Empress of the Deep: The Darkest Secret

The demo hour flew by (I even made the dogs wait for their breakfast so I could play, lol).

Graphics are very imaginative and well done. I enjoyed looking at the scenery. I like the futuristic angle. The story is intriguing so far (especially when it got to the portrait of the royal family).

Some of the hidden objects were a tad grainy, but I think that was due to holding with the undersea enviroment they were trying to depict. Objects were not the same old clip-art type.

I did have problem with the object font..I kept looking for a bat when it really was a hat--I read the wording wrong.

So far, a good variety of mini-games, loved the laser beetle one.

Good map to plot your progress. I'm unsure of how far I got; on my map, right side it said 4/10. I had just found the royal sceptre when time ran out.

Thanks for great reviews! DL'ing now. Looks like a buy for me. Now let see if I can just hold off till next week to do it.

Oh, I forgot to mention one teeny weeny complaint. The fonts used on the items lists. The small h looks like a b to me and I looked forever for a bat. Either kind of bat would do. But when I read bourglass it dawned on me it is hourglass, not a typo which told me to look for a hat not a bat. Hope I can get used to that.

Also, I don't like items dropping off the list when I find them, prefer games that just cross thru the name or fade out. When I hit a wrong item and something drops of the list I'd like to know what it was or looked like for repeats in other scenes.

Other than that - great game.

dvdiva wrote:

Rachieroos wrote:b) the voice acting is so annoying! The little girl makes me want to slap her and the protagonist (Anna) sounds like she's on tranquilisers!

I actually found the voice acting quite appropriate! Anna did just wake up from a hundred (or is it thousand?) years of sleep, and the little girl is intentionally annoying, I believe.

Yeah, I suppose you've got a point there. I can let Anna off, but that child is more annoying than my kids and that's saying something!

And yes guys - I agree with the h/b font thing. I spent ages looking for a bat then used the hint out of frustration only to realise it said hat all along!!!

dvdiva wrote:Beautiful and engrossing. It's like we stepped into an underwater Atlantean paradise! What I about it so far: gorgeously rendered locations that remind me of Myst & Riven; great voice acting; a map that shows you where you are; environmental sound effects (like page turning and gongs) that again gives me that Myst nostalgia; and the star that indicates when an area is complete. What I didn't like about it: the hidden object areas are in lower resolution graphics, and that some puzzles don't seem to have a skip button (I may be mistaken, though). Overall, a highly recommended buy!

Now that is ALWAYS my benchmark! I'm gonna havta get this one now!!!!

Jule

I'm enjoying the game but do agree about the graininess, junkpiles and over sized objects. Great story line and beautiful world to be in. A big but tho - one of the first posters said this was a long game, I'm on chapter 3, about 2/3's of the game through in just over an hour. I've skipped one puzzle and followed the story. So it doesn't appear to be that long.

i agree with everyone that this is an awesome game. graphics are great, story is intriguing, and i love the fact that scenes say completed when you're done so you don't spend time hovering over every inch endlessley looking for things you might have missed.

one question: some have said that the game is very long. i finished 8/10 according to the bubbles on the right side of the journal in just my hour trial. i didn't skip any puzzles and have read everything in the journal so far. are those last two really long or are there possibly more beyond the first 10? any answer would be greatly appreciated as i only have one credit left and want to make sure i won't just finish a half hour after purchase. know what i mean jellybean?

In case anyone needs it the walkthrough for Empress of the Deep: The Darkest Secret is up on the Big Fish Games Blog, You can find it here:

http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/empress-of-the-deep-the-darkest-secret-walkthrough/

Thanks,

Margie B

nevermind, looks like i'm in the middle of ch. 2 and there are 4 chapters. thanks for the walkthrough info margie!

tish

morticia6 wrote:nevermind, looks like i'm in the middle of ch. 2 and there are 4 chapters. thanks for the walkthrough info margie!

tish

You're welcome Tish, enjoy the game! Just an FYI, there are really 3 main chapters, I added chapter 4 to differentiate the last task from the rest of the game since you will be doing a lot of running around.

Margie B

I really liked this game a lot. I can not add anything new...everything has been said! Great job!

this game is awsome! such a cool place to have a hog. i really like the storyline and the voices and stuff and my favourite thing is the ART!! this is a cool game its definatly going on my buy list!!!1

Great game. a must have for an IHOG fan.
At the moment I am a bit lost, but that usually happens
in all the good games.
Nothing different from topside. (LOL)

Nice game. Waiting to buy though. I have 9 games this month. Will wait to see if I can find 2 more, hopefully DD, games to buy to make 12. Otherwise will wait 'till Mar. 1st. Happy gameing fishes.

I only have one complaint, I had resolved not to buy any more games this month, and then this one comes along and blows my resolve out the window.

Great game.

dvdiva wrote:

Rachieroos wrote:b) the voice acting is so annoying! The little girl makes me want to slap her and the protagonist (Anna) sounds like she's on tranquilisers!

I actually found the voice acting quite appropriate! Anna did just wake up from a hundred (or is it thousand?) years of sleep, and the little girl is intentionally annoying, I believe.[/quote

I was putting together the painting and thought "uh-oh", that annoying voice is really evil

Edited on 02/20/2010 at 8:02:10 AM PST

This is a beautiful game! The graphics are great, I do not have to sit on top of the computer to see what I am doing. I keep the music on low, I found it a little annoying. I like that it tells me when a level is complete. I do not mind the voice overs, I like to hear the words rather than read them.I have to wait until March to buy, but it will be worth the wait!

Finished it and it is by all my standards a pretty good game. I'm not too sure about replay value -- but the storyline was good (the most important element IMHO), the graphics were very good -- some of the games were unique and I liked that. A lot of what the game requires the player to do is instinctual -- I'd be very surprised if the majority of the players would even need a walkthrough -- so try it without one first! The map was great -- I liked the fact that the notebook kept the important notes for you! The music was not an interference to the game and only added to the ambience! All and all -- it was great and the earlier comments on the font used in the hidden object sections -- I agree with them. I had no problem only because I had read those earlier comments. So all of you -- thanks for that heads up!

Just a note for Willie -- I loved the lily pond hidden object search site and the chessboard minigame!!

Very cool IHOG . I'm loving it! The fact that the game lets you know when an area is complete is a really great feature. Definite buy for me. The only complaint that I have is that in the hidden object scenes, the graphics could have been better (a bit grainy). So far with completing the demo, haven't had to skip any puzzles, but it does give you that option (took me awhile to figure this out and that it has a back button to get out of scenes...not paying attention as usual). Big !

Loved it, buying it. Reminds me of DC series. I play those over and over and expect the same with this one.