Black Circle: A Carol Reed Mystery

As someone who enjoys LFGs I was disappointed by this. I found the voice acting to be poor and I didn't like the static photos for dialogue parts. That would be something I would expect from an HOG, not a LFG. I deleted this only a short way into the demo.

I have to say that I am not a fan of these games..........I never know what I am looking for, and just seem to drift from place to place, using the arrows, and getting more and more confused! Won't be buying any of this type!!!

I just did the demo of this game and WOW! I will definitely be buying this one.

I like adventure games and have seen some of the other Carol Reed adventures, and I have to say that I think the graphics on this one are much improved and yet familiar. It was fun to start another game in the same location/house that I'd seen in her other games.

Someone mentioned that they thought there was little direction. Although I'd played Carol Reed games before (just haven't finished which is me, not the games and definitely NOT a sign that I don't like them), I went through the tutorial just in case there was something different and to see how they did it since I hadn't really seen one before in a Carol Reed that I can remember. Personally, I thought the tutorial was excellent! In older Carol Reeds I've played,. there hasn't been a notebook that I can remember, but there is in this one, and it gives you clues as to what to do next if you get stuck. On the left are the main tasks and on the right are hints about what to do at task but these don't show unless you click on the main task on the left. In thinking about it a bit, I realized that this sort of reminds me of the Universal Hint System which provides clue by clue walkthroughs of many games.

BUT, the main reason I wanted to write this "review" is because of how the shorter demo version was done. Folks, it was EXCELLENT! It gives you enough of the story to get hooked, AND....it actually TELLS you when you've gone as far as you can go in the demo! Not only that, but it lets you continue to explore Carol's world a bit just to look around even though it won't take you any further in the story which is explained as well. Therefore, you can use the extra demo time (if you have any) to get familiar with where things are and how to get there so you can get the feel of navigation, etc. It's very clear to me that developers are listening when it comes to complaints about demos and what they should include.

I am excited about this one. Since the voiceovers can be clicked through if you read faster than they talk (which I hope you do! LOL!), that part doesn't bother me enough to take away from the experience of the mystery. I always turn the music off so no comment there. I did think the graphics are MUCH improved with some really COOL scenery included just to help you get more into the game.

I had NO problems running this one on Vista Home Premium in both windowed and full screen modes.

I'm from all the walking and turning, turning, turning. Obviously don't know what I'm doing, so I think I'll pass.

Misty40 wrote:I've played The Color of Murder, East Side Story, and Time Stand Still and I've enjoyed them all. I'm really excited about Black Circle...LOL

Remedy is another one of the Carol Reed mysteries....maybe the first one?

I know I am slow but this game confused me so much I only played about 20 min of the demo then decided not for me. I am so pleased there was a demo. There are a few games I would like to try that have no trial for this game.BFG you might bring in some more $$$$ if all your games had a trial version.

I was going to mention Remedy. It is, in fact, the first. The one BF doesn't have is the second, Hope Springs Eternal.

HOWEVER... since when is Carol Reed a HOG??? People looking for "Gorgeous Hidden Object scenes" of the kind we normally expect will certainly be disappointed. No wonder some people feel let down.

Carol Reeds must be an acquired taste. I love wandering around the little town of Norrkoping and just looking at things. I probably enjoyed Time Stand Still the most because of getting to stare enviously at that tiny-looking house with the amazing interior. That bathroom!

It might interest people to know (who don't already) that the developers are Mykael and Eleen Nyqvist, who actually live in Norrkoping and do all the photography and game creation themselves. Their neighbors play the other characters. At this point, I think I could go to Norrkoping and easily find my way around, plus be able to greet some people! For a town of only 100,000 residents, it's pretty amazing in terms of what's there.

There is already a walkthrough, created by uber-fan Len Green (the Nyqvists actually put his photograph in Time Stand Still, which he was very surprised and amused to see). He writes highly idiosyncratic walkthroughs which he basically commands you NOT to use, because you might miss some of the little delights which have been tucked into ordinary scenes. Here's his philosophy:

If you simply take this walkthrough in your hand and follow exactly what to do and not to do, you can probably finish the game fairly quickly. However that would completely defeat its whole purpose!

...The walkthrough does not do justice to “Black Circle”! A very great part of the interest and beauty of the game is wandering around through the vast number of locations, views, and residences… There are actually so many that I’m pretty certain that I missed a few ! :~)

...“Black Circle” does not contain many ‘stand-alone’ puzzles, and those included are generally not difficult.

However, there IS one main puzzle for some players which runs right throughout the game. It is the necessity to ramble around (maze-like) without losing one’s way and getting frustrated due to this.

I know we can't put links here, but the developers go by MDNA games, and Googling should come up with their website, with a link to Len Green's walkthrough. Both worth looking into if you are a fan.

There is a WALKTHROUGH here on Big fish Games:


http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/black-circle-a-carol-reed-mystery-walkthrough/

Sorry but, uninstalled after 5 minutes. Hated the game.

I do think these are you love em or you hate em games. I love the wandering around. Mind you, I am seriously stuck at the moment! I do use a walkthrough for navigation but certainly haven't done it as much for this one. The notebook is so helpful. Carol is English! She's a north-easterner I reckon! What I found odd was I d/loaded the game immediately cos I knew I wanted it and had already played the demo. And it didn't work! So I tried again, and that didn't work. Then I downloaded the demo - noticed it had slightly different wording - and have been playing that fine. Except I'm stuck right now. I feel like I'm on holiday when I play these games - but navigation is difficult. Especially for someone like me who has zero sense of direction. Satnav has changed my life!

I have to say I found this game....interesting. I think you either love or dislike this genre. Unfortuantely, I didn't care for the game itself. I'm not sure I really got a good chance to see a lot of the game. I went 5 minutes into it before I came to the spot where it said I had to purchase the game to go any further. I had already been to all the other locations and picked up everything I needed so the game was basically at an end for me. The instructions were excellent and I found it very easy to manuever around and find what I needed to do. Also, the notebook that the main character has basically tells you everything you need to know. Maybe I am just thinking more since I have been playing Penny Dreadful and Nightfall Mysteries where you have to figure out what you need to do.

I, too, found the voices a little bland even though I love a good british accent. The photos were beautiful, but I found the people looked a little weird. Maybe it was the picture coupled witht he voice that was offsetting to me. Also, I found I got a little icky from the movement if I went too quick. I think the main problem for me was it was just a little too real? if that makes sense. When I play a game, I like it to be a game that takes me away from reality for a while. I just didn't get the sense of escape with this game.

why did they use the term "Gorgeous Hidden Object scenes" i looked through the blog walkthrough and didn't see anything with hidden object scenes, just the typical adventure game scenes

Hi!
My first post here and I must say it's interesting to read what you think of this game.
The guy who wrote the story and took the pictures is swedish (and so am I) and the voices in the game has a swedish accent, except for Carol. Remember The swedish cook in the Muppet show?
Personally I like this game, the music is perfect, nice graphics and the absence of people in many scenes makes it mysterious and very special.
But you have to like adventure games to really enjoy it. To walk around looking for clues everywhere and to understand the clues you find.
It's a bit old fashioned but in a nice way.

Indy70 wrote:Thanks so very much for the info. The pond is certainly filled with friendly and sweet fishes.

Welcome Indy70!!!!!

Not too sure about this one. The music is indeed rather horrid, and the voice acting is very monotone. I do love the graphic style, though, and the navigation didn't bother me. I have a very "meh" impression of it, so I guess that means it's a no buy for me :/

I didn't like it either.It was like eating card board to me.Very bland, no taste.The people act like and look like they are made out of plastic.Unreal looking.If I am guessing right her other games are along the same lines.If they had followed along the same lines as Siberia 1and2 they would have had quite a hit on their hands.

did not like this game,did not see any Hidden ojects to find its more,adventure game to me.I got lost in the first sciene,I guess got spoiled with opera,and mishap.

I see your name prpldva on the walkthrough, thank you very, very much for the walkthrough!!!

Got home late, off to buy and hope to enjoy sometime soon! Thanks !!!

The game is pretty good in my opinion - however - I can't seem to be able to figure out how to use the mobil phone. Can I get some help please. : ) Thank you.

Sorry, but this game is not for me. I like adventure games but this one was awful so I was glad it had a demo.

The voices and the music are enough to make you go mad. Very boring to much turning, in twenty minutes I had all the items and could go no further. Nothing about this game caught my interest. Although, I must say the graphics are good.

This is definitely a no buy for me.

For those that liked it....enjoy!