Reviews for Haunted Past: Realm of Ghosts Collector's Edition

cherbtoo wrote:

mhatfie wrote:I really wanted to like this game as I am a sucker for dark, spooky games, but this one did not grab me at all.

I don't care for the blue/gray coloring and lack of other colors. I don't know if the whole game is like this, because the SG for the rest of the game is not available to look at. I don't think a game has to be devoid of all color in order to appear scary.

Also didn't like the lack of movement in outdoor scenes. If there is thunder and lightning shouldn't there be trees swaying and leaves flying etc. makes it appear more real and not just a flat picture.

I didn't care for the way the strategy guide was set up with no pictures. (it looked amateurish to me, but thats just me).
I had high hopes for this game, but I just wasn't having any fun. I hope everyone else enjoys it. Sorry Gogii, I usually really like your games.

There are pictures in the Strategy Guide but they are in the form of little ❒ ... if you click on one of those it will open and show you the scene for that area.

Thanks Cherb. I didn't notice that at all and I'm usually so observant, must not have been awake yet LOL.

I liked the game and would probably buy but just got my credit card statement and see I've already spent about $200 at BF this month. It's amazing how these games add up. The only negative comment I have about this game is it's touchy when you click too close to the bottom of the screen. I found myself back in a previous area several times when I didn't intend to do that.

I actually had to think about what I wanted to say about this game. The whole concept is very strange / in and out of the ghostly realm and the real world. I must say I think the lack of colors and lack of visual enrichment make this a difficult game to play. The concept of switching is rather interesting. However, the murkiness of the ghost realm is not to my liking. Also, I dislike "hiding" items to use in the other realm. Rather irritating to me. I am just getting tired of switching between realms. The puzzles and HOG scenes are decent. Just don't like the whole game concept. To me, a no buy. And with hit s being GOGII, I was really looking forward to a great game. Hopefully, BF will be bringing in some GREAT games for the holiday season. A little lighthearted adventure would be great. Very tired of ugly scenes of neglected building. Would really like to see someone do Dickens Christmas Carol as a game. It would be interesting I think. Haven't had too many great games lately. Hopefully some for the holidays.

Just finished the trial, and I think I'll wait for the SE. I used the SG once, found it totally confusing, then realized that I had gone a little further than the SG was showing, so went back a room, which is really strange for the SG not to show what's next. I found the hint button works pretty much well enough that you don't need the SG. I liked the look of the game, the lack of color in the past scenes was fine because it evoked, well, something not of the here and now, and I've seen far darker HOS than these, so I used maybe a hint or none to do them. However, the game loaded between scenes slowly and when there were a lot of SFX on the screen, it froze briefly -- probably due to my old XP, but still. I'll check it again when it's out on SE trial and see if the same things happen -- otherwise, a fairly easy to play game, even with the toing and froing between present and past scenes. One thing -- ye olde fake English accent from the barrister (only the Brits have those, we don't in the U.S.), so where and when this is set is really the big mystery. Also, one day I'll see a game where the women in the past don't have long flowing hair, but it'll be pinned up, like they actually wore their hair -- not however in this game.

This isn`t a good game. The graphic is very fuzzy. The game hasn`t a widescreen mode. Storyline is so-so. Overall I wouldn`t buy the CE, maybe the SE I am not sure yet.

(Review after the demo)--

It's tough to follow the likes of a CasualGran, a Cherbtoo, and a Valdy, but I'll give it a shot.

This game has been a LONG time coming, so I'm sure expectations are/were very high. Well, I think the devs made the wait worthwhile. For sure, the concept of a Haunted Mansion could be "old news," but travelling to two different times through the mirrors, and "secreting" away some inventory item, to be used later, is pretty unique. We're on a mission to free the soul of a girl who fell from an attic window to her demise years ago. 'Nuff said about that!

The intro is brief, but very good (What? No driving a car down a foggy country road at night, then swerving to avoid a Zombie, then crashing through a guardrail and into a tree, then waking up in an Asylum?). The Options Menu is the most creative one I've ever seen! Yep, there are three sliders (music, sound FX, AND voice), cursor choice, screen choice, but the best--three gameplay modes, the third of which is a custom one! You can choose "on-or-off" features from the "Advanced" mode to suit your own style. Very unique--maybe that's why it took a while to get this released, 'cuz that might take quite an extra bit of Techie programming!

From the screenshots and promo video, I thought the graphics looked kind of washed out, blue/gray/brown. No way--there's lots of color, and the whole picture is nice and clear. The H0 scenes are cluttered, but the items are pretty easy to find. In the easiest mode, the hint system re-ups quickly, and, of course, there are sparklies. The integrated SG is the "narrative" kind, but there are little thumbnail boxes next to most of the entries--if you click on one of those, it'll blow up into a nearly-full-screen clue display.

I have no idea of game length, but in my nearly-hour with the demo, I think I was still in the first episode/chapter (but I'm a bit of a plodder!).

This might fall a few "pixels" short of some of the classic CEs; give it a try.

Regards, elldee

Okay, I'm not into McGuyver, but I do agree with darkdisciple1313. I am not above using a butter knife as a screwdriver when the real thing is not available. This game is not bad, but fairly predictable. Graphics okay, sound okay, voice overs good, HOGs not bad.

Don't care for the SG. I prefer seeing the pictures on the page when I read the info. Don't need the extra clicking. Don't think I will pay for the CE version, but might as an SE. No buy for me either.

I enjoyed this game very much. I didn't have a problem with the shading, and didn't have any difficulty finding the hos. I only needed the strategy guide once in the beginning, because, so far, the hint button is sufficient enough to move you along. I liked the idea of going back and forth in time, and hiding things in one time only to have to retrieve them in the other time zone. It was very easy to go back and forth unlike Time Mysteries - The Ancient Spectre's, which I found entirely confusing, dark and murky looking. Now, I have to decide how many of four CEs I'm going to be buying this month, I sure hope some of these get released as SEs really soon since a lot of us have probably already blown our budgets on Christmas presents.

I love the game! I played the demo this morning and was disappointed when it ended. For me the demo ended at 59 minutes so I think that is a good sign as far as length goes.

The graphics look great on my computer and I think the colors help to give the game a creepy feel.

The ability to customize the level of difficulty is pretty cool and something I've never seen before.

There are not too many hidden object scenes and the objects are easy to find. I tend to lean towards the adventure part of a game so I don't like games that are overloaded with hidden object scenes.

I wasn't going to buy another CE this month but I had to purchase this one!

I played the demo - and I love it! I would like to know how much the bonus gameplay adds before I budget to buy the CE; but it is the most player-friendly, well-thought-out game I can remember seeing. The graphics are superb, the storyline is fascinating, the music is wonderful (and appropriate), the voice acting is great, the hint system is excellent, and the options for setting difficulty level are amazing. There is a Casual or Advanced difficulty setting; then there is the masterpiece: Custom. In that mode, you can combine all sorts of options for difficulty. You can choose how fast hints recharge, how fast the Skip button appears (or turn it off) for puzzles, you can select On or Off for Tutorial, Ingame Tips, Visual Help, and even set the difficulty level for Hidden Objects. Wow! They even included one of my favorite details - when you finish with an area, it says "Area Cleared" at the top of the screen. I truly appreciate not pounding my head against a brick wall looking for something where there is nothing. I believe there is no penalty for mis-clicks. There have been very, very few games that absolutely ingtrigued me like this from the very beginning, but this one certainly does. Gogii has outdone themselves, yet again. Thank you, Felix, for bringing this to us!

I have a question to ask those who have purchased and finished the game - in a non-spoiler context, does the story have an appropriate "end"? I don't mind if games leave openings for sequels, but I swore I would not buy any more games from this developer after the last few have left me hanging with either a very abrupt ending or more of a "to be continued" ending which took place right in the middle of the story (in my view), which I found very unsatisfying from a gameplaying perspective.

Any insight would be appreciated!

I am not a fan of this game. It's mostly grey/blue, dark and gloomy, except for the ghost rooms, where you get some light and colour.

The story was weak and vague. OK, it's a ghost story but I still expect a certain measure of cohesion and I didn't detect much.

The room changing from real to ghost was a nice touch at first, but it began to pall after a while because it was all the game was about and I found it monotonous.

What few mini games/puzzles there were a small child could have solved.

Game kept freezing for about 10 seconds, all the way through, which is a problem I always have with Gogi games.

The HOS were completely colourless, which made them bland and uninteresting.

Last, but not least, it was waaay too short.

If they had just left this game as a SE, I wouldn't feel so cheated, but in my book this game is not of CE calibre at all.

Next time Gogi make a CE I'll wait for the SE, something I don't normally do.

I too am very disappointed in this game. It seems rather half-hearted.

Fortunacookie wrote:I have a question to ask those who have purchased and finished the game - in a non-spoiler context, does the story have an appropriate "end"? I don't mind if games leave openings for sequels, but I swore I would not buy any more games from this developer after the last few have left me hanging with either a very abrupt ending or more of a "to be continued" ending which took place right in the middle of the story (in my view), which I found very unsatisfying from a gameplaying perspective.

Any insight would be appreciated!

This may be a SPOILER and may not be allowed:-

At the beginning of the BC you are told you are going to "a land of green and fire", but it never happens. Instead it's just more of the same, to me, monotony. Then at the end of the BC they tell you you'll go there in the sequel.

I'm reading that back and it sounds ridiculous, but that's how it went.

Thanks Sheerija! That's good to know.

What about the story in the regular content portion? Did it have a clear, non-abrupt ending to the gameplay?

Hi Fortunacookie, just popping in to let you know that the standard game content does indeed have a clear, satisfying ending. There is a definite point at which you have won. No cliffhangers!

Potential bonus content spoilers ((highlight to read)): The bonus chapter will lead you into what may be another adventure for the heroine. We felt this was a better way to go about bonus content. You still get to stay in the world, play and uncover more of it, but it won't take away from the original game's experience.

It's really interesting to read such a range of reviews. I liked this game straight off because it offered three levels of play. I took the middle road for the demo and thought it was appropriately challenging. I liked that you get an AREA CLEARED message when you've completed a scene so you know if you still have work to do there. I loved the back and forth between worlds and how inventory items had to be properly placed or you wouldn't have them going back and forth.

I also really appreciated the SG which started off listing only an objective and then, only when you click on it, provides more detail. (It kind of reminds me of Franklin's role in the Drawn games.) So many times I just want a little nudge in the right direction and the SG or walkthrough gives the whole solution away.

I didn't mind the darkness except during the HOG scenes, when smaller items were sometimes really difficult to see. I did have some problems with placing objects, as in [SPOILER] cutting open the sofa to hide the teacup [END SPOILER].

I though the game had some good ideas, I like the hiding of stuff for the future and the time travel. The ONE thing that kept me from buying this game is all the 'You found this!' 'This goes into the inventory!, 'Yeah this goes here.... , I had had enough by the time the limit was over.
Count me as a no buy.

THIS IS A MAGNIFICENT AND STUPENDUOUS GAME
no ifs or buts
bought it immediately even tho i dont buy CEs any more
thank you developers

I love this game, too, because it's different from similar games, but I will wait for the SE. Don't want to start another punch card this month.

I thought this was a great game! I loved going into the "ghost realm" to find and then hide things to use in the present world. I also really liked the way you could customize the game to your own gaming tastes. I'd like to see more of these and will purchase them the day they are offered!