spythere's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.8
- Helpful Votes:718
- Reviews Submitted:67
- First Review:December 4, 2014
- Most Recent Review:October 22, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Explore the streets of Paris as you track down the Strangler!
Overall rating
2
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Not Really Comme il Faut
PostedAugust 29, 2017
spythere
fromPonders whether the artist are too lazy to draw hands or just had a bad upbringing.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
The intro reeked strongly of Adam Wolfe … and my mood sank already. Will it be the same shallow style? The looks of Donna Brave fuelled my suspicion further: she wears a flowing mane like Jane Fonda in the Eighties. When Mad Head sets a game into the past, why don't they bother to give at least their heroine an authentic bob cut, as it was en vogue back then? Disappointing.
The next affront isn't far away: Bernard Rey waits for me direct vis-à-vis ... with hands in his trouser pockets. Really! I thought I'm in 1925 Paris, where a gentleman never ever would stick his hands in the pockets, not in presence of a lady. But Mr. Rey is instantly punished for his poor manners … and next I'm interviewed by a police officer with - you guess it - hands in his pockets like an oaf.
Also the third figure I encounter is male. The taxi driver stretches out one hand for the money - the other one sticks in his pocket! This did it. If not even the first figures are credible, what can I expect from the story?
The next affront isn't far away: Bernard Rey waits for me direct vis-à-vis ... with hands in his trouser pockets. Really! I thought I'm in 1925 Paris, where a gentleman never ever would stick his hands in the pockets, not in presence of a lady. But Mr. Rey is instantly punished for his poor manners … and next I'm interviewed by a police officer with - you guess it - hands in his pockets like an oaf.
Also the third figure I encounter is male. The taxi driver stretches out one hand for the money - the other one sticks in his pocket! This did it. If not even the first figures are credible, what can I expect from the story?
I only came upon one, surprisingly entertaining HOP, however can imagine that the others are similarly inventive. Thus pity for the excellent HOPs, but after 15 minutes I was chased off this game by laughable portrayal of bygone demeanor.
I don't recommend this game.
A pearl is stolen, leading you on a worldwide chase!
Overall rating
4
/
5
11 of 16 found this review helpful
Once Upon a Time in the Catacombs of Venice ...
PostedMay 23, 2017
spythere
fromI wonder whether HELP means Heuristic Entertainment and Leg-Pulling =^,^=
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Are you in for an athletic top performance? You'd better be fit for this breakneck adventure! Because you will fly a helicopter, fight against two ninjas, you will hold your breath under water, whilst freeing yourself from a cage, you'll leap with a parachute out of a plane, examine a room whilst dangling at a rope from the roof, you'll skid on a cable from the skyscraper, jump from a hoovercraft onto a starting “hydroplane” … and don't forget that you play as a woman! I bet, you never felt so invincible in your life,
Of course, most of these stunts are concentrated in the demo part, afterwards it doesn't get any wilder. However the game held my interest, mostly due the marvellous sights. It's a picturesque tour to Fidji, Tokio and Venice, and Eipix skipped no touristic gimcrackery. We behold cherry blossoms and the blinking, flashing, neon jungle in Tokio, we find glass trinkets in Murano, we travel in gondolas and wear carneval masks in Venice. Only near the end, the lovely sights are replaced by Venice's "subfloor": sewers, secret laboratories and escape tunnels which could be everywhere.
Yes you've read it right: Eipix foists catacombs under Venice on us, lol. We all know that Venice was built in a swamp, on tree trunks which were rammed deeply into the bog (and still hold after centuries). No way to build catacombs in that sandy slush. But have historical facts ever deterred Eipix from a crazy idea? As always, we have to settle with alternative facts - and with a story which is utter nonsense. Marco Polo was a merchant, not an inventor of complicated flood preventing devices. I had a good laugh about the Latin proverb, written on Marco's secretive "device": “Scientia non habet inimicum nisi ignorantem”. What means as much as: Science has no enemy except the ignorants. Ignorants, of all things!
HOPs are again offered in great variety: interactive silhouettes, a told story where we find items fitting to capitalised words, silhouette riddles and not too many simple lists. In most HOPs we find a morphing object.
Puzzles are fun to play and also in a big variety. I came upon some I've never seen before.
Puzzles are fun to play and also in a big variety. I came upon some I've never seen before.
Eipix made an effort to mimic different accents - and succeeded only partly. Mr. Tayal, the Fijian, or the Russian scientist are not bad. The Italians leave a bit to be desired. I'm sure there are many American actors with Italian roots. Why not engage one of those?
The music is an nondescript, orchestral sauce which I turned off during the whole game.
The music is an nondescript, orchestral sauce which I turned off during the whole game.
The story concludes in the Standard Edition. The bonus chapter is rather bland and redundant - I think, the SE is the better choice. If you want to know what you miss with the SE, read my review of the Collector's Edition.
I recommend this game!
A pearl is stolen, leading you on a worldwide chase!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Once Upon a Time in the Catacombs of Venice ...
PostedMay 21, 2017
spythere
fromI wonder whether HELP means Heuristic Entertainment and Leg-Pulling =^,^=
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Are you in for an athletic top performance? You'd better be fit for this breakneck adventure! Because you will fly a helicopter, fight against two ninjas, you will hold your breath under water, whilst freeing yourself from a cage, you'll leap with a parachute out of a plane, examine a room whilst dangling at a rope from the roof, you'll skid on a cable from the skyscraper, jump from a hoovercraft onto a starting “hydroplane” … and don't forget that you play as a woman! I bet, you never felt so invincible in your life,
Of course, most of these stunts are concentrated in the demo part, afterwards it doesn't get any wilder. However the game held my interest, mostly due the marvellous sights. It's a picturesque tour to Fidji, Tokio and Venice, and Eipix skipped no touristic gimcrackery. We behold cherry blossoms and the blinking, flashing, neon jungle in Tokio, we find glass trinkets in Murano, we travel in gondolas and wear carneval masks in Venice. Only near the end, the lovely sights are replaced by Venice's "subfloor": sewers, secret laboratories and escape tunnels which could be everywhere.
Yes you've read it right: Eipix foists catacombs under Venice on us, lol. We all know that Venice was built in a swamp, on tree trunks which were rammed deeply into the bog (and still hold after centuries). No way to build catacombs in that sandy slush. But have historical facts ever deterred Eipix from a crazy idea? As always, we have to settle with alternative facts - and with a story which is utter nonsense. Marco Polo was a merchant, not an inventor of complicated flood preventing devices. I had a good laugh about the Latin proverb, written on Marco's secretive "device": “Scientia non habet inimicum nisi ignorantem”. What means as much as: Science has no enemy except the ignorants. Ignorants, of all things!
HOPs are again offered in great variety: interactive silhouettes, a told story where we find items fitting to capitalised words, silhouette riddles and not too many simple lists. In most HOPs we find a morphing object.
Puzzles are fun to play and also in a big variety. I came upon some I've never seen before.
Puzzles are fun to play and also in a big variety. I came upon some I've never seen before.
Eipix made an effort to mimic different accents - and succeeded only partly. Mr. Tayal, the Fijian, or the Russian scientist are not bad. The Italians leave a bit to be desired. I'm sure there are many American actors with Italian roots. Why not engage one of those?
The music is an nondescript, orchestral sauce which I turned off during the whole game.
The music is an nondescript, orchestral sauce which I turned off during the whole game.
The story concludes in the Standard Edition. The bonus chapter is rather bland and redundant - I think, the SE is the better choice. If you want to know what you miss with the SE, read my review of the Collector's Edition.
I recommend this game!
Can you beat the clock and get your life back?
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 10 found this review helpful
It's Gotta be Rock 'n' Roll Music!
PostedMay 20, 2017
spythere
fromThis game wins the Green Fish Award for refraining from the use of biocides in the whole play. ><≥≥°>
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
A Rock'n'Roll game from the Fifties is about as cool as it can get at Big Fish: drive-in diners, the first Sputnik satellite, skyrocketing television, tailfin cars, flashing amusement parks, ice cream parlours and naturally Rock concerts, screaming girls with pony-tails, beatniks with Buddy Holly-glasses … we get it all.
Although, I was a tiny bit disappointed with the music. It's by no means bad, but not as stellar as it could ... no, should be. Hey, it's Rock'n'Roll, baby! Any sound producer surely would leap at this unique occasion, I thought, would be eager and anxious to rock our computers with this sound. Remember Bill Haley, Little Richard, Chubby Checker? … not to forget the kings Chuck Berry and Elvis! But somehow these tracks lack the whole enthusiasm. They have the typical dirty, slack guitar, Rock percussion with hi-hats, there are some electric blues tunes with traces of Gershwin ... but all a bit bland and tame, without zest or much variation, neat, but not great. At times they even became so monotonous that I turned them off. If only the music would be as inspired as the HOPs ...
Because these are brilliant, made with care and amusing to play. A colourful cartoon landscape of fast food, musical instruments to put back in their casings, a root chandelier with intricate Mayan engravings, broken pueblo pottery to fix, a drink to prepare in a messy bar or a complicated machinery to start. Varied, challenging and all perfectly integrated into the story. Don't forget to watch out for the morphs in every HOP; they are inexplicably not shown in the Strategy Guide.
I was a bit undecided and waited for the Standard Edition – but then bought nevertheless the CE. A good choice, the bonus chapter is worth it. As for the unlikely story with body exchange and such: I don't see much difference to the first Cadenza where a magical tune hypnotized the whole audience. I mean, it's fantasy, and none of it really applies to the logical world. To me, this is the best of the series, right along with “Music, Betrayal and Death”.
The story of the Standard Edition ends conclusive. However the Collector's Edition has so many nice extras, and the bonus chapter is surpisingly interesting to play, I'd recommend in this case the CE. Read my respective review if you want to know more.
I recommend this game!
A pearl is stolen, leading you on a worldwide chase!
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 7 found this review helpful
Once Upon a Time in the Catacombs of Venice – Extras and Bonus
PostedMay 20, 2017
spythere
fromI wonder whether HELP actually means Heuristic Entertainment and Leg-Pulling ^__^
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Are you in for an athletic top performance? You'd better be fit for this breakneck adventure! Because you will fly a helicopter, fight against two ninjas, you will hold your breath under water, whilst freeing yourself from a cage, you'll leap with a parachute out of a plane, examine a room whilst dangling at a rope from the roof, you'll skid on a cable from the skyscraper, jump from a hoovercraft onto a starting “hydroplane” … and don't forget that you play as a woman! I bet, you never felt so invincible in your life,
Of course, most of these stunts are concentrated in the demo part, afterwards it doesn't get any wilder. However the game held my interest, mostly due the marvellous sights. It's a picturesque tour to Fidji, Tokio and Venice, and Eipix skipped no touristic gimcrackery. We behold cherry blossoms and the blinking, flashing, neon jungle in Tokio, we find glass trinkets in Murano, we travel in gondolas and wear carneval masks in Venice. Only near the end, the lovely sights are replaced by Venice's "subfloor": sewers, secret laboratories and escape tunnels which could be everywhere.
Yes you've read it right: Eipix foists catacombs under Venice on us, lol. We all know that Venice was built in a swamp, on tree trunks which were rammed deeply into the bog (and still hold after centuries). No way to build catacombs in that sandy slush. But have historical facts ever deterred Eipix from a crazy idea? As always, we have to settle with alternative facts - and with a story which is utter nonsense. Marco Polo was a merchant, not an inventor of complicated flood preventing devices. I had a good laugh about the Latin proverb, written on Marco's secretive "device": “Scientia non habet inimicum nisi ignorantem”. What means as much as: Science has no enemy except the ignorants. Ignorants, of all things!
HOPs are again offered in great variety: interactive silhouettes, a told story where we find items fitting to capitalised words, silhouette riddles and not too many simple lists. In most HOPs we find a morphing object.
Puzzles are fun to play and also in a big variety. I came upon some I've never seen before.
Puzzles are fun to play and also in a big variety. I came upon some I've never seen before.
Eipix made an effort to mimic different accents - and succeeded only partly. Mr. Tayal, the Fijian, or the Russian scientist are not bad. The Italians leave a bit to be desired. I'm sure there are many American actors with Italian roots. Why not engage one of those?
The music is an nondescript, orchestral sauce which I turned off during the whole game.
The music is an nondescript, orchestral sauce which I turned off during the whole game.
Because the main game can be tried out or looked up in the walkthrough, I give you some details about the extras.
EXTRAS:
- 8 Wallpapers, each in four different resolutions
- 8 Concept Art, sketches in colour
- 9 Music Tracks
- 11 videos, including the Big Fish trailer
- 8 Wallpapers, each in four different resolutions
- 8 Concept Art, sketches in colour
- 9 Music Tracks
- 11 videos, including the Big Fish trailer
- play 16 Puzzles
- play 16 HOPs, and win for each bronze, silver or gold medals for swiftness and accuracy. We also may click the missed morphing objects.
- play 16 HOPs, and win for each bronze, silver or gold medals for swiftness and accuracy. We also may click the missed morphing objects.
- Souvenir Room: After main and bonus game, we may collect souvenirs from 28 scenes. That is, we fetch rather random items which are neither funny, nor do they fit into the respective scene. Meh, I found this feature never interesting,
- 23 Achievements, some have bronze, silver and gold ranks. A few are for interacting with things in the game, e.g. for squeezing a rubber duck. I will have to play it again to get all of those hilarious awards :)
- 23 Achievements, some have bronze, silver and gold ranks. A few are for interacting with things in the game, e.g. for squeezing a rubber duck. I will have to play it again to get all of those hilarious awards :)
- Collectibles are 40 keys, one in each scene of the main and the bonus chapter. We can go back after the game and pick up missed keys. When we have all forty, we can click on each, and the tiny hand, holding the key, will open and present a pearl. Not much else here, we simply have 40 different pearls but can't do anything with them.
The BONUS CHAPTER plays in 8 scenes, four new, four old but refurbished. It contains 4 HOPs and 4 puzzles and is rather short, not quite an hour.
We play as Giordano, the current guardian of Marco Polo's fabulous machine. The story is an immediate sequel of the main game, one of the ninjas is still around. Giordano gets an alarm call: the water level is rising – he must check the machine subito. There are many shapes to put into indentations, lots of missing keys and tiles, but not much else; the action happened in the main game.
I had the impression that the bonus game was just a hurried addition, because they couldn't release it without a bonus chapter. It's a bit featureless. I would have liked to learn more about the two ninjas, for instance.
You better buy the SE, methinks.
You better buy the SE, methinks.
I recommend this game!
Explore the dangerous landscape of Drummond Island as you hunt for a kidnapper!
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Yet Another Soul Collector
PostedMay 19, 2017
spythere
fromI wonder if Emma was the Good Samaritan in another life, as often as she cares about injuries of other people.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Who would have thought that our roving reporter Emma Roberts is as untalented at car driving as Alexandra Anderson from Keeper of Antiques? Challenged or chased by another car, she manages to miss the bend and dives her vehicle headlong, no, hoodlong straight into the lake. Elefun should maybe grant their leading women some driving lessons, now and then ;)
The story is twisted and intricate, a bit hard to follow - although everybody conveniently seems to keep a diary, or at least to scatter here and there some helpful notes. Young people disappear during a reality quest on Drammond Island. I found this promising: a spooky game contest in an abandoned mansion becomes real horror and life danger. Has Clarissa Marlow, who is the manager of this hazardous game, to do with it?
However, instead of looking for the missing people, we set out to chase the master mind behind the kidnappings. It turns out Clarissa is a victim herself, and somebody is collecting souls. Again! Frankly, I'm a bit fed up with soul collecting and rescueing people, oddly still alive, from soul vessels ... but ok, Dr. Diamond collects souls for his ritual. Um, yes, yet a another ritual. Seems that nowadays every game must include a ritual, sigh. Somehow, the story gets stranger and stranger. We eventually meet the “powerful sorcerer” Simon. Simon says? They lost me here. Also, because this Simon figure remains vague and indescript. He must have escaped his tree prison, since he appears as a hooded, faceless figure, emitting smoke and black fogs.
However, instead of looking for the missing people, we set out to chase the master mind behind the kidnappings. It turns out Clarissa is a victim herself, and somebody is collecting souls. Again! Frankly, I'm a bit fed up with soul collecting and rescueing people, oddly still alive, from soul vessels ... but ok, Dr. Diamond collects souls for his ritual. Um, yes, yet a another ritual. Seems that nowadays every game must include a ritual, sigh. Somehow, the story gets stranger and stranger. We eventually meet the “powerful sorcerer” Simon. Simon says? They lost me here. Also, because this Simon figure remains vague and indescript. He must have escaped his tree prison, since he appears as a hooded, faceless figure, emitting smoke and black fogs.
I wish, Elefun would curb the supernatural mumbo-jumbo and give us a bit more human badness instead of spectral nonsense. Why invent supernatural entities, when their most devillish plot is no match for the atrocities which unscrupulous humans are capable to commit? Maybe Fear for Sale could simply be a peculiar, savage crime story. These missing people could for example have been abducted for medical experiments, Dr. Diamond could be an obsessed scientist, wanting to test a new surgery methode. No rituals are needed.
Aside from the supernaturally overcharged story, it's a solid game in familiar Elefun quality. We know what we get and feel right at home: splendid visual art with lovingly added details to interact, enthralling and surprising music, a good game-pace, collectibles and morphing objects in every scene. Just the HOPs are, compared to those multi-layered Super HOPs they have in other games, a bit average; we often get only slightly interactive, plain lists. Nevertheless, it's not a simple clicking-through. A few items are irritatingly put invisibly into black corners. HOPs might also contain background information about the puzzling story.
Puzzles are amusing to play, but as usual on the easy side. Although it seems as if Elefun, after countless complaints I assume, tries hard to make their puzzles harder. I encountered three or four which I found really tricky, In my impatience, I even skipped one … and noticed that the skipping function briefly shows the solution, step by step. Nice feature. There is a mini game, where we shoot simultanously five of the apeish monster critters with a water cannon, and it is indeed funny and challenging. In any case a huge improvement to the last Keeper of Antiques, where we shoot one single monster and defeat it in ten seconds. Elefun is headed in the right direction - but the majority of mini games are still too simplistic to win acclaim of the majority, I guess.
The Standard Edition ends concludingly. The bonus chapter is a sequel, but not necessary for the story. If you want to know what you miss with the SE, read my review of the Collector's Edition.
I recommend this game!
The miracle of the Green Moon, which flourished with plants of all kinds, had lasted for only a few moments. A cataclysm made the Moon lifeless again. Find out why!
Overall rating
2
/
5
Where is the Green Right-Click?
PostedMay 17, 2017
spythere
from... still on earth, still trying to right-click ;_;
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Having played the first Green Moon, I am rather fond of the originality of these games. It was offered as Daily Deal today, and I'd have bought it ... if I wouldn't have gotten stuck in the tutorial already. "Right-click the note", thus, I held down the control key on my Mac and clicked. Didn't work. Mac users must feel quite overlooked with this edition. The game uses right-click commands but Mac users have no means to right-click. A pity, the graphics look so gorgeous.
I'd recommend it for PC users only.
The Lost Lands are in danger again... There's only one brave soul who can face the four evil horsemen to save it – you!
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
„Titavhassa Etox Rotok!“ conjures Maaron - Extras and Bonus
PostedMay 8, 2017
spythere
fromI still marvel why they replaced in Lost Lands the good old carrier pigeons with pneumatic mail.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The intro is impressive. We see Gandalf, who calls himself Maaron now, shouting a mighty enchantment to summon help against the four deadly horsemen who have been sighted in the Lost Lands. His magic gets him a young mother, whisked away directly from the shopping mall --- and he hardly can believe that this „feeble female“ should be the „Chosen One“.
I couldn't believe it either. This guileless woman looks as if she could operate a micro wave or brandish a credit card. But fight four horsemen? Shoot with bow and arrow? Forge herself arrowheads? Quite a fantastic idea.
The heroine is for me the weakest link in this aventure. I'm female myself, but couldn't identify with this helpless bimbo in her tight leather jacket. Why didn't they chose a teenager, e.g. a Lord of the Ring enthusiast who would fit perfectly into dangerous fantasy worlds? Meh, at least Susanne doesn't sport high heels. But she blunderingly loses the priceless compass. Simply the wrong cast. On the other hand, if she'd be more skillful, the game would probably be much shorter ;)
The heroine is for me the weakest link in this aventure. I'm female myself, but couldn't identify with this helpless bimbo in her tight leather jacket. Why didn't they chose a teenager, e.g. a Lord of the Ring enthusiast who would fit perfectly into dangerous fantasy worlds? Meh, at least Susanne doesn't sport high heels. But she blunderingly loses the priceless compass. Simply the wrong cast. On the other hand, if she'd be more skillful, the game would probably be much shorter ;)
All the other characters are fabulous and likeable. Not that there are many. Apart from Maaron, we meet the dwarf Folnur who will accompany us through the game. He has a long, braided beard and a hefty, earthy voice with a slightly inebriated slur. But that's only natural; one can't forbid dwarves their daily mead consumption. Folnur is a mechanic genius, too. He invented inter alia an awesome underground roller coaster on which we enjoy a splendid ride.
We will encounter a helpful werewolf, a conceited mermaid and Mountgore, a hovering god with four arms and much wisdom. And then, there is the centaur. He nearly bursts with muscles and testosteron. He is so manly that he doesn't speak, just hoarsely belches out the words. In fact, the whole game has somehow a lusty, vigorous mood. The devs obviously had much fun creating this adventure - and it shows. It's like a merry, thrilling ride through a stunningly beautiful fantasy landscape and astonishing architectural marvels. Lost Lands have for example very advanced techniques with stone doors and stairs. Solid stone stair treads slide effortlessly and almost noiselessly out of walls, when we turn a lever.
The game flow is good, mostly we know what to to, also because Folnur readily explains everything. The scattered manuscripts thoroughot the game give further information, and if once we are at a loss, the map will indicate where to go. We visit each scene several times, it's a permanent to and fro, hence the jump map is a big help. It conveniantly also shows where we still have to pick up collectibles.
HOPs are all the same kind: interactive silhouettes in a room or place. Interactive is here really interactive: find a key, open the box, get the next item, use it to get the another item, and so on. Actually, they resemble more a super puzzle than a HOP.
The voice overs are superb, the sound effects fit, from the crackling of fire to birdsong, to the meditative murmuring of magical trees or even the clicks in HOPs. The music is nothing special, but unobtrusive. I liked that we keep tools like a knife or a hammer the whole time in the inventory and use them multiple times.
The voice overs are superb, the sound effects fit, from the crackling of fire to birdsong, to the meditative murmuring of magical trees or even the clicks in HOPs. The music is nothing special, but unobtrusive. I liked that we keep tools like a knife or a hammer the whole time in the inventory and use them multiple times.
I wrote this review when the game was released, but it has been deleted for unknown reasons. So I grabbed the occasion, played the game again and overhauled particularly the part about the extras. Imho it is the more interesting topic, since the main game we can look up in the walkthrough, but for the bonus content we rely on reviews.
EXTRAS:
8 Wallpapers, 32 Concept Art in colour, 18 Cut Scenes
8 Music Tracks
3 Puzzles
21 Mini Games to play again
20 Achievements. Only three are for playing the game, one is for playing slowly and 16 are true achievements, some pretty hard to earn. For example for completing a specific puzzle without unnecessary clicks, solving it in less than a minute, and so on.
8 Wallpapers, 32 Concept Art in colour, 18 Cut Scenes
8 Music Tracks
3 Puzzles
21 Mini Games to play again
20 Achievements. Only three are for playing the game, one is for playing slowly and 16 are true achievements, some pretty hard to earn. For example for completing a specific puzzle without unnecessary clicks, solving it in less than a minute, and so on.
Collectibles:
- 35 Beyond (morphing) Objects, not easy to find
- 35 machine parts. Most of them very well hidden, and we cannot go back to find missing parts. If we find all parts of the magic machine, we can open the Bonus Game: 20 levels of a puzzle: connect tubes by turning tiles
- 20 Manuscripts, providing background information about the main figures and the various inhabitants of the Lost Lands.
The collecting alas doesn't continue in the bonus chapter.
- 35 Beyond (morphing) Objects, not easy to find
- 35 machine parts. Most of them very well hidden, and we cannot go back to find missing parts. If we find all parts of the magic machine, we can open the Bonus Game: 20 levels of a puzzle: connect tubes by turning tiles
- 20 Manuscripts, providing background information about the main figures and the various inhabitants of the Lost Lands.
The collecting alas doesn't continue in the bonus chapter.
BONUS CHAPTER:
Prequels as bonus chapters are always a bit risky. Since we know already the outcome, I find prequels mostly disappointing. But not here. It's a prequel, all right, but not less inventive than the main game. It contains four HOPs and five puzzles and is quite long, lasted around an hour and twenty minutes for me. We play as dwarf Folnur and get our assignment to covertly protect Susanne on her travel. In searching pieces for our mighty war hammer, we visit six refurbished scenes from the main game again and discover nine new places.
We also meet Tectonica. She has nothing to do with earth crusts and rifts, but is the warrioress of the underworld and guards the altar of the mighty hammer. Furthermore she is a hot babe in a very minimal outfit, seemingly coming directly from a fetish party. She's pretty bossy, too. We just have to remind ourself that we're playing now as a male figure *laugh*.
Prequels as bonus chapters are always a bit risky. Since we know already the outcome, I find prequels mostly disappointing. But not here. It's a prequel, all right, but not less inventive than the main game. It contains four HOPs and five puzzles and is quite long, lasted around an hour and twenty minutes for me. We play as dwarf Folnur and get our assignment to covertly protect Susanne on her travel. In searching pieces for our mighty war hammer, we visit six refurbished scenes from the main game again and discover nine new places.
We also meet Tectonica. She has nothing to do with earth crusts and rifts, but is the warrioress of the underworld and guards the altar of the mighty hammer. Furthermore she is a hot babe in a very minimal outfit, seemingly coming directly from a fetish party. She's pretty bossy, too. We just have to remind ourself that we're playing now as a male figure *laugh*.
This game belongs into every collection, either as CE or as SE. The main story ends conclusively, even though a bit in a cliffhanger with Maaron deadly sick. But would you want to miss Tectonica? All in all, you get a good value for your money, especially when CEs are on discount.
I recommend this game!
Explore the dangerous landscape of Drummond Island as you hunt for a kidnapper!
Overall rating
4
/
5
10 of 10 found this review helpful
Yet Another Soul Collector – Bonus Chapter and Extras
PostedApril 30, 2017
spythere
fromWhen man is wolf to man, are ghosts then the demise of ghosts?
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Who would have thought that our roving reporter Emma Roberts is as untalented at car driving as Alexandra from Keeper of Antiques? Challenged or chased by another car, she manages to miss the bend and dives her vehicle headlong, no, hoodlong straight into the lake. Elefun should maybe grant their leading women some driving lessons, now and then ;)
The story is twisted and intricate, a bit hard to follow - although everybody conveniently seems to keep a diary, or at least to scatter here and there some helpful notes. Young people disappear during a reality quest on Drammond Island. I found this promising: a spooky game contest in an abandoned mansion becomes real horror and life danger. Has Clarissa Marlow, who is the manager of this hazardous game, to do with it?
However, instead of looking for the missing people, we set out to chase the master mind behind the kidnappings. It turns out Clarissa is a victim herself, and somebody is collecting souls. Again! Frankly, I'm a bit fed up with soul collecting and rescueing people, oddly still alive, from soul vessels ... but ok, Dr. Diamond collects souls for his ritual. Um, yes, yet a another ritual. Seems that nowadays every game must include a ritual, sigh. Somehow, the story gets stranger and stranger. We eventually meet the “powerful sorcerer” Simon. Simon says? They lost me here. Also, because this Simon figure remains vague and indescript. He must have escaped his tree prison, since he appears as a hooded, faceless figure, emitting smoke and black fogs.
However, instead of looking for the missing people, we set out to chase the master mind behind the kidnappings. It turns out Clarissa is a victim herself, and somebody is collecting souls. Again! Frankly, I'm a bit fed up with soul collecting and rescueing people, oddly still alive, from soul vessels ... but ok, Dr. Diamond collects souls for his ritual. Um, yes, yet a another ritual. Seems that nowadays every game must include a ritual, sigh. Somehow, the story gets stranger and stranger. We eventually meet the “powerful sorcerer” Simon. Simon says? They lost me here. Also, because this Simon figure remains vague and indescript. He must have escaped his tree prison, since he appears as a hooded, faceless figure, emitting smoke and black fogs.
I wish, Elefun would curb the supernatural mumbo-jumbo and give us a bit more human badness instead of spectral nonsense. Why invent supernatural entities, when their most devillish plot is no match for the atrocities which unscrupulous humans are capable to commit? Maybe Fear for Sale could simply tell a peculiar, savage crime story. These missing people could for example have been abducted for medical experiments, Dr. Diamond could be an obsessed scientist, wanting to test a new surgery methode. No rituals are needed :)
Aside from the supernaturally overcharged story, it's a solid game in familiar Elefun quality. We know what we get and feel right at home: splendid visual art with lovingly added details to interact, enthralling and surprising music, a good game-pace, collectibles and morphing objects in every scene. Just the HOPs are, compared to those multi-layered super HOPs they have in other games, a bit average; we often get only slightly interactive, plain lists. Nevertheless, it's not a simple clicking-through. A few items are irritatingly put invisibly into black corners. HOPs might also contain background information about the puzzling story.
Puzzles are amusing to play, but as usual on the easy side. Although it seems as if Elefun, after countless complaints I assume, tries hard to make their puzzles harder. I encountered three or four which I found really tricky, In my impatience, I even skipped one … and noticed that the skipping function briefly shows the solution, step by step. Nice feature. There is a mini game, where we shoot simultanously five of the apeish monster critters with a water cannon, and it is indeed funny and challenging. In any case a huge improvement to the last Keeper of Antiques, where we shoot one single monster and defeat it in ten seconds. Elefun is headed in the right direction - but the majority of mini games are still too simplistic to win acclaim of the majority, I guess.
When I read reviews, I'm always interested in the bonus content; thus I will give you some details. It might be helpful to decide whether to buy the CE or the SE edition.
EXTRAS:
- 9 Wallpapers, 10 Concept Art (black and white sketches), 3 Screensavers
- 22 lovely sound tracks: a big variety, from wistful classics to eerie ambient, a few idm-like surprises, some pretty catchy, e.g. Bit Workshop, Misty Road, Step by Step. Elefun has still the most inventive composer, and the music regularly allures me to buy the CE.
- 11 achievements: only four real ones (not using hints, finding all morphing objects, etc.) - but SEVEN which we can impossibly miss for simply playing the game. Useless. These ranks urgently need an overhaul. Please, Elefun, stop pulling our legs with pseudo rewards.
- 25 collectibles: five varieties with five items each, a bit a random collection, referring to the main figures. Lust for Power (Dr. Richard Diamond), Spiritualist (Linda Swan), Greed and Fear (Clarissa Marlow), Freelancer (Tim Swan), A Kind of Magic (Simon)
- 33 beyond objects, one per scene: some are small or dark and not always easy to spot.
- 9 Wallpapers, 10 Concept Art (black and white sketches), 3 Screensavers
- 22 lovely sound tracks: a big variety, from wistful classics to eerie ambient, a few idm-like surprises, some pretty catchy, e.g. Bit Workshop, Misty Road, Step by Step. Elefun has still the most inventive composer, and the music regularly allures me to buy the CE.
- 11 achievements: only four real ones (not using hints, finding all morphing objects, etc.) - but SEVEN which we can impossibly miss for simply playing the game. Useless. These ranks urgently need an overhaul. Please, Elefun, stop pulling our legs with pseudo rewards.
- 25 collectibles: five varieties with five items each, a bit a random collection, referring to the main figures. Lust for Power (Dr. Richard Diamond), Spiritualist (Linda Swan), Greed and Fear (Clarissa Marlow), Freelancer (Tim Swan), A Kind of Magic (Simon)
- 33 beyond objects, one per scene: some are small or dark and not always easy to spot.
This game contains 30 puzzles and 24 HOPs, Sadly, still none of them are to play again, and I complain every time. Why is it so difficult to include HOPs in a CE? Look what Eipix and other devs offer: all HOPs can be played, plus we can win medals for swiftness and no misclicks. Isn't it meanwhile a standard feature to include HOPs and puzzles? Elefun is the last developer who lacks it. Hence their CE editions remain a bit a meagre bargain.
The BONUS CHAPTER is a sequel and plays in 9 scenes, 6 new, 3 old, refurbished. It contains 7 HOPs, 7 puzzles, and the playtime was around 70 minutes for me.
As often in bonus chapters, there is unfinished business left at the crime scene ... or should I say supernatural scene? Likewise on Drammond Island. Those ape monster creatures suddenly appear again and attack now the construction workers who are building the planned theme park. Don't read further if you want to avoid --------------- story SPOILERS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emma is abducted by a possessed foreman. With her supernaturally trained eyes, she of course immediately detects the cursed medallion at the foreman's neck and breaks the spell. “Let's deal with these creatures!”, she gleefully shouts and sets off to the island.
However, those mini monsters are actually intelligent beings: enchanted people who are enslaved since 200 years by faceless Simon. It's time for a revolution. With Emma's help, the creatures finally get their revenge. ------------------------------------------END SPOILER.
Emma is abducted by a possessed foreman. With her supernaturally trained eyes, she of course immediately detects the cursed medallion at the foreman's neck and breaks the spell. “Let's deal with these creatures!”, she gleefully shouts and sets off to the island.
However, those mini monsters are actually intelligent beings: enchanted people who are enslaved since 200 years by faceless Simon. It's time for a revolution. With Emma's help, the creatures finally get their revenge. ------------------------------------------END SPOILER.
The end seemed a bit abrupt to me, that is, this Simon is rather easily overturned. That was it? If it was that simple, why did the creatures wait 200 years? I also didn't quite figure out yet how a faceless figure can look into a mirror and be aghast at his own reflection …
I recommend this game!
Can you beat the clock and get your life back?
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
It's Gotta be Rock 'n' Roll Music! - Extras and Bonus
PostedApril 19, 2017
spythere
fromThis game wins the Green Fish Award for refraining from the use of biocides in the whole play. ><≥≥°>
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
A music game from the Fifties is about as cool as it can get at Big Fish: drive-in diners, the first Sputnik satellite, skyrocketing television, tailfin cars, flashing amusement parks, ice cream parlours and naturally Rock concerts, screaming girls with pony-tails, beatniks with Buddy Holly-glasses … we get it all.
Although, I was a tiny bit disappointed with the music. It's by no means bad, but not as stellar as it could ... no, should be. Hey, it's Rock'n'Roll, baby! Any sound producer surely would leap at this unique occasion, I thought, would be eager and anxious to rock our computers with this sound. Remember Bill Haley, Little Richard, Chubby Checker? … not to forget the kings Chuck Berry and Elvis! But somehow these tracks lack the whole enthusiasm. They have the typical dirty, slack guitar, Rock percussion with hi-hats, there are some electric blues tunes with traces of Gershwin ... but all a bit bland and tame, without zest or much variation, neat, but not great. At times they even became so monotonous that I turned them off. If only the music would be as inspired as the HOPs ...
Because these are brilliant, made with care and amusing to play. A colourful cartoon landscape of fast food, musical instruments to put back in their casings, a root chandelier with intricate Mayan engravings, broken pueblo pottery to fix, a drink to prepare in a messy bar or a complicated machinery to start. Varied, challenging and all perfectly integrated into the story. Don't forget to watch out for the morphs in every HOP; they are inexplicably not shown in the Strategy Guide.
I was a bit undecided and waited for the Standard Edition – but then bought nevertheless the CE. A good choice, the bonus chapter is worth it. As for the unlikely story with body exchange and such: I don't see much difference to the first Cadenza where a magical tune hypnotized the whole audience. I mean, it's fantasy, and none of it really applies to the logical world. To me, this is the best of the series, right along with “Music, Betrayal and Death”.
Many have commented on the main game, so I'll give you some details about the bonus content. When I read a review, these are the the things I want to know, since the main game I can try out.
EXTRAS:
- 20 wallpapers
- 16 Concept Art: pictures with a before/after slider. We can see a sketch or a character in the flesh and how they appear after computer-processing; e.g. how a 25 year old is turned into a sexagenarian.
- 13 Soundtracks
- 20 wallpapers
- 16 Concept Art: pictures with a before/after slider. We can see a sketch or a character in the flesh and how they appear after computer-processing; e.g. how a 25 year old is turned into a sexagenarian.
- 13 Soundtracks
- 9 achievements: each with three ranks. Real rewards for finding all morphs, for using no hints, etc. Not a single one is for simply playing the game!
- All 17 HOPs to play again: We can mesure time and misclicks, win for each bronze, silver or gold and find the morphing object, if we haven't already.
- Collectibles: 38 identical vinyl records, one per scene. The collecting continues in the bonus chapter, and we can go back after the game and pick up missed vinyls. The complete collection unlocks the “Treasure Hunt”, a big bonus HOP with most of the many items we collected in the 17 HOPs through the game. Nice, like a retrospect.
- Characters: The whole cast of ten persons including extras in a group picture; each is described in one sentence.
- After the main story, a bonus puzzle is unlocked: the rather boring Infection or Ataxx (the final fight Alex vs. Mike).
The BONUS CHAPTER plays in 10 scenes, 7 of them new, 3 old, but refurbished. It contains four HOPs and five mini games and lasts over one hour.
The story is an immediate sequel to the main game and a likewise supernatural hokum with Mayan rituals.
The story is an immediate sequel to the main game and a likewise supernatural hokum with Mayan rituals.
SPOILER ------------------------ Before his death, imposter Adam had set a magical trap which turns Mike Valence now into stone. --------------------------- END SPOILER.
But the script is very interesting. We play as Big Jim und must of course find the cure for that new curse. Fortunately, Martha's father had studied Mayan magic, and we possess his old notes. Time is of essence, thus Martha and Big Jim split up; we play alternatingly either Jim or Martha. The shift is excellently done: we end up in a cliffhanger as Jim, and - oops – are back to be Martha. A thrilling adventure to the end.
Because I rather liked the figure of Big Jim, I was a wee bit disillusioned that there was never a hint of a budding love affair between him and Martha. Would have been the cherry on top of the ice cream soda :)
Because I rather liked the figure of Big Jim, I was a wee bit disillusioned that there was never a hint of a budding love affair between him and Martha. Would have been the cherry on top of the ice cream soda :)
I recommend this game!