This is an oldie which I've had for years and decided to pull it out and give it another try.
The graphics are very cluttered and grainy which made a lot of objects hard to see. Some are at the very top and corner of the screen which you can't see so you have to use the hints to guide you. But overall I managed to find most of them.
There is only one piece of music which is fine and goes well with the game.
The challenge is good and you are up against the clock to find all the items in the different locations and then either do a jigsaw puzzle, find matching pieces or find planets, etc. You need to do this before time runs out or you start that chapter again - yikes! And yes, I had to repeat a couple of them.
The game took me about 4 hours or so to play.
I hope MCF update this game - just like they did with Madame Fate - you just never know! There is a certain ambience about this game and you can't help but like it - horrible graphics and all.
If you like a lot of HOS then you will like this game. Give it a trial run before you buy.
I found the game too frustrating. You can only use a certain part of the board at a time - I like the whole board. Its also confusing what parts of the board are left to play. I'm looking trying to find yellow/brown panels before the clock runs out. Nah blah.
I love match 3 games and have played all the Jewel Quest games which are far superior. I really don't what other fishes see in this game. And I'll leave it at that and find something else to play.
* Casual, Normal, Expert and Custom modes of play; * Live actors; * Interactive map; * Journal book which is in with the Strategy Guide, etc; * Find 34 or more dollar bills for the Souvenir Shop; * Interactive HOS.
I played on Custom throughout the game and bonus and made it as hard as I could.
The graphics are mostly good, albeit a little grainy but I think that added to the ambience of the game.
Sound is good and the music is intensively creepy, which I enjoyed.
The hidden object games are interactive - you know, find one item to locate another and so on. These are my favourite type and I enjoyed them. They were not hard to do and made a nice change.
The mini games were fun. There were a few new ones that I hadn't done before and you also have the usual ones we get in most games. I enjoyed these too. There were no instructions but they were not hard to beat and were pretty much straightforward.
When you have enough dollars, go to the Souvenir Shop and you can spend your money in play puzzles, dress the scarecrow, replay HOS and mini-games and have a look at how they made the game, etc. I just spent the last hour or so doing all the puzzles.
The game and bonus all up took me about 6 hours.
I love games with live actors. The thought the acting was good, although the lip sinc in some places was a bit off. They did seem to be speaking English though, so maybe they can perfect this in their next game.
Overall, I think the game was good and definitely recommended. There is no hand-holding and was creepy enough to keep me interested all the way through. It even me jump a couple of times too.
Happy playing.
I recommend this game!
+7points
11of15voted this as helpful.
Blood and Ruby
Use ancient magic, alongside your wits, as you hunt for your missing brother in a haunting city possessed by vampires!
The game didn't have much to offer. There were no modes of play, journal or voiceovers. You have to read everything, which gets tedious after a while. You do have an interactive map though.
The graphics were very poor - some scenes looked like they were from a cartoon and others like they were hand drawn. The music was mainly piano and a church organ. Not pleasant but creepy - but I suppose it is a vampire game!
The hidden object games and mini-games were very easy to play and didn't take long.
The game wasn't very long - about 3 hours all up I think.
Overall, please trial the game first and see what you think before buying.
Join in the race as teams battle to be the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Explore the mysteries of the world and find clues to support your journey.
I played this game a couple of times many years ago and decided it give it another whirl today. Gaming has come a long way since then and now I find the graphics quite primitive.
If you love hidden object games and puzzles, then you MAY like this game.
You are up against the Gamers, the Scholers and the Scarlet Hats to reach the top of the mountain first. You can see how you are progressing and how long it took through the game at the end of each chapter.
The hidden object games are very cluttered and hard to see. Some items are at the very top and corner of the screen, so it is impossible to see them. Therefore I had to use my hints to try and get them. You collect jewels along the way to get extra hints - believe me you will need them, so make sure you collect five jewels at each location.
I enjoyed the puzzles - find 20 shells, snow flakes, carrots, etc. There are also puzzles to do - maps, etc.
Overall, I definitely recommend that you trial the game first before buying. Its an old game and I liked it the first time round, but I think it needs to be updated. Its a family orientated and educational game, so your kids might like it too.
* Haze, Mist, Fog and Custom modes of play; * Journal; * Interactive map; * Achievements Boards (3 of them); and * Find 43 handprints in the game and bonus.
You also get special powers to help you as you progress through the game, which are:
~ Translater ~ De-icer; ~ Seeker; and ~ Summoner.
You will use these quite a bit.
The graphics are gorgeous. Everywhere is crystal clear and very beautiful - its almost like being there. Sound is very good. The music pieces are lovely throughout the game.
There are a lot of hidden object games to play. Some are straightforward and others are interactive. They are very easy and won't take long to do. In each hidden object game you get one morphing object to find as well - keep an eye out for them as they are easy to forget about.
The mini-games are also very easy to do. Most you will have seen before in earlier games by the same maker. I still enjoyed them though.
The handprints are easy to locate. I found these first as I went through each scene so I didn't forget about them. Then you go to the Achievements Board, click on each one and put the puzzle together.
Once you've finished the game and bonus, go to the Extras and play extra hidden object games and make a potion for the wolf to boost up your achievements. They were fun to do.
All up the game and bonus took me just over 7 hours to complete. However, I only got about 70% of achievements. I missed some by not getting 10 objects in 10 seconds (doh, my brain just ain't that fast!) and completing the game in under 4 hours - you know, that sort of thing.
Overall, I most definitely recommend that you put this game in your collection - it really is a diamond.
There is plenty to do here and you won't get bored.
You have:
* Casual and Expert modes; * Voiceovers; * Interactive map; * Journal; * Find 40 morphing objects; and * Can replay mini-games and puzzles.
The story line is very good and easy to follow.
The graphics are superb. Everything is crystal clear and quite beautiful. Sound is very good.
The music is lovely with quite a lot of different melodies which fit in where you are playing.
The hidden objects games are interactive and very easy. Some are straightforward HOS and in others you have to put back objects. I enjoyed these.
The mini-games are very easy and don't take more than a couple of minutes to do.
The morphing objects do actually morph and are easy to find. I found all 40 without any problem. As you are looking around a 'hand' will come over them anyway so you can grab it. However, I just made sure that when I entered each scene that I looked for it first, so I didn't accidently forget about it and move on.
The game and bonus are very long. I think it took me about 7 hours all up to do.
So overall a good game. Sadly its not very challenging. I wished there had been a Custom mode which we could turn turn everything off and make it REALLY HARD. Some games do this and I've been spoiled and want it in every game.
Definitely recommend - especially for beginners and maybe intermediates.
* Casual, Experienced, Nightmare and Custom play modes; * Journal.
You also have to find:
* 11 Animals; * 18 Statues; and * 44 posters.
You can choose how hard you want the HOS and mini-games. You can also decide how long you want the Hint and Skip to recharge. I chose Custom mode and made the HOS and mini games skips the longest possible - don't use them anyway.
The graphics are good and easy to see everything. There is one piece of music which is quite nice but sounds a bit sad.
There were quite a lot of hidden object games, which took me a while cause some items were well hidden. In one game I had to find a piece of noodle - that took me ages. But overall I quite enjoyed them.
The mini-games I have seen all before - nothing new. They didn't take long to do as there was nothing really challenging there.
This is quite a challenging game and great for experts.
You have:
* Voiceovers; * Casual and Challenge modes of play; * Interactive map; * Can replay HOS and mini-games * The singing tells the story; * Try to get on the list of the Top 10 Watchmen.
I played on the Challenge mode and refused to use any hints or skip anything.
In the Challenge mode, at the end of every chapter you get:
Search Accuracy: Puzzles Solved: Hints Used: Time Taken:
So you know how well you've done. Now you know why I didn't use any hints.
The graphics are not bad. Its sort of quite dark and a bit dreary but you can see everything okay. The music is adventurous and I quite liked it.
The hidden object games were quite challenging. There were quite a few items I had never heard of before - but come on it was a few hundred years ago and we don't use these items anymore. So I had to look in my dictionary and googled online a bit. At least I learned some new things I suppose. Some of the items were really well hidden, so I had to take my time and look really hard.
The mini-games were quite easy and I didn't take long with them at all.
I liked the story and thought it was well done. The singing tells you about the characters and, even though I didn't really like it much, I listened to it to get the full story.
I think the game took me about 4.1/2 hours all up. I managed to get on the Watchmens board at 4th place. I'll try and do better next time.
So overall, definitely recommended. The level of challenge is good, not bad graphics and good story line.