Or below, even!

I hope others have also reported the post above!

Tufty

Did anyone else have trouble with this, or is it just my unsteady hands?

Any suggestions welcomed!

T57

Based on the demo only



Well, it's been a while since I reviewed a game, but this one had to be done!

As ever, I will not recount the 'story so far' for you. Suffice to say the Queen is telling another of her tales (in her terribly irritating voice) and you play out the tale.

Starting off with the 'bling' which may make this worth buying as a CE:
* 12 achievements to earn (a bit mean in my view)
* Chess pieces to collect around the various scenes
* Fortune telling cards to collect leading to a game in the extras menu
* A map puzzle which appears to be a jigsaw and could lead to something else
* Match 3 to play which suggests it is an alternative to the HOSs. (I rarely play the alternative as I usually enjoy HOSs so didn't think to look!)
* All the other usual stuff like wallpapers etc

There is a map but the game is very linear in the demo at least so you don't really need it.

You acquire a phoenix that helpfully flaps its wings if ever you miss the big black vortex of dark magic which it can dispel for you.

So far 3 puzzles and 3 HOSs.
Puzzles are very easy (except for the one to get a flask off an Orc. Even with SG help, a first for me, I could not make it work) but some have a hard/casual option.
HOSs are revisited and so far are a list with some interactive items x2 and one where you replace items.

Began to lose interest within the hour it took me to play the demo, mainly because there is little you have to work out for yourself. An annoying druid keeps popping up to tell you what to do.

The most important issue is "What happened to Kitty when the Mage popped up through the portal?" I was mortified!

This is one to try before you buy. So I recommend that you try it, but I doubt I will buy it.

Hi Hollyau!

A shame you got no responses, but probably better if you start a new discussion by clicking that button at the top of the forum, rather than burying your request in the review thread, if you want help with gameplay.

Best wishes

T57

MusicNat wrote:

gentlegirl wrote:Hi!

Let me just say I LOVE THIS GAME however i cant get past the lock. i have put in the gear, lockpiece and spring and its still in my inventory as broken........im stuck.

There is a broken lock piece that you also need to add, besides the spring and gear. You will find it by zooming in the area to the right of the Blackrow Mansion (where there is a skeleton and a pile of leaves). You will find some useful items there including the broken lock piece. Add that piece and you will be good to go.

Hope this helps anyone!

PS. I am also really enjoying this game and already purchased the Collector's Edition. The story is very engaging so far and I can't wait to see what happens next.
to Elephant Games[i] Team!

See above!

T57

No 3 of a job lot?



Do you remember a couple of games recently where you had:

* Arrows, eyes and magnifying glasses telling you what to do?
* A single level of gameplay with no choice of difficulty level?
* No sound on VOs but lips moving incessantly?
* Inventory items that you have to drag-and-drop?
* Windows and HOS inventory achievements where you have to click the X to close/claim?
* HOSs where the items were 'well hidden', which you came across 8x in the 60 minute demo, which you revisited, where some of the items were 3x this or 3x that?
* Where you could click a 'hidden' symbol in HOSs or scenes to reveal interesting facts?

If you enjoyed those games then here is No3. This time you are an FBI investigator trying to discover who has 'stolen' the Statue of Liberty's flame.

I found the storyline a little more interesting this time, the graphics were OK, the music was OK but repetitive.

HOS heavy, this is definitely one for lovers of the 'classic' HOS style; a simple word list and much searching to be done. The hint recharges in about 30 seconds if you are struggling.

Puzzles were quite good (I encountered 3). There is little help and the hint just says, for example, "put the metal bits together" with no real clue as to where to start so they could challenge the old grey cells.

So, I would say it is a little better than Jean Valjean and Alice, and this time I might possibly use an expiring coupon without kicking and screaming, but it does not thrill me.

As I said, if you like classic HOGs with much handholding from the ever-present arrows, eyes, etc then go on and give it a try. This is what will put me off. I want to search that scene and find things for myself and then conclude, for myself, that there is nothing more to be done.

I recommend you try it, not that you buy it!

ETA no tech issues on Windows 7 Home Professional.

T57 *rummaging in the attic for old games to sell to BFG*

Well, you could use the hint.

Cannot remember precisely but a few things I did use the hint for were right in the corners, often bottom right.

Worth a try.

T57

Have been away and am a bit late coming to the table. Have read all the reviews and this game just goes to show how wonderful humanity is! Life would be so boring if we all liked the same things!

I have just finished the demo and I laughed all the way through! The bear in the tutu! Hilarious! I found the whole thing 'tongue-in-cheek' scary and, alongside the achievements, think (IMHO) that this is the premise of the game! ERS are having fun with us!

No, it's not as good as others in the series as far as gameplay is concerned. There is a lot of handholding but, unless you play on 'Really-incredibly-hard-with-no-hint,-skip-or-(dare I mention) a-sparkle-in-sight' mode, you will always get help. The 'find list' just replaces the 'pick-up' hand. I just ignored it and looked around in my usual way!

Some of the story links were contrived as in..."Hey, we just emergency landed our airship, found a random trolley car (in Paris???) to shelter in, but, hey, what's this? All the evidence is on this table in the corner!"

My favourite bit was the random items to click on. I played the music from the loud speaker in the trolley car several times for fun and was delighted when I got an achievement in the circus tent.

So, I think I will treat myself this weekend and giggle all through the wet, Bank Holiday weekend!

If you haven't tried it, give it a go!

T57

Well, I will start off by saying that this is not my sort of hidden object game, I didn't enjoy Gardenscapes and much prefer HOPAs.

However, if you like HO games and can put up with the repetition then it is a fun game.

Most will know how the gameplay works so skip the coloured bit.

But if you are new to this type..

Your friend is doing up the $1.5m manor she bought on a whim and you have to organise her yard sales, find the objects people want to buy (a paperclip for $35? Really?) and then grab the money to keep the customers coming in. You have various 'tools' to help you as you progress which also need to be found in the scene. Some scenes have multiple objects to find to move the 'story' on. You earn achievements and get bonus money for not using hints, accuracy etc As you earn enough money you can buy 'stuff' to do up the house.

The trial is only 60 minutes but felt much longer.

HOSs were revisited with often some of the same things to be found.

Music was OK, graphics were clear.

The taste of the furniture buyer was appalling! I went for an appropriate antique look but regretted that when the carpet choice came round. You can 'redesign'.

I played in relaxed mode, but there is a timed too.

Oh, and you have to name the cat who comes down the chimney! I called mine Fatso, because it is!

I am not sure why this is a CE and probably wouldn't buy it as an SE anyway, but if you love HOGs then this could be a good buy for you, especially with the sale today.

Had no tech issues on my Windows 7 Home Premium

Enjoy!

T57

mrm2006 wrote:For those who, like me, disliked Alice: Behind the Mirror and would like a decent story book game, please try Fiction Fixers. Cute, enjoyable. Easy but entertaining. My 7 year old granddaughter played it with me the 2nd time around.

Hugs to all.

Thanks mrm, will have a look!

T57

joyce2121 wrote:

I'm concerned if I buy the game, I'll just be stuck here with no help.

Don't worry, Joyce! AverageSizeFish will be along to help come the weekend and (hopefully) an SE sale. S/he positively whizzed through it so far!

If you are enjoying it, go for it!

T57

Couldn't agree more, Brendansoma. You may have seen my review!

My only worry is that people will think "It can't be that bad", only to find that it is!

T57 *humming The Birdie Song to get that music out of her head*

I played it so that you don't have to!

I HAD to give it 1 on the game page

They have ruined a childhood favourite of mine and to make matters worse, they keep making references to the delightful characters; the bread-and-butterfly, the rocking horse fly, the jubjub bird and my favourite jabberwocky to mention but a few!

Just do yourself a favour! Stop reading this, switch off your PC/Mac/Laptop and go and spend an hour watching paint dry!

OK, well if you insist!

If you played Les Mis a few days ago, then substitute one set of characters for the other and there you have it!

No levels of gameplay, music on/off, (I HIGHLY recommend off and I NEVER turn the music off!), sounds on/off.

Uninvited tutorial! Straight into an HOS (with even more irritating music). Just a simple list with a final single inventory item. Challenging? Yes, because there are tiny/invisibly camouflaged objects. I pride myself on never using a hint in an HOS. But, in this case I could't bear it! I would have skipped if I could! (Oh and by the way, if you think the hint takes an age, wait until you DO want to skip!) And even worse there are so many of them, around every corner!

Puzzles, so basic I cannot bring myself to describe them.

Now onto the things I really hated!
* That flaming purring/snoring (?) cat as my hint (and I loved the CC in the story!)
* Cheshire cat smiles all over the place; in scenes, in HOSs. Got bored and ignored them! They give 'interesting' facts if you can be bothered!
* Hold and drag, don't click to get things from your inventory. Well, we all loved that in 'The French Game' didn't we?
* Arrows, eyes, puzzle pieces and magnifiers glow altogether just in case you are unsure what to do for 2 seconds.
* You have to click the x to close all windows
* That stupid cat's face during every scene change/window opening to 'cover' the time it takes to transition
* Have to click the inventory up when you need it.

I would not buy this game if you thrust a coupon in my hand and dragged me to the 'store'.

So, there you go. Hope you enjoy the paint. Do not say you weren't warned!

T57 *willing to sacrifice her sanity for her fellow fishies*

You have to keep your little men supplying them with wood, chopping down trees, watering them, chopping them down again! They then supply lots of resources for you which are included in the totals at the top of the screen.

If you are doing this and the resources do not go up, then, yes, you have a problem.

T57

Drive him off with your army of sassenachs?

Oh, sorry! You meant lair!

No idea!

T57

Suntower also dries up swamps (I think!)

T57

Have just properly read the post and maybe am mistaken! Just ignore me!

Your little men have to chop the wood and then they deliver it to the sawmill.

Don't forget to 'rain' on the trees to make them grow again.

T57

An enjoyable little game. Yes, as Shaz says, there is no tutorial but you soon get to work out what to do and I admit I did gasp in horror as I allowed my 5 pumpkin's worth of warrior to die a couple of times.

What I DO like about this game is there's no "Let's go!" or other repetitive remarks when you task your workers. Just a little "Eeek!" if they get caught by the gollum or a little cheer when you meet your targets.

I play these games just for fun and rarely purchase them, so I don't mind too much if I have built and upgraded a sawmill and then find I should have built a forge.

If you are a serious player, I would use the demo as your tutorial and then play under a new profile to play 'seriously'. Or, I believe, you can reply the levels to improve your score/achievement.

Definitely worth a demo IMHO!

T57

Download the fix! It works!

But I did start from the beginning again just in case.

Great game!