I purchased this game after playing the freebie portion, because of the beautifully rendered graphics and music. I loved the minigames, too. But, alas, the game didnt seem very long to me. I actually took my time because I wanted to stay immersed in the great environment...but it ended too soon. The bonus game was good. I also took issue with the fact that, as a collector's edition, there waas no chance to go back and find things that i missed, or play the HOPs or minigames again in the bonus content. I've gotten used to that being standard in CEs. So, a bit disappointed after spending on this game, but what there WAS, was great.
I'm recommending the game for the fun graphic environment, but be warned that it doesn't have a lot of the things that CEs usually have nowadays.
I have to say, the visuals and music are outstanding. But there's WAY too much talking. New games seems to be having a lot more talking, and a lot less gameplay.
Also having a tech issue that I'll go to the Help pages for.
I was really happy to buy the CE, based on the demo, but now, I think I wasted good money.
This game reminded me of Myst, or Riven, which I miss very much. The sound, the scenes, the navigation, the symbolism, and the little guys you could only see with the magnifying glass. Many of the mini games were very challenging, The fact that you had to solve a puzzle if you needed help (and the help was very helpful!) My daughter and I needed two brains to get through this one. I loved it. More of these, please!
Favorite Genre(s):Arcade & Action, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Word
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
Based on the demo (and I'll be purchasing the rest of the game), the only drawback to it is the choppy nature of selection when I tried to "go back" or select an item from my inventory. The "go back" function is also in the lower right hand corner, which I happily discovered during the game.
Menu items aren't where they usually are, which was interesting (all of the skip, map, queries etc are in a hidden bar ABOVE the playing screen; you have to hover around up there to get to those goodies). The storyline made sense, and things went where they logically belonged, so it wasn't a lesson in frustration, unlike so many new games nowadays, Something a bit more old-school than lately, and very welcome. Not much of a challenge, just pleasant game play.
I loved the basic game of uncluttering. However, the "He Said, She Said" diversions/repetition and all of the cliche quotes were difficult to wade through. Some of the games, like trying to put the black-white half pieces together, were ridiculous. I finally turned off the timer, but that didn't help with waiting for the next full-color matching game to come around. Uninstalled after one day. Waste of my money. I'll check out the new one, and see if some of the unnecessary dialogue is gone.
Finally we get another game where the connection between items makes SENSE. Some of the games lately have been ridiculously illogical, but this one was fun and fast-paced. The graphics were gorgeous, the storyline was great, you actually become interested in the characters because they are emotional. Even though I finished it in four hours, it's one of the few that I won't be deleting right away to make room on my hard drive. I'll be playing it again, which is really saying something. MAKE MORE LIKE THIS ONE.