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Panthera · 05-03-2012, 10:58 AM

I've had bit of a game playing craze lately, so this will be quite an extensive list..

Bought:
Mystery Case Files: Escape from Ravenhearst CE - not as good as Dire Grove, still one of the best casual/hybrid adventure games out there, and an okeyish continuation of the Ravenhearst story. I do hope they're done now though, and I wish they'd stop the "we're trying to scare you now!" moments.

Witches' Legacy: The Charleston curse CE - I keep forgetting what this one was about so I'm going with; not very memorable story, but good enough to get me to buy it. Thought the 3D characters were a bit silly, but I have no complaints about either gameplay or the extra chapter, though I do think only one wallpaper is a bit of a rip-off.

The Agency of Anomalies: Cinderstone Orphanage CE - good story about an orphanage of gifted children (as in the supernatural variety) and a supposed accident that has caused all the inhabitants to fade out, requiring you to save them and figure out what happened. Though the powers you gain are a bit unbalanced, the game has good art direction, with small movies and rapports on each child, and reasonably good voices. The ending, though I saw it coming, made absolutely no sense though.

It has stuck with me for having one of the worst extra chapters I've ever played, with a stupid firefly catching mini-game you have to do 3(!) times, and some of the worst ragdoll physics I've ever wrangled with. It has few scenes and doesn't add much to the story. Buy the regular version!!

House of 1000 doors: Family Secrets CE - I actually tried the House of 1000 doors: The Palm of Zorocaster CE demo and enjoyed it very much, but it was obvious that the game expects you to have played the first one, so I decided to play through the first one first. I've played so many HOGs now that I have a few developers I instantly know I like, and whenever I see the "beyond object" gimmick I know the game will have high production values (for a HOG), beautiful 2d drawn art and good voices. This one also had an interesting story; the house of 1000 doors is a house that appears for one night every few years, where you can enter into other realms and help ghosts find peace.
You play a washed up fiction writer who's invited to the house through a mock seance, and end up rescuing several ghost and helping the house's other inhabitants with their problems.
I haven't played the extra chapter yet, as I sat up late last night finishing the main story (just one more key!), which was surprisingly long for a HOG; usually I can finish a HOG in under 4 hours, this time I spent at least 6.
Recommended!
Though having said that, the demo of the second one was even better. Ho1000D handily gives you a map to travel back and forth between rooms, and the map also shows active rooms, but in the first one you need to open the diary and then the map, in the second the map has its own button.
Also, something that for me always differenciates a HOG from a hybrid adventure; I got to carry my knife the whole game through and use it on different objects!

My one complaint about Ho1000D was that you sometimes had 2 HO scenes right after each-other, I prefer my HOS a bit more spaced out between puzzles and story.

Demos:
Fantastic Creations: House of Brass CE - Feh. I love the clockwork wibe, and the art style, but it's just a bit too easy and HOish for me. It went into my "might buy when I've finished the others" pile.

PuppetShow: Return to Joyville CE - another direct sequel, this time I've actually played the first one, and didn't have much trouble picking this one up. I love the animatronics, and the 2d art style, but there's something about either the gameplay or the story that just doesn't interest me that much. I did finish the demo, and I'm sort of interested in how the story progresses, so I will probably buy it, but it didn't make me want to continue playing right at that moment.
You play a detective following the villain from earlier through time until you find yourself with the task of stopping the previous game's back-story from ever happening, through the use of the puppetmaster's animatronic puppets. I do give the story kudos for actually going dark, with kidnappings and even suggested murders, though it is a bit hard to understand why everything is so dark.
I guess what really annoys me about this series is that the premise has so much potential to be like a Syberia game, with all the animatronics you have to activate and use. As it is you usually only find their missing part, pick an obstruction out of their inner workings or press a button. Any gears you do find are probably not even used for the animatronics, but more likely goes in a door lock.

It's one of those games where your protagonist can't do anything unless she has the exact correct object for that task and it disappears as soon as you use it. Also a bit too much back-tracking to and forth between scenes; like having to walk back and forth 3 times for one puzzle. Still, it's a reasonably enjoyable series, and has more polish than a lot of other HOGs.

Living Legends: Ice Rose CE - Pretty standard fantasy fare; your boyfriend has been enchanted by this evil ice witch and you have to run after trying to stop him, and save the world, through the strength of your love for him (because he obviously dosen't love enough, being enchanted by the evil witch and all). The game uses (bad) 3d animation for the videos and ice witch, while everything else is hand drawn. I was also very surprised the game didn't have voice acting; not because I want it, but because the 3D models kept moving their mouth, looking like they were supposed to be talking, but no sound ever came.
Otherwise a quite standard hybrid adventure; inventory based puzzles (pick up right object to use on this thing), you can't combine anything in the inventory, so you have to carry an hammer handle back to the hammer head etc. HO scenes are usually found every new location, and include those "special" features where you have to light a candle to get "lighted candle" and stuff like that (As does Ho1000D and Puppetshow btw). I've grown quite used to these and don't mind them anymore, but I've never quite seen the point.
Some issues with targeting and a specific pumpkin puzzle had me stumped for some time because I apparently didn't "drag the knife" properly, but I finished the demo, and put it into my "if I don't find anything more interesting" pile.

Secrets of the Past: a Mother's Diary - I'm going to give this one the benefit of the doubt and hope it is quite old, as it's been a long time since I had to drop out of full screen because the image is so fussy I have no clue what half the objects are. Even in the original resolution the background were pixellated and fussy. Clear HOG, no hybrid adventure here, back arrow kept activating when I tried clicking hot spots and an inability to use a sword for anything logical (like cutting grass) meant this one was uninstalled after about 10 min.

Shiver: Poltergeist CE - It's weird, I really liked Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker, but after I finished the Poltergeist demo I had no interest in continuing the game, and uninstalled the demo. Might be that the protagonist wasn't very likable, or the story with the annoying unhappy pyromaniac ghost lady who thinks you are her lost lover wasn't very engaging, or that the controls just annoyed me too much to continue, but I felt the series had a sharp downhill turn with this one.

Phew!

And I still have Theatre of the Absurd, Abandoned: Chestnut Lodge Asylum and Haunted Halls: Fears from Childhood left to try!

(Haunted Hall: Green Hills Sanatorium was one of my absolute favourite HOGs, so I'm terrified of being really, really disappointed with FfC)

Edit: My "review" of the last three there could really be summed up in smilies:
Abandoned: Chestnut Lodge Asylum:

Theatre of the Absurd:

Haunted Halls: Fears from Childhood:

05-03-2012, 10:58 AM	#7
Panthera female animal lover Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Norway Posts: 1,480	I've had bit of a game playing craze lately, so this will be quite an extensive list.. Bought: Mystery Case Files: Escape from Ravenhearst CE - not as good as Dire Grove, still one of the best casual/hybrid adventure games out there, and an okeyish continuation of the Ravenhearst story. I do hope they're done now though, and I wish they'd stop the "we're trying to scare you now!" moments. Witches' Legacy: The Charleston curse CE - I keep forgetting what this one was about so I'm going with; not very memorable story, but good enough to get me to buy it. Thought the 3D characters were a bit silly, but I have no complaints about either gameplay or the extra chapter, though I do think only one wallpaper is a bit of a rip-off. The Agency of Anomalies: Cinderstone Orphanage CE - good story about an orphanage of gifted children (as in the supernatural variety) and a supposed accident that has caused all the inhabitants to fade out, requiring you to save them and figure out what happened. Though the powers you gain are a bit unbalanced, the game has good art direction, with small movies and rapports on each child, and reasonably good voices. The ending, though I saw it coming, made absolutely no sense though. It has stuck with me for having one of the worst extra chapters I've ever played, with a stupid firefly catching mini-game you have to do 3(!) times, and some of the worst ragdoll physics I've ever wrangled with. It has few scenes and doesn't add much to the story. Buy the regular version!! House of 1000 doors: Family Secrets CE - I actually tried the House of 1000 doors: The Palm of Zorocaster CE demo and enjoyed it very much, but it was obvious that the game expects you to have played the first one, so I decided to play through the first one first. I've played so many HOGs now that I have a few developers I instantly know I like, and whenever I see the "beyond object" gimmick I know the game will have high production values (for a HOG), beautiful 2d drawn art and good voices. This one also had an interesting story; the house of 1000 doors is a house that appears for one night every few years, where you can enter into other realms and help ghosts find peace. You play a washed up fiction writer who's invited to the house through a mock seance, and end up rescuing several ghost and helping the house's other inhabitants with their problems. I haven't played the extra chapter yet, as I sat up late last night finishing the main story (just one more key!), which was surprisingly long for a HOG; usually I can finish a HOG in under 4 hours, this time I spent at least 6. Recommended! Though having said that, the demo of the second one was even better. Ho1000D handily gives you a map to travel back and forth between rooms, and the map also shows active rooms, but in the first one you need to open the diary and then the map, in the second the map has its own button. Also, something that for me always differenciates a HOG from a hybrid adventure; I got to carry my knife the whole game through and use it on different objects! My one complaint about Ho1000D was that you sometimes had 2 HO scenes right after each-other, I prefer my HOS a bit more spaced out between puzzles and story. Demos: Fantastic Creations: House of Brass CE - Feh. I love the clockwork wibe, and the art style, but it's just a bit too easy and HOish for me. It went into my "might buy when I've finished the others" pile. PuppetShow: Return to Joyville CE - another direct sequel, this time I've actually played the first one, and didn't have much trouble picking this one up. I love the animatronics, and the 2d art style, but there's something about either the gameplay or the story that just doesn't interest me that much. I did finish the demo, and I'm sort of interested in how the story progresses, so I will probably buy it, but it didn't make me want to continue playing right at that moment. You play a detective following the villain from earlier through time until you find yourself with the task of stopping the previous game's back-story from ever happening, through the use of the puppetmaster's animatronic puppets. I do give the story kudos for actually going dark, with kidnappings and even suggested murders, though it is a bit hard to understand why everything is so dark. I guess what really annoys me about this series is that the premise has so much potential to be like a Syberia game, with all the animatronics you have to activate and use. As it is you usually only find their missing part, pick an obstruction out of their inner workings or press a button. Any gears you do find are probably not even used for the animatronics, but more likely goes in a door lock. It's one of those games where your protagonist can't do anything unless she has the exact correct object for that task and it disappears as soon as you use it. Also a bit too much back-tracking to and forth between scenes; like having to walk back and forth 3 times for one puzzle. Still, it's a reasonably enjoyable series, and has more polish than a lot of other HOGs. Living Legends: Ice Rose CE - Pretty standard fantasy fare; your boyfriend has been enchanted by this evil ice witch and you have to run after trying to stop him, and save the world, through the strength of your love for him (because he obviously dosen't love enough, being enchanted by the evil witch and all). The game uses (bad) 3d animation for the videos and ice witch, while everything else is hand drawn. I was also very surprised the game didn't have voice acting; not because I want it, but because the 3D models kept moving their mouth, looking like they were supposed to be talking, but no sound ever came. Otherwise a quite standard hybrid adventure; inventory based puzzles (pick up right object to use on this thing), you can't combine anything in the inventory, so you have to carry an hammer handle back to the hammer head etc. HO scenes are usually found every new location, and include those "special" features where you have to light a candle to get "lighted candle" and stuff like that (As does Ho1000D and Puppetshow btw). I've grown quite used to these and don't mind them anymore, but I've never quite seen the point. Some issues with targeting and a specific pumpkin puzzle had me stumped for some time because I apparently didn't "drag the knife" properly, but I finished the demo, and put it into my "if I don't find anything more interesting" pile. Secrets of the Past: a Mother's Diary - I'm going to give this one the benefit of the doubt and hope it is quite old, as it's been a long time since I had to drop out of full screen because the image is so fussy I have no clue what half the objects are. Even in the original resolution the background were pixellated and fussy. Clear HOG, no hybrid adventure here, back arrow kept activating when I tried clicking hot spots and an inability to use a sword for anything logical (like cutting grass) meant this one was uninstalled after about 10 min. Shiver: Poltergeist CE - It's weird, I really liked Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker, but after I finished the Poltergeist demo I had no interest in continuing the game, and uninstalled the demo. Might be that the protagonist wasn't very likable, or the story with the annoying unhappy pyromaniac ghost lady who thinks you are her lost lover wasn't very engaging, or that the controls just annoyed me too much to continue, but I felt the series had a sharp downhill turn with this one. Phew! And I still have Theatre of the Absurd, Abandoned: Chestnut Lodge Asylum and Haunted Halls: Fears from Childhood left to try! (Haunted Hall: Green Hills Sanatorium was one of my absolute favourite HOGs, so I'm terrified of being really, really disappointed with FfC) Edit: My "review" of the last three there could really be summed up in smilies: Abandoned: Chestnut Lodge Asylum: Theatre of the Absurd: Haunted Halls: Fears from Childhood: __________________ Pennies are never the healthy end, risk all! The Panthera Effect If you can't beat Panthera, join Panthera.. My sporadically updated blogs: Animation enthusiast, Sci-fi enthusiast and Snark, pedantry and random geekery Last edited by Panthera; 05-03-2012 at 01:27 PM.