I normally love Mahjong. This left me with a headache. Even in untimed mode I felt under pressure to work faster. Not to get a better score, although you achieve gold, silver or bronze medals, but just because of the way the fields were presented. The 3D towers and spinning board were ok, but not different enough to overcome the shear repetitivness of the gameplay. After the full hour Trial the Cutscenes were virtually nonexistant, and did not invoke any interest in the actual Story.
Based only on the Demo this game is a waste of time. My finger was getting tired with having to constantly click the mouse. This is a typical Hd0 game, with nonsense objects to find, and way too much direction. Cartoon graphics were straight out of a comic, but clearer than expected from this Developer. Option to adjust the music and brightness levels is a plus. Hints are not very helpful, and you have to move the screen side to side to see the whole field. Best Bit: Someone with a sense of humour made the "find number of same/similar object" scenes. The dialogue was tedious. The story reminded me of a bad B movie. Not surprising as it's based on an old TV show.
This needs more thinking than the usual H0G, and the puzzles were very different. I would class it an Adventure Lite, with HO scenes finding objects from silouettes. They put themselves together to form tools needed soon after. The hint button wasn't much help, mainly directional, but refilled quickly. The graphics are excellent, and I didn't mute the music for once. I loved the sense of humour in the game. Most of us know the Pied Piper story, so should not be distressed by kidnapped children. There is nothing gory or spooky to upset people. A refreshing change from recent Supernatural themed games.
I'm not a fast player, and need to consult the SG even though some say the game is too easy. I was surprised how fast I managed to finish. This game is very short, especially the Bonus episode. But without it the game is incomplete. I don't know how they plan to handle it in the SE. The game ends abruptly, and you only save everyone by playing the bonus game. I enjoyed playing, but think I would feel cheated if I had waited for the SE. I would like to hear comments for comparison after it comes out.
The story is interesting, the Graphics are stunning as we have come to expect from ERS. There are few H0 scenes, and some unique twists on the puzzles. I muted the music as I always do, so can't comment on that aspect. I would recomend buying this game with reservations. Maybe in a CE sale?