JustTheFacts's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.9
- Helpful Votes:33,148
- Reviews Submitted:681
- First Review:December 7, 2011
- Most Recent Review:June 4, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Status:
When the entire audience disappears from a film screening at an old theater, you must go behind the scenes to find out who is running the mysterious Nightmare Cinema!
Overall rating
4
/
5
48 of 53 found this review helpful
Solid Entertainment
PostedMay 3, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
BASED ON COMPLETED CE GAME
I really enjoyed the CE of this one, and after looking at the SE version, I still think it’s the better deal. But that doesn’t make this second rate by any measure.
If you can stand to forgo the exciting tidbits (MORPHING OBJECTS, COLLECTIONS & ACHIEVEMENTS), this is an excellent game.
You won’t be sorry you bought it.
The game is jammed with interactive list HOs and PUZZLES. There’s so much to do in each scene! Everything is relatively easy, so you don’t get slowed down by lengthy puzzles.
Stuck on that one last item in the HOs? Switch to JIGSAW to complete it without a hint. The jigsaws are fun, too, scenes from the game cut into all kind of weird shapes.
The story’s fun. Viewers at an old cinema are entering, never to be seen again. Now a workmate’s gone too and it’s time for you to find out what’s happening. We run into an old ‘friend’ in the course of our investigation, and that makes it all the more intriguing.
One thing I didn’t understand was the grainy GRAPHICS. I mean, they looked high quality, it was not a definition issue (I think). Was that deliberate? Is that what the film noir info was about maybe?
You can alter the volume on the SOUND, as well as voice, environment and music. But none of these things actually get very loud. There is not a lot of voiceover, but it is good. Lips aren’t synced though.
The ‘Fear For Sale’ series has always provided solid entertainment, and this one is no different.
I recommend this game!
With your carriage broken, and a wolf nearby, you must find shelter. What awaits you in the village just ahead?
Overall rating
5
/
5
95 of 106 found this review helpful
Ingenious, Imaginative, Impressive. Just Extraordinary!
PostedMay 2, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
BASED ON FULL DEMO
The STORY is not new. You are rescued as a baby by your foster father, a doctor, and you follow in his footsteps. It is obvious from the start that you and WOLVES have some connection, but just what it is, is unclear. The rest you must find out for yourself.
It is a bit of a departure from the earlier Shiver games, in that it is set in horse and buggy days. But that oppressive creepy feeling is the same.
The VISUALS, including more than one lengthy (replayable) videos, are SENSATIONAL, but then everything about this game is.
If there was MUSIC, I missed it, OVERWHELMED by the AMBIENT sounds of a really terrifying storm. I jumped more than once.
VOICEOVERS were very well done.
But it is the GAMEPLAY that has me chafing at the bit to get this game, and it is complex.
First, HO GAMES – and they are games, not scenes. Each involves INTERACTIVE items that take SEVERAL STEPS to get. And those steps will keep you guessing. I found myself chuckling in surprise at the eccentric uses to which items were put.
There were two HOGs in the first two chapters. Judging by the replayable content, there are 11 HOGs in all.
Early on you get a LAMP – but you have to work for it, it’s not just lying there waiting for you – which you get to keep for the duration. Which means, there are also HOGs with poor lighting where you must search a small spot at a time. Knew there was a catch, didn’t you?
There were PUZZLES everywhere. Some were nice, EASY, straightforward, others totally defeated me, and were CONSIDERABLY HARDER.
As well as these, certain objects in your INVENTORY are PUZZLE ITEMS. These are some of the more simple puzzles, or are items that require further information, such as a code, to use them.
There is a lot in your inventory in general, and some of those items have some pretty odd uses too, plus it is also very easy to miss something due to the storm, the dark lighting, and the atmosphere which makes you want to rush.
There is a JOURNAL with notes and tasks, but NO MAP.
NO CUTE STUFF!
I took almost exactly 1 hour to finish the demo on Casual (3 DIFFICULTY LEVELS), which covered the first two chapters. At a guess I’d say, maybe 6 more, but don’t quote me.
BONUS CONTENT
Bonus Chapter, Artwork, Strategy Guide, Replayable Videos (and some of them are so good you will want to replay them), and Replayable HOGs.
I don’t know, for myself, if that’s enough for a CE, but it’ll kill me to wait for the SE!
I recommend this game!
The family saga continues when your nephew Brandon encounters the mysterious Stone Queen in a lonely mountain town.
Overall rating
5
/
5
38 of 40 found this review helpful
Check Out The New Visuals!
PostedMay 1, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
BASED ON COMPLETED GAME
At first I was concerned when there was no mention of the Gray family. A “Grim Tale” would not be a “Grim Tale” without that demon-prone family of ours. Never fear, our darling nephew has got himself in a fix, and it’s SUPERAUNTIE to the rescue. It’s just we didn’t receive a formal invitation this time, *grin*.
However, the game does not follow the same pattern as the previous “Grim Tales”. No wandering through Brandon’s memories, this time we must save him in the here and now. Once we find him.
It is pure chance (of course it is) that we run out of petrol near a mining town where legends say the Stone Queen protects and blesses with gems all hard-working & honest miners.
So why are the mines closed and the people turned to stone? And what on earth brought Brandon here?
From the moment the game begins you know that you can expect something really special. The GRAPHICS QUALITY is sensational! I couldn’t believe so much improvement could be made on such high quality graphics as we found in the previous games. And many delightful scenes have been created to showcase it. There are all kinds of locations, showing the extent of the imagination of the artists.
I have to make particular mention of one track of MUSIC which was linked to entry into beautiful areas. It was heavenly. I could sleep soundly every night to the sound. Mind you, some of the ENVIRONMENTAL SOUNDS are also wonderfully soothing. Yet there was still room for creepy and dramatic effects as well.
The VOICEOVERS were VARIED in their effectiveness.
In GAMEPLAY, puzzles are favoured over HO scenes, and MANY ORIGINAL PUZZLES were QUITE HARD. Some of the instructions were sufficiently vague for me to be unable to finish them. Interactive LISTS for the HOs, no repeats.
These were clear and decent sized and often truly beautiful.
There is a fair amount of to and fro, some of the actions and uses of items are less than obvious, and it is a large game area. This makes the INTERACTIVE JUMP MAP essential. The HINT button GIVES HINTS, not exact instructions, although it was pretty obvious in most cases. You also get help from some intriguing and amusing sources, but that’s for you to find out.
With so much to do and so much ground to cover, the game is QUITE LONG, as all the Grim Tales games are.
This one is a bit different from the rest in the series, and some may miss the more structured gameplay of the earlier games, but this one is well worth the extra effort.
I recommend this game!
Be careful what you wish for... A deadly bargain has been made, and it's up to you to set things right before your nephew pays the terrible price!
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
AND THE GRAY FAMILY SAGA CONTINUES...
PostedMay 1, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
GAME COMPLETED SEVERAL TIMES
This time it is your nephew who has caused calamity to befall your sister’s happy little family. A demon, masquerading as a witch (um, sorry, make that a wise old woman from the swamp), convinces Brandon to take a magic quill. This quill allows any wish written with it to come true.
Unknown to Brandon, the demon is of course setting him up. Each time he uses the quill, more of his life force is taken.
Being a pretty bright kid considering his parentage (how could 2 SENSIBLE people get into so much trouble!), Brandon twigs to what is going on and he stops using it, but it is too late.
He has made 3 wishes and it will soon destroy him. Enter SUPERAUNTIE.
Beginning with a rather unimposing intro, followed by the ordinary house the Grays now live, it’s easy to expect things to be a little more laid back. Not a bit of it, nothing is of course ordinary.
This game is as complex and ingenious as the last, with DOZENS OF BEAUTIFUL LOCATIONS. Again, there is a fairly heavy load of interactive HO SCENES, combined with a DELUGE of PUZZLES OF ALL DIFFICULTY LEVELS, edging to more difficult than easy. With all that is jammed into it, it is not surprising that this game is LONG, and you’ll want to set aside some time for it.
As you’d expect from this series, we have SPECTACULAR GRAPHICS, along with appropriate MUSIC, ENVIRONMENTAL SOUNDS and VOICEOVERS. If you’ve not played any of this series before, you’re in for quite a treat.
Another delightful concoction from one of our favourite developers.
I recommend this game!
Save yourself from an unknown disease and leave the island!
Overall rating
3
/
5
80 of 86 found this review helpful
You Want Zombies? I Got Plennnty Zombies!
PostedMay 1, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
BASED ON DEMO
It’s your honeymoon, but it’s about to turn real ugly. The beautiful island getaway becomes a trap when you discover everyone else on the island, including your just-wedded husband has been taken ill with something that is turning everyone into ZOMBIES.
Excuse me, didn’t I write up this story yesterday?
If you were a bit disappointed by the scarcity of actual zombies in yesterday’s game, you’ll be pleased to know, in this one, they are everywhere, moaning, whining, wrecking stuff.
In fact they’d be a real danger to your health, except for one weakness. They can’t abide water – and it’s raining. First time I have been glad to see that in a spooky game.
But you will still require ingenuity to move around safely indoors.
This game has marvellous FUN POTENTIAL, and if you can overlook quite POOR PRODUCTION STANDARDS, you’ll probably love it. The GRAPHICS at first appear good, but there is more than one occasion when the seams between image cuts are visible, SLOPPY. There are black screens between scenes.
Likewise, the names of items are sometimes completely wrong. Dall for a diary, or is it a doll picture on a diary? You see the problem.
There is also weirdness such as: shoot the small sack hanging from the street light to get the car key.
Once again, it’s NOT FOR THE EXPERT crowd. But it IS a HO Puzzle Adventure, there are as many PUZZLES as HO scenes (which are slightly INTERACTIVE LIST), but they are all EASY so far. Each HO scene is visited twice. Items are sometimes quite small.
We have NO MAP, but we do have DIRECTIONAL HINT, and a JOURNAL it’s a good idea to check, as it helps make the story make more sense.
We have ACHIEVEMENTS, of the necessary-for-game kind. They can be seen from the menu and there are only about 8 of them.
MUSIC is very dramatic and does add flavour to the tense and urgent atmosphere. VO was okay.
The demo took me 30 minutes, and I’m a slow player, but what I did I had fun with.
So, I am having difficulty rating this one. It’s definitely B GRADE, but I enjoyed it.
Guess that makes it an ideal punchcard filler!
I recommend this game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
Save Your Newborn Nephew From The Family Curse
PostedApril 30, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
GAME COMPLETED SEVERAL TIMES
Compared to the original Grim Tales, this game is so good it was almost a disappointment. It is so much more complex and sensational, and I was hoping for another quiet night in. lol
In ‘The Legacy’ we follow on from the STORY in the previous game, ‘The Bride’. Invited to the christening of our nephew, we discover on arrival that once again all is not well.
Using a similar technique to that used last time, we use photos to immerse ourselves in our sister’s memories and attempt to prevent the catastrophe that has occurred. To aid us we have the ghost of Gray’s grandfather, though you might remember that sort of thing didn’t end so well last time!
The GRAPHICS are spectacular. Beautifully drawn HO scenes and other locations, literally dozens of them, making creative use of different lighting, provide us with a delightful journey through the very complicated castle.
Luckily, we have a INTERACTIVE JUMP MAP and very HELPFUL HINTS. There is NO JOURNAL.
The SOUND was also exceptional. In particular, some of the music was first class, and I loved the environmental noises. With the exception of the squeaky chandelier in the Knight’s Hall. It nearly drove me nuts. The voiceovers were rare, and very well done.
The GAMEPLAY is much more DIFFICULT than in the first game, in part simply because of the size and complexity of the game. But the PUZZLES, of which there are MANY, are also more DIFFICULT. Some also tested your patience by being fairly time consuming.
Unlike ‘The Bride’, ‘The Legacy’ feels like an Elephant game. It has some of that sense of grandeur and spectacle that I have come to associate with their games.
So, despite my tongue-in-cheek opening lines, I enjoyed this game thoroughly, and recommend it highly.
I recommend this game!
Explore the zombie island and break an ancient curse! What caused the disaster? Was it a virus or magic?
Overall rating
5
/
5
65 of 73 found this review helpful
ANOTHER Truly Excellent HO Adventure Game
PostedApril 30, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
BASED ON FULL HOUR DEMO
Do you like CRYSTAL CLEAR REALISTIC GRAPHICS, a minimum of SOUND effects, background noise and SUBTLE MUSIC, with sliders to allow you to set the levels you want?
Do you want to play an adventure where the GAMEPLAY is STRAIGHTFORWARD and doesn’t involve crazy uses for odd objects, where some doors are unlocked, and NO COMPLEX PUZZLES are keeping you away from your goal?
Do you want to visit HO SCENES with a slight interactive component, but most of all, beautiful EASY-TO-SEE OBJECTS?
This game is for you.
“Mysteries Of The Undead” has a STORY which lets our imagination run free. A mysterious illness has befallen an island in the Pacific (= GREAT LOCATIONS), and people are turning into blood thirsty monsters. Your team is coming to the rescue, but are shipwrecked on the way in.
Now you must not only survive, but find your team mates as well.
The game is a bit of a HANDHOLDER (not for the expert crowd), there is an INTERACTIVE JUMP MAP to tell you where to go next. HINT is helpful outside the HO scenes.
The HO scenes are the clincher here, they are SUPERB. They involve a LIST where the total number of items is larger than the panel, so you have to keep checking back. I like that added layer of difficulty. There are a large number of interactive items in each list. The last, inventory, item is highlighted at the end.
My only complaint is the ‘sheathed sword’ needed in an otherwise totally modern environment.
There have also been a good variety of locations for the scenes already. My room, the beach, an office, underwater...
There was only ONE PUZZLE, near the end of the hour, and that was a very easy one, even for me, and SKIP took literally 15 SECS.
There are 10 ARTIFACTS TO COLLECT, and these interact with specially marked places to give you a needed item.
This game is a brilliantly designed game for those HO players who want a class act with some purpose to the action, without the stress and trials of a full HO Puzzle Adventure.
There is more to it than other HO games but not complex enough to frustrate. Seems someone finally listened to the HO players!
Excellent job!
I recommend this game!
After your sister vanishes on her wedding day no one has any idea what happened to her, so it's up to you to find the truth!
Overall rating
5
/
5
64 of 72 found this review helpful
Would You Sacrifice Your Soul For Your Sister?
PostedApril 29, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
GAME COMPLETED SEVERAL TIMES
This series is one of my favourite, and I have as much fun playing these games for 4th and 5th time as I did the first.
In this game we are first introduced to our character, a concerned sister who is determined to find out what really happened to her sister. The sister, Luisa, was last seen being pushed off a bridge on her wedding day.
Arriving back at the family home, you are confronted by a demon who says he will make a bargain with you, he will allow you to enter your sister’s memories in order to find a chance of saving her, but if you don’t succeed, he gets your soul. Thus begins your journey through the recent past of your sister.
In terms of STORY, this game is on shaky grounds. Exactly what you can do to save your sister is a mystery, what might have happened to her is equally unclear. But there’s enough there to be going on with, so it doesn’t affect your enjoyment of the gameplay.
GAMEPLAY consists of WORD LIST HOS primarily, interspersed with some interesting PUZZLES. Nothing is too difficult, although I did have to skip a couple. HINT tells you exactly what to do next, eg. “There’s a hammer by the right door in the bunker”. There is NO MAP, but this is not a game where one would be helpful. Each mini-adventure is confined to its own locations.
ARTWORK in this series is spectacular. The opening splash already had me committed to buying this one. The developers do marvellous VISUAL EFFECTS, and the GRAPHICS both in and out of HOS was clear, detailed, beautiful and colourful.
Great use was made of SOUND in this game. MUSIC was very pleasant and unobtrusive, allowing you to enjoy the ENVIRONMENTAL SOUNDS, until at an appropriately tense moment it blasts in. Certainly made me jump.
This is a really fun beginning to an ongoing saga with games following similar stories and game structure.
Not to be missed.
I recommend this game!
After discovering a new system of caves, the entire town is excited to explore, until Suzy is kidnapped by a mechanical beast!
Overall rating
4
/
5
13 of 15 found this review helpful
Puppet Problems Again!?
PostedApril 29, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
GAME COMPLETED SEVERAL TIMES
THE STORY starts out a familiar one. Again the citizens need your help in dealing with unruly mechanical puppets. This time there is no sign of the nasty spider puppets we know from the first two games of this series. Instead a King Kong sized robo-puppet steals a small girl in full view of the townsfolk, and makes off with her.
In the course of tracking him down, you discover an isolated town that has been sealed off from the world for years. Strangely, there are no people here, just broken down and rusted puppets.
This is my least favourite of the 5 PuppetShow games, but is still a magnificent game
If you’re familiar with the series, you don’t need me to tell you about the BEAUTIFUL, STYLIZED GRAPHICS & IMAGINATIVE LOCATIONS of this edition. Much of this one is set in underground and mining locations, so the ARTWORK is somewhat MECHANISTIC, which is not so attractive to me personally, but is still wonderfully done.
The gameplay is as always HOS DOMINANT, they are slightly interactive, and repeated twice. This game introduces highlighted items in the list to tell us which items are interactive. These HOS have so many things that open and shut that the extra information is actually more confusing than helpful, I find myself preferring the earlier way.
The PUZZLES are HARDER than in previous games, and there seems to be more of them. A number of them are quite interesting variations on common puzzles.
The game flows well, there is little in the way of backtracking, except as appropriate – ie. To give the game a filled-out feel. Nevertheless, with NO MAP & NO HINT, it is sometimes difficult to get around. Despite having played this game previously, I still had to resort to the walkthrough once (that’s an improvement on my past performances).
As always, this PuppetShow game can be played stand-alone without missing out much, but it is far more fun in conjunction with the other PuppetShow games.
I recommend this game!
Return to the PuppetShow in this spooky sequel! Solve new mysteries and uncover dark secrets in Puppetshow: Souls of the Innocent.
Overall rating
4
/
5
11 of 14 found this review helpful
Another Puppet Master Turns Bad?
PostedApril 28, 2013
JustTheFacts
fromRural Western Australia
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
GAME COMPLETED SEVERAL TIMES
This is the second game in the PuppetShow series, and if you haven’t played the first one Joyville, I recommend it. But it is not important to the STORY.
As a detective, you are called to a small town where a girl has laid inexplicably asleep for 2 days. Disturbingly, a nasty spider puppet is identified. Pretty soon, your investigation reveals the disturbing fact that many more children are in the same condition.
Locals blame an evil wizard who lives in a castle nearby. So, of course, that is where we must go to solve the mystery.
One unique feature of the series is the location and structure of the tool bar. It is located in the bottom left corner, and fans out when it is needed. Some players don’t like this as they believe it covers up too much of the screen, but I like it.
The only problem is, with all other games locating the tool bar centre bottom, is my hand automatically goes there unthinkingly.
I most love this series for its BEAUTIFUL & COLOURFUL GRAPHICS, and this game certainly has a lot of really lovely scenes. Some of the puppets and their environments are awesome.
Primarily a HO GAME, this has dozens of HO scenes, each visited twice, and they are, it seems, around every corner. If your preference is puzzles this is not for you. There are very few PUZZLES, all of them easy, though some are quite ingenious.
As an ADVENTURE it is also extremely easy, and wouldn’t hold the interest of an expert gamer.
But for the rest of us, who just love relaxing into a make believe world, this game is absolutely excellent. I say that even though it’s not my favourite in the series. Trouble is, all of them are so good, it’s hard to separate them.
I recommend this game!