hermitcave's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.8
- Helpful Votes:407
- Reviews Submitted:240
- First Review:March 27, 2014
- Most Recent Review:October 27, 2016
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Return once more to the haunted grounds of Ravenhearst Manor to uncover new details about this poignant saga. What you find could very well be the final chapter of this riveting story-if you escape.
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Not for the faint of heart - travel through Charles Dalimar's disgusting and warped childhood and live
PostedNovember 4, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Not long after your time in Loisiana with the 13th Skull episode, you receive a parcel from an anonymous source that contains information about happenings on the coast of England near Blackpool. Yor swore never to go there again but here you are on your way to Ravenhearst again to find out what is happening. When you arrive, a ghost from your past visit here, Emma Ravenhearst, appears and tells you that you should never have returned. But as you are not going to heed her warning, she tells you that she and the other ghosts will try and help you the only way they can, through a special locket that will aid you in locating morphing objects that they will influence in specific areas. The locket will show the number of morphing objects to be found. When all the objects have been found, the ghosts will direct you to a specific item in the scene that provides you with a clue where to go next. People have been disappearing from Blackpool and you need to find out why. During your exploration of the burned-out shell of the manor and surrounding area, ghosts keep telling you to leave. Reaching the graveyard behind the manor and while checking a grave, you are accosted by Victor, Charles Dalimar's son, and you fall into an underground chamber where you find that you and the ghosts of Emma, her maid Rose Sommerset, and Rose's twin daughters, Charlotte and Gwendolyn, are trapped and in the clutches of your old adversary, Charles Dalimar, a homicidal lunatic. He and Victor want revenge on you for your past interventions here at Ravenhearst. Charles wants you to "walk in his shoes" and experience his childhood so you can better understand why he is like he is. Now you have to help release the ghosts, find out what has happened to the missing people from Blackpool, and escape from Ravenhearst.
The game is technically superb with graphics, music, numerous live-action video clips that were exceptional for a game released in 2011. The moodiness, dramatic music and background sounds, and the superb acting provided by Dennis Kleinsmith as Charles Dalimar as a seriously demented lunatic made the game one of the best, but darkest and disturbing, stories I have experienced in a while. Those that are squeamish may be disturbed by some of the grotesque scenes you visit and unpleasant actions you are required to take during the game.
There is a journal that keeps track of the story as it progresses, but fails in storing clues that are needed for puzzles requiring you to take notes or do some backtracking to refresh your memory about names or numbers needed. There is no map but the game is broken into sections that makes it fairly easy to keep track of where to go next. The game has some very challenging puzzles with the usual "no directions provided" style MCF games have become known for, but fortunately , they are all skippable.
One change that I absolutely hated was the replacement of hidden object scenes with morphing object scenes. Many know I just "love" morphing objects and sitting and waiting to catch a glimpse of movement on the screen. I don't consider this fun and doing it repeatedly to find 14 at a time become extremely tedious, especially when some of the objects are very tiny being very difficult to detect unless looking directly at them when they morph. It definitely slows down the game.
The game is deeply disturbing, dark and twisted and may not be for everyone but for those who like this type of game are in for a treat.
I recommend this game!
Save your sister from the grave! After receiving a troubling phone call from your brother-in-law, you’re off on an adventure!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Five wives and five mysterious deaths - what is the secret of Rainheart Castle
PostedOctober 29, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
You awake from a nightmare in which you have seen your little sister, Jennie, in a glass coffin and she tells you that he wants her soul and that her true death cannot be held off much longer and she needs your help. Suddenly the phone rings and it is Richard, Jennie's husband, who tells you that there has been an accident and that Jennie has died. You tell Richard that you are on your way there but he tells you Jennie wanted a private burial and that he will be the only mourner. After he hangs up, you remember the nightmare and grab your keys and drive to Rainheart Castle which is sequestered on the sea coast miles away from any city or neighbor. When you get there, you find a Portent Point Post newspaper article about the death of Jennie and that she is the fifth wife to die and be privately buried at Rainheart Castle and that billionaire Richard Rainheart is not a suspect so far but that he may have more than a casual connection with the macabre. Richard is apparently not home so you decide you have to search the castle for answers and find Jennie. When you find jennie's coffin, her spiritual energy tells you that you need to find the rings of each of Richard's wives and place them in the magic circle behind her coffin to break the spell and prevent her from dying. To do this, you must first free the other four wives' souls unlocking their netherworlds and using special potions that you will have to create. Each of the four wives had a special talent that comes out in their netherworlds - Sophia, 1st wife was an actress; Daniela, 2nd wife was an artist; Rosemary, 3rd wife was a florist; Larene, 4th wife, was a sorceress. I don't remember if Jennie's talent was revealed.
The graphics and animations were well done however some of the appearances of the the wives' spirits were fuzzy but this may have been on purpose to add atmosphere. Music was haunting and repetitive but well presented and very easy listening. There is no map and a fair amount of backtracking but the things to do in each location make up for some of it. There is no journal and information and clues are presented through notes, photos, and other bits of evidence lying around to further the plot so you feel like you're uncovering the pieces of the mystery yourself rather than having read or listen to long narratives which increases the experience. There is a task list that you should check frequently to stay on track. Hidden object scenes are the list type junk piles with limited interactive objects with the usual tiny and partially hidden objects. There is a helpful hint and skip button if you lose track of where to go next or have trouble finding an object.
I found it to be an old themed but intriguing storyline that is nicely presented so it keeps your interest to the end.
I recommend this game!
Celtic folklore seems to be more truth than lore when the Samhain festival goers disappear! Find the missing people and save the day!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Disappearing people, demon possession and Halloween
PostedOctober 28, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
You and Robert used to be an item but Robert decided he wanted to pursue a journalism career and explore the world so he left. Now, out of the blue, he calls you asking for help but the call is interrupted by a scream and the line goes dead. You still have a flame for Robert so you decide to find out what has happened and find Robert. He has became obsessed with Celtic mythology and was investigating the Cornwall Celtic Festival near the town of Stithians, England so off you go. When you arrive, you find the area deserted but see a group of festival goers climbing the hill to the All Saints Chapel at the top of the hill so you follow. You find an old ring that seems to have some magical properties that you can use during your exploration. Along the way you begin to find bodies and destruction but continue as none of the dead are Robert. Reaching the chapel, you become trapped there and now have to find a way out and find Robert. This starts you on a trip through many different and unrelated locations that by the time you finally get to the end where you find Robert, you may have forgotten that was why you were here in the first place. All of those locations may make for a long and varied experience but really creates a feeling of "why" frequently during the trip. Of course you are finally able to save Robert and defeat the demon using the ring and apparently you and Robert get married as the last scene shows an article concerning Robert's wife being the hero.
Graphics were good but not as clear as they could have been and there were no voiceovers. Background sounds did not match the locations - jungle sounds in the English countryside? With the number of varied locations you would have expected a jump map but there was no map at all but backtracking was reduced by breaking the locations up into several pieces and only having one piece open at a time. The hint button was in the bottom center of the screen and there was an objective banner displayed at the top center of the screen. The journal keeps track of the story and should be referred to frequently for additional information and guidance to what may need to be done. the inventory is opened by clicking on a little box on the left of the hint button and hidden object scenes display the list of objects to find in the lower right corner of the screne and the text is pretty small. Many objects to be found are very small or partially hidden so you have to look closely.
I am sure somewhere the writer of this story had a real purpose and plot for what the game player was to experience during their journey but, I for the life of me, did not see it. It starts out as a missing person and demon abduction and then becomes a exploration of a lot of different places that seem to have no connection to the beginning and then comes back to the missing person and demon at the end. I wish the story had remained in persuit of the legend and mysticism of the Celtic beliefs and not gone off on a tangent that seemed to be used as a filler between the beginning and ending. The use of the God Cernunnos, or "horned god" as the demon and the time being "All Hallow's Eve" seems to be the only ties to Celtic history. Cernunnos apparently was a god of fertility, life, animals, wealth and the underworld which I assume the writer was going for by using Halloween as the time period. Samhain refers to the festival of the dead and celebrates the end of the harvest and start of the darker half of the year which also often refers to Halloween.
I do recommend the game as a fairly decent hidden object type game but if you are looking for a story that makes sense, this may not be the right choice.
I recommend this game!
Play as a clairvoyant detective and investigate the baffling disappearance of a carnival magician in this colorful Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Investigate the disappearance of a carnival magician and discover the carnival's secret
PostedOctober 26, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
You have clairvoyant abilities and have been called to investigate the disappearance of a carnival magician and in doing this, you meet and question various "carnies" that are usually vague and of little help as to why or how the magician disappeared. You find notes scattered in various locations that provide some thread of a story that leads you to believe that the magician was involved in a relationship but must have seen or heard something he was not suppose to and this may be why he disappeared. Foul play? Probably. Only your investigation will tell.
This a straightforward, linear game of a basic hidden object adventure with lots of hidden object scenes, many repeated several times, and limited interaction within the locations visited. Each area investigated is broken into Acts with limited locations in each area where you search mostly for keys used to open a new area and, as each area has a limited number of locations, an interactive map is not provided. What you do have is a very small basic overall area map in the journal that is next to useless. There is some backtracking but the limited number of locations open at one time limits this. As there is no indicators on the map that show areas of interest, you frequently have to back track to find new hidden object scenes.
The hint system starts out slow to recharge but can be shorten by finding Aces of Spades playing cards scattered in various locations. There are 26 cards and their effect on the recharge time was minimal. Entering some locations triggers your clairvoyant ability that gives you some insight to a happening or a sense if one is telling the truth but I saw no real benefit from what it provided other than reinforcing some clue or fact you may already have discovered.
The graphics and characters were old school cartoon style that were acceptable for the most part but were somewhat hazy in some hidden object scenes making finding objects difficult. Hidden object scenes were basic junk piles with a few objects requiring very limited interaction to complete. Puzzles were fairly easy providing some carnival type minigames that were entertaining. Music was carnival themed, repetitive but non-intrusive. A somewhat unexciting. basic hidden object game with an ok story.
I recommend this game!
The witches' dark legacy continues as Lynn becomes possessed!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Witch Hunter saves Witch, Thwarts Otherworld Takeover - News at Eleven
PostedOctober 26, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Several months have passed since Lynn destroyed Morgana [is she really gone this time?] in Slumbering Darkness and she is trying to settle down to a normal life with her husband, Edward, Witch Hunter, but no such luck. Lynn and Edward have established the Tom Charles Museum of Magic to honor her brother. At the opening, Lynn notices a stained glass window that has an affect on her and she is drawn into it. Carrie, her adopted mother, is thrown into a locked room and a skeletal creature emerges and captures the Imp. As Edward, you have to free the Imp and Carrie and find out what happened to Lynn. Carrie has been incapacitated by a sleep spell so is of no help but you find a tool called the Glass of Truth that will show the true nature of what is displayed in it. Discovering that the stained glass window is actually a portal to the Otherworld, you and the Imp must enter the portal and find Lynn.
As you explore the Otherworld, you soon discover that when Lynn destroyed Morgana, Ruler of the Otherworld, it left the Otherworld in chaos and seeking a new ruler. You also discover that the sorcerer, Mathais, has resurfaced and is helping Lynn, who is under a spell, to become the new Dark Queen and ruler of the Otherworld and does not want to be rescued. Mathais, of course, has a hidden agenda of his own where he plans to kill Lynn at the moment she is crowned and absorb all of her magic into himself making him extremely powerful. You have your work cut out for you.
Being the sixth in the series, don't expect much change from previous episodes except a new story and more troubles for Edward and Lynn. You are provided with the background story in a book "Witches Legacy Book" located at the beginning where the "Play" button is located so even if you have not played any of the previous episodes, you will have a basic understanding of what went before now. The expected excellent graphics, animations, music and voice overs are there as well as the hidden object scenes and puzzles. The Imp helper is there with his usual need of help from some device to accomplish his tasks. He has to be getting old to require so much help. There are a lot of objects in the game that you can interact with that have nothing to do with accomplishing your goal and apparently are there as 'bling.' It does give you something else to do in the game if you like that sort of thing. There are 35 morphing objects, 36 puzzle pieces and 14 Imp helping items that can be found. I must admit that they have made the morphing objects a little easier to find without having to sit and wait for it to morph as in other games. The puzzle pieces are used to construct 4 puzzles at the end of the game in "Extras" that, when completed, give some background about the subject in the puzzle. There is an excellent jump map provided also.
Hidden object scenes are some of the most interactive I have played in a while and provides some nice variations that make doing them more fun and interesting. I especially liked the where everything is up-side down on what appears to be an island. It added that additional challenge that made it more fun. There is the choice to play a match game instead.
BONUS CHAPTER: In saving Lynn, you were required to cleanse the crown of the Dark Queen in the water of the Well of Truth but, by doing so, you unknowingly tainted the water with that evil and now it is causing the creatures in the Otherworld to turn evil and now they are trying to break into our world. Now you have to go back to the Otherworld and cleanse the well with waters from the other three magic wells. A nicely done extra for the Collector's Edition.
I recommend this game!
Discover the Red Riding Hood Sisters and defeat the nefarious Wolf Queen!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
After grandma, the wolf, and the woodcutter - Red Riding Hood the rest of the story
PostedOctober 16, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Another excellent "what if" rendition of what may have happened after the original story ended. Red Riding Hood goes on to be trained by the woodcutter to hunt and kill wolves after a wolf killed her grandmother and began recruiting other women that she trained into an elite fighting force that became a protecting force known as the Red Riding Hood Sisters. But rivalry and jealousy causes one of their own to turn against them.
In the Vosges Valley, Eastern France, wolves under the control of a mysterious woman are terrorizing the area. You have been assigned to investigate what is going on and to stop the wolves. On your way, your carriage is attacked by wolves and destroyed so that you now have to find your way on foot. The wolves attack again but you are saved by a woman dressed in a red cloak who turns out to be one of the Red Riding Hood Sisters, a secret society of armed women that have been protecting the area ever since the first Red Riding Hood was adopted by the woodcutter and trained her to track and hunt down wolves centuried ago. The Sister that saved you was injuried during the attack and poisoned by the wolf's claws and you have to save her. After finding an antedote, you are taken to their secret hideout but find it has been attacked and the Sisters captured. The Sister you saved from poison, Ruth, and you must now find out who is behind this and rescue the Sisters. The wolves appear to be made of some magical mist and are controlled by the Wolf Queen from her Mist kingdom where the Sisters are being held.
Making bigger objects out of the small trinkets you find in hidden object scenes is admittedly not an uncommon mechanic in other HOGs, but the small gameplay variations aren’t what help Red Riding Hood Sisters stand out: it’s the game’s top-notch presentation that will grab you. The cut scenes are beautifully drawn and boast an impressive amount of animation, which makes you eager to see what’s going to happen next in the story. Every scene is rendered in loving detail. It’s always exciting to move onto a new area and behold small details.
As there is no journal, the use of parables continues in this episode where you are again required to find items that contain parts of the story or "parable" that, when all parts are found, present a story to help flesh out back ground information about a character or event in the game. there are five parables to be found. The map is not a jump map and shows where you are, the areas around you, and if you have a task in a particular area. Hidden object scenes require you to find fragmented objects of three pieces of a particular item that, once reassembled, goes into your inventory for use later. There are also 20 "cursed objects" to be found and some were not easy to find.
Graphics were colorful, sharp and beautiful with excellent animations. The music was atmospheric and not irritating and usually only presented during hidden object scenes. Most of the time there was background sounds appropriate for the scene. The voice acting was also very well done for all characters. Another Dark Parables worth taking a look at.
I recommend this game!
Delve deeper into the secret world of a time traveling family trying to fulfill the prophecies in the Book of Oracles.
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Time ripples, a dislodged mansion and a missing grandfather keeps Jesse busy in this final episode
PostedOctober 12, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This series began in 2009 with the first episode "The Ripple Effect" and later "The Rabbit Hole" where Jesse is first introduced to her new family and discovers they are protectors of the flow of time. The family has secrets and have been less then receptive so she decides to return back to her normal life by using the Apollo time machine. In so doing, she causes an intense time ripple that propels her further back into the past just as she hears a plea from her mother that she needs to return to the future to save the family. Apparently the family's mansion has become dislodged from time and must be reanchored back. She also must find her grandfather who has been lost in time searching for the Book of Oracles, a book containing the past, present and future happenings in time. During the somewhat confusing but still interesting story, you must help various famous people from the past to complete your mission.
As the apparent final episode, the game relies heavily on flashback factoids and film reels that flesh out the background and move the story along. Graphics are well done but are in the familiar cartoon style of previous episodes Most voice dialogs are nice but some of the gramophone recordings were difficult to understand as they mimicked that produced at the turn of the century. Cutscenes and recordings are stored in the journal so they can be replayed. The journal also has a task list. There is a very good hint system also. There is no map but you usually only have a few scenes to work at a time so one is not really needed.
There are a lot of hybrid adventure object scenes that present pictures of items or parts of items to find that may be scattered over several screens and when all of the parts are found, they either combine and form an object that goes into your inventory to be used later or they are available for use as is. Additionally, there are some regular list type HOS. So you usually have two display trays at the bottom of the screen, one containing the pictures of items to find and another to hold inventory items.
Those that are fans of the series will enjoy this episode while those new to the series may find it somewhat confusing but still a pretty good game. I played the first two episodes several years ago and finally did this one and it took sometime to recall and grasp most of the story.
I recommend this game!
Journey into the mythical Snowfall Kingdom and investigate the disappearance of children in Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen!
Overall rating
4
/
5
What drove Snow White to become the evil Snow Queen?
PostedOctober 11, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Children from a village near the Mountain Kingdom in the Berness Alps are being abducted and you have been assigned to find out why. Legend suggest that Snow White came to her father's Mountain Kingdom with her deathly ill son hoping to find a cure. To slow down the illness, she fed him some of the magic apple her stepmother had created which placed him in a deep sleep but no one has been able to enact a cure or wake him since. Frustrated, she has heard stories of a magic mirror hidden in the castle that legend says will grant a wish if repaired so she decides to find it to help save her son. The mirror has been broken into pieces and when she finds it, it tells her that it can save her child but only if she will wear one of the shards and give another to her father to wear. Unknowingly, the King gladly accepts the necklace fashioned from the shard and becomes spellbound by the evil false mirror and becomes the mountain beast to forever guard Snow White. Snow White's sorrow and tears concerning her son turns to snow, ice and bitter cold enshrouding the kingdom in perpetual winter that she rules with an icy hand and she becomes known as the Snow Queen. Seeing that her son has not gotten any better, she visits the evil false mirror again and is now told that she will need to repair the mirror using the tear from the Golden Child. Once every century, an astrological event occurs called the Silver Moon and it is believed that a chosen child is bestowed celestisl powers and be known as the Golden Child. Appearing as any other child, it is not apparent who this child is so the identity is unknown. It is believed that the Golden Child can restore or remove magic from any object by shedding a single tear on it. As most of the inhabitants have either fled or died from the cold, she now seeks children from nearby villages hoping to find the Golden Child.
Excellent graphics, animations, voiceovers, music and ambient sounds provide an enjoyable adventure and what a great story and definitely not your usual fairy tale and is why it is called a Dark Parable. I enjoyed the first two in the series Curse of Briar Rose and The Exiled Prince, but this episode has added a new feature that requires you to find items that contain parts of a story and when all of the parts have been found, it presents a "parable" that gives details about a character or event in the game. There are five parables in this game and the number of parts or "parable gems" vary depending on the parable. I really like this feature and feel it adds a lot to the story and game play. This feature is used in place of a journal. There is a map that shows locations where actions are required but it is not interactive so there is some back tracking required.
Hidden object scenes require you to find fragmented objects of three pieces of a particular item that is reassembled to be used later in the game. Most are fairly easy to find as they tend to stand out and can often be found without looking at the item list. There are also the usual inventory items found for solving the few puzzles to progress. Additionally, there are 20 “cursed objects,” much like the morphing objects seen in other games. These, however, each shorten the hint recharge timer a little. Some are readily obvious when you enter a scene while some are only available later after a specific task has been completed.
A continuation of a great series and highly recommended.
I recommend this game!
An evil dwarf collects the souls of those who enter the neglected park! Will you be able to rid the world of his presence?
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
Shades of Weird Park but with a little man with a big chip
PostedOctober 8, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Your brother, Jimmy, returns after disappearing two days earlier and is sick with a mysterious illness and the doctors have no idea how to help him and he is getting worse. A note is found in his pocket that tells you to come to the abandoned amusement park if you want to save him. After arriving at the Dreamland Amusement Park, a dwarf challenges you to enter and solve his riddles to save your brother's soul. Failing will also sacrifice your soul. You eventually find out that there are other souls that need to be saved. Being a carnival, you have to play games, solve puzzles, find hidden objects while finding your way through the maze to the heart of the carnival where you confront the dwarf. All the while, he taunts you by loudspeakers found in all the scenes.
To gain access to the different areas of the carnival you have to find special coins that are found along the way and spin a giant wheel that stops on one of the areas and presents a kind of match three minigame that rewards you with a ticket to that area. Each time you use the wheel, the minigame gets harder. Even though you are confined to the park, it is huge and there is a lot of traveling between scenes so the interactive map is welcomed. It also shows areas that have new hidden object scenes that need to be solved. There is also a journal to keep track of the story and the usual hint button that is helpful.
The graphics are ruddy and washed out giving the creepy atmosphere of decay and the feel of a carnival that frequently moved from place to place. This is enhanced by the weird music, haunting sounds and the frequent loudspeaker tauntings and occasional appearance of the dwarf which are basically the only voiceovers throughout the game. The ruddy graphics affect the hidden object scenes with dark, grainy areas and lots of clutter. Some objects are very small and their shapes are hard to distinguish. HOS are each visited several times
There are also 20 starfish and 17 of your brother's marbles to be found during the game. Unfortunately you are not told this and I only discovered it when I clicked on a tab entitled "Awards" at the screen where you click "play."
The version of the game I played had an extended part, Chapter 9, that apparently was not in the original game of 8 chapters. Chapter 9 was like a bonus chapter for Collector Editions and continued the story where you find and save seven other souls after saving your brother's soul. A nice addition for a standard edition.
I played the Weird Park series some time ago and enjoyed them very much and this game was similar. This is an older game [2011] that has a lot of HOS with a spooky carnival background, but worth a try.
I played the Weird Park series some time ago and enjoyed them very much and this game was similar. This is an older game [2011] that has a lot of HOS with a spooky carnival background, but worth a try.
I recommend this game!
The legacy of the witches continues when Lynn and her husband are lured into a trap by a mysterious sorcerer…
Overall rating
4
/
5
Morgana is at it again - doesn't that witch ever die?
PostedOctober 6, 2015
hermitcave
fromGig Harbor, Wa
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Lynn and Edward are celebrating their first anniversary and have decided to attend a puppet show at a carnival. As you, Carrie Anderson, Lynn's adopted mother, watch them enter the tent, the flaps close and become sealed as if by magic. Inside the tent, the Puppetmaster and sorcerer, Mathias, casts a spell on Edward turning him in to a puppet and tells Lynn that she must not use her magic and come with him if she wants to save Edward. Now you must find where Mathias has taken them and what diabolical scheme he has planned for them. Later, you learn that Mathias is helping Morgana, who he brought back from her last defeat, and who wants to use Lynn as a vessel to reincarnate The Great Witch Mother, Thetis. Now you really have your work cut out for you.
As usual, you are brought up to date concerning events that have occurred from previous episodes in case you have not played any of the them so you don't feel lost as to how you got to this point. Being the fifth in the series, the main story is becoming a bit thin and stretched but this episode was still pretty good. There are the excellent graphics, sound and voice overs you have come to expect from this series and the familiar run of inventory item puzzles, minigames and hidden object scenes that are well done. The usual hint button is present and customizable as is the game difficulty and an excellent interactive map you can use to jump between scenes and areas with something to do are marked with an exclamation point. On occasion, it may appear that there is nothing left to do as there are no indicators on the map which usually means a hidden object scene somewhere to do.
Inventory item puzzles and hidden object scenes frequently provide objects that go to inventory that have a plus sign attached to them indicating something needs to be done to the object or another object found and combined with it. Hidden object scenes were of several types including some with silhouettes and mini puzzles within them, and a hybrid list type where you find specific items to fill four boxes that uncover providing an additional list of objects to find. Instead of just sorting through a pile of items for no good reason, the scenes are made to seem useful having you find the next important thing needed to continue. There is an option to switch to a matching game if you don't wish to do the HOS. There are also two other objects to watch out for with 33 morphing items and 36 puzzle pieces scattered throughout the game. The morphing objects change about every seven seconds so you spend some time waiting. The puzzle pieces are used to construct 4 puzzles, each giving some story information about the characters.
If you have played any of the previous four episodes in this series, you will be very familiar with how it is played. Your imp helper is back and you will also have the Edward puppet as a helper for a while and is used to repair or construct items for you to use. I remember the imp from previous episodes, especially the first couple, where he was able to do a lot more without help than he seems to be able to do now so maybe he is getting old or tired also. It usually takes him some time to complete just one basic task so it can margin on the edge of annoyance.
The ending of the main story returns Edward back to human form and Lynn is freed with the help of an old familiar face, Wolfgang. The bonus chapter continues the story several weeks later when Edward and Lynn go on vacation and Edward starts acting weird. It seems Mathias survived and has Edward under his control so now you have to defeat Mathias again and break the spell on Edward. Will these two ever find peace?
I recommend this game!