 5
Storyline
1/ 5
As other reviewers said, there are too many hints, taking away the number one reason that I like this series: the strategical thinking. Also, this one seems unfinished. There are several bugs, like partial buttons appearing where they shouldn't, or find the difference levels without the numbers showing you how many you still need to find. Also - these houses look a lot alike, and the game gets too repetitive. To me, the best of the series is number 3.
It's a modern but classical adventure game that has the excellency of the old ones like the Monkey Island Game series, with the added bonus of an in-game step-by-step hint menu. Very cute drawings, nice and funny characters and an interesting story line make this one of the best games I've played in years!
I recommend this game!
+1point
1of1voted this as helpful.
Castle Secrets: Between Day and Night
Explore a castle full of secrets and save the world!
Overall rating
1/ 5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
Very Similar to the Free-to-play Game "Found"
PostedJuly 22, 2015
Gembirdie
fromBozeman, MT
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Time Management, Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
1/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
2/ 5
Storyline
1/ 5
This game is organized exactly like some free-to-play games, especially the one called "Found". It even uses the same music! Like those free-to-play games, you have to find objects in the same rooms over and over, and the same objects stay in the same location, so that they're really easy to find. The storyline is poor to non-existent, and the challenge is to advance far enough to open new rooms and collect more stuff. Of course, in the beginning you advance relatively fast, but with each repetition, the game slows down more. That means that you have to do more and more for less and less rewards.
Old-time Adventure Game Leaves Something to Be Expected
PostedJuly 12, 2015
Gembirdie
fromBozeman, MT
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management, Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
3/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
1/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
I love old-time adventure games like Syberia or Return to Mysterious Island. But this one falls short. I don't know if the original version was cut down or what, but there are several problems with it.
First of all, the story line has holes in it. Characters like the detective appear and you don't know where they're coming from, or you don't know where Nicole will go next and why (notably to the south of France). Reading Nicole's journal helps with that, but paragraphs of her journal (and of the documents and so on) are missing. I'm thinking that information got lost while changing the format of the game.
Next, the level of challenge is ridiculously high. Whereas I didn't need a walk-through for Return to Mysterious Island, and only from time to time for Syberia, I can't hardly complete any task in this game without a walk-through. There are no hints to what needs to be done and why.
For example, I still don't understand what that contraption was for in the elevator in Havana, and the way the bell was rung in the south of France didn't make any sense (either you wouldn't have needed the buckets and the plank, or then they would have needed to be connected to the bell handle with a string).
I realize that some things are difficult just because the game is very linear and clumsy. For example, I couldn't put the bricks into the elevator in Havana, because I hadn't realized you could zoom in closer. So I'm disappointed, because it seems to me that this must have been a great game once, but it lost quite some quality in the process of being updated for today's computer needs, and instead of having a great time playing it, I'm mostly getting frustrated...
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
Totally stupid, but extremely fun game that is a delight to play - if you don't get motion sickness like I do. After about 3 levels, I had to stop or really regret it.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
The nice thing about this old-style game is that it is beautifully and quite realistically drawn, and next to the usual HO scenes, there are some interesting minigames.
The bad thing about it is that the minigames can be difficult enough that you need to skip them, but to skip, you need to have found enough bonus coins. And there is one game you need to skip because a glitch makes it unsolvable (the tile fragments puzzle in the hut in Africa), and if, like me, you don't have enough bonus coins, you'll have to start the game over...
The game also encompasses only a part of the story, so you will not hear about "the legend of the sacred treasure" in it, despite its title. That makes it short and to me, very disappointing.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Time Management
Current Favorite:
Nightmares from the Deep: Davy Jones
(20)
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
2/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
The storyline is interesting, and it starts well, but suddenly, it's like the developers didn't take the time to continue it. For example, you have to find runes for a spellbook, and the commentary is something like: "Now just use the book as mentioned." Except there never was an explanation why we needed the spell at all.
The minigames were very good, but again, there were no explanations with them, and sometimes I understood what I should have done only after seeing the result by punching the "skip" button. Except for one, I didn't think they were too difficult, and the maze was fun and totally doable.
The visuals were poor. Far too grainy and sometimes very much out of focus.
Finally, the game is very short. I finished it in about 2 hours.
It's too bad - if the storyline had been continued with the same care as in the beginning, and the graphics had been good, this would be a great game!