On the Mac the time it takes to load between scenes was the main reason I didn't bother to finish the demo. Figuring out what to do was difficult and I had to continually use the hint button. Maybe if the loading had been faster, I might have tried harder.
This is a straightforward HOPA with a murder mystery setting, but there's nothing that is dark or ominous.
There are three levels of difficulty, and a choice of cursors.
Some of the HOS are chained objects where one object is needed to obtain the next. The mini-games are the standard ones and appeared to be easy to solve, although I skipped them simply because I always skip puzzles and mini-games.
There is a map, which is interactive. However, I discovered the game to be quite linear, and therefore, even though the map may show an area has a task to be performed, it will not open that area until you have performed a task in another area that comes first.
Hints are active in and out of the HOS.
The artwork is bright and open and quite attractive. The music is pleasant and unobtrusive.
Dialogue can be skipped.
Good game for someone new to HOPAs, or when you want something relaxing and not too difficult. I liked it, but I probably wouldn't pay full price for it or use up a coupon.
This game starts out like a spooky mystery and rapidly turns into Alice in Wonderland. I think the talking door guys were reincarnations of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
Be sure to set your hint refill to the shortest possible as you will need it often. This is the most confusing game ever, like you're having a terrible nightmare. Not once did I know what I was doing or why. There is a cute little mechanical owl helper, so if you're not into cute little animal helpers... well, you'll have to decide for yourself. Sometimes you have to work a puzzle, but it isn't clear that it's a puzzle. I quit when I got to the talking doors, which turned out to be one of those puzzles you don't know is a puzzle. There are also puzzles disguised as HOS. Lots of up and down and back and forth and picking up inventory items you have no use for. God forbid I should have tried the CE. Any more confusion and my brains would have probably fallen out.
I seem to be the lone dissenter so far, so as always, try it. You might like it. Basically, it gave me a headache.
Really a good game if somewhat outdated now, and quite long with many chapters. There seems to be about an equal number of HOS and mini-games. The hint button refills quickly; however, you'll have time to get a drink of water and go to the bathroom while waiting for the skip button to fill.
There is a lot of back and forth. The map is helpful, but not interactive. You pick up cassette tapes (remember those?) as you play the game. I didn't listen to any of them, so I don't know what information they contain or if they would've been helpful. The journal records any codes you will need, but isn't much help otherwise. The hints outside of the HOS are almost no help. I relied on the map more than the hints.
The story is fascinating, and there are other interesting characters who need your help or who are helpful to you, which is a real plus as far I'm concerned. The artwork is excellent.
If the map were interactive, I'd give it five stars, but as it is not, I can only give it four.
I recommend this game!
+1point
1of1voted this as helpful.
The Torment of Mont Triste
No one dares fall asleep in the village of Mont Triste... for when sleep arrives, so does the mysterious Lord of Nightmares.
This is a very charming game. The artwork and colors are vibrant with lots to look at. There is something about it that reminds me of a beautiful pop-up book, one that has the little tabs to make it interactive. Still, it manages not to be all airy-fairy sweetness and light.
The premise of the genius scientist who goes awry and releases something evil isn't new, but the way in which it is handled is new to me, at least. In one scene, vicious nightmare wolves turn into cute little puppies. Even the Dream Lord is more like a silent movie villain than something really dark and horrible.
Game play is easy, but if you get stuck, the interactive map and directional arrow hints (yea!) are available to help you out.
To me this is a very silly game. The storyline was nothing new, and sorry to say, the voiceovers were utterly out of sync with the premise. Her son has disappeared into thin air, yet mother remains upbeat and unworried.
I found the gameplay to be boring and tedious -- one junk pile HOS after another and they're unclear, fuzzy and like peering through fog with dirty glasses, some objects impossible to find without using a hint.
The hints inside the HOS refilled quickly on easy mode, but the puzzle skip button seemed to take forever, or maybe it felt that way because I wanted to hurry and get through the demo.
I'm on the fence. The game is seriously spooky, and I do like spooky. The graphics are beautifully drawn. The puzzles are like playing paper dolls so no challenge there, which doesn't matter to me since I skip them anyway. But apparently they do advance the story by telling you what happened to the children.
But I found that I kept needing hints, because it isn't always clear -- in fact, often not clear -- what to do with or where to use the items you've collected in your inventory.
Unfortunately, the demo ends just as you get to the "mirror world," so I wasn't able to tell if that would be any fun or not.
Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not on the fence. Clicking hints isn't my idea of fun. I'll recommend it, but I have to pass.
This seemed like an intriguing story with very simple game play.
I had problems running the game on my computer, which I reported in the technical thread.
There is only one voiceover (Suzanne) and other characters' mouths move while you read the text. I'm guessing in the original all the characters had voiceovers but it wasn't English, and they only bothered to get an American actress to voice the main character and cut out the rest.
I think I might have liked this game if not for the extreme simplicity of the game play. Even the HOS were simple. Find five items and they're laid out in a row in front of your nose? Seriously! But the story could have been interesting. I just didn't play enough of the demo to find out.
Also, I didn't get how there could be a 12th planet, which would be three additional planets even if you count Pluto. Unless they're living in a different solar system from ours, an unknown planet would only be the 10th. Did I miss something?
Not a buy. I'll be generous and give it two stars.
This sequel to the first Mayan Prophecies has a different developer from the first, and it is one whose games I always like.
There are four modes or levels of play. The custom option isn't present in this game as it was in the first, which is a disappointment. Nevertheless, I played the demo on easy and didn't find the sparkles to be overwhelming, and the hint and skip buttons filled quickly. You can switch modes after starting the game by going to the options menu.
The look of Cursed Island is better than in the first game which I believe is due to the different developer.
There is voiceover (not the greatest acting ever but adequate and no grating voices so far) and an interactive map.
In the HOS, you can opt to play a game of mahjong by clicking on the link in the upper right corner of your screen.
I don't believe you will have had to play the first game in order to enjoy this one, but it's a great game and I recommend it as well.
Overall, I enjoyed the first game very much and this looks to be as good if not better, so it's a definite buy for me.