mouser9169's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.9
- Helpful Votes:292
- Reviews Submitted:90
- First Review:October 20, 2012
- Most Recent Review:April 24, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Appraise Malgrey Castle, learn about it’s enigmatic inhabitants, save your boss, and learn what drove your co-worker mad!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Brilliant game! Great one to play with young children.
PostedFebruary 22, 2014
mouser9169
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game is just plain fun. Took me over four hours to complete, and I skipped three minigames (after trying them for a while).
For those bemoaning the lack of games for the 'early reader' age group, I think this game fits the bill perfectly. The 'lists' are only given a few words at a time, and then there are "find the shapes", and a whole lot of "Find 20 of <insert item>" all of which can be done by kids with a bit of coaching. There's a rearrange the letters to make simple words puzzle, and rearrange the lines of a letter (twice). The first picture puzzle is just rotate the pieces in place, nothing to swap.
The scenes had to have been done with the young 'uns in mind. So much of the game screen works like a pop-up book. Things sliding everywhere, a jack o' lantern that comes out every time you click its cubby, toy cars that honk and move when you click on them.
The voice over scenes were done well, the characters aren't too deep, and don't expect many plot twists. The hidden objects are everywhere (it's primarily a HOS game), but they're doable - just search under, beneath, behind... A lot of the objects aren't out in the open making this one of the most interactive HOS games I've played.
The puzzles get harder as the game goes on, but there's that skip button if you need it. One of the largest 'untangle' the strings puzzles I've seen, a nice version of solitaire, Towers of Hanoi twice (this is a great one to physically set up with a kid and have her move the boxes or books or whatever herself to try and figure it out). The puzzles become progressively more difficult as the game goes on. ["This one's a bit too hard for Grandma, let's skip it, ok?"]
Nothing too scary, nothing too creepy, nothing dark and gruesome. Think "The Addams Family" meets "Scooby Doo". Just a funny, well done game to relax with.
Wholeheartedly recommend this game :)
I recommend this game!
Be careful what you wish for... A deadly bargain has been made, and it's up to you to set things right before your nephew pays the terrible price!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Solid SE in a solid series.
PostedJanuary 30, 2014
mouser9169
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This review is based on a complete playthrough of the game.
Talk about a high-maintenance family - this time it's your nephew in trouble, but don't worry, the two main characters from the previous two games get caught up and need your help too.
The game took me a solid five hours on Advanced (middle difficulty). I skipped two puzzles, and used a few hints on the HOS, but most I was able to figure out. The game ends conclusively - no being cheated out of an ending.
THE GOOD: They used live actors for some of the cutscenes and had good voiceovers for the most part. The graphics throughout were good (but more on that in a bit).
The map - it was an interactive 'jump' map that showed you not only where things still needed to be done, but also told you what those things were: "You need to open this box" when you moused over a location. The map did NOT tell you where there were "Things to Find", only "Things to Do".
No clicking penalty in the HOS - which were clear, clean, and well lit for most of the game.
Puzzles: medium challenge for the most part and ones not seen all the time. They even brought in two very old board games that had you playing against the computer.
THE BAD: This game really needed a journal. It follows the same basic premise/pattern of the first two, revolving around you entering 'memories', but trying to keep track of all the plots in this game wasn't easy, especially if you're like me and play these games over a couple days. Writing down my own notes would have helped me out in this game (I normally do) - I didn't because I though the map help would be sufficient. Silly me.
For most of the game, the scenes were a 'realistic' drawn appearance. No junkpiles, no dark, drab corners hiding items. Then it suddenly shifts into 'photo-realistic' mode for a few HOS. This wouldn't be bad if they did it the whole game, but switching from one to the other really messes with your immersion in the game. It also had the effect of items 'popping' if you left the scene and re-entered.
There was no voice acting or live actors during the 'chapter transition' dialogs. Just a plain picture of whoever was talking to you standing there. Again, something that wouldn't be so noticeable if it weren't for the higher quality elsewhere.
THE UGLY: Toward the end of the game (after the 'photo-realism' scenes), the HOS turned back into junkpiles. Maybe they had to rush through to make ship date, but they were just plain ugly.
BOTTOM LINE: It's a great buy for a Standard Edition - yes, it has some flaws, but it's a good five hours (for me - if you rush you'll probably get through in four) of enjoyment. If you've played the prior two games, this one will make a bit more sense, but they aren't required to understand this one.
I recommend this game!
Dark Dimensions: City of Ash
A dark dimension has fallen over Phoenix Hill, turning its residents into volcanic ash. Help them rise from the ashes.
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Dark Dimensions is finding its stride again
PostedJanuary 28, 2014
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This review is based on a completed playthrough of the game.
MUCH better than Wax Beauty: none of the typos, numbers that didn't add up, any of that.
It's the same premise as the other games, which isn't a bad thing - it's what defines a Dark Dimensions game (Dark Dimension rolls in, we go in to find out what Bad Things(tm) happened to cause it, then we make it go away).
The game ends conclusively - no loose ends. So you're not cheated out of an ending for buying the SE.
Devs take note: I tend NOT to buy CE's or SE's of games that follow the 'unfinished ending' pattern as I don't want to support it. An SE should be a game that stands well on its own, and this one does. Now on to the review:
THE GOOD: It's a fairly easy game (this could just as easily go under THE BAD - personal preference), but that's where Dark Dimensions has decided to place itself in the market. Players looking for a game with a decent story, nice visuals and some puzzles mixed with HOS but nothing really brain hurting hard.
There is one puzzle that rises above the challenge level of the rest of the game - it can be skipped (I accidentally did half way through :( ). Other than that one, which is a very good one, they're puzzles we've seen before, easy to light medium difficulty.
The HOS were clear, well lit, and didn't look like random junkpiles: no banana peels and old telephones in an armor display case. Some were visited twice: the first time as a 'normal' list HOS with some interaction, the second time as a 'silhouette' type (objects you found the first time are gone).
No sparklies for them in advanced mode, so you have to remember where they are and check back over them to get the second screen at times.
Voice overs were used sparingly, but to good effect. Most of the voice actors, especially the 'main' one, did their job well.
Your journal is there to record the story, not take notes for the game's locks and keys (just like the other two). I didn't take any 'extra' notes, and I didn't need to. It might have made my life easier on one or two occasions but I got through them.
Hint button is your standard arrow guiding you to right location then circle what you have to interact with. I used it a couple of times to point me in the right direction.
THE BAD: In the beginning, objects are used almost as soon as you find them (sometimes in the same screen). I was afraid that would be the trend for the game, but as the game spread out, so did your inventory. At one point I was carrying about a full bar and a half of items. (so Bad that turned out OK)
Black Bar hints that know way more than they should. I hate that.
The game was short - I'm a slow player. I love to take my time, enjoy the scenery, etc. I played the game over two sessions on different days, so I had to 'get back into' the game for the second session. I took the time to find every object in the HOS without hints, and solve every puzzle (except the one I already mentioned) and I was done in four hours.
That may sound like a good length for a SE, but that means for a more 'normal' player, you're probably looking at three hours, maybe less.
THE UGLY: The ending voice over was just horrid - like something out of one of those old dubbed kung-fu theatre movies.
The Map: I know some players say they don't like 'scrolling' maps, but if this is the alternative, give me the scroll. To fit the map all on one 'page' they made the locations tiny, to the point that on my 25" monitor I was having a hard time reading the item locations. It did give 'snapshots' for tooltips and was 'jump' interactive.
BOTTOM LINE: They've really stepped up their game after Wax Beauty (they needed to) and have pulled off a solid, if short, title here. It's nice, relaxing fun with a dark storyline.
Not the most challenging game out there, but a very engaging one that 'pulls you in'. I can guess at what the CE bonus might be, but I'm fine without it. Solid story, good graphics/visuals and sound, nice game to kill a few hours with some relaxing fun. A solid four stars.
I recommend this game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
A solid improved follow up to The Bride
PostedJanuary 27, 2014
mouser9169
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This review is based on a complete playthrough of the game.
First, you really should play Grim Tales: The Bride before you play this title. This game will make more sense, and playing Legacy first 'spoils' The Bride for you.
The Legacy improves on The Bride in almost every way: Voice overs, cleaner and clearer HOS, and more consistently challenging puzzles. On to the review:
THE GOOD: Voice overs added a needed touch to the cutscenes. Not the best voice acting in the world, but much better than the silence we got last game.
The puzzles were challenging. One puzzle I spent a good three hours+ on before finally caving and looking at a walkthrough to help me out a bit. There were some different takes on some old puzzles - like the Towers of Hanoi (although if you aren't familiar with that puzzle, or don't recognize it, you may be confused as to why you can't stack things certain ways).
Say good-bye to the random junkpiles of the first game. I'm not going to say these weren't cluttered messes, and the tooltip for more than a couple of them in game was simply "stuff", but they were brighter, and more organized. Much easier to find what I was looking for - still some hard to find objects, but now it's because they are 'hidden' well, not just tucked in a dark corner where I can't see anything.
Interactive 'jump' map with 'tooltip' pictures to remind you what places are.
The ending is solid, everything tied up: I don't feel I was cheated out of an ending by not getting the CE.
THE BAD: Black bar tips "know" way more than they should: "This would be a great place to make an axe" long before you even know you would need an axe for anything. Sometimes you can even do things without having any idea why you would perform that action.
Some of the puzzles still use the 'click into place' mechanic when you put an object in the right spot, making them much less challenging than they could be.
The starting of the story: First, apparently you wrecked your car or spun out or something outside your sister's castle - nothing to indicate that in the intro scenes. Second, your first instinct on entering her place (before you know there's any problem) is to start ripping the place up.
THE UGLY: Pet Peeve of mine, but make a character consistent. In one scene I won't dig through the dirt of a flowerpot with my bare hands, and later on I'm clawing through all sorts of stuff. There's even the "I'm Batman, yo!" moment shooting a grappling hook and crossing between towers on a rope.
BOTOM LINE: This is a solid SE title. If you like challenging puzzles, with a storyline and some HOS to go with them, this is your type of game. If you're the kind that skips through puzzles, you'll probably find the game a bit short and unsatisfying.
They put in a lot of puzzles you don't see very often (Minesweeper makes a return appearance, though not nearly as difficult as in the previous game) and sliding a bunch of blocks onto trigger squares like the old 8 and 16 bit RPG's used to have. That's the one that took me a few hours, but I got 3 out of 4 on my own :)
The story could be better written, but it works... well enough, anyway, at least for me. If you want a well fleshed out story, something like the Awakening series, look elsewhere.
I recommend this game!
Travel around the world to distant lands on a magical Mahjong sea voyage!
Overall rating
3
/
5
19 of 22 found this review helpful
It's Mahjong
PostedJanuary 27, 2014
mouser9169
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I normally stick to HOPA's and RPG's, but I've been known to play some solitaire type games every now and then, so I decided to give this one a look see.
There's no story, or plot, or anything like that. I have played other mahjong titles that do, but nothing really spectacular. There was a little 'flash' screen like you saw in games years ago before the first level showing cartoon pictures of a shipwreck and treasure. If you want to call that a plot...
You go through one 'tutorial' level, then you're own your own. three objectives to meet. Beat one level (you only have to meet the 'collect golden tiles' objective) and you can move on to the next. There are a bunch of different areas, which I'm assuming follow the same basic pattern. You start off with only one unlocked.
There are some trophies and achievements to earn by meeting the 'higher' objectives.
Three mahjong sets to choose from, not a lot of customization other than that. The game was clear, played fairly fast (I don't have a super fast mouse so I can't speak for the speed demons out there), and had no other issues.
There was simply nothing special about it - just another mahjong game with a bunch of layouts. The sort of thing I might pick up on a daily deal to fill out my punch card at the end of the month.
I don't recommend this game.
Investigate a series of mishaps at the Jersey Shore in Captain`s Cove Amusement Park as Miss Nancy Drew.
Overall rating
4
/
5
8 of 9 found this review helpful
It's challenging if you want it to be.
PostedJanuary 23, 2014
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This review is based on a complete playthrough of the game.
I played through the whole game as Senior Detective. I enjoyed the storyline, the characters were fun, some a bit quirky. I'm going through all the ND games from the start, so I can't compare this to the newest ones, which can be a good thing - I can review it on its own merits:
The "gadget" for this game is a cell phone. You also have a laptop in your hotel room. No clock this time, so no switching from day to night (something I missed after having it in the previous games). Use your phone - call people, a lot of the story depends on that. You've got your 'death traps' and 'chase scene' and all the other Nancy Drew staples.
THE GOOD: The cell phone worked well - it let them bring in a lot of characters without you having to meet them face to face. You've still got Bess and George and the Hardy Boys to call and talk about the case, even if you don't want hints.
The Laptop - it has a folder that is your 'journal' and another that is your 'task list'. Separating them was a great idea. I don't think the task list should be there at all on Senior Detective, but you can safely ignore it. You can ignore the journal as well, though I did check through it a couple of times when my own notes missed something.
You also get a few emails during the game, but other than a vague hint that you really don't need, they didn't really add anything to the game.
That's where the 'challenging as you want it to be' comes in. If you use the journal and task list, I'm sure the game would be pretty easy. Figuring out what you have to do is a big part of a Nancy Drew game. But if you need them, they're there to help you along before you go to the phone asking for hints.
So you can set the challenge for yourself: Can you solve the case on just your own notes and wits? Or do you need a bit of help from the journal? Or do you need to go through the task list to find things you haven't tried to do?
THE BAD: No clock. Time moved at the speed of plot. When you needed to search somewhere, the person who would be there normally was gone. When you found what you needed, they came back. Made the game MUCH easier than it needed to be by doing that.
Having a 'to do' list on Senior Detective - at least it's in its own folder on your laptop, so you can just ignore it.
Game length - this is one of the shorter ones. Depending on the challenge level you set for yourself you could have this one solved in a few hours.
Very little actual moving around. Especially coming after Ghost Dogs, where you had a whole forest to move around in, the 'click to transport' interface was kind of 'meh'. At least there were more than three or four locations this time.
THE UGLY: It's one of the older games, so it has that big interface. If you've got a decent sized monitor, you should have no trouble seeing what you need to though - the game was designed to be played through that smaller window.
BOTTOM LINE: I'm giving it four stars because it had a good main storyline, a nice side story, and was challenging enough to make me scratch my head a few times. If there were half stars, I might give it three and a half for it's short length - but it's definitely better than a 'just ok' three star game (IMHO).
I recommend this game!
After your sister vanishes on her wedding day no one has any idea what happened to her, so it's up to you to find the truth!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Stick with it - it gets better
PostedJanuary 21, 2014
mouser9169
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This review is based on a completed playthrough of the game.
I tried playing it on the hardest difficulty, but after a good ten minutes of searching for an item I moved it down one notch.
I'm not sure when this game came out, but fairly or not, I've got to rate it against the games coming out in 2014, because this is when you'll be deciding which games get your money.
So here goes:
So here goes:
THE GOOD: It's a long game. Depending on how long it takes you to go through the puzzles it can be a good four to six hours. It's got a good "creepy" ambiance going throughout the game - and just enough of 'not sure what's really go on' to keep you wondering.
The game just 'happens' - there's not a lot of build up, maybe because this is the first in the series, but after a short series of events, you're thrown into the deep end of the pool. As people have said, not a lot of handholding. At the end, well, the game just ends. The CE may have something there, but it is 'complete' as it stands. It just happens quickly. I didn't feel cheated out of an ending as sometimes happens in a SE.
A word about the locations: you end up 'revisiting' the same places multiple times during the game. So a 'lock' you find very early may still be locked when you 'leave', only to be unlocked when you come back later in the game. Each 'chapter' has unique locations as well.
This is part of the 'getting better'. When you keep coming back to a place after you've learned more of the story, you see it in a different light, and the tension keeps building that way.
The story unfolds slowly, and it takes a while to get revved up. I don't think a demo can give a fair picture of this game [I don't think they can in most games, which I why I don't review demos]. There are a couple of twists and turns, nothing completely out of left field, but not completely what you expect from the start, either.
PUZZLES: I'm putting this between the good and the bad because they're both. I thought I was in trouble when a normally medium difficulty puzzle was made much easier by the objects 'clicking' into the correct place, rather than having you try various possibilites. A lot of the puzzles throughout the game were like that (tangrams, for example, become ridiculously easy this way).
OTOH, you had some crazy difficult puzzles: reverse 'jump' mazes, a huge field of minesweeper, and some true 'medium' difficulty ones in there. Some were made more difficult by being 'larger' than typical. So the challenge level is all over the board. Generally, they got harder as the game went on.
At my difficulty there was a skip button, and I did use it a few times. I may play the game again sometime with a big pad and pencil handy to really try and work out those difficult ones.
THE BAD: The HOS are all ugly junkpiles. Mostly dark, shadowy junkpiles (in fact, one or two even had the tooltip label "junkpile"). I've got to compare it to what HOG are today and this game did not age well in this department. There was a hint button at my difficulty, and sometimes I didn't see the item even after the hint (fortunately, no clicking penalty).
No map: I understand why they didn't put a map in the game - mainly it has to do with the revisiting locations thing. But the game has a LOT of backtracking. Sometimes going literally from one far end of the map to the other and all the way right back again. I really don't know how they could have solved this well though. A "normal" map would have ruined some parts of the story. Running all over the place got old though, so this goes in the BAD.
No voiceovers: again, I've got to compare it to games today - there were scenes that really would have benefited from spoken dialog. Playing it today, it really stands out as something 'missing' from those scenes.
THE UGLY: Two "rooms" in a row were blocked off by the same 'obstacle'. If only I hadn't immediately thrown away the item I used to get past the first one...
At least once the hint button took me to the wrong place - a lock I didn't (and couldn't) have the key for yet, so they messed up the ordering there.
Several of the puzzles needed a reset button. You had to 'finish' it wrong if you realized you made a mistake early in the process. Wasn't terribly bad, but enough to be annoying.
BOTTOM LINE: So why four stars? Really I'd give it three and a half, but the game is better than just 'ok' so I rounded up. Despite it's flaws, if you stick with the game you feel rewarded for doing so (and not just because you 'put up' with stuff). The story does get better, and does pull you in, and you feel good when you finally 'succeed' in the end.
You've got to be willing to put up with a bit of frustration and lack of 'modern' features, but the game is definitely worth playing. The plus is it doesn't hand you all the answers like some do now, either. If the Grim Tales get better from here, I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series.
I recommend this game!
There are screams heard in Silent Hollow... Trouble at the Mystery Trackers headquarters means you're called in to help.
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 8 found this review helpful
Just ... underwhelming
PostedJanuary 15, 2014
mouser9169
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This review is based on a complete playthrough: I played through all the CE content as well, so I'll tell you what you'll be missing if you get the SE:
The bonus game is about an hour long, completely unrelated to the main story (so no being cheated out of an ending), and has a lackluster plot. Some collectibles, achievements - most of which you have to earn during normal gameplay, a little store for your dog, and the normal CE stuff.
There is the "secret room", that let's you go from puzzle and HOS to the next back through the game. That's probably the best part of the Bonus pack from where I'm sitting.
I didn't feel cheated by the CE content, but I wasn't overwhelmed either. If you want to save a bit and get the SE, you're not missing much. Nothing that would affect your enjoyment of the main story and game.
Now on to the main review:
I knew I was in trouble when the first 'puzzle' *very slight spoiler* requires you to enter a four digit number, and the number is written down RIGHT THERE. Not even back on the main screen, or hidden somewhere. Right. There.
At first I thought that must be because I was still in 'tutorial land', but that pattern persisted through the whole game.
THE GOOD: Visually, the game was great. The music wasn't terribly intrusive, so it did have a fairly nice "feel" to it. I loved the way your character develops as the game goes on. The story was engaging. Probably even more so if you played the previous ones and had a 'rapport' with some of the characters.
It was an 'average' length game for me, about four and a half to five hours on advanced. Didn't need many hints during the main game - the "adventure" part had the right amount of challenge to it.
THE BAD: The puzzles. There's easy, and then there's what we get in this game. Not all of the puzzles were that bad, but enough of them were. The ones that weren't were either normal easy with a few 'medium' challenge.
No lip movement. This wouldn't be so bad, but because the graphics are so "realistic" in the cut scenes, things that like really stand out a lot more.
THE UGLY: The HOS weren't junkpiles, but they weren't stuff that really fit in either. They were interactive in that you had the same simplistic 'code' puzzle in every one, and you had to put two things together. Other than that, straight lists.
Things like a TV breaking and finding a candelabra inside. Little things like that really break you out of character and remind you you're playing a gme.
Bottom line: Maybe I picked the wrong installment of the series to jump into, but I really felt let down after reading all the glowing reviews. It's not a _bad_ game. But it doesn't rise up above the sea of other 'pretty good' ones out there now, and certainly not to the level of the best.
Probably better as a SE than a CE, I'm giving it a hesitant recommendation because it is still better than a lot of what's out there.
I recommend this game!
There are screams heard in Silent Hollow... Trouble at the Mystery Trackers headquarters means you're called in to help.
Overall rating
3
/
5
7 of 8 found this review helpful
Very underwhelming after all the high reviews
PostedJanuary 15, 2014
mouser9169
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This review is based on a complete playthrough of the game plus bonus content.
This was my first Mystery Trackers game, and it may well be my last. I've read all the great reviews, I love MCF which this gets compared to, so I decided to take the plunge.
So first - the Bonus Content (or why should I pay double for this game?): The bonus game lasted a bit over an hour, but the story didn't really grab me. I was 'hinting' through it near the end so that I could get to the finish. It has nothing to do with the main game.
The achievements were normal stuff - most of them you HAD to 'earn' in order to finish the game. There was a 'shop' where you could buy a few cute things for your dog and his family and change the screen interface.
Then there's the secret room, that let's you go from puzzle and HOS to the next back through the game. That's probably the best part of the Bonus pack from where I'm sitting. Really it's just a different presentation of replayable puzzles we get in lots of other CE's. And you the other standard stuff: SG, wallpapers, etc...
I didn't feel cheated by the CE content, but I wasn't overwhelmed either. If you want to save a bit and get the SE, you're not missing much. Nothing that would affect your enjoyment of the main story and game.
Now on to the main review:
I knew I was in trouble when the first 'puzzle' *very slight spoiler* requires you to enter a four digit number, and the number is written down RIGHT THERE (I even got an achievement for 'solving' it in under a minute). Not even on the main screen, or hidden somewhere. Right. There.
At first I thought that must be because I was still in 'tutorial land', but that pattern persisted through the whole game.
THE GOOD: Visually, the game was great. The music wasn't terribly intrusive, so it did have a fairly nice "feel" to it. I loved the way your character develops as the game goes on. The story was engaging. Probably even more so if you played the previous ones and had a 'rapport' with some of the characters.
It was an 'average' length game for me, about four and a half to five hours on advanced. Didn't need many hints during the main game - the "adventure" part had the right amount of challenge to it.
THE BAD: The puzzles. There's easy, and then there's what we get in this game. Not all of the puzzles were that bad, but enough of them were. The ones that weren't were either normal easy with a few 'medium' challenge. There was one puzzle in the bonus game that I really had to work at - what a breath of fresh air. Too bad I had to finish the main game and half the bonus to get to it.
No lip movement. This wouldn't be so bad, but because the graphics are so "realistic" in the cut scenes, things that like really stand out a lot more.
After the main game, the 'story' to the bonus chapter just didn't hold up at all. Somebody was 'phoning it in' on that one.
THE UGLY: The HOS weren't junkpiles, but they weren't stuff that really fit in either. They were interactive in that you had the same simplistic 'code' puzzle in every one, and you had to put two things together. Other than that, straight lists.
Things like a TV breaking and finding a candelabra inside. Little things like that really break you out of character and remind you you're playing a gme.
Bottom line: Maybe I picked the wrong installment of the series to jump into, but I really felt let down after reading all the glowing reviews. It's not a _bad_ game. But it doesn't rise up above the sea of other 'pretty good' ones out there now, and certainly not to the level of the best.
Probably better as a SE than a CE, but I'll still give it a recommendation, because it is better than a lot of what's out there.
I recommend this game!
Re-enter the enchanted world of Drawn in the highly anticipated third installment of the cinematic series!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Sometimes it isn't what you think, but how you think that matters.
PostedJanuary 12, 2014
mouser9169
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This review is based on a complete playthrough of the game.
Drawn is a break away from the normal 'HOG/HOPA' games with totally different mechanics and ways of doing things. It makes you look at the 'world' differently and think outside the box as you go.
I played this game first, so I don't know the story of the other two. I'm not sure that it would have mattered - this game stands fine on it's own.
THE GOOD: Visually stunning - absolutely everything: The backgrounds, the cutscenes, the 'puzzle' graphics. Yes, it's a pastel cartoony world, but that works for this game. It looks like a game for young kids, and I'm sure they would love this game, but it isn't just a kid's game.
The story has been told hundreds of times, but by creating it as you go, being told the story and making the story at the same time, it makes it feel like something new. Great job there.
The hint system is progressive: rather than giving you an arrow or circle on the screen, it writes out a hint for you. First it will give you something vague to point you in the right direction, but still leave a lot for you to figure out, the second hint will be more specific, maybe telling you an item to use or location to interact with. Finally, if you're still stuck, it gives you the "You need to do this" hint to push you along.
THE BAD: The game is short. I'm a leisurely player; I love to look at the scenery (especially in this game) and try to figure everything out without hints, and I still finished well under four hours. My 'typical' time for a HOPA is usually six hours or more.
The 'movement' thing. You could move your mouse and the scenery would move a little (very little, really) as a sort of point of view - but it served no purpose. I've seen the mechanic used well in other games where you could find items hidden behind something or where you had to line things up from a certain perspective, but this was just enough to make you feel queasy. I turned it off and as far as I can tell I missed nothing in the game by not having it on.
The music - repetitive, somber, not really fitting the scenes. I can't put my finger on it, but it just didn't sound 'right'. I know that's a very personal preference thing, so YMMV.
THE UGLY: The left in collectibles (pigs) from the Collecter's Edition, but you get no achievement or any acknowledgement from finding them at all. They're just ... there.
All in all, it was a nice game, but just too short. I'm giving it four stars though, because what it did it did well, and it's something outside the normal HOG/HOPA experience. If you can pick it up on a sale or DD I wouldn't hesitate.
I recommend this game!