This game has both hidden object and adventure elements, but no puzzles. It is also somewhat reminiscent of resource management games, but without the frantic pace and constant clicking. The storyline progresses by collecting resources and completing quests which cost resources (and then provide resources upon completion). It's a fun and relaxing game that is a real breath of fresh air. It doesn't play like any other BFG game I've experienced and the story is pretty cute (if predictable at the very end).
Annoying HOG with storyline that turned out to be not so cool
PostedMarch 9, 2013
meow9th
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Time Management, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
3/ 5
From the demo hour, I could tell that I wasn't a huge fan of the gameplay - junkpile HOS, no map but tons of back and forth, too many items in inventory and a pain to go through large inventory - but I was interested in the story. At the end of the game, I found that there were markedly more HOS, and the story turned out to be pretty boring and anticlimactic.
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
This game is great because it has no flaws in execution. It is challenging enough to be interesting, but not so challenging as to be frustrating. It provides enough variety to be interesting, but again, not so much as to be confusing. It loads very quickly, plays smoothly, and provides a generally responsive, high performance feel.
Figuring out tower location, tower cost, tower upgrade, enemy types etc are all pretty standard TD problems.
Not quite standard is that in addition to gold, enemies also sometimes drop gems, which can be used towards permanent powerups in between levels.
On easy, the game feels easy but not too easy. It sometimes takes more than one try to pass a level, and especially later on, often takes more than one try to pass a level with no losses. But you never get stuck not passing a level.
There are usually 1-2 levels per map, providing plenty of variety in maps, as well as the enemy types. Good diversity, but not too much to keep track of.
My favourite parts of the game were the storyline (wonderfully inventive original retellings which still retain a fairytale feel), extra stories (the so-called 'parables' which give background to the main storyline, and that you have to find objects to get), the FROG scenes (beautiful, some fragments easier to find than others, more enjoyable than HOG scenes for me), and the music (never once was annoying, added to the atmosphere, very enjoyable).
The only thing I didn't like about the game was the mini-map. You couldn't use it to navigate the scenes, you had to walk there through each room (which I suppose is more realistic but a real pain). The 'area of interest' indicator did not always indicate areas of interest (e.g., you found an object which you had to use in one of the rooms, but the indicator doesn't light for that room, so you have to walk through many rooms struggling to remember the one with something shaped like a hexagon).
I really liked this game because the hidden object scenes weren't full of irrelevant objects, and neither were the objects you had to find yourself The hidden objects were all relevant to the story and the scenes were also a part of the story.
I appreciated that the game was not so challenging because then I could move through the story at a brisk pace. I also liked the variety of mini games.