Chudah's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:16
- Reviews Submitted:3
- First Review:October 31, 2012
- Most Recent Review:November 6, 2012
- Featured reviews0
Chudah's Review History
Help Kiera Vale discover her ancestor’s history as she explores Blackwater Asylum in Nightmare Adventures: The Witch’s Prison!
Overall rating
4
/
5
8 of 9 found this review helpful
Fun and entertaining, although not perfect.
PostedNovember 6, 2012
Chudah
fromChicago
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Despite being a little rough around the edges, there was something that really intrigued me about this game. After playing through the demo, I decided that I'd risk a purchase to see where it would go.
I'd have to say the thing I liked best about Nightmare Adventures: Witch's Prison is that it's not your standard Haunted Asylum game. The story goes in an unexpected direction early on and keeps you guessing all the way up to the cliffhanger ending. The story ends with quite a few questions unanswered, which I assume would be addressed in a sequel, so here's to hoping we get one.
The gameplay is your typical adventure fare tasking you to find items, solve puzzles, and uncover the story through random notes and books, but without any hidden object scenes to work through. The complexity of the puzzles vary from pretty easy (I ended up accidentally solving a few by randomly clicking on things while trying to figure out the method) to challenging, but most seemed on the easier side once I put a bit of my mind to it, although the puzzle difficulty ramps up a bit towards the end. I think my favorite aspect of the game were the riddle clues; they weren't incredibly hard to figure out, but fun to work through nonetheless. I also loved the fact that the puzzles were not explained to you and you had to figure out how they worked. Without a difficulty setting, this helped stretch the gameplay out a bit for me, especially since I refuse to use the Hint and Skip buttons unless I'm completely stuck.
Speaking of difficulty, there is one challenge level to the game, and as such, no sparkles or any visual indicators of areas of interest outside of mousing over items. This may be frustrating for the more casual player who prefers easier game settings, but the Hint button refills quickly and gives detailed clues that won't leave you guessing, and of course there's a Skip button for all of the puzzles.
As for the graphics, they aren't groundbreaking by any means and did not detract from or hurt the gameplay at all. Nothing really stood out to me in either a good or bad way, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I liked the more stylistic and cartoon-ish cut scene images which I think worked well with the story and characters (this isn't meant to be incredibly dark and scary, at least I didn't think so).
One thing that really stood out to me was the flavor text on just about every item in a room/area. Many items even offer additional comments and descriptions if you click on them more than once. This added a lot of detail to the game's surroundings as well as quite a bit of humor to Kiera's character. I wish more games would put in the effort to add more flavor text as it was a real treat here.
The game is not without its flaws, however. There is very little music played outside of the cut scenes, which isn't a horrible thing if the background sounds fit in well and help build atmosphere, but even ambient noises and sound effects are completely missing from some scenes. I found myself checking my speakers and sound volume a few times because there just wasn't any noise at all coming out of the game in some rooms. The "item find" jingle seemed out of place for this type of game and was quite annoying, but I got used to it as I played. I wasn't particularly fond of the UI either, as I found having to actively click on the X buttons to leave the Journal/Clues boxes a bit tedious and sometimes frustrating when I would try clicking outside of them to close them out, but to no avail. And, again, a few of the puzzles were just too easy to figure out, some only requiring 3 or 4 steps to solve which removed any sense of accomplishment of having worked through them.
That said, I still really enjoyed Nightmare Adventures: The Witch's Prison and feel it's worth picking up (especially if you catch it on the Daily Deal). I can't say it's the most polished adventure game I've ever played, but it does enough things right that I was able to overlook its flaws and appreciate the game for the entertaining, and often amusing, journey that it is.
I recommend this game!
Help Sam rescue his love Anna in Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome, an incredible Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Excellent gameplay and production value more than makes up for a weak story.
PostedNovember 1, 2012
Chudah
fromChicago
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I wasn't particularly intrigued with Brink of Consciousness after playing through the demo, but I was drawn in enough by the graphics and atmosphere that I resolved to buy the SE if it ever went up for the Daily Deal. When the CE came up on sale for $4.99 not long after, I simply couldn't pass on the opportunity. Despite a silly premise, I was captivated by the gorgeous graphics and strong adventure game elements. Thankfully, the more I played, the more I became enveloped in the story, even though I didn't quite care for it in the beginning.
I would classify Dorian Gray as more of an adventure game than HOG as there aren't many hidden object scenes, but that suited me just fine as I'm more of an adventure gamer than anything else. There is quite a bit of backtracking and exploration, and a large number of items find their way into your inventory, all of which I know many HOG gamers are not fond of, but I thoroughly enjoyed those elements of the game as they get me exploring and help immerse me into the game world.
My play through took about 12 hours (both main game and bonus chapter). I played on Expert with minimal hint usage and only consulted the strategy guide a couple of times. I generally take my time and try to stay away from the Hint/Skip button unless I'm completely stuck. This not only helps immerse me in the game world, but stretches out the playtime giving me more bang for my buck.
Pros
- Gorgeously detailed graphics and locations
- Nice unobtrusive music (although somewhat unmemorable)
- Sound effects are very good, especially the room specific noises that add greatly to the atmosphere
- Hidden Object Scenes are clean and organized with items that make sense to the locations
- Hidden Object Scene color schemes are somewhat muted making the searches easier on your eyes
- A huge number of areas to explore, one of the largest IHOGs I've played
- Map (thank goodness) that updates as you play
- Toggleable grain filter is a nice touch and helps add to the game's atmosphere
- Gorgeously detailed graphics and locations
- Nice unobtrusive music (although somewhat unmemorable)
- Sound effects are very good, especially the room specific noises that add greatly to the atmosphere
- Hidden Object Scenes are clean and organized with items that make sense to the locations
- Hidden Object Scene color schemes are somewhat muted making the searches easier on your eyes
- A huge number of areas to explore, one of the largest IHOGs I've played
- Map (thank goodness) that updates as you play
- Toggleable grain filter is a nice touch and helps add to the game's atmosphere
Cons
- Puzzles are easy, most of which require very little thought (and are often just repetitive tasks once you figure out the method)
- Voice acting can be melodramatic, although admittedly better than most other HOGs
- Oscar shows up and is heard a bit too much which often pulled me out of my "adventure gamer" mode, but this is a personal gripe and others may have no problem with it
- Storyline is a bit hokey
- Puzzles are easy, most of which require very little thought (and are often just repetitive tasks once you figure out the method)
- Voice acting can be melodramatic, although admittedly better than most other HOGs
- Oscar shows up and is heard a bit too much which often pulled me out of my "adventure gamer" mode, but this is a personal gripe and others may have no problem with it
- Storyline is a bit hokey
CE/SE Comparison
One of my biggest gripes is when devs cut off the last chapter in the SE requiring you to pick up the CE to get a satisfying conclusion to the story. That is not the case here. The main game sufficiently wraps up the plot and completely stands up on its own. The bonus chapter picks up a few months later and doesn't add much more to the overall storyline. I preferred the main game's ending personally, as the bonus ending seemed silly and implausible to me. That said, the new locations and gameplay were of the same high quality and worth playing through, but not required to fully enjoy the main game's storyline. Adding only another hour of gameplay, maybe two if you're playing on Expert without using hints, those on a budget should feel safe picking up the SE as you're not missing out on very much of the story at all.
One of my biggest gripes is when devs cut off the last chapter in the SE requiring you to pick up the CE to get a satisfying conclusion to the story. That is not the case here. The main game sufficiently wraps up the plot and completely stands up on its own. The bonus chapter picks up a few months later and doesn't add much more to the overall storyline. I preferred the main game's ending personally, as the bonus ending seemed silly and implausible to me. That said, the new locations and gameplay were of the same high quality and worth playing through, but not required to fully enjoy the main game's storyline. Adding only another hour of gameplay, maybe two if you're playing on Expert without using hints, those on a budget should feel safe picking up the SE as you're not missing out on very much of the story at all.
The rest of the bonus materials is where the real value of the CE lies, however. The full soundtrack is included with the ability to download to your desktop in OGG format (something more CE's need to start doing). The concept art, wallpapers and Oscar "cartoons" are also nice additions, but it's the interview with developers that I enjoyed the most. This is one of the few CE's that I really felt like I was getting my full money's worth.
Bottom Line - Beautiful game that's a bit too easy, but gameplay and scope make it worth the journey.
I recommend this game!
After leaving something in your car, a hitchhiker vanishes! Track her down and return her things in Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker!
Overall rating
5
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
Atmospheric, creepy, and totally worth it!
PostedOctober 31, 2012
Chudah
fromChicago
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Being a big fan of creepy graphic adventure games (and survival horror in general), Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker was everything I could have hoped for in an IHOG and more. From the graphics and sound to creepy story, everything about VH screams quality. The game oozes atmosphere, one of the most important things I look for in adventure titles. Toss in plenty of inspiration from horror classics such as Silent Hill and Fatal Frame, and I pretty much couldn't have asked for more.
My playthrough took about 10 hours (both main game and bonus chapter). I played on Advanced with minimal hint usage having consulted the strategy guild only twice. I generally take my time and try to stay away from the Hint button unless I'm completely stuck; this not only helps immerse me in the game world, but stretches out the playtime giving me more bang for my buck.
Pros
- Realistic graphics that are a bit grainy and dirty help enhance the atmosphere and adds to the overall creepiness of the game
- Sound design is awesome with effects/music clearly inspired by the Silent Hill series
- HOS's are not overly difficult with items that make sense to the locations
- Quite long with plenty of areas to explore
- Interesting storyline that keeps you engaged
- Realistic graphics that are a bit grainy and dirty help enhance the atmosphere and adds to the overall creepiness of the game
- Sound design is awesome with effects/music clearly inspired by the Silent Hill series
- HOS's are not overly difficult with items that make sense to the locations
- Quite long with plenty of areas to explore
- Interesting storyline that keeps you engaged
Cons
- Some sparkles on Advanced mode
- Only a handful of puzzles, all of which are fairly easy
- Intro movie and cut scenes play as you load up the game, which can be annoying
- No soundtrack with CE (c'mon guys, we NEED a soundtrack for your awesome music)
- Some sparkles on Advanced mode
- Only a handful of puzzles, all of which are fairly easy
- Intro movie and cut scenes play as you load up the game, which can be annoying
- No soundtrack with CE (c'mon guys, we NEED a soundtrack for your awesome music)
CE/SE comparison
One of my biggest gripes is when devs cut off the last chapter in the SE requiring you to pickup the CE to get a satisfying conclusion to the story. That is not the case here. Despite the main game ending with a cliffhanger, it wraps up the main plot sufficiently and I feel stands up well on its own. While the bonus chapter picks up from the cliffhanger and expands upon the backstory of the characters, I don't think it's required to fully enjoy the main game. Those on a budget should feel safe picking up the SE (unless you absolutely cannot handle not knowing what happens to the main character afterwards).
One of my biggest gripes is when devs cut off the last chapter in the SE requiring you to pickup the CE to get a satisfying conclusion to the story. That is not the case here. Despite the main game ending with a cliffhanger, it wraps up the main plot sufficiently and I feel stands up well on its own. While the bonus chapter picks up from the cliffhanger and expands upon the backstory of the characters, I don't think it's required to fully enjoy the main game. Those on a budget should feel safe picking up the SE (unless you absolutely cannot handle not knowing what happens to the main character afterwards).
Having said that, the bonus chapter is very good and I feel worth the price of the CE alone. Although adding only another couple hours of gameplay (probably 45 min-1hr on casual using hints), it's the same high quality of the main game although a bit more difficult overall (a positive in my book). The rest of the bonus materials are just gravy to me, though again, I'm pretty disappointed they didn't include the soundtrack.
Bottom Line - Awesomely atmospheric game that's a bit easier than I prefer, but totally worth the trip.
I recommend this game!