I must admit, I have never liked the Mystery Tracker games, but the previous ones were much better than this one. Way too many cutscenes. Assembling items in your inventory required you to be spot on with your cursor or the item didn't assemble. Puzzles were beyond easy. Without the cut scenes, even including the bonus chapter, this game provides about an hour of game time. I know many people enjoy this series, so demo for yourself. For me, it's a no buy.
The colors were beautiful throughout the game. Graphics were great. No voice overs (boo), just lips moving. Lots to read which, for me, detracts from the game. I did like the Cheshire Cat and all his info, but perhaps he could have popped up in a separate part of the game. He became annoying. What makes this a TOTAL no buy for me : The HOS were dark, small, and very hard to find objects. Not only that, but the dreaded CLICK PENALTY. I will not buy games with that ridiculous feature. Perhaps you may like the game. I did, however, I will not purchase due to the tedious HOS and click penalty.
I shall start off by saying I haven't reviewed a good game in quite some time. I haven't even bothered writing reviews as the games offered of late are so poor. I've never been a fan of ERS games, however, I do give each game a fair demo. This one began to sink at the very beginning of the demo and kept getting worse. First, I'm thinking this is supposed to be spooky. The comments from the detective sent to investigate are flippant (I suppose the developers thought they were funny), and it ruined any atmosphere of spookiness. The Orb catcher was annoying. I don't need gimmicks in my games. I did not care for the HOS, nor did I care for the puzzles. Both were so simplistic it was ridiculous. Kudos though for no sparkles or black bar tips on the hardest mode. The story, for me, was disjointed. It was almost as if they were trying to incorporate two stories together in one game. Again, as always with this developer, the simplicity of the game was ridiculous. There is little to no thinking involved. I give this one a pass. As far as this being offered as a CE, if I were buying it, I would definitely wait for the SE. There really is nothing to warrant this as a CE.
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
2/ 5
Storyline
2/ 5
I usually love games from this developer, as they usually bring quality and challenging games to the table. I disliked this game from the beginning. The use of pink/purple colors was annoying. The sound effects were ho hum. The puzzles, which I usually have difficulty with, were simplistic. I will give credit to the developers for the HOS. They were interesting. I could not follow the story or even give a hoot about the story from the opening cut scene. You do get a map, which was nice. There is a customizable mode of play. There is a journal. There are collectibles and achievements. However, for me, without a story I can follow and become interested in, it doesn't matter what else is included in the game. At the end of the demo, I did not care what happened to Alice. I was just glad the demo was over. For me, this is a no purchase, in either CE or SE form.
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
Love this developer. Loved this game. HOS are unique and have a great variety of things to do. Puzzles are done with great artistry and even have sound effects. The story held my interest for the entire game, which is rare. Graphics were top notch. You do get to customize mode of play. You can switch to match 3 instead of the HOS scenes. The artwork was beautiful and the music was upbeat and apropos to the story. My one complaint would be that the game could have been a little more difficult. Other than that, I recommend this game without reservation. The CE DID have many extras, but the bonus chapter was not needed to have a conclusive ending. Either the CE or SE is a winner IMO
Love this developer. Loved this game. HOS are unique and have a great variety of things to do. Puzzles are done with great artistry and even have sound effects. The story held my interest for the entire game, which is rare. Graphics were top notch. You do get to customize mode of play. You can switch to match 3 instead of the HOS scenes. The artwork was beautiful and the music was upbeat and apropos to the story. My one complaint would be that the game could have been a little more difficult. Other than that, I recommend this game without reservation.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy
Fun Factor
3/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
This is a definite improvement over the last 3 games in this series. Based on the dates they were released, however, there SHOULD be an improvement by now. I'm not a huge fan of ERS games. I find them all very similar and very simplistic. This was really no different. Yes, it was certainly an improvement over the 3rd in the series of the "Shadow Wolf" games, but it's nothing to write home about. The HOS were almost childlike. No lip movement, which drives me crazy. Puzzles were simplistic and I am not a puzzle buff. Graphics were the usual ERS graphics. Music was the usual ERS music. This game reminded me of one of the later Dark Tales games with the analyzer. I don't think this really merits CE standards. It was ok. I did play the other 3 and may eventually pick this one up on a DD. However, I wasn't impressed.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
I am a huge fan of EIPIX games. This one got off to a very slow start for me. However, the graphics, music, colors, etc., were amazing. I loved the HOS and the puzzles. I could have done without the nonsense of the signet and I did not care for the choose your answer part. I did keep playing the demo though and the pace did pick up and interested me more. It could just be my mood of the day Not sure, but wasn't in love with the game. I liked it and loved certain things about it. I am holding off for the SE. When that comes out I will give it another try. Thus, this 3 star rating is based on what I thought, personally, of the game, and has no bearing on the high artistic quality of the game.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
3/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
Even though I had tech problems playing the demo, I did play 60 minutes of the trial or thereabout. I love the original Haunted Hotel games, and the last one, Eclipse, was not bad at all. This one, however, looks like the team was on coffee break and the game was thrown together. The graphics are good. There are quite a few HOS and they are standard list. There are misspellings that make finding objects difficult. The mini games were difficult, not because of the nature of them, but because some of the directions were either wrong or impossible to follow. There are only about 10 or less achievements, all game related, and some artifacts to find. The game could have been so much more. There is absolutely no fright factor... such as eerie noises, a spooky ambiance, etc. I found myself slogging through the demo looking for anything at all to grab my attention. It lacked oomph and luster. With the tech issues, the lack of any CE bling, and the absolute dullness of the game, along with a large developer putting out a game with glaring translation errors, I don't recommend this game. Not as a CE, and probably not even as an SE.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
This is a great installment to the Viking Saga series. It seems it's set (time-wise) between the 1st and 2nd game. (How he met his wife). There is a relaxed mode, with no timer. It says you can disable voices, but it didn't work for me. This one, I found, is much more difficult than the first 2. You really need to play ahead. I was very confused when I saw this release since the 2nd installment just came out in March. Now we shall know how Ingolf met his bride. I do like this series of TM games, and will purchase.