I'm a sucker for any game that takes place in a mental hospital (and I'm usually disappointed), but this was a genuinely fun and immersive game. Visually, it is outstanding, with high quality graphics that managed to look both real and slightly cartoonish (in a good way). The voice overs were nice, with not too much cheese. I loved that we had nice looking but not drop dead gorgeous leads and supporting players who could have been real people with real neuroses. The storyline was one of the most cohesive I've seen in a long while. I normally detest the HO scenes that are fairly inevitable in these games, but these were sort of "reverse object" which made it different and interesting, not so ho-hum. The only negative I have is that the puzzles were too few and too easy. Other than that, it's a little gem of a game.
I downloaded the demo after reading such glowing reviews and played for about 30 minutes (knowing I was going to buy it) and it froze up after a puzzle. I closed down the whole thing and started again just to have it freeze in the exact same place. What a crushing disappointment!! This is SO my kind of game and they are so few and far between. It is SO deliciously creepy and disturbing, a real departure from what is normally available. When I first started playing it, I thought, Oh, jeez, a thinly disguised hidden object game....BLECCHH!! But oh, no, it's much, much more than that! Makes "Escape From Ravenhurst" look like nursery school. Hehe. Gonna try downloading it on another computer, cuz I JUST GOTTA HAVE IT!!
Off The Record: The Italian Affair CE is a definite hit. It isn't often I'm able to find a game that isn't a large file format that I enjoy as much. This charming game has it all: adventure, romance, art theft, danger and intrigue. The locations in Venice are real and they are portrayed beautifully here. I was especially impressed and delighted by the fact that there were learning tidbits throughout the game that were fun and fascinating without having to slog through pages and pages of heavy historical data. I loved the overall look of the game as it was sunny and bright the entire time, not a raindrop or a bolt of lightning to be found. It was so refreshing to deal with real people in believable circumstances doing logical things as opposed to monsters, demons, witches, elves, fairies....well, you get the idea. I'd love to see more games in this vein.
There are numerous HOS which I normally loathe, but these were different; bright, easy on my old eyes and entertaining. There are lots of puzzles and though some are old familiars, many are new and different, but mostly easy. I'm a hard core puzzle fan, liking my puzzles in the "tear your hair out" vein, so it's easy to see that the game captivated me regardless. There are lots of "collectibles" for those of you who like that, also morphing objects, an interactive, transporting map and a diary. Go for it, you'll love it!
Mystery Trackers used to put out super high quality games for thinking players. Lately, a lot of my favorite developers have gotten so lazy and have been churning out clone games with identical storylines, boringly familiar HOS (find a butterfly, crowbar, horseshoe, feather - OMG!) and dull, repetitive, insultingly easy puzzles. That said, Memories of Shadowfield could have been a much better game as it's puzzles had potential, the look of the game was pleasant and there were only a couple of places where the music was annoying. I actually enjoyed the bonus content in this game more than the game itself. I feel this game would be good for novices as there is not much in the way of challenge here.
Review based on full game and bonus content played on difficult: MCF are my go-to games and I always wait impatiently for the new ones to be released. The developers could have spared us the agony of this one. Game started out well, with what seemed like an interesting storyline and degenerated into just plain silliness. The bonus content was excruciating. As with all MCF games, the graphics are beautiful, the voice overs believable and the music appropriate. However, some puzzles were ridiculous to the point of skipping, which I rarely do. Puzzle instruction was vague at best. I'm still looking for a MCF as good as 13th Skull, I guess. C'mon, guys, you can do it.
I bought this game solely based on the reviews and I was not disappointed. The game excels in all areas. Graphics, music, storyline, voice acting, but especially the puzzles! There is a preponderance of puzzles, a supremacy of puzzles, a momentousness of puzzles! And they are some of the highest quality I've see since SAFECRACKER. An added bonus was that there no tedious HO scenes to slog through. What an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. If you enjoy a thinking game, you won't go wrong here.
I recommend this game!
+3points
3of3voted this as helpful.
Sable Maze: Forbidden Garden Collector's Edition
Your parents always told you to stay away from the mysterious maze behind their house…. and you’re about to find out why.
Overall rating
3/ 5
Fantasy, Fairies, Evil Queen
PostedNovember 25, 2017
Shelly718
fromPost Falls, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Review based on 90 minute demo: After playing Sable Maze: Sullivan River, I had high hopes for this one, however.... While the scenes are beautiful, glossy, bright, colorful, this just isn't my cup of tea. The story is silly, puzzles are childish and SO easy. There are three levels of difficulty, I played on hard since there was no "custom" setting. There was nothing really challenging or difficult about this game. There is a "helper" ermine, the main characters mother after a run in with an evil witch. Ho hum. I would recommend this game for children.
Others have laid out storyline, so I'll just get to it. This is a great game, well thought out, coherent, fun to play. After a very short intro setting up the story, you are immediately faced with the ghosts of your childhood and the children who traumatized you at summer camp. Wandering around the deserted and desolate camp with the wind howling is wonderfully atmospheric, a little scary, but in a fun way. The graphics are gorgeous, the music is suitably eerie, some scenes have children chanting malevolently. (Shiver) HOS are interactive and puzzles, though familiar, are still nicely challenging, but never hard. I really appreciated that some items are held in inventory longer than one scene and that some tasks cannot be completed until many scenes later. I highly recommend this game.
Although I never leave reviews unless I've purchased and played the entire game, this review is based on the 90 minute demo. The game starts out with a group of young people sitting around a campfire, telling lame, scary stories. One fellow knows a horrifying story about the very place they're camping in and proceeds to start the game. I really liked the graphics, they're soft yet clear and HOS are easy to see. Music is unobtrusive, nicely set in the background as a mood setter rather than in-your-face. Characters are believable and dialogue isn't too corny. I'm not a big fan of HOGs, I usually look for games that are puzzle oriented, but the HOS in this one are slightly different, imaginative and easy to see. The puzzles are on the easier side than I prefer, but still engaging and fun. I was really disappointed when the demo ended, so I will be purchasing this game and recommend it for people who like a more relaxing pace to their games.
This is a fun, mildly challenging dragons/heroes story that is just captivating enough to hold my interest. There were some fun puzzles, none really difficult but some really different than I've seen before. Graphics are really lovely and characters are truly engaging. Good storyline, long length and nice bonus chapter in the CE. Recommend for beginners and those who want a relaxing play.