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:
What secrets are hiding in the European countryside?
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Bitter-Sweet Redemption, Unpolished
PostedDecember 29, 2016
spythere
fromSuch a nuisance when one has to deduct one star because of biocides :(
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Our ghost and gossip reporter Emma Roberts gets an emergency call from … Hillary Clinton? Not quite, her name is Veronica Johnson - but she certainly could qualify as a lookalike. 40 years ago, her brother Edward disappeared together with his girl-friend Helen Larson. But only recently, Helen was seen through the window of a her old house - Veronica could even take a picture. Disturbingly, Helen looks not one day older than in 1977 ...
We (as Emma) arrive in the first scene by cab. The place looks very European, like a small, southern German or Swiss town – but we pay in Dollars. Funny. I don't think we'd find these medieval houses with their typical timber framing anywhere in the states.
Anyway, we are at the site of the ghostly sighting. Birds chirp their evening songs, the scenery glows in the last sun rays, soon it will be dusk. We see lots of brown, ochre, brick-red, olive, golden, dusky, autumnal colors, later violet and blue. All outdoor scenes are set in different states of dusk, from golden hour to sunset and into the night. I like this concept, but find the title nevertheless a bit random; there is nowhere a wanderer.
Anyway, we are at the site of the ghostly sighting. Birds chirp their evening songs, the scenery glows in the last sun rays, soon it will be dusk. We see lots of brown, ochre, brick-red, olive, golden, dusky, autumnal colors, later violet and blue. All outdoor scenes are set in different states of dusk, from golden hour to sunset and into the night. I like this concept, but find the title nevertheless a bit random; there is nowhere a wanderer.
The story, though nothing new or surprising, wouldn't be bad: an old jealousy, a mistake which eventually drives three restless spirits to haunt the Larsen's house and the Carmer estate. However, the execution of this plot rather bewildered me.
Ben, the lead role besides of Emma, is completely illogically constructed, his figure is simply ... far, far away from any verisimilitude. Elefun shouldn't have given him prestige and a family. Would an intelligent engineer threaten a girl, which is a quarter as burly as himself, with a loaded gun? Would a wealthy socialite run around in the shoddy outfit of a farmhand? Would somebody, who is familiar to lord over servants, speak with the soft, uncertain voice of a frightened youth? No matter how we look at it: Ben's position in society doesn't fit to the showed character. We see a hapless, paranoid lunatic who clumsily traipses into every trap, gets buried under stones, falls into wells. Was he even meant as a funny role? To me it looks embarrassing and badly transposed.
Ben, the lead role besides of Emma, is completely illogically constructed, his figure is simply ... far, far away from any verisimilitude. Elefun shouldn't have given him prestige and a family. Would an intelligent engineer threaten a girl, which is a quarter as burly as himself, with a loaded gun? Would a wealthy socialite run around in the shoddy outfit of a farmhand? Would somebody, who is familiar to lord over servants, speak with the soft, uncertain voice of a frightened youth? No matter how we look at it: Ben's position in society doesn't fit to the showed character. We see a hapless, paranoid lunatic who clumsily traipses into every trap, gets buried under stones, falls into wells. Was he even meant as a funny role? To me it looks embarrassing and badly transposed.
Emma by contrast is remarkably self-confident, bossy and terse. When she snaps in direction of Helen: “Don't worry. I'm here”, it is more like a command than reassuring. To Ben she talks like a school mistress to her very dimwit pupil. Even this could have been funny, but somehow lacked … the fun. Strangely enough, Emma seems to know exactly how to handle these ghosts, even before she finds clues. She also understands the quantum magic of the labyrinth right away, before she sees any descriptions. Hm.
Yes, there is a “labyrinth”. But it's is not so much a labyrinth as a time warp device, and it consists of the Carmer estate in different time periods, like the 70ties or 50ties. No idea, why there must be those silly, white Pierrot porcelain masks on the walls in every labyrinth scene.
Peculiar I also found the handling of sound. For the first time, we have at times clearly audible chamber music outdoors or in catacomb scenes. Strange. Is there an orchestra which we can't see? Are the excellent sound effects not good enough? Many scenes have merely SFX or even no sound at all, fortunately. But it yields a confusing effect when we travel back and forth: we get slapped by snippets of different music in different styles, one second this track, one second another one. Even weirder: in a scene where the invisible orchestra plays, we zoom into a window ... and the music simply stops. Which random generator created this muddle, I wonder.
Peculiar I also found the handling of sound. For the first time, we have at times clearly audible chamber music outdoors or in catacomb scenes. Strange. Is there an orchestra which we can't see? Are the excellent sound effects not good enough? Many scenes have merely SFX or even no sound at all, fortunately. But it yields a confusing effect when we travel back and forth: we get slapped by snippets of different music in different styles, one second this track, one second another one. Even weirder: in a scene where the invisible orchestra plays, we zoom into a window ... and the music simply stops. Which random generator created this muddle, I wonder.
But what really annoyed me, was the application of biocides, even TWICE. First, we spray a plant with weedkiller - which like every herbicide surely contains glyphosate. Second, we must eliminate strangely mutated stag beetle-ants with insecticide. Good heavens! Does Elefun now perform product placement for Monsanto? And how shall we pollinate our fruits and vegetables when the insects have been exterminated? Please, don't give us this rubbish; we've had enough of applying bug spray where a simple brush would do.
Through the whole game I thus here and there stumbled over nonsense, contradictions and flaws. Over logical blunder: according to his drivers license, Ben Carmer lives at 26 Water Street. In a newspaper clipping we read: “City authorities have elected to demolish 26 Water Street, formerly known as the Larson property”. Uh ... are there two Water streets in such a small town?
Or when we klick at items, texts sometimes appear before they should, and we can't do anything with the message (yet). No, this is not a polished game.
Through the whole game I thus here and there stumbled over nonsense, contradictions and flaws. Over logical blunder: according to his drivers license, Ben Carmer lives at 26 Water Street. In a newspaper clipping we read: “City authorities have elected to demolish 26 Water Street, formerly known as the Larson property”. Uh ... are there two Water streets in such a small town?
Or when we klick at items, texts sometimes appear before they should, and we can't do anything with the message (yet). No, this is not a polished game.
It should have been granted a bit more time to finish and smooth out. But as it is, somebody (probably Emma) came barking in and bellowed: “Deadline is tomorrow! Get a move on!” and such. Drat it! It'd be such a pity if Elefun would now join all those devs which were once brilliant, but started to churn out rehash and cookie-cutter games, just because the Big Sharks prefer quantity over quality ...
The end tasted for me rather bitter-sweet. In course of the game we discover quite a bit of background about the figures, and we get the most information concerning Ben. At the end I had more sympathy for Ben and Adam than for the tedious, ghostly love couple. So why should there not be a happy end for everybody? It's just not fair. But well ... when has life ever been fair?
MUSIC: Arkhipov never disappoints. A dozen of the 16 tracks are more or less minimal-ambient-soundscapes: very intriguing, incredibly subtle constructs, some eerie, some sad, some created from merely statics and spooky sighs. You certainly never hear soundtracks as exciting as these somewhere else at BF. However I can't recall to have noticed much of them within the game. They were probably drowned by invisible orchestras or wasted for too short mini-games.
No, wait - I found for the first time three or four puzzles which were NOT solved within 30 seconds! Glad to see the attempt, Elefun ;)
No, wait - I found for the first time three or four puzzles which were NOT solved within 30 seconds! Glad to see the attempt, Elefun ;)
EXTRAS: Currently, this dev still has one of the most meager offers for CE editions.
We get the whole who-cares-bunch of 9 wallpapers, 11 concept art sketches and 3 screen savers.
Of the 9 achievements are 5 bogus rewards for playing the game. The four real achievements are one each for finding all morphs / all collectibles, one each for using no hints in HOPs or puzzles. Meh.
The 35 morphing objects, one in each scene, are sometimes hidden in dark corners and not always easy to see. However the cursor indicates where to click; I didn't find a way to turn this off.
Collectibles appear in the same old 5 x 5 pattern, five of this, five of that, a random range of mundane things like sunglasses, whisky on the rocks, high-heels, clocks. The only witty item in the whole knick-knack is a book with the title “How to fix everything”. How about inserting a bit more fun here, Elefun?
What could be worth the CE price are the 16 music tracks.
We get the whole who-cares-bunch of 9 wallpapers, 11 concept art sketches and 3 screen savers.
Of the 9 achievements are 5 bogus rewards for playing the game. The four real achievements are one each for finding all morphs / all collectibles, one each for using no hints in HOPs or puzzles. Meh.
The 35 morphing objects, one in each scene, are sometimes hidden in dark corners and not always easy to see. However the cursor indicates where to click; I didn't find a way to turn this off.
Collectibles appear in the same old 5 x 5 pattern, five of this, five of that, a random range of mundane things like sunglasses, whisky on the rocks, high-heels, clocks. The only witty item in the whole knick-knack is a book with the title “How to fix everything”. How about inserting a bit more fun here, Elefun?
What could be worth the CE price are the 16 music tracks.
The BONUS CHAPTER plays in 10 scenes, five from the main game, five newly created. It contains 8 HOPs, 6 puzzles and lasted for me about one hour and ten minutes.
It doesn't add anything new to the story, is more like a flare up again of the same plot.
It doesn't add anything new to the story, is more like a flare up again of the same plot.
Adam Carmer's ghost suddenly seems to care about Ben; paradoxically so, after he made Ben suffer through the whole main game. Thus, he abducts Edgar & Helen and growls “Bring my son back right now, or they'll never rest!” Really strange. Does Adam not know that Ben is in fact looking for him? That he conducts mysterious rituals to bring his father back to life? Shouldn't a spirit feel those efforts? Adam must be an especially dense specter, lol.
And guess what? When we find Ben eventually, he falls again into a shaft … Oh dear!
And guess what? When we find Ben eventually, he falls again into a shaft … Oh dear!
I recommend this game!
Act as Adam Wolfe, an investigator of the paranormal. Discover an occult world hidden in modern San Francisco!
Overall rating
2
/
5
24 of 32 found this review helpful
No Challenge in this Hapless Ego-Shooter
PostedDecember 27, 2016
spythere
fromtries to prevent cat from chasing the flying Adam =^;^=
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Actually I wanted to ignore this game, but when I saw all the enthusiastic reviews I felt that I have to add my two cents.
Some time ago I had the honor to test Adam Wolfe, and my review bases on the analysis of the demo which I played multiple times. I tried to explain why this looked like the worst game that Mad Head ever made and sent two pages of suggestions. Of course they were ignored, except that now other fonts are used for menu and credits which previously have been illegible.
One of my major complaints was its shortness. This game has not, as pennmom claims, four chapters to play, it's merely two, each slightly over one hour playtime. No wonder. There is never much more to do than to wield your gun, to run through wannabe-mazes, to use a fire extinguisher or to make phone calls. When we walk through back alleys, sewers and other interesting places, we would like to have a closer look at things, but can't. There is nothing to do, nowhere. We pick one single item, then forward to the next scene.
We have a lot of hand-holding with blinking icons of guns, fists, etc. I felt as if I would not play the game, but was nudged and shoved through. There is a gaping contrast between the violent content, aimed at grown ups, and the game's simplicity which a toddler could master. Challenge is in fact not existent. The one HO scene and the mini game in the demo could probably even be solved by my cat.
To the glowing praise of the visual quality I say: Adam Wolfe is admittedly an eye candy, looks a bit like a young Bob Dylan on speed. The girls will love him. But other things appalled me, for example the ugly main menu with its circling bacteria around a moon ... which is strangely a clock. Or the recurring dream parts, a pain in the eyes. Which weirdo dreams of an empty, blood-red sky all the time? or is it a blood-red desert? The coquettish Peter Pan flight pose and the ridiculous mimicking of Michelangelo's creation are nothing but play time extenders.
In spite of all its disadvantages, this game could still have been an average crime adventure … until that laughable fire devil appeared. Good gracious! He looks like the genie from Aladdin's lamp, disguised in a fiery Halloween costume. The whole atmosphere of a detective thriller at once collapsed and became yet another random fantasy concoction.
This game doesn't know whether it wants to be an ego shooter, a detective story, a film noir or a fantasy game. It is not elaborated and looks more like the draft of half an idea. But as long as the majority supports this kind of cheap productions, they'll unfortunately be released.
I don't recommend this game.
Investigate a virtual reality program that’s turning some players comatose.
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Thrilling Voyage through Cyberspace
PostedDecember 25, 2016
spythere
fromCurious how long it takes until the real games industry will catch up on Elephant's virtual Nexus.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
All those who complain that the title is misleading and the game does not relate to virtual reality have no inkling. Virtual reality is the main topic of this excellent game which held my interest until the end. The storyline might be a bit complex for biased players, but it's all the same comprehensible and makes sense. Of course there are scenes with graveyards, medieval churches or fiery deserts; they are all part of the VR, are different sceneries in which VR-players may chase monsters or whatever they do in cyberspace. The game leads us through these simulated fantasy worlds and back again to reality, where we climb out of our Nexus capsule.
There is just the right amount of sci-fi stuff, to not annoy people who are less keen on tinkering with high tech. For my part, I was happy not having to assemble motherboards all the time.
There is just the right amount of sci-fi stuff, to not annoy people who are less keen on tinkering with high tech. For my part, I was happy not having to assemble motherboards all the time.
Generally I found it an enjoyable, highly entertaining adventure, since it provides such a variety of scenery and puzzles. Of truly challenging puzzles, oh yes. I needed several attempts to guide that nanobot through the blood vessel and jump all obstacles. But I prefer these kind of funny mini games any time to dull slider puzzles - of which, by the way, not a single one was found in the whole game. If I'm not mistaken. The puzzles' descriptions were at times not very clear - but we always can peep into the Strategy Guide, can't we?
The characters are drawn on the verge of being cartoonish, especially the cute, too sugary Naya and the Xenos monsters. Those weird creatures have six eyes, pointy teeth and claws, poisonous tentacles and are somewhat undecided whether to be funny critters or dangerous vermin. But they mean anyway not more than targets for a shooter game.
I also marveled about Jean's bra, a stiff hard shell construct which could contain either deadly weapons or fluid reservoirs. Above all, it just looks very uncomfortable to wear, lol.
All in all, the figures are congenial and winsome enough, even the evil ones. Even Aion has a rudimentary story and is not only a black shadow out of the blue.
I also marveled about Jean's bra, a stiff hard shell construct which could contain either deadly weapons or fluid reservoirs. Above all, it just looks very uncomfortable to wear, lol.
All in all, the figures are congenial and winsome enough, even the evil ones. Even Aion has a rudimentary story and is not only a black shadow out of the blue.
It is a long game which lasted for me over seven hours, or nine including the bonus chapter. Although I believe that I had the one or other coffee break, now and then.
It certainly is suitable for kids, and also a perfect Christmas game: it ends in an sumptuously decorated living room with a fireside, under a big, sparkly Christmas tree.
It certainly is suitable for kids, and also a perfect Christmas game: it ends in an sumptuously decorated living room with a fireside, under a big, sparkly Christmas tree.
These are the EXTRAS of the Collectors Edition:
- 14 HOPs, 13 PUZZLES which can be played again.
- 12 wallpapers, 10 sketches, called Concept Art
- The 5 MUSIC tracks I found a notch above the usual Muzak quality. But these are short loops of one or two minutes and can become monotonously repetitive when we spend a bit more time with difficult puzzles.
- 50 pages of Strategy GUIDE. It alas lacks for some reason the clues for the collectibles in the bonus chapter :(
- We collect 11 FIGURINES which are scattered in the main game (8) and bonus chapter (3). They morph and are fairly easy to spot.
- The 153 collectible FLOWERS are a kind of reversed hearts (buds?) in garish lollipop colours with golden, squiggly leaves. Coming directly out of granny's tinsel box? Imho, they display bad taste, obsolete times and are rather unfitting to the VR topic. However, they are well hidden and not at all easy to find. If we collect enough of them, we gain access to ...
- ... the SECRET ROOM, where we can play the dice game, the final mini game fight against Aion. But instead of solving riddles or shooting at monsters, we simply use the dice until we throw certain numbers. Pretty boring.
- We can try to get 9 ACHIEVEMENTS. One of them is for playing a HOP in over 10 minutes, but all others are genuine challenges. Some have several levels, e.g. pick up 3 items in 3 seconds / 5 in 5 seconds / 10 in 10 - so we can gain one or two or three stars. I wonder whether somebody managed to gather all rewards. To me it seems pretty impossible, since we cannot better the results by playing the HOPs again in the extras. The achievements only count how we play during the game.
- 14 HOPs, 13 PUZZLES which can be played again.
- 12 wallpapers, 10 sketches, called Concept Art
- The 5 MUSIC tracks I found a notch above the usual Muzak quality. But these are short loops of one or two minutes and can become monotonously repetitive when we spend a bit more time with difficult puzzles.
- 50 pages of Strategy GUIDE. It alas lacks for some reason the clues for the collectibles in the bonus chapter :(
- We collect 11 FIGURINES which are scattered in the main game (8) and bonus chapter (3). They morph and are fairly easy to spot.
- The 153 collectible FLOWERS are a kind of reversed hearts (buds?) in garish lollipop colours with golden, squiggly leaves. Coming directly out of granny's tinsel box? Imho, they display bad taste, obsolete times and are rather unfitting to the VR topic. However, they are well hidden and not at all easy to find. If we collect enough of them, we gain access to ...
- ... the SECRET ROOM, where we can play the dice game, the final mini game fight against Aion. But instead of solving riddles or shooting at monsters, we simply use the dice until we throw certain numbers. Pretty boring.
- We can try to get 9 ACHIEVEMENTS. One of them is for playing a HOP in over 10 minutes, but all others are genuine challenges. Some have several levels, e.g. pick up 3 items in 3 seconds / 5 in 5 seconds / 10 in 10 - so we can gain one or two or three stars. I wonder whether somebody managed to gather all rewards. To me it seems pretty impossible, since we cannot better the results by playing the HOPs again in the extras. The achievements only count how we play during the game.
The BONUS chapter is a sequel. It has 9 sceneries, six of them new, three we saw already in the main game, however they are partly altered. If I didn't mis-count, it contains 5 HOPs and 10 puzzles/mini games. We play as Naya who is trapped in her father's virtual world - which was actually invented to save her. Currently, Naya is merely an amnesic avatar. Advised by Stephen, Jean, the Black Queen and her father, she tries to find her memory, SPOILER ….......... because if she succeeds, it's possible to bring her back into the real world. …........... END SPOILER. How this is achieved is beyond me. It has to do with the fantastic idea of uploading someone's brain/personality onto a hard drive. But it's no joke, I also heard it as a proper topic in real life. There exists a whole bunch of neurologists and programmers who try to reach exactly that. They call it Whole Brain Emulation (WBE) or mind transfer.
My overall rating would be 4.3, but I rounded up since in the whole game I never had to use those darned, noxious biocides. Thank you, Elephant; it has been noted and is very appreciated :)
I recommend this game!
Stop the dark witches before they regain their power!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Transportable HOPs and Unsightly Mutants
PostedSeptember 9, 2016
spythere
fromarhipco's Bandcamp
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
A winter game in midsummer? Ice crystals, snow, iced lakes and snowmen; ... the icy twins not only freeze the world, but also bring the seasonal flavors of baked apples, gingerbread houses and other Christmas knick-knack. Maybe Elefun thought that, in the dog days, we would estimate a cooling down :)
I like the idea of the vicious ice twins. However, the characters remain a bit two dimensional, tedious, as if there was not enough time to flesh them out. Could also be due their dubbing voices which are somewhat less than perfect. Though, not only theirs.
Whereas, for the design of our ferret helper Bertha was enough time ;) Bertha is in high spirits. She always sighed a bit coquettishly, now, she overdoes. Why has she to conjure a rabbit out of a hat? why to play percussion? Much disjointed swagger about nothing. At times amusing, too.
Whereas, for the design of our ferret helper Bertha was enough time ;) Bertha is in high spirits. She always sighed a bit coquettishly, now, she overdoes. Why has she to conjure a rabbit out of a hat? why to play percussion? Much disjointed swagger about nothing. At times amusing, too.
I also marveled, why faces must be on every castle. Not make-believe faces with window eyes and alcove noses. Real human faces with those inevitable glowing eyes, protruding from the edifice, and larger than life. Very peculiar architecture. Stranger than life for sure, but somehow even stranger than fantasy.
Some of the bizarre creatures which we encounter in this adventure, could be the direct offspring of those hellish beasts in Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. But, unlike the painting, the game presents cobbled together, hideous mutations. An owl with rams horns and an ugly implant above the beak. A seal with neon shine spikes on its back and red, glowing eyes. A pain in the eyes.
I wonder whether the devs strive to make their games dark and scary with those ridiculous “monsters”. I'd classify them to the category unintentionally funny. Although the mutation style sometimes works. The dimly lit moose head with slug horns, sheep's ears and two additional, nervously blinking spider eyes looks really weird and eerie.
Some of the bizarre creatures which we encounter in this adventure, could be the direct offspring of those hellish beasts in Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. But, unlike the painting, the game presents cobbled together, hideous mutations. An owl with rams horns and an ugly implant above the beak. A seal with neon shine spikes on its back and red, glowing eyes. A pain in the eyes.
I wonder whether the devs strive to make their games dark and scary with those ridiculous “monsters”. I'd classify them to the category unintentionally funny. Although the mutation style sometimes works. The dimly lit moose head with slug horns, sheep's ears and two additional, nervously blinking spider eyes looks really weird and eerie.
My favourite figure is the engineer wizard Embert, who has the looks of one of those hippy geeks from Silicon Valley in the Eighties. He must have an iron constitution, does not even wince when a full grown tree falls on his back. But wizards probably know how to reverse physical laws :)
Be surprised: this is the game of the portable HOPs. They manifest from everywhere, are conjured out of the blue. We touch a cloth, and – whoosh – it wafts to the table in the middle of the room and becomes a Wishing Tablecloth. Or an oriental lamp which – once polished - contains not only Aladdin in chains, but also a HOP where we find the keys to the chain locks. The magic lamp first appears at Embert's porch, later on the ship, somewhere completely else. These are genuine pocket HOPs! The snail “seed” is another one, or the book in the bonus chapter. I've never seen transportable HOPs before. Thank you for this nice invention, Elefun.
Puzzles are as always dead easy. What deters Elefun from setting up more challenge, I wonder. The bewitched librarian (the book) is a good example. We have to catch 10 falling letters and to avoid icicles. Disappointingly simple. Why not catch specific letters? Why not spell some long words without making a mistake? Regarding the soundtrack, it would be worth to spend a bit more time with puzzles.
Of course, one can always intentionally produce mistakes, to prolong any puzzle. In the toy castle with the black and white furry creatures, I actually ended up shooting the good ones, lol. They squeak “ohh!”, the black croak “odd!” (ought?) in a different pitch ... thus I hit a white creature - then a black one - white, ohh - black, odd - ohh - odd - ohh - odd - ohh - odd … to the rhythm of the soundtrack Icy Wilderness. It's a killer. One of the highlights, so to say.
Other highlights are the fanciful HOPs, all varied and multilayered. They unveil one surprise after the other, sometimes even little side stories. In the second HOP at the port, you absolutely must click the aesthetically challenged seal BEFORE you feed it. It responds with three different sounds. Real seal voices, utterly intriguing.
Of course, one can always intentionally produce mistakes, to prolong any puzzle. In the toy castle with the black and white furry creatures, I actually ended up shooting the good ones, lol. They squeak “ohh!”, the black croak “odd!” (ought?) in a different pitch ... thus I hit a white creature - then a black one - white, ohh - black, odd - ohh - odd - ohh - odd - ohh - odd … to the rhythm of the soundtrack Icy Wilderness. It's a killer. One of the highlights, so to say.
Other highlights are the fanciful HOPs, all varied and multilayered. They unveil one surprise after the other, sometimes even little side stories. In the second HOP at the port, you absolutely must click the aesthetically challenged seal BEFORE you feed it. It responds with three different sounds. Real seal voices, utterly intriguing.
The soundtrack contains 13 new tracks and one from Keeper of Antiques. After having heard them as downloads, I was amazed how differently they sounded within the game. They excellently fit into the particular puzzle or HOP; what I considered as peculiar beforehand, suddenly made sense. It's custom-tailored music.
Within the giant flower, listen to the hollow sound of taking or placing puzzle pieces, and how seamlessly these “sighs” blend into the background music. Or, when Bertha dives for crystal shards, enjoy the bubbly swing music from a drowned Wurlitzer, still operating after all these years under water …
Speaking of sound: Elefun's composer has a new fan site on Facebook. If you value Arkhipov's music, you can find him now under his artist name arhipco - and like his site :)
Within the giant flower, listen to the hollow sound of taking or placing puzzle pieces, and how seamlessly these “sighs” blend into the background music. Or, when Bertha dives for crystal shards, enjoy the bubbly swing music from a drowned Wurlitzer, still operating after all these years under water …
Speaking of sound: Elefun's composer has a new fan site on Facebook. If you value Arkhipov's music, you can find him now under his artist name arhipco - and like his site :)
This is not Elefun's best edition, but yet highly inventive and entertaining. Fun aplenty: from the color-changing chameleon to the singing tea kettle or the clever way to get rid of a ghost. Some said that this game is childish. Yes, it is. We are invited to giggle and to awaken our intrinsic child if we want immerse into this fantasy world. Believe me, it's worth it.
EXTRAS
We have the usual 12 bland achievements: 5 real ones and 7 pseudo awards which we get for playing. Yawn. (sorry, inner child is insolent)
3 screen savers, 11 pictures and sketches in the art gallery, 9 wallpapers.
We collect 36 puzzle pieces and 34 morphing objects throughout main and bonus game.
We have the usual 12 bland achievements: 5 real ones and 7 pseudo awards which we get for playing. Yawn. (sorry, inner child is insolent)
3 screen savers, 11 pictures and sketches in the art gallery, 9 wallpapers.
We collect 36 puzzle pieces and 34 morphing objects throughout main and bonus game.
The bonus story is a sequel and plays in 9 locations. Four, one of them pretty altered, we know from the main game, five are new creations. It seems longer than the standard Elefun bonus; I played around 1 hour 45 minutes and encountered 7 HOPs and 8 puzzles.
Story ----- SPOILER
Surprise! Mara survived the big showdown in the main game. She kidnaps Jack and Annabel and wants her revenge. We play as Annabel and must hurry to free our fiancee, before his body is used in a ritual to revive Marcus. So we float through coral gardens and the “Sunken City of Witches”, must appease three mermaids and find the antidote against Mara's witchcraft.
As in the main game, selfless Bertha comes to the rescue – and I see already lurking a jealousy sequel: Bertha changes sides and becomes a dark witch, because she secretly has a crush on Jack and wants to eliminate Annabel ...
Surprise! Mara survived the big showdown in the main game. She kidnaps Jack and Annabel and wants her revenge. We play as Annabel and must hurry to free our fiancee, before his body is used in a ritual to revive Marcus. So we float through coral gardens and the “Sunken City of Witches”, must appease three mermaids and find the antidote against Mara's witchcraft.
As in the main game, selfless Bertha comes to the rescue – and I see already lurking a jealousy sequel: Bertha changes sides and becomes a dark witch, because she secretly has a crush on Jack and wants to eliminate Annabel ...
I recommend this game!
Stop the dark witches before they regain their power!
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Transportable HOPs and Unsightly Mutants
PostedSeptember 9, 2016
spythere
fromarhipco's Bandcamp
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
A winter game in midsummer? Ice crystals, snow, iced lakes and snowmen; ... the icy twins not only freeze the world, but also bring the seasonal flavors of baked apples, gingerbread houses and other Christmas knick-knack. Maybe Elefun thought that, in the dog days, we would estimate a cooling down :)
I like the idea of the vicious ice twins. However, the characters remain a bit two dimensional, tedious, as if there was not enough time to flesh them out. Could also be due their dubbing voices which are somewhat less than perfect. Though, not only theirs.
Whereas, for the design of our ferret helper Bertha was enough time ;) Bertha is in high spirits. She always sighed a bit coquettishly, now, she overdoes. Why has she to conjure a rabbit out of a hat? why to play percussion? Much disjointed swagger about nothing. At times amusing, too.
Whereas, for the design of our ferret helper Bertha was enough time ;) Bertha is in high spirits. She always sighed a bit coquettishly, now, she overdoes. Why has she to conjure a rabbit out of a hat? why to play percussion? Much disjointed swagger about nothing. At times amusing, too.
I also marveled, why faces must be on every castle. Not make-believe faces with window eyes and alcove noses. Real human faces with those inevitable glowing eyes, protruding from the edifice, larger than life. Very peculiar architecture. Stranger than life for sure, but somehow even stranger than fantasy.
Some of the bizarre creatures which we encounter in this adventure, could be the direct offspring of those hellish beasts in Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. But, unlike the painting, the game presents cobbled together, hideous mutations. An owl with rams horns and an ugly implant above the beak. A seal with neon shine spikes on its back and red, glowing eyes. A pain in the eyes.
I wonder whether the devs strive to make their games dark and scary with those ridiculous “monsters”. I'd classify them to the category unintentional fun. Although the mutation style sometimes works. The dimly lit moose head with slug horns, sheep's ears and two additional, nervously blinking spider eyes looks really weird and eerie.
Some of the bizarre creatures which we encounter in this adventure, could be the direct offspring of those hellish beasts in Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights. But, unlike the painting, the game presents cobbled together, hideous mutations. An owl with rams horns and an ugly implant above the beak. A seal with neon shine spikes on its back and red, glowing eyes. A pain in the eyes.
I wonder whether the devs strive to make their games dark and scary with those ridiculous “monsters”. I'd classify them to the category unintentional fun. Although the mutation style sometimes works. The dimly lit moose head with slug horns, sheep's ears and two additional, nervously blinking spider eyes looks really weird and eerie.
My favourite figure is the engineer wizard Embert, who has the looks of one of those hippy geeks from Silicon Valley in the Eighties. He must have an iron constitution, does not even wince when a full grown tree falls on his back. But wizards probably know how to reverse physical laws :)
Be surprised: this is the game of the portable HOPs. They manifest from everywhere, are conjured out of the blue. We touch a cloth, and – whoosh – it wafts to the table in the middle of the room and becomes a Wishing Tablecloth. Or an oriental lamp which – once polished - contains not only Aladdin in chains, but also a HOP where we find the keys to the chain locks. The magic lamp first appears at Embert's porch, later on the ship, somewhere completely else. These are genuine pocket HOPs! The snail “seed” is another one, or the book in the bonus chapter. I've never seen transportable HOPs before. Thank you for this nice invention, Elefun.
Puzzles are as always dead easy. What deters Elefun from setting up more challenge, I wonder. The bewitched librarian (the book) is a good example. We have to catch 10 falling letters and to avoid icicles. Disappointingly simple. Why not catch specific letters? Why not spell some long words without making a mistake? Regarding the soundtrack, it would be worth to spend a bit more time with puzzles.
Of course, one can always intentionally produce mistakes, to prolong any puzzle. In the toy castle with the black and white furry creatures, I actually ended up shooting the good ones, lol. They squeak “ohh!”, the black croak “odd!” (ought?) in a different pitch ... thus I hit a white creature - then a black one - white, ohh - black, odd - ohh - odd - ohh - odd … to the rhythm of the soundtrack Icy Wilderness. It's a killer. One of the highlights, so to say.
Other highlights are the fanciful HOPs, all varied and multilayered. They unveil one surprise after the other, sometimes even little side stories. In the second HOP at the port, you absolutely must click the aesthetically challenged seal BEFORE you feed it. It responds with three different sounds. Real seal voices, utterly intriguing.
Of course, one can always intentionally produce mistakes, to prolong any puzzle. In the toy castle with the black and white furry creatures, I actually ended up shooting the good ones, lol. They squeak “ohh!”, the black croak “odd!” (ought?) in a different pitch ... thus I hit a white creature - then a black one - white, ohh - black, odd - ohh - odd - ohh - odd … to the rhythm of the soundtrack Icy Wilderness. It's a killer. One of the highlights, so to say.
Other highlights are the fanciful HOPs, all varied and multilayered. They unveil one surprise after the other, sometimes even little side stories. In the second HOP at the port, you absolutely must click the aesthetically challenged seal BEFORE you feed it. It responds with three different sounds. Real seal voices, utterly intriguing.
The soundtrack contains 13 new tracks and one from Keeper of Antiques. After having heard them as downloads, I was amazed how differently they sounded within the game. They excellently fit into the particular puzzle or HOP; what I considered as peculiar beforehand, suddenly made sense. It's custom-tailored music. Within the giant flower, listen to the hollow sound of taking or placing puzzle pieces, and how seamlessly these “sighs” blend into the background music. Or, when Bertha dives for crystal shards, enjoy the bubbly swing music from a drowned Wurlitzer, still operating after all these years under water …
Speaking of sound: Elefun's composer has a new fan site on Facebook. If you value Arkhipov's music, you can find him now under his artist name arhipco - and like his site :)
Speaking of sound: Elefun's composer has a new fan site on Facebook. If you value Arkhipov's music, you can find him now under his artist name arhipco - and like his site :)
This is not Elefun's best edition, but yet highly inventive and entertaining. Fun aplenty: from the color-changing chameleon to the singing tea kettle or the clever way to get rid of a ghost. Some said that this game is childish. Yes, it is. We are invited to giggle and to awaken our intrinsic child if we want immerse into this fantasy world. Believe me, it's worth it.
The main game ends conclusive. The bonus is a sequel, we play as Annabel, and it is basically the same story again in a short version. If you want to know what you miss with the SE, read my review of the CE.
I recommend this game!
Can you save your uncle before it's too late?
Overall rating
4
/
5
11 of 15 found this review helpful
Nothing New in the Antique Shop
PostedAugust 4, 2016
spythere
fromarhipco's Bandcamp
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Isn't it wonderful to travel through books or stories? Every reader can confirm it. But this antique tome is a nasty book of nightmares - and it ate already uncle Paul! It also magically reproduces and generates other books within the book. We (as niece Alexandra) slip thus in and out of our own and other people's nightmares, we travel trough time and space to find the core of evil.
Of course one could ask whether it's a good idea to create the enemy in form of a book, nowadays, whilst dyslexia spreads in our schools like the flu. But as it turns out, the evil book, “the abyss of your worst nightmares”, is in fact ----- SPOILER ----- more a purple toy monster that bares rows of pointy teeth ... which are so long that they would puncture the monster's own lips if it'd ever try to close its mouth. Funny, not in the least threatening.
Of course one could ask whether it's a good idea to create the enemy in form of a book, nowadays, whilst dyslexia spreads in our schools like the flu. But as it turns out, the evil book, “the abyss of your worst nightmares”, is in fact ----- SPOILER ----- more a purple toy monster that bares rows of pointy teeth ... which are so long that they would puncture the monster's own lips if it'd ever try to close its mouth. Funny, not in the least threatening.
I wonder whether this game was planned as a dark, uncanny game, but in course of making developed more into a fantasy light adventure. It appears a bit undecided yet. Not scary enough to be eerie, but not much humor either. It could well tolerate a bit more of it. Like the doll which jumps from a pendulum clock like a cuckoo, but squeaks like Mickey Mouse. Or Marquis de Laplace, especially in his dissolved state in the bonus chapter. Often I had the feeling that the game is just unintentionally funny. like the ghostly footprints of naked feet on the floor - whilst we distinctly hear the clack clack of heels.
This is the first game of a new series. Now, what's new in Keeper of Antiques? We have for the first time a proper cast list for the voice actors! Thank you for this improvement, Elefun. Now we only need the ability to stop this list from scrolling too quickly past ... in order to read the names. Otherwise I didn't find many novelties. Since Alexandra speaks with the voice of Emma Roberts, the game at first reminds of a Fear for Sale edition. Later we dive into fantasy worlds à la Witches Legacy with entertaining, varied HOPs, for example silhouettes, interactive lists, stories with highlighted words. Nothing new, just the solid quality-play which we are accustomed to from this dev. But to be fair, there never will be a demand for new things in an antique shop ;)
However, I was slightly disappointed that also puzzles and mini games are the same easy-peasy, fool-proof stuff which Elefun provides from time immemorial. This would have been the opportunity to revise the difficulty level and finally create puzzles for grown ups.
However, I was slightly disappointed that also puzzles and mini games are the same easy-peasy, fool-proof stuff which Elefun provides from time immemorial. This would have been the opportunity to revise the difficulty level and finally create puzzles for grown ups.
If there is something new to discover, then most likely in the music. We may download astonishing 27 tracks, that's over one hour music! Although eleven are borrowed from recent WL and FFS games. Of the 16 new compositions, a few have a tendency to Ambient and Minimal. An interesting development; I've never heard Minimal in the highly symphonic Big Fish world before.
The background sound is brilliant as always, a plurality of inventive noises, from the sharp snap of a guillotine to the shriek of an iron grate or the sloshing sound of ink drops. Did you know that the whole game contains over 1600 different SFX sounds?
The background sound is brilliant as always, a plurality of inventive noises, from the sharp snap of a guillotine to the shriek of an iron grate or the sloshing sound of ink drops. Did you know that the whole game contains over 1600 different SFX sounds?
The hint-giving fairy in my inventory bewildered me a bit. There is in the whole game no fairy. Would a magnifier not have been more appropriate? An antique dealer has all the time to decipher small engravings or check ancient paintings.
Confusing is also that uncle Paul and Arthur Bradley, the author of the nightmare book, look very similar with their shaved heads. It's quite easy to mistake the one for the other. I mean, why not give Arthur a hairdo from 19th century? Sideburns, whiskers? He does look too modern anyway.
Confusing is also that uncle Paul and Arthur Bradley, the author of the nightmare book, look very similar with their shaved heads. It's quite easy to mistake the one for the other. I mean, why not give Arthur a hairdo from 19th century? Sideburns, whiskers? He does look too modern anyway.
But what bothered me most is the poison which we must apply on the snappy plants. Yes, I know, these are fantasy plants. But it gives the completely wrong idea. One simply doesn't use herbicides, not whilst the whole world tries to rescue the last bees from Monsanto and glyphosate. Elefun always restrained of using biocides in games. I hope they won't start a new fashion now.
“From now on, you are the Keeper of Artifacts,” says uncle Paul when he presents Alexandra with the key of the antique shop. I wonder how the girl will occupy the powerful but tricky position of a “Keeper”. What winks nervously when I look into the mirror is a slightly dreamy, sheepish plain Jane. Seemingly not quite made of the sterner stuff of adventurous heroines. But probably her looks deceive; we'll see :)
CE or SE? For the soundtrack I would clearly say CE. Many tunes are inaudible or shortened in the game. For the story … hm. The main game has a proper ending. If you want to know what you miss with the Standard Edition, read my review of the CE.
I recommend this game!
Can you save your uncle before it's too late?
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Nothing New in the Antique Shop
PostedAugust 4, 2016
spythere
fromarhipco's Bandcamp
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Isn't it wonderful to travel through books or stories? Every reader can confirm it. But this antique tome is a nasty book of nightmares - and it ate already uncle Paul! It also magically reproduces and generates other books within the book. We (as niece Alexandra) slip thus in and out of our own and other people's nightmares, we travel trough time and space to find the core of evil.
Of course one could ask whether it's a good idea to create the enemy in form of a book, nowadays, whilst dyslexia spreads in our schools like the flu. But as it turns out, the evil book, “the abyss of your worst nightmares”, is in fact ----- SPOILER ----- more a purple toy monster that bares rows of pointy teeth ... which are so long that they would puncture the monster's own lips if it'd ever try to close its mouth. Funny, not in the least threatening.
I wonder whether this game was planned as a dark, uncanny game, but in course of making developed more into a fantasy light adventure. It appears a bit undecided yet. Not scary enough to be eerie, but not much humor either. It could well tolerate a bit more of it. Like the doll which jumps from a pendulum clock like a cuckoo, but squeaks like Mickey Mouse. Or Marquis de Laplace, especially in his dissolved state in the bonus chapter. Often I had the feeling that the game is just unintentionally funny. like the ghostly footprints of naked feet on the floor - whilst we distinctly hear the clack clack of heels.
This is the first game of a new series. Now, what's new in Keeper of Antiques? We have for the first time a proper cast list for the voice actors! Thank you for this improvement, Elefun. Now we only need the ability to stop this list from scrolling too quickly past ... in order to read the names. We have also an upgrade of the collection, which I will describe in the Extras. Otherwise I didn't find many novelties. Since Alexandra speaks with the voice of Emma Roberts, the game at first reminds of a Fear for Sale edition. Later we dive into fantasy worlds à la Witches Legacy with entertaining, varied HOPs, for example silhouettes, interactive lists, stories with highlighted words. Nothing new, just the solid quality-play which we are accustomed to from this dev. But to be fair, there never will be a demand for new things in an antique shop ;)
However, I was slightly disappointed that also puzzles and mini games are the same easy-peasy, fool-proof stuff which Elefun provides from time immemorial. This would have been the opportunity to revise the difficulty level and finally create puzzles for grown ups.
However, I was slightly disappointed that also puzzles and mini games are the same easy-peasy, fool-proof stuff which Elefun provides from time immemorial. This would have been the opportunity to revise the difficulty level and finally create puzzles for grown ups.
If there is something new to discover, then most likely in the music. We may download astonishing 27 tracks, that's over one hour music! Although eleven are borrowed from recent WL and FFS games. Of the 16 new compositions, a few have a tendency to Ambient and Minimal, for example Mirror, Safe or Spines. An interesting development; I've never heard Minimal in the highly symphonic Big Fish world before. My favorite track is Casket, a ghoulish mix of Minimal and Nosferatu. Alas again used for the easiest puzzle, thus tune aborted after 20 seconds. I absolutely recommend to use the music download, else you will miss the best tracks.
The background sound is brilliant as always, a plurality of inventive noises, from the sharp snap of a guillotine to the shriek of an iron grate or the sloshing sound of ink drops. Did you know that the whole game contains over 1600 different SFX sounds?
The background sound is brilliant as always, a plurality of inventive noises, from the sharp snap of a guillotine to the shriek of an iron grate or the sloshing sound of ink drops. Did you know that the whole game contains over 1600 different SFX sounds?
The hint-giving fairy in my inventory bewildered me a bit. There is in the whole game no fairy. Would a magnifier not have been more appropriate? An antique dealer has all the time to decipher small engravings or check ancient paintings.
Confusing is also that uncle Paul and Arthur Bradley, the author of the nightmare book, look very similar with their shaved heads. It's quite easy to mistake the one for the other. I mean, why not give Arthur a hairdo from 19th century? Sideburns, whiskers? He does look too modern anyway.
Confusing is also that uncle Paul and Arthur Bradley, the author of the nightmare book, look very similar with their shaved heads. It's quite easy to mistake the one for the other. I mean, why not give Arthur a hairdo from 19th century? Sideburns, whiskers? He does look too modern anyway.
But what bothered me most is the poison which we must apply on the snappy plants. Yes, I know, these are fantasy plants. But it gives the completely wrong idea. One simply doesn't use herbicides, not whilst the whole world tries to rescue the last bees from Monsanto and glyphosate. Elefun always restrained of using biocides in games. I hope they won't start a new fashion now.
“From now on, you are the Keeper of Artifacts,” says uncle Paul when he presents Alexandra with the key of the antique shop. I wonder how the girl will occupy the powerful but tricky position of a “Keeper”. What winks nervously when I look into the mirror is a slightly dreamy, sheepish plain Jane. Seemingly not quite made of the sterner stuff of adventurous heroines. But probably her looks deceive; we'll see :)
Bonus
The bonus chapter lasts around one hour and plays in 9 scenes. Three were already in the main game, six are new. Well balanced as always, it contains 7 HOs, 7 puzzles and 7 of those mini games, like finding 5 parts of an item in the whole scene.
The collecting of collectibles and morphing objects continues through the bonus chapter. We also come up against the one and only puzzle which is not solved in a few seconds. That is, if one doesn't cheat and consult the walkthrough.
The bonus chapter lasts around one hour and plays in 9 scenes. Three were already in the main game, six are new. Well balanced as always, it contains 7 HOs, 7 puzzles and 7 of those mini games, like finding 5 parts of an item in the whole scene.
The collecting of collectibles and morphing objects continues through the bonus chapter. We also come up against the one and only puzzle which is not solved in a few seconds. That is, if one doesn't cheat and consult the walkthrough.
The bonus story is a sequel. SPOILER ---- Re-write the Book of Nightmares was not enough. It begins to cloud the minds of people who came in contact with it earlier. With help of the talking portrait, pardon, Marquis de Laplace, Alexandra goes on search for the origin of the book and is lead to Paris in the year 1787. Saved by the bell, it seems. Two years later, and she would have landed smack in the French Revolution, lol.
Extras
12 achievements, seven of them game-related.
9 wallpapers, 11 pictures in the art gallery, 3 screen savers.
Collect 36 puzzle pieces through the game. Four puzzles (9 pieces each) will reveal some background information about the main characters.
12 achievements, seven of them game-related.
9 wallpapers, 11 pictures in the art gallery, 3 screen savers.
Collect 36 puzzle pieces through the game. Four puzzles (9 pieces each) will reveal some background information about the main characters.
Collectibles: Elefun took quite an effort to equip the collection, what a surprise! Dispersed through the game, we will find an old gramophone with four records (7 pieces), a planetarium with 6 planets (7), a picture (7), the horn of plenty (6) and a birdcage (6). And the extra fun is: we can interact with the items! The gramophone plays The Four Seasons. Literally: the weather outside changes from spring to winter with each vinyl; Vivaldi connoisseurs will have an eytra laugh. We can paint the portrait, but alas not as we like it, and only once. We can put the birds into the cage, but then they simply sit there. With everything except the gramophone we can act only once.
I'm thrilled about this development, but I hope Elefun won't leave it at that. I hope there will be more of the repeatable action, like the record-player. It would be nice if every bird would beep in another tone, so we could play a melody through clicking birds. Or if the planets would reveal more information instead of only transform into a static galaxy. Why are the fruits from the horn of plenty not edible? One could do a lot with collectibles ...
Also, I hope that Elefun will edit the achievements and give us more real awards. Like for playing a HOP without mis-clicks, finish it under one minute, or some such. Too many achievements we gain for simply playing the game.
I'm thrilled about this development, but I hope Elefun won't leave it at that. I hope there will be more of the repeatable action, like the record-player. It would be nice if every bird would beep in another tone, so we could play a melody through clicking birds. Or if the planets would reveal more information instead of only transform into a static galaxy. Why are the fruits from the horn of plenty not edible? One could do a lot with collectibles ...
Also, I hope that Elefun will edit the achievements and give us more real awards. Like for playing a HOP without mis-clicks, finish it under one minute, or some such. Too many achievements we gain for simply playing the game.
CE or SE? For the soundtrack I would clearly say CE. Many tunes are inaudible or shortened in the game. For the story … hm. The main game has a proper ending. The bonus chapter is mainly a prolongation of the fight against the nightmare book. Interesting, but not necessary.
I recommend this game!
Is fear the price or the reward?
Overall rating
5
/
5
48 of 62 found this review helpful
Ghostly Gathering with Spooky Sound
PostedApril 15, 2016
spythere
fromon arhipco's sound cloud
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
A new EleFun game is always music to my ears, and naturally I play the music first :) FFS 8 includes 21 tracks: a total of 50 minutes! Ok, half of them we know from previous games, but a few are newly recorded and got interesting, new accents. So we have kind of "The Best of Arkhipov", mixed with the custom-made new tracks.
And, whoa ... what a thrilling, creepy sound if ever there was one! It creeps right under your skin, creeps up your spine and makes your hair stand on end. We hear the piercing cries of seagulls - which are perhaps not seagulls at all, but hungry banshees, raging zombies or a tormented keyboard. There are whimpering musical saws, sombre ship horns, ghostly moan and sniffling, the drip-drip-drips of water torture in an eerie cave, electric crackle and static noises. Sounds just like a terrific game.
And, whoa ... what a thrilling, creepy sound if ever there was one! It creeps right under your skin, creeps up your spine and makes your hair stand on end. We hear the piercing cries of seagulls - which are perhaps not seagulls at all, but hungry banshees, raging zombies or a tormented keyboard. There are whimpering musical saws, sombre ship horns, ghostly moan and sniffling, the drip-drip-drips of water torture in an eerie cave, electric crackle and static noises. Sounds just like a terrific game.
We (as Emma Roberts) are sent again to investigate a supernatural case and to interview some ghosts if possible. And again one of the art director’s charming daughters plays the role of the little girl.
Alex Dean is introduced as an artist - but I have my doubts. Judging by his uninspired, bourgeois furnishing and his kitschy paintings (huh? windmill in the mountains?) I’d say that he is at best a hobby artist. But a good-looking one, albeit sullen; his talking is is always at the verge of shouting. No wonder: his little daughter Sonia was kidnapped by ghosts, his wife perished. Though she still hovers as a helpful spirit through the house (and imho needs a new hair stylist).
Four other ethereal entities inhabit the Black River Ranch: Martin Spencer, his wife Lisa, his sister Martha and Harry, probably an employee. They all have been murdered 100 years ago by a lynch mob. Now they try, like voodoo ghosts, to "ride" the bodies of the living. Martin Spencer, a pharmacist with witchcraft skills, is depicted as selfish and cruel. He forbade his sister to marry and acted even more detestable when he learned of her pregnancy. Just to keep her in the house as a cheap working force?
Alex Dean is introduced as an artist - but I have my doubts. Judging by his uninspired, bourgeois furnishing and his kitschy paintings (huh? windmill in the mountains?) I’d say that he is at best a hobby artist. But a good-looking one, albeit sullen; his talking is is always at the verge of shouting. No wonder: his little daughter Sonia was kidnapped by ghosts, his wife perished. Though she still hovers as a helpful spirit through the house (and imho needs a new hair stylist).
Four other ethereal entities inhabit the Black River Ranch: Martin Spencer, his wife Lisa, his sister Martha and Harry, probably an employee. They all have been murdered 100 years ago by a lynch mob. Now they try, like voodoo ghosts, to "ride" the bodies of the living. Martin Spencer, a pharmacist with witchcraft skills, is depicted as selfish and cruel. He forbade his sister to marry and acted even more detestable when he learned of her pregnancy. Just to keep her in the house as a cheap working force?
It's icy winter, wind whistles constantly, crows caw and croak, even in HOPs ... The sound effects are brilliant, from the uncanny background SFX to the hundreds of crackings, crunchings and creakings whenever we interact with anything.
Like always in EleFun games we should click on everything, at least in the first scenes. Watch how the light reflections on the table brighten when the candles ignite; open the fortune cookies and read your fate. To shoot the jacket from the tree in the backyard, we find a slingshot. Just for fun, we could at first aim at other things. The noise of the impact changes when we hit different materials. We can even smash the lanterns or, if we feel wicked enough, pelt the poor squirrel (it will never return after that). Be on the lookout in this game; many little surprises wait to be discovered. Amongst other things it is this loving attention to details which marks EleFun as one of BFs outstanding developers.
Like always in EleFun games we should click on everything, at least in the first scenes. Watch how the light reflections on the table brighten when the candles ignite; open the fortune cookies and read your fate. To shoot the jacket from the tree in the backyard, we find a slingshot. Just for fun, we could at first aim at other things. The noise of the impact changes when we hit different materials. We can even smash the lanterns or, if we feel wicked enough, pelt the poor squirrel (it will never return after that). Be on the lookout in this game; many little surprises wait to be discovered. Amongst other things it is this loving attention to details which marks EleFun as one of BFs outstanding developers.
It is a HOP-heavy game - and it seems that EleFun raised the bar yet again. Funny and interactive. Multi-layered. Silhouettes. Chain reactions. A few reminded me of those mind-boggling Rube Goldberg sequences.
However I had to wait for the seventh hidden object puzzle to hear the new music. Of 25 HOPs, only five have new tracks (two, used multiple times). Not all the tracks from previous games have the scary ambiance of the new ones; hence tension and the eerie atmosphere are again and again broken through HOPs with too cheerful tunes. Too bad.
Puzzles are mainly accompanied by barely audible, spooky SFX; merely five are underlaid with new compositions. Such a pity. All except two puzzles are so quickly solved that we never get to hear a full tune. For example „Atlases“ or „Cold stone“, two long, ingeniously crafted tracks, are wasted for two easiest puzzles which take 15 or 30 seconds. I was flabbergasted. Why create such marvelous music and not use it in the game? Or rather, to use it so sparingly that it is hardly noticed.
However I had to wait for the seventh hidden object puzzle to hear the new music. Of 25 HOPs, only five have new tracks (two, used multiple times). Not all the tracks from previous games have the scary ambiance of the new ones; hence tension and the eerie atmosphere are again and again broken through HOPs with too cheerful tunes. Too bad.
Puzzles are mainly accompanied by barely audible, spooky SFX; merely five are underlaid with new compositions. Such a pity. All except two puzzles are so quickly solved that we never get to hear a full tune. For example „Atlases“ or „Cold stone“, two long, ingeniously crafted tracks, are wasted for two easiest puzzles which take 15 or 30 seconds. I was flabbergasted. Why create such marvelous music and not use it in the game? Or rather, to use it so sparingly that it is hardly noticed.
CE or SE? The main game ends conclusively, however the bonus chapter adds to the story. The extras are as always rather redundant and not worth the CE price, but the music and the bonus tale are tempting. If you want to know more details, check my review of the CE.
PS: Wouldn't it be nice if we had a proper cast list in the credits? At least for the voice actors. Emily Eldridge as Emma Roberts, Kendra Hoffman as Sarah Dean, and so on ...
I recommend this game!
Is fear the price or the reward?
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
Ghostly Gathering with Spooky Sound
PostedMarch 31, 2016
spythere
fromon arhipco's sound cloud
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
A new EleFun game is always music to my ears, and naturally I play the music first. FFS 8 provides 21 tracks: a total of 50 minutes! Ok, half of them we know from previous games, but thus excellent sound is certainly qualified to be listened more than once. A few tunes even have been newly recorded and got interesting accents. So we have kind of "The Best of Arkhipov", mixed with the custom-made new tracks.
And, whoa ... what a thrilling, creepy sound if ever there was one! It creeps right under your skin, creeps up your spine and makes your hair stand on end. We hear piercing cries of seagulls - which are perhaps not seagulls at all, but hungry banshees, raging zombies or a tormented keyboard. There are whimpering musical saws, sombre ship horns, ghostly moan and sniffling, the drip-drip-drips of water torture in an eerie cave which crackles under static noises. Sounds just like a terrific game.
And, whoa ... what a thrilling, creepy sound if ever there was one! It creeps right under your skin, creeps up your spine and makes your hair stand on end. We hear piercing cries of seagulls - which are perhaps not seagulls at all, but hungry banshees, raging zombies or a tormented keyboard. There are whimpering musical saws, sombre ship horns, ghostly moan and sniffling, the drip-drip-drips of water torture in an eerie cave which crackles under static noises. Sounds just like a terrific game.
We (as Emma Roberts) are sent again to investigate a supernatural case and to interview some ghosts if possible. And again one of the art director’s charming daughters plays the role of the little girl :)
Alex Dean is introduced as an artist, but I have my doubts. Judging by his uninspired, bourgeois furnishing and his kitschy paintings (huh? windmill in the mountains?) I’d say that he is at best a hobby artist. But a good-looking one, albeit sullen. No wonder: his little daughter Sonia was kidnapped by ghosts, his wife perished. Though she still hovers as a helpful spirit through the house (and imho needs a new hair stylist).
Four other ethereal entities inhabit the Black River Ranch: Martin Spencer, his wife Lisa, his sister Martha and Harry, probably an employee. They all have been murdered 100 years ago by a lynch mob. Now they try, like voodoo ghosts, to "ride" bodies of living humans. Martin Spencer, a pharmacist with witchcraft skills, is depicted as selfish and cruel. He forbade his sister to marry and acted even more detestable when he learned of her pregnancy. Just to keep her in the house as a cheap working force?
Alex Dean is introduced as an artist, but I have my doubts. Judging by his uninspired, bourgeois furnishing and his kitschy paintings (huh? windmill in the mountains?) I’d say that he is at best a hobby artist. But a good-looking one, albeit sullen. No wonder: his little daughter Sonia was kidnapped by ghosts, his wife perished. Though she still hovers as a helpful spirit through the house (and imho needs a new hair stylist).
Four other ethereal entities inhabit the Black River Ranch: Martin Spencer, his wife Lisa, his sister Martha and Harry, probably an employee. They all have been murdered 100 years ago by a lynch mob. Now they try, like voodoo ghosts, to "ride" bodies of living humans. Martin Spencer, a pharmacist with witchcraft skills, is depicted as selfish and cruel. He forbade his sister to marry and acted even more detestable when he learned of her pregnancy. Just to keep her in the house as a cheap working force?
It's icy winter, wind whistles constantly, crows caw and croak even in HOPs ... luckily there is a crackling fireplace. The sound effects are brilliant, from the uncanny background SFX to the hundreds of crackings, crunchings and creakings whenever we interact with anything.
Like always in EleFun games we should click on everything, at least in the first scenes. Watch how the light reflection on the table changes when the candles ignite; open the fortune cookies and read your fate. To shoot the jacket from the tree in the backyard, we find a slingshot. Just for fun, we could at first aim at other things. Hark how the noise of the impact changes when we hit different materials. We can even smash the lanterns or, if we feel wicked enough, pelt the poor squirrel (it will never return after that). Be on the lookout in this game; many little surprises wait to be discovered. Amongst other things it is this loving attention to details which marks EleFun as one of BFs most outstanding developers.
Like always in EleFun games we should click on everything, at least in the first scenes. Watch how the light reflection on the table changes when the candles ignite; open the fortune cookies and read your fate. To shoot the jacket from the tree in the backyard, we find a slingshot. Just for fun, we could at first aim at other things. Hark how the noise of the impact changes when we hit different materials. We can even smash the lanterns or, if we feel wicked enough, pelt the poor squirrel (it will never return after that). Be on the lookout in this game; many little surprises wait to be discovered. Amongst other things it is this loving attention to details which marks EleFun as one of BFs most outstanding developers.
It is a HOP-heavy game - and it seems that EleFun raised the bar yet again. Funny and interactive. Multi-layered. Silhouettes. Chain reactions. A few reminded me of those mind-boggling Rube Goldberg sequences.
However I had to wait for the seventh hidden object puzzle to hear the new music. Of 25 HOPs, only five have new tracks (two, used multiple times). Not all the tracks from previous games have the scary tone of the new ones; hence tension and the eerie atmosphere are again and again broken through HOPs with too cheerful tunes. Too bad.
Puzzles are mainly accompanied by barely audible, spooky SFX; merely five are underlaid with new compositions. Such a pity. All except two puzzles are so quickly solved that we never get to hear a full tune. For example „Atlases“ or „Cold stone“, two long, ingeniously crafted tracks, are wasted for two easiest puzzles which take 15 or 30 seconds. I was flabbergasted. Why create such marvelous music and not use it in the game? Or rather, to use it so sparingly that it is hardly noticed.
However I had to wait for the seventh hidden object puzzle to hear the new music. Of 25 HOPs, only five have new tracks (two, used multiple times). Not all the tracks from previous games have the scary tone of the new ones; hence tension and the eerie atmosphere are again and again broken through HOPs with too cheerful tunes. Too bad.
Puzzles are mainly accompanied by barely audible, spooky SFX; merely five are underlaid with new compositions. Such a pity. All except two puzzles are so quickly solved that we never get to hear a full tune. For example „Atlases“ or „Cold stone“, two long, ingeniously crafted tracks, are wasted for two easiest puzzles which take 15 or 30 seconds. I was flabbergasted. Why create such marvelous music and not use it in the game? Or rather, to use it so sparingly that it is hardly noticed.
Extras:
- Nine achievements, five of them game-related, thus, not really achievements. We end up as Legend again, nothing new in the journalist department.
- Collectibles are the ever same five of these, five of those - but there is a slight upgrading: For the first time we can see the items in close up and recognize what things we collected :) 22 items are in the main game, three in the bonus to find.
- 34 morphing objects, one in every scene; this continues through the bonus chapter.
- Wallpapers, screen savers and concept art are all the same: pictures to download.
- Nine achievements, five of them game-related, thus, not really achievements. We end up as Legend again, nothing new in the journalist department.
- Collectibles are the ever same five of these, five of those - but there is a slight upgrading: For the first time we can see the items in close up and recognize what things we collected :) 22 items are in the main game, three in the bonus to find.
- 34 morphing objects, one in every scene; this continues through the bonus chapter.
- Wallpapers, screen savers and concept art are all the same: pictures to download.
With HOPs and puzzles still not replayable it's quite a meagre CE content. Actually it boils down to the bonus chapter and the music download. The latter could indeed be a reason to buy the CE; in the game you might miss the best tracks.
The bonus chapter plays in 10 scenes, six of them new. It contains 8 HOPs, 8 puzzles and lasts around one hour. Sonia is again abducted by the Spencers, and we learn more of the past events which befell the unlucky family.
SPOILER ----- Obviously it was a personal feud, kindled by envy and competition. The local apothecary couldn't bear the fact that his rival Spencer was successful and well liked. Together with the mayor he started a mobbing campaign which eventually led to the murderous arson which we witnessed in the opening scene.
Somehow a sensible sequel, or actually a prequel, concerning the Spencers. Witch hunt or social exclusion exist nowadays more than ever. Replace “witch” through “terrorist”, and you have a current topic.
Martin Spencer, the evil fellow who betrayed his own sister, is here portrayed as the opposite: a helpful healer who wouldn't even take money from poor customers. Interesting contradiction. Was he the public angel and the family bully? We'll never find out, since the game ends here. R.I.P. Martin, Lisa, Martha, Harry ... and Sarah.
Somehow a sensible sequel, or actually a prequel, concerning the Spencers. Witch hunt or social exclusion exist nowadays more than ever. Replace “witch” through “terrorist”, and you have a current topic.
Martin Spencer, the evil fellow who betrayed his own sister, is here portrayed as the opposite: a helpful healer who wouldn't even take money from poor customers. Interesting contradiction. Was he the public angel and the family bully? We'll never find out, since the game ends here. R.I.P. Martin, Lisa, Martha, Harry ... and Sarah.
PS: Wouldn't it be nice if we had a proper cast list in the credits? At least for the voice actors. Emily Eldridge as Emma Roberts, Kendra Hoffman as Sarah Dean, and so forth ...
I recommend this game!
Golems are taking over Glanville, and only you can stop them!
Overall rating
3
/
5
14 of 17 found this review helpful
Coquettish Golems, Fantastic HOPs and a Hidden Composer
PostedMarch 7, 2016
spythere
fromon arhipco's sound cloud
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
It seems that Elephant couldn't decide about our little helper of which they had two different models. So they gave us both. A wooden dwarf is responsible for hints and the background story of Glanville. Secondly, we have a cutesy, little, self baked baby golem with ugly, electric blue war painting all over his body. He sits within the inventory and is used to climb walls, slip into small holes and the like. Except the war paint (like blue sores) he is quite droll, people will like him.
The graphics have the blurred effect of pastel crayons, except in close ups. Glanville is bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun - or rising sun? Whatever, there is a cosy golden hue everywhere, purple shadows, the sky is pink and yellow - which is also a bit unsettling whenever it looks like the sky over a conflagration.
The graphics have the blurred effect of pastel crayons, except in close ups. Glanville is bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun - or rising sun? Whatever, there is a cosy golden hue everywhere, purple shadows, the sky is pink and yellow - which is also a bit unsettling whenever it looks like the sky over a conflagration.
The golems … oh well. Not very golem-ish imho, at least not their animation. Golems made of clay, whose stiff, stony joints surely gnash and grit; would they move smooth, cat-like? Would they playfully mimic threatening gestures? And then not attack, but run away? Those coquettish golems are of course not in the least frightening, but it seems anyway that the game is aimed at children. Once, we feed a dog with sleeping pills and can read the remark: “No animals were harmed during the making of this game”. Made me smile.
Mini games are on the easy side. However I was thrilled about the HOPs. So much fun, such a variety! A HOP which I've never seen before, was played in a whole room: You must alternately find items or put items back, and click each time on a shining icon to trigger the next step. Interesting to play, like kind of a seesaw. Other HOPs are:
- find misplaced items within a picture
- word lists which unlock compartments with a fragmented item
- silhouettes
- uncover pairs
- find the difference between mirrored sculptures
In fact, there is no existing kind of HOP which is not implemented :)
- find misplaced items within a picture
- word lists which unlock compartments with a fragmented item
- silhouettes
- uncover pairs
- find the difference between mirrored sculptures
In fact, there is no existing kind of HOP which is not implemented :)
The music runs all together not even 5 minutes and consists of five shortest loops. Although it is used sparingly, tedious repetitions in HOPs are unavoidable. Pity, since I found it quite well done … and looked up the composer. Are you up for a surprise? You'll find him under the name DenDerty at Soundcloud: a young, exciting, prolific industrial-hardcore-trash-metal prodigy, merciless genuine, with a refreshing humor on the verge of sarcasm. Although it's not quite my sound, I can recognize good music when I hear it. Listen to “Self-Annihilation” - but careful with the volume, lest he'll blow your brains out :D One would never assume that the same person was responsible for the neat, reputable game tracks. I wish DenDerty had been allowed to contribute more of his experimental sounds. Imagine: to defeat the golems with music! Let them dance themselves to rubble, lol.
If you don't know whether to buy SE or CE, read my review of the CE. The main game ends conclusively; it's not necessary to play the bonus chapter.
All in all it's a merry, mediocre fantasy game, recommendable as family game, not so much if you search for something outstanding. I've seen better games, but also worse. Its a pleasant, entertaining adventure - although I fear it belongs to those games which you'll soon forget, after having played them. Not much to write home about, except the excellent HOPs. But surely you won't forget DenDerty ;)
If you don't know whether to buy SE or CE, read my review of the CE. The main game ends conclusively; it's not necessary to play the bonus chapter.
All in all it's a merry, mediocre fantasy game, recommendable as family game, not so much if you search for something outstanding. I've seen better games, but also worse. Its a pleasant, entertaining adventure - although I fear it belongs to those games which you'll soon forget, after having played them. Not much to write home about, except the excellent HOPs. But surely you won't forget DenDerty ;)
I recommend this game!