MrsMussar's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.3
- Helpful Votes:16
- Reviews Submitted:3
- First Review:March 13, 2018
- Most Recent Review:September 23, 2020
- Featured reviews0
MrsMussar's Review History
A small-town murder case hides a revelation that will shake the agency to its core!
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Nobody's heart was in this
PostedSeptember 23, 2020
MrsMussar
fromOttawa, ON
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
There are two characteristics of MCF games that make it an outstanding series: the puzzles and the story line. Although I've enjoyed many Grandma games, it seems there heart was not in this one.
MCF has a very enthusiastic (zealous? rabid?) following with high expectations. There have been some in the series that did not meet expectations (two in particular that shall not be named...), but The Harbinger was particularly disappointing because it could have been so much more. Various story elements teased previous plot points but didn't following through in any meaningful way - I had many "what was the point of that???" moments.
As far as game play goes, well this was also a bit of a letdown. Things were just too easy and game play was very linear - restricted to two or three scenes at most with not very much "multiple choice". In some cases you just go through one scene all at once and then you're done with it. This is not very exciting gameplay. Their attempt at the complicated lock puzzles of classic MCF games were also uninteresting, with very little head scratching required. Some may prefer this but if you're looking for a serious challenge you won't find it here.
This was also a very short game to play, also very disappointing for MCF.
I will very tepidly recommend this game with the very starry-eyed optimism that the NEXT one will be better. Now to replay Dire Grove to see if there's anything there that makes the James character make more sense.....
I recommend this game!
A series of museum robberies leads to a shocking discovery!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
A So-So entry in a great series
PostedApril 3, 2019
MrsMussar
fromOttawa, ON
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Match 3, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I have played every game of this series. I love the story arc, and the development of the Gray family histories - for there are TWO Gray families intertwined in these games. And a big THANKS to those fans who took the trouble to tease out the family trees from all the data in the games. Love it!
The game play was OK. I found it to be a medium-length game, and the minigames not particularly challenging. Richard gets more annoying with each game - I miss the old evil Richard.
But where this game really falls down for me is the story line. The previous game left a HUGE cliff-hanger ending regarding the fate of Jared. I won't spoil anything here but if you haven't played Grim Tales: The Hunger, I would recommend you do. Things will make a bit more sense - but you would have to play the CE to get the relevant background info.
Nomad should have resolved this story line but left more questions than answers. If this was an attempt to build suspense or whatever, well, it didn't work. The story was bland, and the bonus chapter seemed to be just "busy work" with no narrative value.
Getting back to the family tree thing: my biggest beef with this game is that Richard calls Jared his grandson, which is false. It seems a petty point I know, but if you are going to put together an epic game series such as Grim Tales, continuity matters. Richard Gray is father to Luisa (NOT "Louisa" as is used in this game. tsk) and Anna. Luisa is married to John Gray. Yes - this is a Gray married to a Gray, but two separate lineages. Jared's father is Alexander Gray, brother of John Gray. John and Alexander are not descendants of Richard. At most, Richard is Jared's great uncle by marriage.
I tepidly recommend this game as part of a really great, epic series. Fingers crossed that the next Grim Tales addresses the story arc shortcomings presented in Nomad, and puts a little more effort into building an interesting game. Maybe it turns out that Richard really is Jared's grandfather after all, being the father of Elena (Alexander's wife) through some nefarious machinations that have yet to be revealed! Fingers crossed...
I recommend this game!
Ghastly murders in Whitechapel foreshadow the return of the Red Queen!
Overall rating
4
/
5
9 of 12 found this review helpful
Lots going for it, but.....
PostedMarch 13, 2018
MrsMussar
fromOttawa, ON
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I love the Vermillion Watch series and was excited to play this one. It was a great game. With lots of buts...
Other reviewers have done a great job of running down the game's features so I won't reiterate. This review is about impressions. The story line lives up to its predecessors. I like the way the cast of characters has expanded over the series. The artwork and atmosphere are excellent. And although I usually hate morphing objects in HOs, the ones in the VW series are really fun. But...
Many of the mini-games were extremely difficult and tedious, with unclear instructions at times. If you make an error you have to start from the beginning, which means that you might have just wasted the last 10 minutes of your life. Some mini-games were actually "in-line" with the main game, with no help or skip button. That is just not cool.
Also, it's nice to have to think your way through a story line, but there were a lot of non sequiturs that had me scrambling for the guide or a hint, which I really don't like doing.
The biggest disappointment was the bonus chapter. It was really short and had a thin and uninteresting story line. BUT the worst part was that all the mini-games and HOs in the bonus chapter were recycled from previous VW games. I mean - they were the exact same games! This is a terrible precedent to set.
If I am going to pay double for a CE then I expect that some effort would be put into original material in the bonus chapter. I hope this is not the beginning of a trend.
If you like the other VW games, I think you will like this one. But if you are on a budget, maybe just go for the SE.
I recommend this game!