MoDreams's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.7
- Helpful Votes:40
- Reviews Submitted:3
- First Review:November 24, 2011
- Most Recent Review:January 30, 2012
- Featured reviews0
MoDreams's Review History
When Houdini’s promises of contact from beyond go unkept, his wife comes to you in a final plea to unravel his mysterious passing.
Overall rating
5
/
5
8 of 9 found this review helpful
Integrated Strategy Guide Is a Major Plus!
PostedJanuary 30, 2012
MoDreams
fromWest-Central Missouri, United States
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Mahjong
Current Favorite:
Syberia
(55)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
It took me several hours to play the game. It is an adventure game with some hidden object scenes. The goal of the game is
to find out the truth about Houdini's death and reunite the spirits of Houdini and his wife in the afterlife.
The graphics in this game were superb. Some may be disappointed by the lack of voice-overs. Also the ghost figures were very one- dimensional, flat and lacked animation. But I didn't mind any of that. I was impressed by how well the story was researched. I knew that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was interested in spirituality and I have read of Arthur Ford. While I do not "buy" the story as factual, it was an interesting take on a fascinating person. There were a lot of magic tricks in this game as well.
As in all the Midnight Mystery games - you find ravens in every scene to increase your hints. You can also find 4-leaf clovers in most scenes. There are 70 total, and if you find 40 of them, you unlock an "Unlimited Hidden Object Game" in which you can choose from all the hidden object scenes you encountered in the game, and this time you find everything. Hidden object game lovers should love this feature.
There are various puzzles scattered throughout the game, all are skippable. But why skip them? Most are not too difficult, and if you get stuck you can use the handy strategy guide. I did refer to it a few times when I was stuck.
Also I loved the hint feature in this game. When you don't know what to do next, click Hint, and it will direct you with arrows to where you need to go next and what item you need to acquire. So consequently I only used the SG when stuck in a puzzle.
All in all I thought it was an enjoyable game, with plenty of game play, and with the integrated strategy guide and bonus hidden object games, a great value at the regular SE price.
to find out the truth about Houdini's death and reunite the spirits of Houdini and his wife in the afterlife.
The graphics in this game were superb. Some may be disappointed by the lack of voice-overs. Also the ghost figures were very one- dimensional, flat and lacked animation. But I didn't mind any of that. I was impressed by how well the story was researched. I knew that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was interested in spirituality and I have read of Arthur Ford. While I do not "buy" the story as factual, it was an interesting take on a fascinating person. There were a lot of magic tricks in this game as well.
As in all the Midnight Mystery games - you find ravens in every scene to increase your hints. You can also find 4-leaf clovers in most scenes. There are 70 total, and if you find 40 of them, you unlock an "Unlimited Hidden Object Game" in which you can choose from all the hidden object scenes you encountered in the game, and this time you find everything. Hidden object game lovers should love this feature.
There are various puzzles scattered throughout the game, all are skippable. But why skip them? Most are not too difficult, and if you get stuck you can use the handy strategy guide. I did refer to it a few times when I was stuck.
Also I loved the hint feature in this game. When you don't know what to do next, click Hint, and it will direct you with arrows to where you need to go next and what item you need to acquire. So consequently I only used the SG when stuck in a puzzle.
All in all I thought it was an enjoyable game, with plenty of game play, and with the integrated strategy guide and bonus hidden object games, a great value at the regular SE price.
I recommend this game!
Clarence Flatt, an expert clockmaker, has asked for your help and has offered you the chance to explore the Timeless Tower!
Overall rating
4
/
5
27 of 27 found this review helpful
Good Game with a twist on Hidden Objects
PostedDecember 9, 2011
MoDreams
fromWest-Central Missouri, United States
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Mahjong
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
I guess the first thing I should say is that this is not really a hidden object game. It's more like "Replace the Objects" game.
You climb through granddad's timeless tower one floor at a time. On each floor you have to find about 9 different scenes from different periods in time, in which you are given pictures of objects and have to put them where they belong in the scene. I find this a nice and welcome chnage of pace from the traditional HOG.
You climb through granddad's timeless tower one floor at a time. On each floor you have to find about 9 different scenes from different periods in time, in which you are given pictures of objects and have to put them where they belong in the scene. I find this a nice and welcome chnage of pace from the traditional HOG.
While light on story, the game was interesting enough and I enjoyed playing it. I played the SE version. I was trying to find all the "E" cards, there are two in each scene, and they are really tiny and hard to find, so the game took me a while; 2-4 hours per day over a period of 3 days. I did resort to the walkthrough a few times when I couldn't find the 2nd "E" card. This game was much better than the original Enlightenus. Excellent graphics give you the feel of actually being in the tower, whereas in the original you felt you were looiking at rooms in a doll house.
There are also some items to be found outside the scenes, and some puzzles such as to unlock doors, none too difficult.
This is an adventure replace the object game. I recommend it,
This is an adventure replace the object game. I recommend it,
I recommend this game!
Return once more to the haunted grounds of Ravenhearst Manor to uncover new details about this poignant saga. What you find could very well be the final chapter of this riveting story-if you escape.
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 8 found this review helpful
BFG Keeps Raising the Casual Game Bar
PostedNovember 24, 2011
MoDreams
fromWest-Central Missouri, United States
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
This game was exactly what "Escape from Ravenhearst" should have been, and what I hoped it would be, though somewhat more morbid.
What I loved about this game:
- The graphics - oh my, the best I have seen ever - almost photo realistic and the details were amazing. I loved how when you touched things they fell down, you had to beware of falling rocks and so on. It felt like you were in a "real" place.
- The acting by Dennis Kleinsmith -- creepy, malevolent, and almost sweet at the same time, LOL.
- The sound - the music was nice but never obtrusive - climatic when appropriate, and the ambient sounds were terrific, waterfall sounds when there were waterfalls in the background, but stopped when you went inside.
- It was a total immersion experience - once I started the game I did not want to stop and for me it took about 12 hours of playing time, and that was having to use hints a bit more than I like and I had to check the SG a few times to get back on track. I am probably slower than the average player because I like to take the time to try to solve the puzzles, figure things out until I reach a frustration level.
- The humorous touches - tongue in cheek humor now and then -- especially when there references to previous games.
- Non-linear adventure style - We generally work one area at a time, but often when I checked the SG I had done things in a totally different order than they did. You have choices of which room to enter and so on. You do need your sneakers for this game, but again I love that and the adventure of discovering things on your own.
- Collector's Addition Extra game play integrated into the game - the door tokens. Loved that feature, and I do prefer that to a tacked on ending to make a game a CE or worse, robbing an SE of a true ending and just making the end of the game the bonus content for an SE.
- No hand holding - no sparkles, just explore and discover. Makes the game so much more challenging and engrossing.
- I loved how it incorporated my character's name into several places in the game. A very nice touch, and very clever developers!
What I loved about this game:
- The graphics - oh my, the best I have seen ever - almost photo realistic and the details were amazing. I loved how when you touched things they fell down, you had to beware of falling rocks and so on. It felt like you were in a "real" place.
- The acting by Dennis Kleinsmith -- creepy, malevolent, and almost sweet at the same time, LOL.
- The sound - the music was nice but never obtrusive - climatic when appropriate, and the ambient sounds were terrific, waterfall sounds when there were waterfalls in the background, but stopped when you went inside.
- It was a total immersion experience - once I started the game I did not want to stop and for me it took about 12 hours of playing time, and that was having to use hints a bit more than I like and I had to check the SG a few times to get back on track. I am probably slower than the average player because I like to take the time to try to solve the puzzles, figure things out until I reach a frustration level.
- The humorous touches - tongue in cheek humor now and then -- especially when there references to previous games.
- Non-linear adventure style - We generally work one area at a time, but often when I checked the SG I had done things in a totally different order than they did. You have choices of which room to enter and so on. You do need your sneakers for this game, but again I love that and the adventure of discovering things on your own.
- Collector's Addition Extra game play integrated into the game - the door tokens. Loved that feature, and I do prefer that to a tacked on ending to make a game a CE or worse, robbing an SE of a true ending and just making the end of the game the bonus content for an SE.
- No hand holding - no sparkles, just explore and discover. Makes the game so much more challenging and engrossing.
- I loved how it incorporated my character's name into several places in the game. A very nice touch, and very clever developers!
Where I am ambivalent:
- Morphing object scenes - instead of hidden object scenes. I prefer more adventure and puzzles and fewer hidden object scenes. I love morphing objects as "extras" in a game. Not sure I would like a steady diet of them in place of a lot of hidden object scenes. If BFG wants to do this type of scene in the future I would suggest a lot fewer of them, and make the time between morphs a lot faster so that they are easier to catch. but on the whole I didn't mind them in this game, but they should have been spread out more. There were too many in the beginning and almost no puzzles, and then later there a lot fewer of them and it was just about right.
The mad-scientist morbidity -- it is going to bother some people and it's definitely not a game for children, and we had to do some rather gross things, but they weren't done to real, albeit fictional, people! People need to understand that this game is exploring "Why Charles Dalimar is the insane person he is!" And I think it did that quite dramatically.
- Morphing object scenes - instead of hidden object scenes. I prefer more adventure and puzzles and fewer hidden object scenes. I love morphing objects as "extras" in a game. Not sure I would like a steady diet of them in place of a lot of hidden object scenes. If BFG wants to do this type of scene in the future I would suggest a lot fewer of them, and make the time between morphs a lot faster so that they are easier to catch. but on the whole I didn't mind them in this game, but they should have been spread out more. There were too many in the beginning and almost no puzzles, and then later there a lot fewer of them and it was just about right.
The mad-scientist morbidity -- it is going to bother some people and it's definitely not a game for children, and we had to do some rather gross things, but they weren't done to real, albeit fictional, people! People need to understand that this game is exploring "Why Charles Dalimar is the insane person he is!" And I think it did that quite dramatically.
What I don't like -
- The hidden items in the journal were not explained - would have been nice to have a hint about that somewhere. I kept clicking on the tabs and nothing happened. Mine said 1-15 and 1-16 at the end of the game. I had no idea what they were there for, until I read a thread in the forum about them. I was able to go back and get most of them. They could have been handled by letting us click on the tabs, finding out what they were for, perhaps with outline of the items to be found? or some kind of hint to tell us what to look for.
- Need an info button for some puzzles - Please just a line telling us what to do when needed. Visual clues in the SG were helpful, but sometimes the SG gives more info than needed or wanted.
- Important Clues were not entered in the journal -- map clues, and numbers needed for codes are not entered. Keep notes!
- The hidden items in the journal were not explained - would have been nice to have a hint about that somewhere. I kept clicking on the tabs and nothing happened. Mine said 1-15 and 1-16 at the end of the game. I had no idea what they were there for, until I read a thread in the forum about them. I was able to go back and get most of them. They could have been handled by letting us click on the tabs, finding out what they were for, perhaps with outline of the items to be found? or some kind of hint to tell us what to look for.
- Need an info button for some puzzles - Please just a line telling us what to do when needed. Visual clues in the SG were helpful, but sometimes the SG gives more info than needed or wanted.
- Important Clues were not entered in the journal -- map clues, and numbers needed for codes are not entered. Keep notes!
All in all I think it is a truly fantastic game. I had graphic issues when I first tried to play it and had to update my AMD ATI drivers. After the upgrade the game played fine. It IS a very graphic intensive game. Potential buyers heed the warnings, check your computer specs and upgrade your video drivers! Thank you Big Fish Games for bringing us another truly great game! Worth every penny for sure! And Kudos to Adrian Woods and the fantastic design team at BFG. Outstanding!
I recommend this game!