Batgirl10_7's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.6
- Helpful Votes:267
- Reviews Submitted:9
- First Review:April 1, 2017
- Most Recent Review:October 26, 2017
- Featured reviews0
Batgirl10_7's Review History
Can you solve an old murder case and save your sister?
Overall rating
2
/
5
22 of 30 found this review helpful
Please Make It Stop! Enough with the revolving door/mirror image games
PostedOctober 26, 2017
Batgirl10_7
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The last numerous CE games to come out have all been the exact same and they are all not worth the time and money spent.
Another reviewer said of this one "step away from the cookie cutter" and I could not agree more!
This game has so many of the things that are wrong with games that no matter how you wrap it, it is still a stinker
Here we have yet another "find the symbols/runes with view finder(cell phone in this case)" gimmick. I am so tired of view finders and of symbols and runes. Every single game has them now and it is nothing but a distraction for the lack of actual game play.
Another bad: So many interruptions! If not for a not-so-scary image popping up, or cut scene, there is conversation (even as brief as they are) that does nothing to add to the story, just repeating what we already know (which is another common thing going on in these games lately - the repetitiveness of the story points). There is simply no flow to this game whatsoever. You just cannot get into it
The HO scenes you had to repeat twice. They are easy interactive and normally I would not mind too much but I personally am not a fan of HO scenes in adventure games and this one has way too many, all done two times each - just another time filler to make the game seem longer. I am not taking off points for this, just expressing personal peeve for those who have same peeve.
Personally again, I happen to love puzzles and mini-games in my adventure games and this one has a lot comparably, however, they are all easy. They are another way to make this game seem longer because though easy to figure out, t hey are mechanically bad or just very time consuming.
The only collectible is the huge puzzle piece in every scene and then a few scattered coins in the pop-up mini scenes here and there (to buy what, I have no clue nor do I care at this point)
The graphics are dirty ugly throughout (gross but not in a good spooky eerie way, though they tried) Made everything a little tougher to see and focus on.
Story bored me to tears and was a bit confusing due to the frequent past/present back and forth without warning. Again, they tried and failed here.
The final straw was the "you knew one was coming" fire. On the stairs in this old house, burning like mad, and you have to do multiple tasks including a full HO scene, a crack the safe, and several others before you bother to put the fire out that in real life, the entire house would have burnt to the ground by now (seriously, like twenty minutes to get back to the fire) and the kicker... wait for it... after these stairs have been burning for twenty minutes and you put the fire out.. you still get to walk down them! That was it for me.
I am one who can put aside logic to get lost in an adventure game. I am one who can even deal with the same 'broken zipper' dilemma. If the story is good (even if the same one we have heard before) and the game flows nice and gameplay is not aggravating, I will buy it. This is not one of those games.
I don't recommend this game.
Experience life in the royal court with the ultimate fashion icon of the 18th century, queen Marie Antoinette herself.
Overall rating
2
/
5
9 of 13 found this review helpful
Review based on demo - 49 of 120 levels
PostedMay 16, 2017
Batgirl10_7
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
I will try to point out some specific features that many players will either be okay with or not like at all to take into consideration
I do highly recommend that you try the demo first to see if the smaller card size will work for you. While doing this, also consider the background as the cards tend to blend in a bit too much in a few scenes.
This is a bare bones game. It is also very easy to pass the levels (rounds). I had just completed level 49 when the demo was up. Since there are only 120 levels, this game is not going to be a long game. 2 1/2 hours top total. These two reasons alone is why I will not be purchasing.
There is no story - at all. Nothing, nada, zilch. Just high/low solitaire rounds, with nothing in between (no HO, no silly "time-filler") (some players will appreciate this).
The music was pleasant enough. I had it fairly low so was able to hear it but tune it out at the same time.
There are 3 modes: easy, medium, and hard. I played on medium.
No annoying tutorial that keeps getting in the way of the first few rounds. They show you what everything means on one screen when you start and that is it. It does not tell you how to purchase power-ups and extra cards - I had to find that on my own just to see it, but never bought anything. They simply were not needed - even by level 49.
Another thing to consider, in some of the rounds, I did not have to clear the board to win the round. There are no "stars" per round - just win or lose. If you get enough roses (points) and whatever the extra item is, then you win, round over. You can forward directly to the next level without having to be brought back to the windows board (in other games, this would be the "map" that tracks your progress). Even this was bare bones as you couldn't tell what level you were on but know there are ten rounds per section. The level shows while playing the round though.
If you do have to redo a level, you only have to do that round and not the entire section (there are 10 levels in each section).
There really isn't much more to say about this game. Nothing exciting but it was very relaxing to play and the time flew by. Unfortunately, there is nothing about this game that would justify me spending money on it (nor even use a coupon). It is not a bad game, just one too many things I am not thrilled with. I think some players may like it enough to do so though.
I hope this review helps at least one person
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save the realms from a vengeful god?
Overall rating
3
/
5
37 of 38 found this review helpful
Review Based On Entire Game Played, Including Bonus Chapter and Extras
PostedApril 30, 2017
Batgirl10_7
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I really enjoyed this 3 1/2 star, relaxing game and highly recommend it. The following explains this fair rating - though a very good game, there are too many glaring missteps that keep it from a higher rating.
Main game took 3 hours and 45 minutes to play. It ended conclusively if not into CE games. The Bonus Chapter took another 1 hour and 10 minutes - you play a different character from main game and it has 9 all new locations. This is an acceptable play time because the game had a very pleasant slow and steady pace. You can't help but take your time even though you move through areas and actions at a good pace.
The graphics, artistry, and colors were very well done (though not superb). The characters, voice overs, and lip sync were also very good (not superb - but close). Music and Environment sounds were okay, though somewhat monotonous. Also, there is a very annoying sound during actions throughout the game. Try to tune it out.
The story line was okay, just done to death. Sis turns evil and you have to save her from the meanie who wants to rule the world. Honestly? I do not even mind story lines are redone as I am all about the game play and the story is secondary. Of course, if the story is totally inane, then I won't even play the game. I am okay with the far-out themes though - these are fantasies after all. Let me add that I almost did not buy this game due to the reviews complaining about the talking horse and being nitpicking about the whole Devil's tower thing. First off, the talking horse is in just two scenes in the beginning for just a few seconds and then never seen again the rest of the game. As for the Devil's Tower, the writers simply used this as a vehicle to get the story going. It was barely mentioned the entire game. Again, these are games and creative license should be expected in my opinion.
There was one scene in particular that left me shaking my head - the opening scene - sis is driving and, as she is speaking to you, is looking directly at you the entire conversation, never looking at the road - in the real world, you, her, and every occupant of every other vehicle on the road that she hit would be dead! :/ You can fast forward or skip completely most dialogue (except cut-scenes but thankfully, this was not overloaded with them and are fairly brief).
Game Play: It was not a difficult game. Item in inventory used fairly quickly, map only needed occasionally to remember where to go if you get lost. The pace was excellent. I was able to take my time but it had this perfect pace and never forgot what the story was about. It doesn't let you forget because there is a lot of repeating but not nearly as bad as some games.
There are 20 HO scenes (none repeated) that were quick and easy. For players like me who do not like HOs in adventure games, you will be pleasantly surprised with these. In and out, no morphing to search for, and does not spoil the flow of the game. Now, if you are a lover of the difficult HOs, you may be disappointed. All HOs are re-playable in extras.
Puzzles/Mini-games were also all fairly easy. You have option of easy or hard on most. I am a lover of puzzle games and there were at least four I really enjoyed. But, alas, most were a bit too easy, which is actually good for those who do not like them. There are 23 re-playable ones in extras.
You can adjust all four settings independently: Music, Environment, Voice, and FX. Settings are easy, medium, hard, and custom. Custom you can chose active area on map, tasks, sparkles, and hint/skip time. You can turn off sparkles but cannot turn off black bar tips. This brings challenge way down for me in rating as the tips are way too informative. I like to be nudged but not directly told what to do.
There is that ever-annoying pop up of TASK and what makes it worse is that you can not do anything until it goes away and you can't make it go away by clicking on the scene. This also brings the rating down for me.
Your inventory bar has 3 indicators for your collectibles - 20 morphing, 20 artifacts, and 64 marbles. In extras, there are just three rooms for these. Once collected, the morph room and souvenir room are already completed. there is no after-game searching. The marbles help decorate the third room. Extras also include 10 concept art, 23 wallpapers, 26 videos of the game, 5 music tracks and 31 achievements. I actually like good achievements and try hard to get them all. Unfortunately, these were all easy to get and only 13 of them were for actual game play. The rest come automatically when you reach goals in the game.
As mentioned in the beginning of my review, there were some additional glaring missteps which added to the marks off the rating. One was that when you gained something for your inventory, the box pops up and though you click on OK, you can't actually collect them until you tap on the item itself. Another was at a point where you have two daggers in your inventory. Nether one was able to cut a rope in one little scene but one could cut a rope in the next little scene (both in same big scene). But after using that knife, it disappeared but you still had more rope to cut in that very same little scene. You go on and eventual use the second dagger but still need one for that first little scene. Eventually you get it and have to go all the way back. This was just a bit too much of an unnecessary annoyance.
Another odd thing that kept happening - when you finished a mini-game/puzzle, it ends fast but also shows the result - many times, it was different than what you had done to complete it. In almost all of them I was left wondering if I actually did the game correctly or if the game just gave you a pass. it was weird and something I never experienced before on this level. There were additional other missteps that were more than just little quirks as well. More time could have been used to fix these things before releasing the game.
I had no mechanical/technical difficulties playing on laptop/windows10/64.
Now, go get this game and if you can put aside some logic (as with any of these games), and are okay with the "sameness" of most these adventure games, you too will enjoy this nice, relaxing game. I hope this review helps at least one person.
I recommend this game!
Mr. Jenkins is back to help you uncover the mystery of the haunted armor!
Overall rating
2
/
5
26 of 30 found this review helpful
Sorry, I couldn't get past the demo
PostedApril 28, 2017
Batgirl10_7
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I don't care how good a story may be, this is a supposed to be a game. If all I wanted was a good story, I would read a good book. Not only is this story premise done to death, gameplay was terrible and annoying, not to mention all the hand-holding. In fact, they don't even hold your hand much, the game does all the work for you.
The graphics were terrible. great detail but all washed out in this haze which made it very hard on the eyes.
The characters were weird looking in that the movement of them was off. For example, one of the early main characters would speak and her head moved but not her hair.
All the storybook so-called HO scenes were aggravating as they ruined the flow of the game, were not well done, and took forever to get through. And there were so many of them just in the demo. I had to force myself to finish, hoping it would get better. It did not. The cursor changes when you mouse over the scene so you don't even have to really look for anything on your own - and this is the theme throughout the whole game. I buy a game to play myself, not have someone play it for me.
Yes, you have a cat helper who is non-intrusive and only used sparingly but what I can't get past is that if you have never played a game in this series, you have no idea how he wound up on your inventory bar right from the beginning. He is never explained, he was just there.
You play one whole chapter for the demo and it ended very anti-climatic.
As far as CE worthy, I didn't bother even looking since I don't feel it is SE worthy.
I do appreciate all the work that goes into these games but I would rather wait for a great one then settle on these half-baked ones coming out of late.
I am convinced these same people always giving 5 stars across the board, even supposed "experts", don't play the games. This was not a difficult game in the least, just an annoying one. A 5 star game should be the exception, not the norm, and it should be in totality, not just the story. Sorry, that is just my opinion and why I decided to start doing reviews.
I don't recommend this game.
What happened to the Wolfgrin family?!
Overall rating
3
/
5
31 of 36 found this review helpful
Review Based On Entire Game Played, Including Bonus and Extras
PostedApril 23, 2017
Batgirl10_7
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I can recommend this 3 1/2 star game but only on sale for Collectors Edition or wait for Standard edition. This was a decent game but a far cry from five stars, especially for a CE. Super light in bonus offerings and too easy for intermediate and experts (read for more detail).
Total Game Time was acceptable: 4 1/2 hours to play main game and another 1 hour 15 minutes for bonus chapter. The bonus chapter was incredibly boring, slow, and not CE worthy however. (additional details for bonus chapter and bonus content - read for more)
The game: NO SPOILERS! The story and graphics were Hidden Expedition meets Scary Park with portals and nightmares thrown in. They did a decent job of actually making this work. Creepy in parts but not scary. The flow was pretty good (in main game), never forgetting what is about. It is broken up into chapters that each ends well with a nice segue into the next. That is all I will say about the story as I feel the unknowing is half the fun of playing.
Graphics were mediocre. Music was fitting. Ambiance sound was very fitting though also very repetitious and got on my nerves after a while.
There was too much hand-holding throughout the game and you could not turn off the black bar tips in settings. Even the settings were lacking for this day and age - you have option for task on map, objectives, +item indicator, sparkles on HO and active scene, and a hit and skip option. That's it. Speaking of settings, every time I logged off and then back on, I had to reset my settings, including my game mode, each time (there are 4 game modes: easy, medium, hard, and custom).
Transport Map does not show collection items but there is an indicator on inventory bar. There are 37 moons and 37 morphing to collect in each scene. The moons were fairly difficult to see in many scenes. The morph I just looked for the anomaly in the scene and usually got it without really trying. If you miss any, you cannot go back and collect in extras (read on for additional details regarding these "extras")
Bonus chapter was 9 rooms, one was old, 8 were new. Also had collection and morphing in each.
There are a total of 7 HO scenes that you revisit each one for a total of 14. These are all super easy, mostly list. There are also 6 story HOs (visited once each). There are NO HOs in the bonus chapter and two storybook HOs (one revisited twice). There was no alternative game in lieu of HO (ie: match 3, Mahjong etc.)
There are 10 regular puzzle games (some super easy, others time-consuming, and a couple were a challenge) and 15 mini ones (these took anywhere from 5 seconds to 30 seconds to complete).
Technical/mechanical: Fast download, no issues with auto full screen playing Windows 10/laptop/17" screen. I did, however, have issues with the cursor in that it was having a tough time recognizing items I clicked on, especially in HOs and when trying to collect the moons in each scene. It was very annoying to have to click on the item multiple times before it registered. Other than that, everything else worked fine, no scene change lag times and such.
Now here is why I cannot recommend the CE for full price. There are no real extras to speak of. You do get your Strategy Guide and Bonus chapter (not needed, main game ended conclusively - bonus was prologue for main game and very slow and boring). You also get 10 wallpaper, 10 sketches, 4 sound tracks and 12 "achievements". The achievements are a joke. Only TWO are actual game play and even then, one is "don't use hint in one HO" and the other is as ridiculous. That was it. The collectibles and the morphing, if you get them all, opens one bonus HO/Mini-game that took a total of 20 seconds (literally) to finish.
I initially played just the demo and knew after that I would have waited for the SE being the lack of extras - but after seeing the 5 five star reviews on this - even giving "challenge" 5s, I felt compelled to buy this to warn others as I wish I had known from the beginning what the full game was about. So I bought this on the sale. I do hope this review helps at least one person.
I recommend this game!
Can you uncover the Logan Family's terrible secret in time?
Overall rating
3
/
5
24 of 26 found this review helpful
Review Based Entire Game Played Including Bonus Chapter and Extras
PostedApril 14, 2017
Batgirl10_7
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
An honest, fair, and consistent review of this game puts it at 3 1/2 stars (more towards 3 than 4 so I rated it 3). It has to be over the top exceptional to even come close to being a 5 star game, which this was not. Some folks have rated this 5 stars and then follow-up with everything that is wrong with it - I don't get it. It was a decent game though. My rating is based on the totality of the game, so read on ...
Main Chapter took exactly 4 hours to play. This game time is a bit deceiving though in that many of the HO scenes took way too long, which also hindered the flow of the game a bit. I do not rush through games, so this is a little generous on the time. With that said, the time flew by - I kept busy and interested the whole play and was not interrupted by tons of cut scenes. This was a big plus in my book.
Bonus Chapter took an additional 30 minutes (was not needed as main ended conclusively). The bonus game tried to add to the story but missed the mark and I found it to be just a time filler to help justify the CE extras, which were a bit slim. You revisit 5 scenes and have 3 new ones.
This story was, again, one of tormented, lost souls you had to free. It was told okay. You play a female but you are only reminded of that twice in two quick shots of her hands and once of her voice. Other than that, you do not "see" yourself. No gimmicks, no helpers, just you against the world. In the beginning there is one other character but he goes away for a while. He is significant to the story though. The rest of the characters are visions of ghosts. It was nice and creepy but not scary. The music was fitting and non-intrusive. There were no "didn't see that coming" moments. The story was a bit bland actually. That is all I will say about the story because I feel half the fun of playing is the unknown.
The graphics, though detailed, were muted blue, greens, and grays throughout. That was it. It was fitting for the theme of the story but I kind of got bored looking at the scenery after a while.
Technical/Mechanical: Everything worked fine other than there was a small delay in most scene changes (not too hateful though). I played on laptop w/ Windows 10. Fit wide screen automatically.
Settings/play mode: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Custom. I played Custom using no hints, no black bar tips, no tutorial, no sparkles. I did not skip any games (they were mostly very easy). You can turn off those annoying pop-ups! YAY!
I do not consider myself "expert" because I still need to use cursor changes - I feel the only way to be considered expert, you are able to play these games without cursor changes. You can turn this off in settings as well for that real challenge. You can adjust Music, FX, Voice, and cut scene music all separately.
You do get a jump map and I needed it several times as the play area gets to be multiple locations. The map showed active area (if you want) but did not show where collectibles were. You didn't really need that though as there was an indicator on the inventory bar.
There were 21 collectibles (not in every scene) and were all the same morphing object - easy to find. That was it on collectibles. If you do miss any, you can go back and collect them after bonus chapter played.
Inventory bar was locking, had map, tasks, hint, guide, menu, achievements, and plus item indicator. There is no journal and I wish there was as I had to use strategy guide twice to remember something. Other than that, strategy guide really was not needed. The was not a very challenging game.
There were 15 HO scenes in the game, a couple revisited. (11 in main game, 4 in bonus chapter) - All re-playable in extras. I personally dislike HOs in adventure games and this game reminded me why. But HO lovers will definitely enjoy them.
There were 16 puzzles - all re-playable in extras - almost all were incredibly easy. In fact, on many, you barely had to do anything, the game did it for you. That is a shame because I am a puzzle lover in these adventure games and enjoy a good challenge.
12 Achievements, 5 are 3 parts and all but 2 were actual game play.
Additional extras included Souvenir room (20 to find - most were two-step), video, music (9 tracks), art (concept and wallpaper).
I can comfortably go ahead and recommend this game, though depending on your love of extras, you may want to wait for the SE, which is what I think I would have opted for had I not bought this one (with credits) - and had I known what the full game was all about. That is why I hope this review helps at least one person.
I recommend this game!
Ghosts, necromancers and dangerous man-eating wolves lie in wait on the Forsaken Isle. Will you still go and save Lady Annabel?
Overall rating
2
/
5
20 of 21 found this review helpful
Fair Review Based On Full Game Played
PostedApril 14, 2017
Batgirl10_7
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Though this game rates only 2 1/2 stars, I personally found it relaxing and enjoyed it
Total time for entire game took only 1 hour and 40 minutes. (how this rates 5 stars with some is head-scratching)
Settings were Easy, Medium, Hard, and Custom - I used custom but they are not quite what new games offer; You can adjust Volume, FX, Voice all separate but even on highest on all three, this was still a fairly quiet game. The custom mode was a bit odd in that you can adjust everything as very fast, fast, slow, very slow, or not at all but it was only for hints, skip (you can skip puzzles and HOs), and sparkles. You can either use tutorial or not. I played no sparkles, very slow hint and skip, and not at all for skipping HO. Played on 17" laptop w/ windows 10
NO SPOILERS - just basics of what to expect:
The story, well, the forsaken souls that has been done over and over. You play a female character, though she never speaks. It was a good story though, told fairly well and I never forgot what it was about. The pace of the game and story started out very slow, almost too slow, but picked up a bit as you play on. *note, there is one HO that does have reference to the occult. I know from reading reviews, some people cannot handle that so be warned. You can fast forward dialogue or skip altogether, but don't because it tells the story. Cut scenes very brief so does not affect flow of game (once you get to a flow). You cannot turn off black bar tips (very annoying).
7 HOs to play: There were 4 HO scenes in the entire game, 3 were visited 2 times. They were list the first time and silhouette the second. What I found surprising was the silhouettes actually looked exactly like what you were looking for. The best I have ever seen. Lists were partially interactive. All fairly easy to figure out even without the cursor change.
There were only four puzzle games - the first one was time-consuming, the others were easy breezy.
The artwork, though detailed, was a bunch of muted blues, greens, and grays with a splash of color here and there. Characters, the few that were in this, were all very flat.
Inventory bar had your map (jump and showed active areas and areas with collectibles) - yes, I said collectible - there were 29 of them: 9 of one kind, 8 of another, and 12 of a third. I won't go into where you find them. Also had your hint button and map. +item indicator did not change colors so you have to say on top of the items and what you collect.
The music was very subtle but fit the story.
Extras included stories of the characters and retells the story, art, wallpaper, music, and collectibles.
That's about all there is to say about this game. I am not going to recommend nor not recommend this game. It was way too short, graphics were old-school, and a tiny bit of delay in reaction of cursor and action. I actually found the game relaxing though with the story told well enough so give it a try.
I hope this review was thorough enough to help at least one person
A pearl is stolen, leading you on a worldwide chase!
Overall rating
3
/
5
21 of 24 found this review helpful
Fair Review Based On Entire Game Played Including Bonus Chapter And Extras
PostedApril 12, 2017
Batgirl10_7
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Fair Review Based On Entire Game Played Including Bonus Chapter And Extras
In my opinion. in spite of tech issues, this rates a 3 1/2 star at most, due to length and graphics
played on 17" laptop w/ windows 10
My settings were custom using no tutorial, no hints, no black bar tips, no sparkles at all, no objectives. Used active zone on map, and most sensitive for HO. You can even turn off those annoying pop-ups!
Total play time: Main game took only 3 hours and 15 minutes - The bonus chapter was 50 minutes for total game time: 4 hours 5 minutes which is incredibly short for a CE; Bonus chapter used 4 old scenes and 3 new ones. The main game ended conclusively. Bonus chapter was a continuation of sorts but not needed.
Technical/Mechanical: good load time, no cursor issues, no waits for scene changes, fit 17" monitor automatically. (see forums for tech issue affecting several - I experienced the same)
Art/Graphics: Beautifully done start-up grafx (after the normal opening for this company). Artwork throughout game was detailed and well done, however, though the colors were nice the scenes had a bit of a hazy look (not as crisp as could be) throughout the game. There were also a few fun interactive items thrown in throughout. You should try and touch everything for a few surprises - and surprise achievements.
Sound: You can adjust Music (which was excellent), Voice, FX, and cut scene music all separate. The sound was good, music unobtrusive but we do get that annoying sound again when moving between doors and inventory. It didn't seem as loud as usual though. You can fast-forward or skip most dialogue. Lip sync was average, voices were fine.
Game play modes: Easy, Medium, Hard, Custom (my fav). You can change settings during the game.
Inventory Bar on bottom: The bar itself lays low and items are a little raised from there. What this means is that I had only a couple of instances where the cursor backed me out of the scene (a lot less than usual). HELP kit on left with additional circles on top of it for quick access to map, achievement, and fact cards. Strategy guide also on left. Locking bar. +item indicator (can be turned off), indicators for morphs and collections and Hint button on right.
Story and flow of game *No Spoilers* : Some fun stuff even while the game loads - watch for it!
The story line was told well and you never forgot what it was about. Not very intriguing as there were no *who saw that coming?* moments but it stayed on point throughout. For further details of the story, please refer to the BFG site. I do not like knowing about the meat of the story, rather learn it as I play, so will not write about it. What I will say, this story is not exactly about what has been said about it and you don't find this out until into the game.
This was not a fast paced game in that you had a lot to look at and things to do in scenes (for the first half of game) but the flow itself was pretty good. Interruptions were at a minimal. Even cut scenes were short and to the point. You played more than you listened. I did not get bored. The game did speed up halfway through, a little too much in fact. Not much to do in scenes and not very many scenes for the chapters.
HO : I am not a fan of HOs in adventure games but those who like them should like these. There are 16 full size ones (12 with morphing) and several mini pop-up ones. The morphs were easy to find but although these were not junk pile scenes, many items took time to find - and that is why I do not like them because it gets in the way of the flow of the game - (the mini pop-up HOs were easy and no morphs). Mostly list type but a few progressive silhouette. There is no alternative game in lieu of the HO.
Puzzles: I liked the games in this one as most were either new takes on old ones or completely novel. You had a mixture of easy ones, not so easy, and hard ones but I only needed the SG for two to help get me going when I got stuck. (once was for photos because I couldn't make sense of the directions).
Achievements - 23 Achievements, five of which are 3 parts. They are from playing the game and not automatic - as noted above, play with everything in the scenes!
Collectibles: 38 keys that were well-blended into the most of the scenes. If you miss any, you can go back and get in extras for the achievement.
Bonus Content: 12 re-playable HOs; (you can get any morphs you may have missed), 16 re-playable puzzles, videos, pictures, music, souvenir room(re-visit 28 scenes for items).
And finally, I used the map once for achievement purposes but the game can be played without getting "lost" if you would like to try without the map. You do not need to write down codes and such as they go straight into inventory. You do not need strategy guide except for maybe a game or two. In other words, it was a fairly easy game even with no help but an enjoyable one (if not for the tech issues - see forums for details on that)
I am not going to recommend nor not recommend this game due to technical issues and shortness of game.
I hope this review was thorough enough to help at least one person
Can you find your Maestro’s murderer in time?
Overall rating
3
/
5
77 of 84 found this review helpful
Review based on entire game played, including bonus and extras
PostedApril 1, 2017
Batgirl10_7
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is my very first review after two years on BFG - Tired of reviews who give way too much of story and too many spoilers and ones that give 5 stars without playing entire game, so here goes:
This game rates a solid 3 stars with recommendation to buy - on sale or wait for SE.
played on windows 10 - (laptop)
My settings were custom - no tutorial, no sparkles at all, no hints used, no black bar tips, no objectives, map used just once for achievement purposes, strategy guide needed only once for further game explanation.
Total play time:
Main chapter took only 3 hours 45 minutes (no interruptions) - only one game skip after trying several times
Bonus chapter took 50 minutes total - got really hung up on one HO so knock a few minutes off that
This game was way too short for the value (sale is fine which is what I bought it on)
Main chapter took only 3 hours 45 minutes (no interruptions) - only one game skip after trying several times
Bonus chapter took 50 minutes total - got really hung up on one HO so knock a few minutes off that
This game was way too short for the value (sale is fine which is what I bought it on)
Main game, 31 scenes (good indicator was going to be short) - all had same collectible, most easy to see, some hidden - main game ends tied up - bonus chapter added to it but not needed
Bonus chapter used 3 old scenes and about seven new ones - had collectibles back in past scenes (as well as new).
No mechanical issues at all - load time fine, no cursor issues, wide screen auto
You can adjust music, environment, cut scene, and voice all separate
four game modes
easy, medium, hard, custom (my fav)
easy, medium, hard, custom (my fav)
You can turn off those annoying pop-ups that interrupt game play to tell of objectives and achievements! YAY!
+item indicator in inventory bar, morphing and collections indicator also on lower bar
Another pro is that you can play the game without interruption because you can gather all the collectibles and all the morphing through the extras menu and still get your achievements for them both.
The game flowed well - good story (though done a hundred times). It is supposed to take place in Florence but had aspects of Rome and of Venice. I didn't let this bother me.
This story had several twists and turns so keeps you interested. Even the very end. This was a whodunit as opposed to a dark, blood and gore (which I am actually a fan of) but this was a nice change of pace.
Personally, I do not like HO scenes in adventure games but this one was not bad at all (not annoying to where game stops flowing)
There were only 12 in main game, 4 in bonus game and all but one or two were fairly easy
There were only 12 in main game, 4 in bonus game and all but one or two were fairly easy
Graphics were good
Voice overs and lip sync were good
Voice overs and lip sync were good
Achievements:
all game play plus watch credits, none automatic story "achievements" and no wait ten minutes or purposely fail ones (I don't like those as I really try for all achievements in a CE game). Another plus in achievements is that you do not have to play all of the puzzle games. There is always that one puzzle that either irks you to no end or you just can't do no matter how many times you try. I skipped one finally and still earned my achievement.
all game play plus watch credits, none automatic story "achievements" and no wait ten minutes or purposely fail ones (I don't like those as I really try for all achievements in a CE game). Another plus in achievements is that you do not have to play all of the puzzle games. There is always that one puzzle that either irks you to no end or you just can't do no matter how many times you try. I skipped one finally and still earned my achievement.
extras include your wallpaper, drawings, replay HOs (get another achievement if can get 3 stars in all 16 of them), replay puzzles, go back and get collectibles and/or morphing if missed, and a souvenir room (which goes back to every scene).
You do not need the map nor sneakers. You do not need to write down codes and such as they go straight into inventory. You do not need strategy guide except for maybe a game or two. In other words, it was a fairly easy game even with no help but an enjoyable one.
I hope this review was thorough enough to help at least one person
I recommend this game!