After a couple of weeks of run of the mill offerings I was a very happy bunny when I saw this pop up! I looked at the video a few weeks back on the Dev site and thought I would enjoy it. I was right :-)
Based on the demo:
Game play is smooth and the graphics are clear and bright. HOS are junky but they have tried to make them a bit more interesting by using different perspectives and they have interactive elements. Puzzles are so far of a good standard and there are more of them than in usual HOGs.
The game has a sense of humour which I really like, you also collect helpers as you go along which is kinda cute.
it took me 45 mins to complete the demo but the file is big so I am hoping that the game is a good length. Having said that I don't care and am waiting for the DL to finish!!!
First impressions matter a lot to me; when I trial a CE I expect to get sucked in and not notice the hour go by. Here however I found myself drifting off on occasions and happy when my hour was up.
The storyline offers a lot, and maybe playing experience improves as the game progresses. But during the demo the storyline could not make up for the graphics, grainy and dark. The game also cannot be adjusted for widescreen so the graphics are further worsened by the fact I had to peer through a letterbox to play it. Shocking in this day and age!
There are 2 game modes - casual and experienced. I played in casual mode and there were not too many sparkles - good IMO.
The HO scenes are painful due to the graphics.
You have to find hidden masks in each scene and the little mask icon glows green when there is one to find, which kind of takes the fun out of it.
There are voice overs but the characters didn't endear themselves to me at all.
All in all a mediocre offering which may be worth a SE price tag but I won't be playing any further to discover if I am right.
Any fishy who has read a review of mine before knows I usually finish a CE in 3-4 hours. I have been at this one for 3 and am only halfway through!!
Not only is it busy - there is loads to do - it is also complex. You have to collect stuff, stroke cats and switch on the lights!
The map helps as it tells you where you have active tasks waiting, which is a good thing as I at times had a "I know I'm meant to use this somewhere" feeling but it had been so long since I was last in that location that I had forgotten!!
I agree with some reviewers - the HOS are a tad murky. But everything else is very well done. For a first release this is pretty staggering.
Would have got 5 stars if it had widescreen... Enjoy!
Review based on full game play without bonus content.
Story is pretty run of the mill with you as the victim of a plane crash ending up on a spooky island. Mad Lord of the Manor tries to thwart your every move but the twee ghosties help you along. I say twee - they are meant to be Scottish in the Miss Brodie sense of the word rather than Rab C Nesbitt! I am married to a Glaswegian and spent a bit of time apologising to him for the silly accents!
Anyway as a CE you get awards for solving puzzles and have to find spooky faces hidden in the scenes. The HOS are junky and some things hard to spot and the puzzles are simple enough to stop you losing momentum.
So far so good for a Sunday, however I completed the whole game in 3 hours and have been left feeling a little deflated. It just fizzled out in the end really.
So 3.5 stars, and a recommendation you wait for the SE as the extras and game length are not worth the extra pennies.
I knew I would have to buy this as soon as I saw it pop up as the new release. I really enjoy Blue Tea games, and I question my reasoning somethimes. They are always done to the same formula so each new game I play by them feels like an old sweater! However the execution is always exsquisite and this new offering is no exception.
Based on the whole game and bonus content - 5-6 hours of play in total- I have to say this game is a real winner.
I played in normal mode - so few sparkles and found it to be the right mix of HOS and puzzles. The storyline is relatively fast paced but there are some moments where I thought "I have had this item for an hour now - where on earth do I need to use it"!!!
There is a map which shows you where points of interest are which is a good thing as this game is big and you get special powers as the game goes on. You also have to find morphing objects and these are tough to spot!
All in all I spent a fun Friday forgetting about my eye infection absorbed in a pretty fab game.
For those of you fishies from places other than the UK, Marmite is a strange brown spread you put on toast and you either love it or hate it, it has no middle ground whatsoever!!
This game is pure Marmite! I absolutely love it (as I do Marmite) but I can see it being horrid for some people. I can't even start to describe why it is so fab... I got hooked about 5 mins into the demo, finding the wierd and bizarre feel to the game enjoyable. This is definitely out of a different stable than the games we have been offered recently.
Game play is either casual or hardcore, you can change mid play if necessary. I played on casual and it was hard enough for me. The HOS are hard on the eye at times but not so much as to frustrate. Puzzles so far have not been too hard but I have a feeling they are going to get harder as the game progresses.
Now all I need to decide is whether I buy it now or wait till the 1st...
Last week I spent a fair few enjoyable hours playing Song of the Phoenix. An incredible game which was complex and absorbing with new twists on the HOPA genre. I really thought it was ground breaking. So why did ERS then release this? Having broke the mould they then reverted back to heavy HOS reliance; which as in the other PupperShow games gets worse the further into the game you get.
It was almost as if this game was developed beforehand as it felt out dated.
However it was an OK experience not overly taxing, Took me 3hrs 40mins in advanced mode, haven't played the extra bit as was just too sick of junk piles to bother. For fans of the series I am sure this is a winner, for me a waste of 2 credits :-/
Review is based on full game play minus bonus content.
-2 levels of play - casual and expert -All sounds controllable -Strategy guide - there but can't comment as didn't need to use it -Full interactive map -Couple of glitches - scenes remaining active when completed Firstly I am a tad peeved I git this off the Dev site and didn't wait for BF as paid more :-/ !
The game starts with Kate Reed heading off to the house not knowing what she'll face and crashing her car (novel!#. And so off she heads into the unknown chased by a ball of fire.
I wont spoil it by saying anything else re the story apart from it keeps you hooked in the main. Game play wise the graphics are crisp and well done, although the cut scenes ( of which there are many # are grainy and clunky # on my LT anyway #. The puzzles are nothing new, the HO scenes are interactive but are still piles of junk not relevant to the story # oh where is that horse shoe! #. What is good - and the devs missed a trick by not playing more on this - is the task based game play. Some of the goals to be achieved are novel.
Why I haven't given this 5 stars is simple - this game took me 3 hours from start to finish, although without the map it may have taken me longer as you can skip between locations. It had such potential to be a block buster # think Escape from Ravenhearst) but just fizzled out - and I hate it when that happens!!!!
Most people are going to love this though and it is a fine way to while away a snowy day...
This game had the chance to really deliver something different - a true detective experience for those folks who are bored of the usual HOGs. But unfortunately what we got was boring - too slow, too many words and pop ups and not enough twists and turns. The whole experience was nannying and annoying.
Not good! And I was looking forward to an afternoon of sleuthing - pah!!!