Your Comments and Reviews for Murder Island: Secret of Tantalus

I loved this game but for one thing, states if you see a gray circle all of that area is done. Which is not correct if you can't find missing tiles. Supposily there are 3 tiles in the cave you go to after lighting the torch, to the left. I could find no tiles in the cave and no way to light it up more to hunt....Any ideas? These are the last 3 I needed to find.

Shawnac wrote:I loved this game but for one thing, states if you see a gray circle all of that area is done. Which is not correct if you can't find missing tiles. Supposily there are 3 tiles in the cave you go to after lighting the torch, to the left. I could find no tiles in the cave and no way to light it up more to hunt....Any ideas? These are the last 3 I needed to find.

Every time you are in a new location open your map. Look at the compass rose in the upper left. If the star of the compass rose is lit yellow, you have a tile to find in that location.

Overall Impression: An excellent IHOG/Adventure game with an original setting and storyline.

Media Description: The graphics were crisp, clear and bright and in places, really pretty. The voiceovers were excellent. The music did a fantastic job of enhancing the mood and atmosphere.

Storyline: The storyline was developed through skippable cut scenes. It was well thought out and progressed evenly to a suspenseful ending. I wish they had laid an clearer clue or two in leading up to the ending, but that's probably just the aspiring writer in me.

Gameplay: was pretty straightforward with different areas opening up as you completed different tasks. There was quite a bit of going back and forth between scenes but the travel time was made much quicker by the "magic" map that would take you immediately to any scene you had already visited. If I'm remembering correctly, the HOG scenes sparkled when they were active.

HOG Scenes: traditional wordlists with search scenes themselves being a combination of junkpiles and busy scenes. None were extremely difficult. Sometimes a clue was given for an object instead of a direct word.

Minigames/puzzles: felt like the were a natural part of the story. All could be skipped after a few seconds. Most were of average difficulty.

Hints: unlimited with a short waiting period for refilling. If I'm remembering correctly, they could also give you a clue about what you needed to do next

Will Probably Appeal to: those who like IHOG/Adventure blends, mysteries, and well-told stories in general

Will Probably Not Appeal to: those who prefer straight HOGs and those who don't like violent themes in their games

buzzibee74108 wrote:THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST GAMES IN A LONG TIME

ha - was going to type exactly this and then saw your post - so DITTO!

Played this and Shadow of Wolf on the same day; fully expected Wolf would be a buy and this would just be a pleasant hour - figured it'd be just same-old. Instead passed on Wolf but happily found Murder Island to be totally engaging, both story line and game play. Plus it's a good length. Kudos to the developers on a game well done!!

HI

I have a problem with the marble chest and the barrols - Cant get them, can anyone please help ?

Hey Peacelake,

I found a tip in another thread that will hopefully help:

LoriW wrote:The marble chest is a statue on the right hand side.

Just wanted to let you know that we try to reserve our Comments and Reviews thread for thoughts on the game, but you're more than welcome to start your own thread in the Game Forum if you need more help! You can do this by clicking here and clicking on 'Create New Discussion'. Hope this helps!

-bfgArnoStyx

Just adding my two cents to the already excellent reviews. When I started this game, I thought it wouldn't be any good. It looked dated and the graphics were so so. However, as the demo went on, I was very pleasantly surprised. The storyline is interesting and unique and it really captured my attention (more so than the typical look for lost relative or escape evil town etc...)

Personally, I thought this game was GREAT !! Not your run-of-the-mill story; in fact this one really did have a story that was a surprise when you finally solved the mystery. The graphics were bright and clear and I had no trouble finding the objects, once you got a hang of what an "icon" was, etc. Greek and Roman based story/mystery on an island in the middle of no where where 8 students gather for a reunion. One student is a relative of the rich guy who owns the island. What is it that you didn't get enough out of the hints! In the H O games, they were right on, and while you were searching for places on the island, maybe no so great. But you have a map and it tells you where you have completed all you need to do, and shows you where you could go next, and even takes you there! The story flowed like a good mystery novel, voiceovers in between some scenes, not that many H O scenes, no dark or dreary, and full of surprises.

Don't pay any attention to these other reviews. You don't need a walkthrough, and if you are so inclined to use one, there is one on another site. This was a great game, bright, good story line, some voiceovers, some H O 's, and lots of adventure. No handholding here, except the map. Such a nice thing to have - now I'll be spoiled for all other games. I was a decent length - I'd say about at least 4 hours, and I have been playing these games since 2005.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Guess you can't go by what others say, you have to try it out first.

Happy Gaming.

cg

Got this one months ago (couldn't believe it was an SE) and @ as a DD this is a fun, intriguing game w/voices and a great storyline. No "to be continued" cliffhanger- just a great game. The pieces u have to find are alot and the open up special bonuses. I forgot the number but it's more than 12...60,maybe?*if u remember exact # correct me*.
Anyways, If u don't already have this one buy it!:5

great review cg!! totally agree

What I absolutely LOVED about this game is the fact that it is set in a bright sunny island in DAYLIGHT! Yippee! No dark spooky graveyards or dead relatives etc. I loved the colours and the scenery and the brightness. There's been a real glut of very dark creepy games recently so this was a really nice change.

Ok it's a murder mystery so it has its share of bodies but it's not creepy.

I thought the hidden object scenes were split 50:50 between ok and awful. Some scenes had objects that were unrecognisable even when I used the hint button but other hidden object scenes were pretty easy. The mini games were all ok and there was a skip button. I didn't come across a click penalty.

The storyline is original and the characters are not annoying.

I thought it was a bargain as a daily deal and i enjoyed playing it. It's quite long too.

Finally finished this game. It certainly was long enough! Accidentally clicked on the final stage with only one tile left to find, darn it, but oh well, I'll catch it next time. This game is an A for me!

I did use the walk through once in awhile, maybe four times, when I couldn't figure out what to do next. At one spot, at the end, you have to go back and find **** scenes, but they don't show up on the map as active. Outside of making the cobra sound like a rattlesnake...why do game developers do that? and the "oyster shell" is a clam shell, those kind of things were the only cons for me.

Many BIG thumbs up for the story line.

I really enjoyed this, and at some point I will definitely be coming back to find that one tile I missed. The object screens made some kind of sense, the story was interesting, the voice overs good, and the puzzles were logical (if a bit easy now and then). I was particularly glad of the shortcut map that lets you jump from one location to another, avoiding all that tedious tramping back and forth so many HOGs are afflicted with. Some of the objects were a bit small and obscure for someone using a 15" monitor, but the hints were pretty freely available and I had no major issues. Very good one, be looking for more.

I am just not enjoying this game. I've been playing it off and on over several days. I just cannot "get in to it enough" to play without stopping to the ending. It does have very nice graphics and an interactive map, but whatever usually makes me want a game just isn't here for me in this one. I will play it to the end, but it isn't one I think I'll replay.

i liked this game and played til end....the greek isles...yeah....anyway, game play is a bit slow and choppy but it was fun and i would do it again!
awesome story line...!!!!!!!!!

I can't say that I loved the game but it was good. The only problem I had was I could not find the last tile. Oh well.

Very enjoyable. Great story, nice graphics, & relevant voice overs. Multiple H0Gs a little tedious at times, especially at the end, but not too bad.

I came here to write a review, but TnTexas and SaveMeJack both did a better job than I could have!

I loved this game. Very refreshing. Beautiful scenes. Long game play. Loved the way the developers did the cut scenes. Good voice overs, but with text, so you can click through quickly if you want.

Good minigames of average difficulty. As you play, you can collect tiles. For every 12 tiles you collect, you get some info on Greek mythology. I got to the end and realized I was missing six tiles. Went back and found them.

This game is very heavy on the H0G scenes. Some interactive items and some clever item descriptions ("Classic Film," comes to mind). Mostly easy, but in a few you are asked to find items that are microscopic or just impossible to find. That is why developers created the Hint Button. Hints recharge quickly, so I don't understand what all the complaining is about. If you can't find the Marble Chest, use a hint! And I did need to use a few hints.

Overall, a solid 'A' grade. Would have made it an A+, but it had a few too many H0G scenes, for me. Happy Gaming.

I demoed this game last February but never finished it. I'm trying to catch up on games that I've purchased so picked this one at random but started over with a new profile because I figured I wouldn't remember the story or the gameplay. Wow.....have I enjoyed myself over the past few days. I don't think I've ever played a game with better voice-overs. I love the story; one of the most thoroughly developed mysteries I've played. The map is awesome! And I loved the extras like looking for the tiles and map pieces to complete a map puzzle. It wasn't a perfect game but it sure fit the bill for me this week.

There is a lot going on in this game, and not just the plot. There is a lot of traveling all over the island, you have map to help you which comes in handy. The story is a classic murder 'who done it' plot, with twists and turns added. It was fun and challenging. The HOG scenes are not too difficult, some of the puzzles were hard. No time limit which is good, I could relax and enjoy the game.