Great characters, good story and dialogue. Clearer, better, nicer graphics than the first Steve the Sheriff with the same gentle jazzy, gumshoe music throughout. The game play blends straight forward hidden object scenes with fragmented elements. So, alongside the HOS, you have to find a few bits and pieces for Steve to make a whole object that he can do something with. He's in the bubbles! Whenever you see a bubble, Steve is there, just click! Unlimited cigar hints this time but quite a long wait to skip puzzles. You still find cigars in scenes, but this time, they are collected so you can play the bonus game at the end. If you haven't found all the cigars by the end, they take you back to all the scenes where you missed them, so you don't have to play the whole game again. It can be a challenge finding all the cigars as there is no hint for them. If you hover over all the cigars when they're in the case, there are funny facts about Neptuneville. The cute bonus game, just puts the icing on the cake of an already great game..
Limited hints in the form of cigars which you have to find in scenes. Immediate skip on puzzles. I like all the moving parts in the HOS, a T.V on, in the background for instance, or some marine creature doing something or other. There's nothing quite like a little bit of action, in a normally very still hidden object scene, to add a little interest. I played it in timed mode, so I could start again if I had to, and gradually get to know where things are, using the limited hints each time. Some objects are hard to find, without a hint. There are lots of spot the difference scenes to play, just as many as there are HOS. I tend not to enjoy these as a rule, but they weren't too bad in this. The game can get quite puzzley and a bit tedious. I wouldn't say it was particularly relaxing. Also, you have to start an entire chapter (of several scenes) if you don't quite make it to the end of a chapter in the timed mode. Overall though, it's a fun enjoyable game with good characters, nice graphics and gentle music.
I love the beginning of this game. *Spoiler Alert* Someone has buried you live in a coffin! How do you get out? A very dramatic and exciting and unforgettable start. I found it a bit of an anti climax after that. It just couldn't live up to its fantastic beginning but it's still a very decent game with loads of lovely relaxing HOS. Graphics are easy on the eye. Great atmosphere but a bit short.
It's about the Roman soldier Longinus, and the weapon he used, that pierced Jesus' side while he was being crucified, which is now known as The Holy Lance or The Spear Of Destiny. The main character tries to locate the spear and/or missing pieces, which are said to be located in secret and different geographical areas throughout the world. This game takes place within the timeframe of the Second World War and you will come across one or two people, who in their quest for ultimate power, desperately covet The Lance. It is quite an atmospheric exciting game, story wise and is typical of these old school and clunky Hdo games, which are a mixture of interesting puzzles and HOS. In this one, there is is a lot of repetitive code breaking puzzles, where you basically do the same code breaking puzzles over and over. Interesting at first, but gets a bit boring after a while. I find that playing timed is better, not just to make it more exciting but also, if you time out, you only have to replay the scene and not the entire game. Hdo games appear to be carried more by story, rather than gameplay and this is their strength, so if you like games with a good story. lots of basic HOS and some facts and history to go with it, you can't go wrong.
There were a lot of nice HOS with rich, lush graphics. I was also lured in by the Interesting Facts. I probably wouldn't have bought it, if not for the Interesting Facts about Lewis Carroll, which were scattered about in the HOS and other scenes, in the form of a smiling Cheshire Cat symbol. Overall, I found it disappointingly short and the gameplay quite tedious (so good thing it was short).
It had one flaw, not sure if it was fatal to be fair, but it was incredibly annoying and frustrating. Every time you want to go to a scene, there is a loading map. I don't mind waiting a few seconds, but this seemed to go on forever. Bring a book with you, Seriously. You can get a page read in the time it takes to load a simple hidden object scene. There is a map where you can teleport to an area of interest, which makes transport a bit faster, but you still have to deal with those loud irritating footsteps across the map, which could make a person go insane. On the plus side, very good graphics and environmental sound effects. Decent story. Great atmosphere and original gameplay. Lots of nice HOS. Fun puzzles. Love the disembodied hand that gives you clues and support and tells the story. Just shame about the loading time.
A hidden object game really, in the style of 'Where's Waldo?' It's hands on, very tactile and you can interact with virtually everything. You can click on rubbish bins, rugs, tents, cupboards, fridges, roofs, cars, doors, computers, trees, bushes, people, aliens, food, drink...and they will all DO something! Often times, they will reveal people and objects, some useless, but some in your hidden object list. Didn't seem to be a hint button as such but you won't really need it. Just pure unadulterated fun for long winter evenings.
I liked this atmospheric game but I ended up having to play it again because I wasn't able to pull the items from the inventory into the end scene, in Chapter Ten. There were items that never came out of it, because a puzzle wasn't triggered, and then, it overloaded the inventory and glitched it, preventing me from completing the game. Well, these old games do tend to have problems but I went back to the beginning, played it again and it didn't glitch that time and worked out just fine. The game is like Dr. Lynch: Grave Secrets. It has the same graphics, style and game play. The graphics are nice and clear but you have to think small and have patience. A lot of the objects are tiny but not blurry, not impossible, just challenging, so you do have a chance to complete it. I would say, play the timed game, because if you don't find all the objects the first time round, you can wait for the time to run out and replay the chapter. Otherwise, you will have to restart the game. Better to restart the chapter rather than the game, plus, you will get to know where all the objects are a little better, each time. You gain hints by finding cigars, fortune cookies, gambling chips, paintbrushes and telescopes. in that order. You will probably need all the hints you can find, as some of the objects can be challenging.
There are 27 chapters, each with a scene where you have to find groups of different objects and there's a mini game/puzzle at the end of each. If you decide to skip the puzzles, the alternative will take you to the same hidden object scene in a nursery, and you will have to play it 27 times. The Plazmatron is quite an original and fun tool, located next to the hint button, which renders furniture, boxes and other objects invisible, for a short time, allowing you to look behind them and get objects. You use the Plazmatron more as the game goes on, and sometimes you need to remove a few pieces of furniture at once, to get to an object. There are also drawers to open and some things that you can simply move out of the way, to expose an object you need. So it's very hands on.
While I really liked the genre and overall atmosphere and ambience of this old game, a lot of the objects were difficult to find. The dull, dark graphics didn't help. The hint button was very slow charging, there was a time limit and on top of that, it seemed a very short game.