You've been asked to cover a highly anticipated competition in New York City when something goes terribly wrong. Can you escape the world of illusions?
It's very difficult for developers to hook you in sometimes on the demo alone, but I appreciate the reviewers who only after doing the demo, take a chance and give an opinion so that I can decide whether to even try a game. This one was surprisingly better than I thought it would be based on early reviews. I totally agree that the best part of the experience was the varied and intricate HOS. I am not a fan of junk piles and because there were so many in the bonus game (to stretch out playing time) I only gave it 4 stars. I had to skip 3 puzzles because of the challenge and that is unusual for me. I thought the storyline was decent, voice-overs believable and graphics very good. (Terrible synchronization though). I enjoy games taking place in the present with more realism rather than fairy tales and ancient Incan ruins. The premise was pretty good except for the fact that the antagonist disappeared for 20 years after having been "dead" in a fire. The possibilities were endless and could have been so much scarier and more interesting, however. The idea of a modern day magic show run by a crazy illusionist who traps the audience in his magical delusions sounds intriguing, but because devs aren't hiring professional screenwriters, we get a bit shortchanged.
PROS: Custom difficulty, teleporting map. great HOS, voices minigames replayable, not as predictable as most games out there CONS: bad lip-synching, Skip button so close to gameplay, I skipped a puzzle unintentionally. bonus game just OK.
I'm pretty hard on games I think, but I've played quite a few, and enjoyed this one much better than the latest EIPIX game that was way too predictable.
The trial does not do the game justice, especially in the puzzle and HOS arena. Some were easy, others more challenging, but I really did enjoy this game. There were interesting twists on older puzzles and the HOS varied from finding 6 of one item, 6 of another to clever interactive, silhouette, matching, and plain old junk piles (thankfully very few of the latter). Scenes not revisited (a real plus in my book). PROS -custom difficulty (but not expansive enough) -decent storyline that was not over the top nor hard to follow -collectible pearls (and items for a fishbowl) these are found in HOS, interactive close-ups, and in overall scenes. (you do not need to find them all cause if you even get half of them, you can decorate the room they've provided). -allows you to play 3 puzzles as part of extras and all HOS -map (didn't need to use it) nearly linear gameplay meaning not much backtracking) -lockable inventory -nice bonus gameplay (not too cluttered with time-eating HOS) -good voiceovers and graphics (drawn characters)
***HELPFUL NOTE ---If an interactive close-up scene stays open with no apparent action possibility, then there is a collectible item you need to find. The cursor will not change over these items.
CONS -----prefer a better customized option difficulty This one was bare bones. You couldn't change the hint or skip times or get rid of blackbar tips. -----had difficulty at first with an unresponsive mouse not recognizing objects clicked on, but a reinstall fixed the problem -----not enough interactive "things to do "per scene (I really like being surprised by less obvious places to find things--the more, the better). ----again all the puzzles were not included in the extras ( no reason for that) if a puzzle stumps me during gameplay, I always want to go back later and solve it, or play the fun ones again. ----ridiculous attempt to make the collectible pearls buy decorations for a room. Either do it right or avoid it altogether. (Same advice offered for the half gallon sized fishbowl that they called an aquarium.) IMO I have no use for revisiting the video cut-scenes, looking at concept art, or downloading screensavers or wallpaper. I wonder if other people feel the same way.
I am usually rather hard to please, and my reviews reflect that, but I did enjoy this game. Could have been better, but not unhappy I purchased it on a sale weekend.
I admit I am being a bit hard on this game since it really is one of the best I've played in a very long time. PROS: -Great graphics - Wonderful lip-synched voiceovers (except for 2 characters that were faking a low demonic voice in a yelling unrealistic tone) - Custom difficulty - Best HOS ever (no junk piles, just find and use) more like a continuation of the game rather than an interruption) - Sound good -Storyline interesting -Challenging gameplay (both a good thing and a bad thing) Good because I was never bored, but without the transportable map, was almost not playable cause it's so easy to forget where you need to go and how to find your way around. - Lots of interaction in every scene ( not so good in bonus chapter). Just when you think you have exhausted what a scene has to offer, you find something else hiding in the corner. Helps so much when most games are so predictable. This one isn't. -morphing objects and collectibles -Map extremely helpful with icons showing the presence of missed collectibles and morphing objects. Only wish that was made available at end of game, too.
CONS: -Can't stop voices from continuing to talk in certain situations. Very annoying. Better to have only the written comment after the initial audible one. -Hint system--although set for whatever time you want, I hated the fact that you were directed straight to the location on the map every time you pressed the hint button if it was beyond one scene away. Most of the time, I only want an arrow pointing me in the right direction just to give me a jumpstart. I like having the option of choosing how much help I need. Would much prefer the transportable map to be a voluntary tool. - this was not a linear game which was refreshing in many ways, but almost impossible to navigate since interactions were "all over the place" ie items found in the 20th scene may need to be used back at scene 1. I have to admit, I had to use the map more than I ever have in other games, and that did become annoying. - no chance to find morphing objects or collectible achievements at end of game. Normally, this would not be a problem, but without accomplishing certain achievements, you are locked out of puzzles as part of the "extras" - no HOS scenes as part of "extras". Minigames were there, why not the other? -BONUS GAME definitely not on par with main game. There were fewer interactions, and too short.
Overall, a very good game, and I will be excited to see more from this developer....
At first I was not enthralled with the idea of another car crash as it has been done so many times before, but don't let that stop you from going forward. Things make a lot more sense as you progress especially at the end. I did like the ambience, characters, and background music, but I agree with others that the puzzles were easy and the HOS too long and interruptive to the story (which was good) PROS: -locking inventory (thankfully standard fare these days) -custom difficulty (should be standard) sparkles should NEVER be an option -replayable minigames in extras -good storyline -match 3 option -varied HOS -locating "eyes" 41 in all -the ending of the main story is excellent and does not require a bonus game to tie up loose ends
CONS: -HOS too many, too long and interruptive (I prefer puzzles if they are challenging and fun (mystery trackers) -not nearly enough adventure component. So many very interesting things to look at in each scene, but very little interaction and that was extremely disappointing. It seemed that the adventure part came second and, as noted by another helpful reviewer, played a supporting role for the HOS. -bonus chapter once again too short and does not justify Collector's Edition price (double of the SE)
Overall, this game was a bit of a step up from what's been offered to us the past few weeks, but would appreciate more fun and challenge and especially more adventure in future games. Lately, the poor caliber of game choices has made me rethink my BF membership.
I see some not so great reviews, but I do not feel the same way. This is a fairy tale and as such, the colors and graphics and farfetched storyline is in keeping with the genre. True, I was not totally captivated by the characters, but there were so many other things I did like. Thank goodness these developers are being more innovative. The puzzles, HOS and interactions to accomplish tasks were fun and different. I thought that the unusual way Alice got out of her office was very clever, and that fresh approach was seen throughout the game. It kept me interested and happily anticipating the next challenge. There was a lot more to do in this game which made this one somewhat better than the Nevertales Beauty Within. We have been complaining for months that developers are doing the same old stuff, (and portals are becoming old), but when this game delivers something different, I don't really care if it is "over the top". At least you won't see a paper under the door to collect a key here!
There were a few problems with this game that prevented it from being more than 3 stars. The most glaring one is the lack of any fear response by characters. The opening scenes teased the gamer into believing that this was going to be an eerie ghostly Halloween encounter, but sadly the devs failed miserably. The storyline was disjointed, not believable, and did not engage. One would think if a contract was signed to give away your child at the end of one year, there would have been a more tense or fearful flavor to the gameplay, but instead, it quickly deteriorated into a nonchalant almost boring run-of-the-mill HOS game. There was nothing new about he HOS (and there were more than I cared to see). Each was revisited which makes the game artificially longer, and most were junkpiles with minimal interaction. Puzzles were OK, but I wish the Extras included the option of redoing those.....no excuse for not doing that really. I like that devs are including Custom difficulty, but it should allow for more options such as excluding black bar tips and changing cursors. The ending was abrupt and left me feeling less than satisfied, and the bonus game not much better. Graphics, voice-overs, and music were all very good, but these days, we should be getting a lot more for the money.
Finally, a game that kept my interest, was fun to play, and had a variety of HOS that did not interrupt the adventure flow of the game, with puzzles that had interesting twists. Artwork phenomenal, and because it was a fairytale, the "cartoonish" characters were appropriate and well done. Voiceovers were also very good. (the gibberish spoken by the fairy dust spirits most prominent in the bonus chapter was supposed to be unintelligible as that was their language). I really wanted to give it 4.75 stars though for a few reasons. First, there is no custom mode for difficulty, (I hate missclick penalties, for example. There was often no reset option for puzzles, and finally, although the extras included a chance to replay the HO scenes, there was no such opportunity to replay minipuzzles. (Sometimes, I like to see if I can actually solve the harder ones that I skipped during a game). Other than those minor annoyances, this was really a good game. I was pleasantly surprised.
Ok so I hardly ever do a review of a demo because it isn't fair to the developers generally, but I felt the need to jump in after all the negative comments. I agree that the black bar tips are few and far between and that this feature will be a deal breaker for people who want to be directed on what to do next, but if you play a lot of these games, it isn't terribly difficult to figure out that a missing shape requires you to find and replace it, or that a keyhole needs a key. I think this game would appeal to more folks if tips were more frequent, and a custom difficulty mode allowed for choosing a more difficult route. I only got to play about 30 minutes cause I walked away from the game and let the trial expire. So I would like to purchase it and write a more comprehensive review later. I can say that the graphics and voice-overs are very nice, the hint button takes forever to charge----(hate that, especially when you get lost) didn't use a map, the puzzles are good and there was only one HOS during that time that was run-of the mill. Didn't notice any collectibles and unfortunately didn't check out the "extras". I apologize for the lack of information, but I wanted to put in the fact that this game because of its lack of direction offers more challenge than other games out there but is still fun and playable. I ,for one, am tired of too much hand-holding. Try it for yourself...it's just a different experience.
Was definitely looking forward to this release because I have liked Mystery Trackers in the past. Unfortunately, it was way too short and very predictable -- even using the old paper under the door again to get a key. What really bothered me though was the lack of interaction with the environment. The cursor would change to a magnifying glass, and I excitedly clicked on the mouse in anticipation of a new find, when all I got was useless jargon about the scenery. So many times the environment had very interesting niches----enticing areas that looked like you could do something fun with them, but either there was absolutely no cursor change or else you just got a few lines of commentary. Sometimes the comments even outnumbered the interactions. And I also don't appreciate clicking over and over again on notes and letters that do not need to be read more than once. VERY annoying. Hardly any backtracking and no map needed because most inventory items could be used right away. There were 26 stained glass pieces to find to make a boring puzzle at the end and no way to backtrack and find any pieces you might have missed. But since putting together a 26 piece puzzle is a first grade project, no need to be concerned. The only morphing items were found in the "Secret Room" which could only be accessed after completion of the bonus chapter. The cutscenes were nice, but way over done in the bonus chapter which was also short. The HOS were average, same type of list finds with some interaction and very easy. The minigames were actually challenging, and I had to skip a couple which is rare for me. I do wish developers would allow players to access the minigames as part of the bonus content, because wallpaper, music, concept art and achievements are not that important to me. Overall, a very average game, not thrilled I purchased it, but the sale was great, and I had to purchase 2 games to take advantage of it.
I don't recommend this game.
+10points
12of14voted this as helpful.
Witch Hunters: Full Moon Ceremony Collector's Edition
Defeat the evil witches and save the world from eternal darkness!
I thought the story line was not very elaborate, but then it didn't need to be. A short evil old dwarf arrives to wreak havoc on your family and home by corrupting the scenery as a representative of a clan of different witches with individual powers to thwart the gamer. Reminiscent of Secrets of the Dark except that you don't bring things back to normal until all is restored. Puzzles were not that challenging, but I did like the billiards game...haven't seen that one before. (only problem was that I accidentally hit the Skip button on one of my attempts to sink one into the corner pocket). Wish the strategy guide and skip and inventory lock buttons were someplace else. At least the devs gave you the puzzles to try again a part of the extras. The music was excellent, graphics awesome, and every scene had lots of interactive things to do and find. I played on the hardest mode of difficulty so I could avoid sparkles. (They still occurred over the HOS). The ending was very satisfactory such that you didn't need the bonus chapter to finish the story. To tell you the truth, I don't understand all the negative reviews. I felt inclined to give this a 5 star rating, except for the fact that having inventory items that should work with problem solving,,,,,don't. I agree with other reviewers that a crowbar should take off boards, but no, you have to find termites to do the job. (again).. Would appreciate more new ideas. Please no more pushing a key through a lock onto newspaper, etc. Make up your own minds, but the game is better than the demo.