Help Buck and Wanda retrieve priceless relics! Grab all the keys you can to enter exciting temples!
Overall rating
5/ 5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
Aghhhh! What villainy is this?
PostedFebruary 26, 2015
mirajanihiggins
fromMorrisville, PA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
I should never have started this game. It is soooo addictive! You just keep coming back over and over again! I just wish there was a Strategy Guide for this one--sometimes I've had to move on to the next level without getting the stars or relics because I just can't figure out how to do it with the number of balls allotted me, but I guess that if I weren't so cheap I'd buy more power-ups or balls...still, it keeps me coming back for more!
This is a game I return to over and over again. I love to play the group dynamic with the multiple-shape layout--it's so much fun to find the groupings and explode them! The HOGs are fun, too. As a Match-3 type game, the plot is sort of simplistic, but it has good graphics and is a lot of fun to play. This is one game I never remove from my game manager.
First off, this is very different from a lot of the games I usually play that have a more tightly-bound storyline. This has a lot of back-and-forth between sites with little logic to it. It took me a while to figure out how I was supposed to interact with and provide items to different characters and then it seemed very cumbersome and unsatisfactory. I only played for about an hour before I became quite bored at finding the same hidden objects in the same sites over and over again. On the positive side, the graphics and music are beautiful. I truly wish I could get into this game but I just become impatient with it and have no desire to continue further. Maybe it gets better, as some reviews have stated, but I'm just not willing to invest the time in it based on what I have experienced so far. I regret spending the money on it.
I really enjoyed this game and its bonus content. The graphics are great, the character acting was top-notch (love those Scottish accents!) and the music was quite acceptable. The spirit faces were a nice touch, but I wish they had pointed them out in the instructions--I didn't find out about them until I had passed three of them already and clicked on one by accident! The strategy guide was quite useful when needed--I've seen some where there is a "beginning" and "end" views of a puzzle but no interim views to help solve it.
The main thing that concerned me was the bonus story. It basically "undid" the ending of the original story to continue it into the bonus content. The storyline could have dealt with other matters beyond the concluded original tale.
First off, let me just address my main complaint--those horrific accents. Since when does a woman named Medici have a Southern drawl that Scarlet O'Hara would envy? The white-haired boy never had the accent of the place where he was. And I kept waiting for Charon to say "Arrr, matey!" at any moment. Some may not mind, but I found it jarring and distracting.
Now, on to the good stuff. Good storyline, great graphics, very clear HOGs (I've played some that you need a magnifier for), good musical background, and the action moved along at a satisfying pace. I did hit a glitch in the bonus game waaaay at the end, but it was minor--just a repetition of the dialog and a sudden change of scene when I accidentally hit a key on the keyboard, so it may have just been me. The gameplay wasn't always intuitive, but at least the hint button actually was useful in providing direction, so much so that I didn't have to consult the Strategy Guide very often.
All in all, I would be most interested in and willing buy a sequel if it was up to the standard of this game. But, please, get the accents right next time.
This is mainly a HO game but it also has scattered puzzles, which makes it more fun to play than some games like "Escape Rosecliff Island", for example. Finding the hidden objects is fun, but adding jewels (for gold), wands (for more hints), and fairies (to find a hidden object for you) makes it more interesting and challenging. The game gives you a max of 5 hints (with an option to refill them by finding wands) and sometimes I got down to 1 hint in some of the rooms.
The artwork is lovely and the music, while some of it is familiar classical, is mostly unobtrusive. Some of the character interactions are a waste of time but some can be amusing and lead into the next puzzle or HO action. Rebuilding the castle and grounds is interesting and can be done in a multitude of ways based on your gold and your taste. The plot is really non-existent and promised some sort of mystery near the end that never materializes.
You may need a largish screen to see the objects in the rooms. I use a laptop with a rectangular screen, which means that, when the game is running, the sides of the images are cropped and the playing field itself is square and kind of squished together. I had to lighten my screen lighting because some of the rooms are dark and the HOs are well-disguised.
The puzzles are a mixed bag. I loved the "conduit" style puzzles and jigsaw-like images and, for a while, the sliding puzzles. The musical ones are fun at first but rely on memorization, which, as an ADHDer, I totally botch after they get too long. The sliding ones were fun at first, but after a while, they became absolutely impossible for me to figure out. I went to the walkthrough for a solution but, alas, all it showed was the first and last images with no indication of how to get from A to Z. Very disappointing. A lot of the puzzles could have benefited from a hint button which, when used, didn't add to the points achieved but helped you solve the puzzle for your own sanity. The "treasures" contained within the puzzle boxes were not varied enough--how many ladybug-leaf pins do you need? More variety in the treasures, please, even if they don't mean anything in gold or points. It just adds more interest in the game.
I think most of the game developers need to remember that the games they are creating are being played on smaller screens like laptops and should be lighter and have better distinction between HO and background. Also, older players with worsening eyesight may need some help, like a magnifier, when looking for a smaller item.
All in all, the game kept me coming back, despite its shortcomings. I just ended up having to skip some of the puzzles to finish the game. I will be following up on the second game at some point. It is a long game, so you get a lot for your money.
I always come back to this game when I need a break. The music is charming and appropriate to the venue, the graphics are easy on the eyes, the puzzles are fun to figure out, and the hidden object play is non-taxing and untimed. I even got my sister hooked on this game, and she's the one who got me started on HO games in the first place! Different and always a pleasure to play.
A worthy follow-up to the original 1000 Doors. Again, you have to help the people in the house to solve several conundrums to help others. Same great gameplay and graphics. Well Done!
Very enjoyable game that provides good variety in story and gameplay. Multiple puzzles that are fun and not real brainbusters like some other games. It kept me involved and motivated to solve the mysteries presented to me just as though these people were real! Great Game!
I usually delete games from the game manager once I have completed them. This one stays on all the time. Whenever I feel the need for a simple but fun Match-3, I play one of the Season Match games. This is the simplest one but it still has fun gameplay with all the lightning and explosions and such. Worth the purchase!