Without warning, a group of mysterious figures arrives and reduces your village to flames and rubble. What do they want... and who is controlling them?
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
The story was pretty good, a little different and well developed. The character voices were well acted and written. The graphics are top notch and the game was quite long--over six hours for me including the bonus chapter.
What struck me the most was the music. It's not typical hidden object game fare. Mostly played on stringed instruments of all kinds (bowed, plucked, strummed, and hammered) it strikes me as medieval. Very, very pretty. If you're sitting on the fence between the SE and the CE, having the ability to save the music would definitely steer me to the CE.
The bonus chapter picks up where the main game ends, but is a separate story. The main game ends decisively so the bonus isn't needed to wrap things up. It does, however continue the story a little farther, after your character has become the queen, and gives you more flames to collect and several new locations.
There are not that many typical hidden object scenes--more of the story board--fix what's out of place type. The puzzles gave a reasonable challenge and some were new to me.
I highly recommend this game, and suggest going for the CE if you can.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
3/ 5
I like challenging puzzles, but there were two or three in this game that did not appear to be solvable and one that did not work according to the puzzle's own instructions. A walkthrough would have been extremely helpful but there isn't one. After perusing the forum, I found that a lot of people ran into game-ending bugs. I did manage to play through to the end but had to skip two puzzles, which I hate to do.
There are significant translation errors in the dialog and the voiceovers of some characters were very poor--obviously just read aloud.
In spite of the problems, it was a fairly entertaining game and quite long. I'd like to see more from this developer, but with a little more polish.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
A lot of fishies won't like this because it has no hint or skip or walkthrough, so it's different from the norm. That's exactly why I liked it so much! There were times I got stuck and thankfully found some game play videos that helped me out.
The only negative for me was the ending. It didn't resolve anything, but just stopped, as if there is supposed to be another chapter. I suppose they're setting it up for a sequel, but I couldn't find evidence of any other game in the series.
If you can deal with an unsatisfying ending, I recommend this game.
It was supposed to be a routine mission. But when a dragon attacks your plane, crash-landing in a lush valley, you're drawn into the adventure of a lifetime!
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
I won't restate what other reviewers have already posted, except to say that I found the morphing objects very hard to find!
When considering whether or not to buy the CE, I mostly want more story and game time in a good bonus chapter. Unfortunately, most reviewers don't comment on that particular extra.
This bonus story stood on its own and was not necessary to the SE ending. It had some new areas and characters but was quite short. Less than an hour for me with no skips. Unless you're really into collectables, morphs, and wallpaper, I would choose the SE.
An amulet purchased in an antique shop has awakened an ancient and terrible evil. Help rescue your beloved and save mankind from the coming eternal frost!
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
3/ 5
I'm an old adventure gamer, so I don't mind wandering around and trying all my inventory items until I find one that works. The 3D characters were very well done, the game is long, and the mini-games are reasonably challenging.
I have a pretty recent, powerful PC, but couldn't play this game full screen, as some of the content I needed to access (including the inventory) was cut off. It did play fine in a window, but of course was much smaller.
The translation of hidden objects was often odd, and it appears they just used a translator program. For example, a "tube" turned out to be a pipe, but not a plumbing pipe--a smoking pipe!! There were lots of other item name errors as well. I can't fathom why one ice-melting procedure worked on one spot but not any of the others, and I agree with another reviewer--why can't we just hang onto something as useful as a Swiss army knife, crow bar, or lighter? The music was extremely repetitious and I had to turn it off, which made the game rather quiet. Only a few environmental sounds remained.
So with all of these problems, why would I give it four stars? None of the issues prevented me from advancing through the game, and I got quite a few nights' enjoyment out of it. The story isn't great, but it's better than many and does carry through to a satisfying ending. I'm not sure I would have paid full price for it, but as a deal of the day or free credit game, I think it's worth taking a look at.
I'm not familiar with this game developer, so perhaps they are new to the scene. I hope they can avoid the little issues in future games, but keep the length, game challenge, and the story quality of this one. I look forward to seeing what else they produce for us!
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
I used to live near Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is about a 30-minute drive to Detroit. In the late seventies and all of the eighties, we used to go there for concerts and Fourth of July fireworks. When the Renaissance Center was built, the area along the river was revitalized and quite nice for a while. I'm sure there are still thriving areas in this once great city, but most of it is vacant, burnt out, vandalized wrecks interspersed with large tracts of open land where once there were houses.
Detroit is known as the Motor City because of its history regarding several major automotive manufacturers, but it also had fabulous architecture. The train station, many amazingly beautiful theatres, and luxury hotels were among some of the most beautiful examples. They now either stand empty or have already fallen to the wrecking ball.
I'm glad this game didn't try to pretty up the place, but it does still showcase a glimpse here and there of the beautiful details found in many buildings and homes.
The game was entertaining and well-made, and I do recommend it. If you want to know more about this once wealthy, innovative city, check out a site called DetroitYes.
The only reason I can think of to download and try this game before buying is to make sure it will run on your computer. (By the way, I had perfect performance on my PC--no glitches.)
This game has it all: Most of the puzzles were new to me and a good challenge! Character development was excellent, the story was fresh and well written, the acting was spot on. Graphics are gorgeous with many varied locations. Music was unobtrusive and pleasant. Hidden object scenes had a lot of variety of styles and mechanisms.
Mad Head Games has climbed to the top of my list for wonderful adventures! Well done! I keep saying a good story makes up for so many other problems. This company can clearly write a good story AND produce a game with no negatives at all.
The bonus game was fairly long and very entertaining. The extras included replay of all hidden object scenes, a jigsaw puzzle, an extra super-HOS and a few others. I think the CE is well worth the extra price in this case, especially if you can get it at half off. Really a great game and a lot of bang for your buck.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
3/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
2/ 5
Every episode is basically the same premise: evil witch captures Lynn to use her powers for some dark cause, and you have to rescue her. Yawn.
There's nothing wrong with the game and it is fairly long but I found it more of a chore to complete than an entertainment because of the tired story line. I no longer care about Lynn, Carrie, or even Edward. It's a decent effort, but please, please, think up something new for a plot!
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
Not only is it spectacularly spooky, it has an excellent story! This isn't something thrown together just to tie a bunch of hidden object scenes into a game, this is a story worthy of a novel. Well done, writers!!!
In this case, your really need to do the CE version as it adds a lot of information in the bonus chapter. This isn't just fluff, but important bits of the story.
I do want to note, however, that this is part one of a trilogy and although the collector's edition claims that part II will (have) come out in 2014, it has been delayed. I checked the developer site and as of today, the last day in March 2017, they are a few weeks away from releasing it. So, it isn't dead, just late. I sincerely hope part III doesn't take as long! If the next game had been available, I would have bought it immediately upon finishing this one.
Really an excellent game--one of the best I've seen.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Marble Popper, Match 3
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
Although this game is more like an interactive story, there is a lot for you to do to discover what's going on. And what a story it is! Where the plot of many hidden object adventures is thin, predictable, and strays away to nothing at times, with horribly unsatisfying endings, this game has a strong story and characters that develop throughout the game. The voice acting is excellent and the music helps set the spooky mood each step of the way.
The graphics are very grainy and the working area of the screen, especially during cut scenes is rather small--never completely full screen. For that, I might have deducted one star, but this is such a great game, particularly appealing to old-school adventurers like me, or anyone who likes a good noir mystery, that I wanted to see it get a better rating.
This is not a casual game as it requires the player to put some thought into what must be found. Rather, it might appeal more to people looking for a little more intellectual challenge. Nothing here is horribly difficult, so don't be scared off. Give this one at least a free try and you might find yourself hooked from the get-go like I did.
There is a sequel (and I will be buying that one straight away) but this story has a very satisfying ending and stands on its own quite well.