Seems simple at first Until you try to get gold Well, you have to know what do do first, what things to do at the same time, how to split up your workers...
You gotta think!!!!
Love when a game forces you to do it.
Simple graphics, thank God I had my fill of games that got gorgeous graphics and little else. Now I just want substance.
They promised new variations. Well, they had the swap, which was new and interesting, and the shapes added a new wrinkle.
BUT the puzzles were either way too easy, or else solvable only by hints. Not what puzzle enthusiasts want.
Also there were technical issues, like a crazy scoring system with no explanation, a useless timer that I did not know what it was for, and counting as errors when you right click on empty spaces.
Neither the penguin nor the wolf has anything to fear from this entry.
I just love retro games. The graphics may be crude, but they are a thousand times more inventive than going from HO to HO picking up the same things. The storyline is new, the things you have to do take some thinking, and you feel clever when you finally figure it out.
Now I am going to google to see if there was really a Joe Gould, and The Minetta...
This is from the same people that gave us "The Musketeers: Victoria's Quest" and it is as much fun as that one. Same start slow and get more and more complicated. Only this time the characters are funny and the action weirder (you need a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the ghosts). Even if you play it untimed, you will find it hard, since you have to decide what do to first (hint, do not upgrade anything until you got a source of food and one of wood - and later of stone). It gets real complicated - going through tunnels, picking up keys and finding a lock for them, makin a rubber factory to build a trampoline.. Making Dracula dress like a woman...
You have to be very good at it, and be able to squint a lot to see some of the things. Worse, once the hints are gone, they are gone, and that's it. I have played a lot of HOS games, but none was like this. I ended up clicking helplessly into a murky background, with no idea of what I was doing.
If you are really good, you might enjoy this. If you are not, avoid it.
This one has a great story, and it is told without losing focus. The visuals are suitable for the kind of story it is and put you in the mood. There are no flourishes of the kind that distract you. You just HAVE to find out what is happening, and what the mystery is. The flow is easy to keep and there are some spooky surprises (a room where the exit leads not outside but to a room upstairs..) The minigames and the HOS are very much in keeping with the tone of the story (and having sometimes to look using the flashlight makes it more spooky still).
I love it when a game follows a story and unravels it, instead of going for bells and whistles. The visuals are not so stunning as that of other offerings, but they give the right atmosphere. The HOS and minigames while taking some work are not impossible. There is minimal backtracking, and the tension is kept all the way through.
One quibble. I know, that "Blagojevitch" is historical, but it brings memories of a certain governor.... maybe they are related?
Islanders are here again! Become part of a new adventure and help the shaman get his true appearance back! Follow them in a fascinating journey through time and make new friends!
The developers heard the complaints about the third installment and they paid attention. You still have to light fires, but they stay lit. And it is only in a few levels.
As for the rest, great graphics, inventive problem solving, artifacts to find to add interest, and not knowing where to go, and learning it as the fog dissipates. All we know and love about this series.
I LOVE this game. It makes you think, and it makes you smile. And when you get to China, its beauty is breathtaking....
I like these games, I like the logic involved in solving them. But these designers got lazy and wanted to put pretty pictures, never mind that you end up with puzzles that can ONLY be solved by hints, because there are two perfectly good solutions. Too many of those and the fun is gone. We want puzzles that we think that if we tried harder we could get. Instead of throwing our hands in the air and pushing hints..