Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
This is easily one of the better games I've played recently. It actually had all the elements working for it, rather than being superb at one or two things and falling down elsewhere - the quality here was excellent across the board. Your locations are stunning, and the atmosphere is enhanced by the music and the 'creepy' sounds that crop up from time to time, but it never really #for me# crossed into that creep-factor that a lot of games aim for, and frankly it's nice. The fear here is all about the plot and the hidden things. Apart from your 'demon guide' - whose appearance is suitably dark and twisted - no attempts are made at bring you into a dark, grungy place for no good reason. As you explore your childhood home, and flashes of your sister's memories as you try to find out what happened leading up to her disappearance, it is the well-told story that gives you the worry and the desire to press on, through scenes that juxtapose our lead character's horror by being generally picturesque. The only issue I had #and it's a small one# is that near the end some of the dialogue gets a little bit clunky, and there's one line that made me roll my eyes. You'll know it when you see it. And you should see it, because I really, strenuously recommend this game. Even the plot completion at the end felt much better than a lot of games, a little rushed perhaps, and leaving plenty open, hopefully to be explored in the sequals, but still giving you the reward of having accomplished your sleuthing and discovering what's going on behind the scenes. A truly great game, and I'm loading up the sequal as I type. Can't wait :D
There are plenty of reviews talking about how great the gameplay is, and it lives up to the hype. I've given it 5 stars, afterall, and when I'm done griping you'll see how much of a testament that is to the playing. My main concern? Plot. There's simulateously too little and too much. The prologue left me paranoid because it sounds like a re-cap for a preceeding game (it's not) given how detailed it is. But by the end, you character is making leaps of logic and intuition, drawing conclusions despite her backstory not claiming she has any expertise in the matter. And the antagonist suffers similarly, being particularly juicy in the in-game cutscenes, with some great evil-genius-villain lines, and then nothing whatsoever of backstory when we reach the end. He barely gets a mention, and certainly we never find out why he went bad, or what his motives were. In fact, we get only a vague explanation - at the point when our friendly narrator goes from ex psych patient looking for her father to expert in advanced theoretical physics for a couple of sentences - of what the heck they were even doing. At teh same time, the final cutscene doesn't seem to give any idea that there'll be a sequel to fill us in. I can only hope they didn't fall into the trap of revealing everything in a CE bonus chapter, because that's one thing I can't stand, even when I've bought the CE - which I didn't this time. Besides that, the HOs, while tremendously inventive, do become seemingly more numorous and tedius as you get on, and the plot thins to nothing so that gameplay becomes item-based - that is, get this item so you can unlock that and search for such-and-such item to do the other. For the most part it makes sense, what you're using and where, but it does start to feel over-complicated. So, why did I give it 5 stars? Because I think that the gameplay, for once, over-rides the story or lack thereof, and the issue of wearisomeness could be solved by completing the game in two or more sittings, rather than one long sprint. With everything I thought could have been done better in this game, I still don't take back the fun I had with it, and I don't regret buying it, not one little bit. I don't think you will either.
Once upon a time in the small, undistinguished town of Silentville people started disappearing. Help uncover the mystery behind these disappearances and save the town from a curse!
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
Silentville. Lets cover the issues first. Storyline is meagre, but inventive, but the major problem in it is that it is proffered only in scenes of speach that feel incredibly long. They are skipable, if you don't care a jot for the story, but you cannot make them go any faster. Quite frustrating. Did I say issues? I meant issue. That was the only problem I found in this game. Playstyle is terrific. HO scenes aren't achingly common, and they aren't the typical search-and-click. Other HOs have made use of the interactive object, but Silentville has taken it to a whole 'nother level - maybe three at most objects in the scene ARENT interactive. This can induce some head-scratching because some objects can only be interacted with after you've moved or altered others, but it's massive fun and you figure it out sooner rather than later. The minigames are pretty much impossible to do wrong and very intuitive, if not terribly challenging. Given the fun of HOs, though, they don't feel like they let the game down in any way. All up, I'm so glad I muddled through the loooong descriptor scenes and played this, as it was a complete joy and delight. I really hope we'll see more of these almost-pure interactive HOs in the future.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
After playing through the other Blue Tea Games recently (the Dark Parables series) I noticed this one was also by them and decided to give it a go. If you're familiar with those games then I own't be telling you anything you don't already know. The FROG (fragmented object# scenes are delightful, both in clairty and art, as well as challenge. They never kept me stuck so long that I felt baffled, but they did give me pause on more than one occasion. The puzzles are more of the terrific value Blue Tea has given us in the past, this time being mainly of three persuasions - the kind where you must move tiles to form a picture #or in this case to sort the smaller pictures into sets), organising things into catgories in a very simple switching puzzle, or a new variety in which you must put pictures in the correct order to proceed with an action which involves them. Nothing overly painful or long, but definitely one or two little head-scratchers. The plot was engaging and flowed well throughout the game as you encounter and access new zones within the theatre. This is a definite recommend, especially if you've wanted to play Dark Parables but didn't want to commit to a series - this has everything wonderful about those games and is a standalone to boot! :D
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
1/ 5
Level of Challenge
1/ 5
Storyline
2/ 5
Not sure why I didn't read the reviews before purchasing this, but I'm sorry for my lapse. This was utterly boring. For a start, there's no seeking for scenes - you may click only where you're told to, and this click gives you either a puzzle or a HO. HO scenes are dull and predictable junkpiles. Puzzles are absurdly easy and some aren't even puzzles - they give you the answer right there on the screen (combinations, and suchlike that no, you didn't have to interrogate people for.) The art is humdrum and the characters are as two-dimensional as the scenery. This game requires no thought whatsoever to complete, which I did in less than an hour. A total and utter waste of time.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
Another good Dark Parables game. Taking a twist on the story of Snow White - or rather, filling in on what happened after 'Happily Ever After', Snow Queen is focused on rescueing children from the character the game is named for. This involves solving various puzzles and using objects created in FROG scenes. These scenes run the gamut, with many easy-to-find items and then a few fiendishly difficult, well camoflaged ones. The puzzles are all relatively simple and very hard to go wrong on. The scenery is quite pretty and the text has VO, but the music was a little on the bland side. Didn't detract any from the gameplay though. You get a fun little buzz from the storyline too, as collected objects give you access to backstory. All up a good game, though I played it through unusally quickly for a BFGame, a little under two hours. It seemed to me obvious at all times where to go or what to do, as the map is very helpful, though not interactive so you must backtrack manually. It's a reccomend from me for fans of the Dark Parables Series, but I'm not sure it would really stand out as a single, stand-alone game. If you haven't played the others, or don't want to invest in a short game, definitely try the demo.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
2/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
My title might be a bit harsh, so let me explain. As a stand-alone game, this was just fine, and perfectly playable. Cute plot, funky scenes, and a good premise (using photos to jump from one plot-segment to the next so there's never too many scenes to explore at a time.# However, as a snark, it didn't match my expectations. For one thing, you're not looking for the snark - you're looking to free your fiance from trouble, a deed so difficult you'll get invited to look for the snark. Gameplay didn't match up either. Rather than the funky FROG we're used to, this game took the aspect of 'unlockable' objects, something I'd seen only once before - several objects within the scene open a wheel of silhouettes, and you must find those objecys in order to use the locked on. However, the other game I played allowed you to see the silhouette wheels for all active unlockables. Snark does not, which means either random clicking #for which there's a penalty# or constantly going back and re-opening wheels to remind yourself what you're looking for. I didn't mind too much at first, but it became peevesome when I started looking for objects that I'd forgotten I'd already found. Aside from that one big issue, though, it's a good play. It's just not a Snark game per se. I'm clicking recommend, but take it with a dose of salt. Check out the demo first. If those object wheels tick you off during the first hour, then nothing will be worth muddling through. If they don't bother you, then play on for an adorable plot and some just vengeance on a spoiled wannabe princess.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
3/ 5
This one's a great game for quite a few reasons, but for me, the fact that it's a FRagmented Object Game, "frog", makes this stand out. Other FROGs I've played work along similar lines as HOGs - scenes in which you traverse and scenes in which you seek - and the latter are usually junkpiled. Not so with Snark Busters. Each scene you come to is your FRO scene, and the objects are plentiful and obvious - all excepting a few that'll slow down your search and helps the game not feel overly easy. Add this delicious not-too-fast, not-too-slow pace to the frequent minigames and you've got yourself a recipe for a few good hours of entertainment. This one let me down only in plot. Which isn't to say the plot is no good, or worse nonexistant. It's filled with plenty of mini challenges and smaller plots to keep things moving. I personally just didn't find it terribly entertaining. It by no means would stop me from playing and re-playing this game though. The music is short and repetitive and way too cheery when you're in your second hour of play, but the volume is adjustable, and you won't miss anything by turning it off #there's no dialogue, for example.# And a side note - I'm not hugely into steampunk, but even I appreciated a few scenes. If you're a fan of it then this will definitely light a spark of delight for you.
In a fading world devoid of color, the ghost of Nikola Tesla reaches through the Ether and invites you on an incredible adventure through time and space.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
After reading a few of the reviews here I was reticent to buy this one, but the plot looked too good, and I had to try it. I'm glad I did. The plot is nicely intricate - they involve a few comings and goings but mainly you're sent to different times (three in all) in order to try to fix what Tesla has done to the world. Sounds simple enough right? But, as in all good games, there's someone working behind the scenes to undo all you hard work. With a series of attempts, learning more about the event you're trying to change as you go, you must try to foil the baddy and bring back colour to the world. Tesla comes along with you by way of an ether orb and is very communicative. While others found this annoying I found it quite fun, and it's a good way to get more into the story. Also, it's completely click-through able. As a fast reader I could finish the subtitle and click onto the next part of the exposition and got through it painlessly. In addition to this plot, the creation and design that's gone into the scenery is very easy on the eyes, with the ether in particular being quite beautiful. There's pleasant enough music, though you'll want to set up sound levels early on, as it can be quite loud at times. All up, it's a good game, and the series of smaller plots relating to the larger one makes it feel like a good length too. I'd definitely reccomend this one. :D
I'm not normally one to review games I didn't like - I'm more the kind to sing the praises of those I loved - but this game really warrants a warning. Graphics and such were to be expected, aroudn the same quality as we're used to, only quite dark at the edges, a problem I've never really encountered before as I have my monitor tuned quite bright. Also annoying were the junkpiles in the play scenes - not the HO scenes, the actual play area. It's one of my pet peeves to see that sort of thing, especially when the surroundings are dismal and gloomy already to set the 'ambience'. But my main problem was the plot. Maybe I'm getting a little spoiled by the more up-market HOs but frankly this seemed more akin to the quality I was used to five to seven years ago, rather than what we expect today. I didn't recognise the company logo as one of my regulars so perhaps they are new to the genre, but really there's no excuse for the stilted narration and clunky grammar. I can only think it has been translated, because otherwise little to no care was put into the script. There's little progression anyway and no matter how long or short these games take you to play, no progression #by which I mean the goal you are set on at the beginning is still your goal at the end and the puzzles in between have been momentary niggles rather than plot arcs of their own# makes it feel like the game was appallingly short. I really, truly advice that if you must get this game, please download the free trial first. If the playstyle and lack of progression I found boring turns out to have something you like, then cool. But I really do suggest that you check first. This is a not-buy for me, and I'm kind of sorry I didn't take my own advice.