Review: Empress of the Deep 2: Song of the Blue Whale: Collector's Edition

game format: casual hidden object adventure

puzzles: inventory | logic | arcade

playtime: 6 hours | difficulty: easy | size: 460 MB

publisher: Gogii Games | developer: Silverback Productions

game brief: Anna awakens on a tiny island after escaping the destruction of her underwater kingdom. She must find her way to a mystical floating cloud city in the sky, seek out the four Children of Light and save them from the twisted clutches of the Evil Empress Pandora. Along the way she must rescue enchanted animal slaves and solve elaborate puzzles with objects and magical artifacts to bring harmony to the ancient sky palace. (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers®.

This review is a part of the 'Casual Collection: May 2011 New Releases' article.

Silverback Productions' Empress of the Deep 2: Song of the Blue Whale, released a year after The Darkest Secret, picks up immediately after the young empress-to-be Anna escapes from her crumbling underwater kingdom. Her mysterious hologram-pal Jacob recounts the events that led to the Ark's destruction and the presumed demise of the power-hungry Pandora before we find Anna washed up on a nearby shore. As play begins, Anna soon makes her way to the literally-named Temple in the Sky, where she must bring together four 'elemental resources' to break Pandora's curse. In a tank in the massive central foyer, Anna encounters the titular blue whale, who also has a request, asking her to free four cursed children and their animal guardians to restore harmony to the shattered world. Jacob is less than thrilled to have Anna's attention diverted, but she's adamant about undertaking both projects simultaneously, all the while faced with the same dilemma as the last time – whom should she trust, if anyone?

This sequel isn't very different in either style or gameplay from its entertaining and visually impressive predecessor. But it doesn't just ride on the coattails of success either, amplifying the experience with a more complicated storyline, a larger playing field with several subsections, a more shadowy adversary, double the number of hidden object screens, and an even more visually stunning backdrop. The temple has four large segments linked to the seasons, which must be completed in sequence. Each is laden with colorful and extravagant statues, domes, columns and stairways, along with a lot of intricate machinery. The elemental realms all have their own distinct flavour, from the blinding resplendence of Summer to the dark, icy core of Winter, a frozen land inhabited by cawing ravens. Background music is once again mainly an eerie background hum, though important events are built up through orchestral compositions, and the original voice cast returns to effectively reprise their roles.

Anna's quest is split into small objectives like repairing damaged sections of the temple and restoring water supply, electricity and heat to the dead world, most of which require items gathered along the way. Some of these are found in exquisitely drawn hidden object screens, which, though never repeated, are littered with completely random sundries like angel wings, razors and camels. Anna can now carry away multiple items per search, which is useful since she'll typically need to collect full sets of items to proceed. The inventory quests are logical, and the most daunting challenge they pose is the extensive backtracking involved. Hotspots are clearly distinguishable from their surroundings and twinkle frequently to attract attention. Anna's journal records clues to puzzles, though the map is less useful than before, merely serving as a pointer to key locations here. Onscreen, however, completed areas are clearly indicated, which is still very helpful. Standalone puzzles cover common types like sliders, prism patterns, ring rotators and Pipes variations, most of which are quite easy. The worst repeat offenders are several image-flipping jigsaws and closeup-identification tasks that pose no challenge whatsoever.

Unlike in most Collector's Editions, the bonus gameplay in Empress 2 is integrated right into the main game. Players can collect eight diary cartridges scattered around the temple, which combine to offer a glimpse into Pandora's disturbing past. The CE also opens up additional sections, including the treasury, which can be plundered via some unexpectedly tricky hidden object searching. But the most intriguing extra is Zem, a deceptively challenging and addictive gem-matching arcade game that has to be unlocked by solving inventory puzzles in the main adventure first. Even without the bonus content, Song of the Blue Whale provides a few hours of quality gaming that is superior to most of its casual peers due to the sheer sensory delight of its sights and sounds, plus its compelling mysteries and charming resolutions. Its tale is as generous as the canvas on which it unfolds, across a world replete with visual grandeur and embedded with a complex mythology that effortlessly blends centuries and dimensions, greed and generosity, loyalty from strangers and betrayals by friends. But if you're up for a little change of pace, the precious little gem called Zem (which might just tide you over till the promised third part rolls out) makes this one of the rare Collector's Editions worth investing in.


This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-In-Chief, AG.

Review: Voodoo Whisperer: Curse of a Legend: Collector's Edition

game format: casual hidden object adventure

puzzles: inventory | logic

playtime: 3 hours | difficulty: easy | size: 283 MB

publisher: Big Fish Games | developer: Funswitch

game brief: Mentored by one of the most powerful voodoo priestesses in the world, Lillian is learning to use her power. Suddenly, a dark force settles over New Orleans, and Marie Leveau, Lillian's teacher, is placed under a curse. In fact, the entire town has been put into a deep, dark sleep by a mysterious evil force. Lillian must find allies and uncover the dark secrets of voodoo to save her master and free her friends. links: (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers®.

This review is a part of the 'Casual Collection: April 2011 New Releases' article.

If it's a game about voodoo, it must be in The Big Easy. Sure enough, in Funswitch's Voodoo Whisperer: Curse of a Legend, an ominous cloud swirls over late 19th century New Orleans as young Lillian is informed by her voodoo priestess mentor that a malevolent force has cursed the residents. Now it's up to Lillian to eliminate the evil entity, and as she seeks to discover the source of the maladies by solving puzzles and scouring a variety of hidden object scenes, she'll also learn more about her own supernatural gifts in the process.

Lillian's adventure begins on her own sprawling estate, which includes a mansion, a chapel, the family crypt and the obligatory backyard swamp lorded over by a hungry crocodile. Eventually she'll make her way into town, encountering a population of seven along the way – four of whom are cursed, two are dead (though momentarily revivable by magic) and of course the villain. A map marks Lillian's current and completed locations, but with only four main areas (or five if you include the hotel, fully integrated in the Collector's Edition) to visit in sequence, it has no practical use. The task list is similarly redundant, noting the two or three objectives per location which, given the strict linearity of proceedings, are impossible to forget anyway. Unlike in most games, players can toggle between the two difficulty modes at any time – regular has faster hint recharging and sparkling hotspots, while the advanced mode only has hints.

Lillian largely searches for usable items to solve inventory quests, though she does occasionally find simple standalone challenges, including pipes, image-matching and jigsaws. She can also use voodoo spells on certain items, such as the useful 'Move', which shifts heavy objects. The inventory puzzles are logical and easy to solve, and are well-integrated into the story apart from a few awfully contrived situations in pursuit of regular household objects. Two interesting items are added to Lillian's arsenal midway through the first chapter: a mortar, used to combine ingredients to create dolls and potions, and a grimoire, a book which stores the recipes and spells to enchant them. This adds intricacy and focus to the game, nicely incorporating the spirit of voodoo and elevating it slightly from just being a run-of-the-mill scavenger hunt.

The 16 hidden object screens (and several more in the CE bonus chapter) are elaborately designed, though many are repeated unnecessarily to pad playing time. The objects are era- and location-appropriate and reasonably well-concealed, and the main challenge comes either from item names no longer in our vocabulary, such as a pocket tinderbox and a boneshaker, or from familiar-sounding items like a pencil case or stethoscope looking quite different a couple of centuries ago. Unfortunately, objects are recycled between screens without remorse, and many necessary items are arbitrarily disposed of, forcing you to continually collect tools of similar purpose like garden shears, a saw, a cake knife, a pocket knife, a pen knife, and several sorts of scissors. Most areas fully explored are marked onscreen as completed, but there is still a lot of needless backtracking required to fetch objects you can only observe at first, and to find hidden object scenes you've already searched that have been activated again without any indication.

Easily the prime asset of this game is its beautiful, realistic screens, each of which is meticulously drawn with numerous little flourishes that bring both the genteelness of the era and the darkness of its evil to the fore. A few cutscenes of static images intersperse the story, while the rare conversations are displayed as text dialogues, with voiceovers limited to the beginning of the game. The music efficiently supports the art to create a morose if mildly perilous atmosphere, and is bolstered by sound effects like cracking thunder, creaking swings and croaking frogs. Another highlight is Lillian herself. She's an intelligent and spunky child, and leads the game with sensitivity and courage. She describes objects and situations in detail, provides straightforward instructions on how to resolve most quests, and ultimately confronts the villain with great determination. Players, however, are only given a half-baked explanation of the crisis before being summarily cursed with a 'to be continued' at the end.

It doesn't even take long to reach that point, as even the expanded Collector's Edition can be completed in three-odd hours. Rather than simply tacking an extra chapter onto the end, this CE inserts its single bonus location, Barlowe's Hotel, seamlessly into the main game as one of five places visited by Lillian. This brief chapter, which features a few inventory quests, a handful of hidden object screens and one jigsaw puzzle, doesn't add any new revelations to the investigation; it merely boosts playing time by a half hour. Overall, Voodoo Whisperer: Curse of a Legend is an attractively crafted game that's unfortunately pinned down by a lukewarm mystery, repetitive item searches, needless backtracking and an abrupt cliffhanger ending, so step in only if you're keen on soaking up the spooky New Orleans atmosphere and rummaging through the delightful antique-laden hidden object screens.


This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-In-Chief, AG.

Review: King's Quest II: Romancing The Stones

game format: classic adventure; freeware / indie development

puzzles: inventory | logic | arcade

playtime: 15+ hours | difficulty: challenging | size: 309 MB

developer: AGD Interactive | links: official site

game brief: The King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones (is a) remake of King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne, the sequel to Quest for the Crown. The game revisited Graham, now King of Daventry, and followed him on his journey through the land of Kolyma. Graham's ultimate mission this time was to rescue the beautiful maiden, Valanice, from her quartz tower imprisonment and marry his Queen. (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers® | rating: N/A (Freeware)

summary: AGDI's enhanced remake of Romancing the Throne will give you plenty of reason to fall in love with it.


This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-In-Chief, AG.

Review: The Next BIG Thing

game format: classic adventure

puzzles: inventory | logic | conversations

playtime: 10 hours | difficulty: moderate | size: 7.3 GB

developer: Pendulo Studios | publisher: Focus Home Interactive | links: official site

game brief: TNBT revisits with class and humor the fantastic cinema universe in a modern and funny adventure, packed with references to the genre's popular movies and series. It offers a story full of comedy, horror, shivers, action, mystery, romance, twists and turns, lies, monsters, fridges, teleportation cabins, stolen brains, half meter flies, Egyptian bombshells, Mexican werewolves, Australian crocodiles, and… What? (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers® | rating: 3.5/5

summary: The glossy production, zany cast and clever writing are sure to entertain fans of whimsical adventures, but a shaky plot and inconsistent gameplay trip this one up just short of its billing as The Next BIG Thing.


This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-In-Chief, AG.

Walkthrough: The Next BIG Thing

Review: Margrave: The Curse of the Severed Heart: Collector's Edition

game format: casual hidden object adventure

puzzles: inventory | logic

playtime: 4 hours | difficulty: easy | size: 180 MB

publisher: Big Fish Games | developer: Inertia Game Studios

game brief: Deep in the English countryside, Edwina Margrave has returned to the cottage where her parents died, eager to speak with the one person who might shed light on the tragedy – the volatile landlady, Miss Thorn. But her shocking revelations are not what Edwina expected! Enlist the aid of the spirit world and evade the wrath of a disfigured beast as you explore this heart-breaking game! (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers®.

This review is a part of the 'Casual Collection: March 2011 New Releases' article.

In Margrave: The Curse of the Severed Heart, Edwina Margrave is finally returning to the village where her parents mysteriously died fifteen years earlier. Upon her arrival, she is welcomed back to her childhood home by Elize Thorn, the nanny who cared for her in her youth. An old letter reveals that her parents were investigating the lore of the severed heart, according to which anyone who murders another person shall forever haunt the mortal world as a remorseful spirit. Edwina must unlock the five magical barriers called shadowlocks scattered around the heavily fortified but now abandoned village to unravel the mystery of what really happened to her parents. But when the only other living person around also claims to be Ms. Thorn, Edwina is forced to grapple with the rapidly blurring lines between the real and the supernatural, confronting a truth that's not only unbelievable, but also rather unpleasant. Fortunately, this ghost story remains grounded in reality, and at the end of four-odd hours it emerges a rare winner in a genre that all too often forgets to add a touch of heart to the procession of shiny screens cluttered with random artifacts.

This third game in Inertia Game Studios' Margrave series features the detailed, hand-drawn art that's now a casual game staple. The rural locations include Ms. Thorn's cottage, an orchard, a barn, a ruined church and the dilapidated village, though they aren't all uniformly spooky; some are calm and some even pleasant. Animation covers the usual falling leaves, dripping water, and fluttering butterflies, but some small touches like a torn lace curtain flapping in a shattered window and a strangely huffing-and-puffing water pump add subtle drama. The music loops are well-adapted to the moody setting, and the songs – the title track and another ditty sung by a ghost trio of a cat, a bird and a squirrel, pleading the case of a girl driven insane by remorse – are unique and entertaining. The most appealing aspect of the production, however, is the extensive use of voice acting. Every character, living and dead, human and animal, speaks aloud in varying British accents. Edwina's voiceover is stellar and allows her youthful personality to shine through, ranging in tone from irreverent to shocked and distraught when her world begins to crumble around her. Her comments on interactive items and situations enliven the game, and often add an unusual dimension to many scenes by her descriptions of how they smell.

This game is more an actual adventure (albeit a lite, linear one) than the series' previous two straightforward hidden object excursions. The nine hidden object screens here are spread sparsely across the game world, and each is used twice, yielding an inventory item per search. The attractively-animated standalone puzzles include jigsaws, pattern matches and variations of the pipes game. None are difficult, and several are repeated many times, such as playing the piano from sheet music and divining the names of characters using Edwina's dream cards – an unusual and creative minigame based on matching geometric symbols. One puzzle demands a bit of hand-eye coordination to zap ladybugs with animated birds. The inventory-based puzzles, however, form the backbone of the game, requiring forty-odd items to be collected and used. Objects can remain in inventory for hours, and you'll often need the sketches Edwina makes of unusual patterns to use them correctly. Unfortunately, the game is marred by an awful amount of mindless backtracking, as hidden object screens and collectable items may be activated anywhere and anytime, with zero indication. This can give the impression of being stuck without ever encountering a real problem, and hinders the otherwise logical gameplay to the point of irritation.

The Collector's Edition includes a bonus segment, "The Blacksmith's Revenge", in which Edwina returns to the town after two years to break the curse of the severed heart, which Cyclopean blacksmith Oban has cast upon the village in retaliation for the murders of his wife and daughter. This short but well-designed extra comprises more of the same kind of gameplay, including a variation of the shadowlocks puzzle and a challenging new edition of pipes, plus a useful inventory companion for Edwina named Afi. Most importantly, it also offers a bittersweet end to the story with the timeless messages of love and forgiveness. This chapter doesn't add anything to the storyline of the main game, which stands completely on its own, so those who choose the standard version won't feel shortchanged in any way. Margrave: The Curse of the Severed Heart falls just short of achieving true greatness due to some repetitive puzzles and annoying backtracking, but its ambition and effort to break the glass ceiling between hidden object and traditional adventure games is obvious and well-appreciated. As such, it's highly recommended for any connoisseur of the genre who'd like to rediscover the pleasure of playing a supernatural tale well-told.


This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-In-Chief, AG.

Review: Stray Souls: Dollhouse Story: Collector's Edition

game format: casual hidden object adventure

puzzles: inventory | logic

playtime: 6 hours | difficulty: easy | size: 216 MB

publisher: Big Fish Games | developer: Alawar Games | links: official site | buy this game

game brief: Welcome to a town where something that should not exist runs free; where a desperate wife will risk her beating heart to find her husband; and where a terrible secret lies buried behind an orphanage. Search for clues, solve puzzles, and unlock new areas as you visit spine-chilling locations, play stimulating mini-games and locate Hidden Objects. (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers®.

This review is a part of the 'Casual Collection: February 2011 New Releases' article.

Danielle Hunt, a young newlywed, is trapped in a honeymoon from hell. Her husband Sam went mysteriously missing the moment he opened the door to receive a strange box left on their porch. Now its content – a bizarre thread doll with mismatched buttons for eyes – is talking to her. As if that isn't bad enough, Danielle must drive in the pouring rain to Sam's old neighbourhood to save him from a fate possibly worse than death, but she loses control and crashes the car, coming to in a vicious alternate reality. Alawar's Stray Souls: Dollhouse Story follows Danielle as she attempts to uncover the dreadful secrets long-hidden within the abandoned community, which has now morphed into a dark, distorted version of itself, groaning and rotting under the shackles of the all-permeating evil. Exploring the town, which includes a toy store, amusement park, an orphanage, and of course a cemetery (the last being the least grotesque location in this macabre tale of kids, dolls and clowns) is no easy task, however, as the evil presence has locked every door, cupboard and drawer to thwart her progress. Even Sam's home is guarded by two mutilated mannequins brandishing a saw above the lock on the door.

Stray Souls excels with its art and attention to detail – each scene, whether idyllic or warped by malevolence, is skillfully illustrated and effectively communicates destruction and doom both underlying and overt. These screens are animated with inclement weather, glowing lights and eyes, awful moving toys, and a seriously disconcerting guillotine. The dingy, abused buildings and tunnels are oppressive and disturbing, and often it's a great relief to exit to relatively cleaner open spaces. Places that are cleansed of evil return to their original state, and provide a nice before-and-after visual comparison, especially when areas still cursed are visible on the same screen. Unfortunately, essential elements for a truly spooky atmosphere – sound effects and music – are woefully sparse: there are only a few short piano-led pieces that loop interminably, there's no voice acting, and sound effects are merely adequate.

Gameplay is both linear and quite easy. Each individual location has a hidden object screen tucked into it, which yields one or two useful items. Objects are cleverly concealed rather than buried in clutter, and several items are included as children's sketches, graffiti and appropriate labels. Only three or four of the twenty-odd screens are repeated. The inventory puzzles are basic, as the solutions are usually practical and believable, and Danielle generally has a maximum of three or four items. The few standalone puzzles are all locks on various doors and gates. Most are traditional types like ring rotators and sliders, but there is one genuinely creative puzzle, an elaborate piece involving a chain-reaction of various smaller puzzles falling into place. None of the puzzles are difficult, though a couple are poorly-clued, making them seem harder than they really are. There are two difficulty modes, the only differences being hint recharge time and highlighting of interactive items and objects. The hint feature displays one item in hidden object screens, and the currently-most-useful hotspot in regular environments. A journal records Danielle's key discoveries and important plot points, and contains a map of the town, which notes any areas where there's work to be done. While this eliminates clueless backtracking, it doesn't allow for quick travel between locations.

The story retains a sense of suspense at all times despite some gobbledygook about wizards and demons, and keeps the player engaged until the end. Upon arriving in town, Danielle receives a dollhouse and a doll – a replica of young Sam – which reveals that Sam has paranormal powers. Guided by her thread doll companion, Danielle must discover the remaining seven dolls, each representing a key member of the story, to piece together the mystery of the town, her husband's role in its destruction, and most importantly, his current fate. There are a few other characters in the game, including a clown, a girl and Police Chief Torres, but interactions are limited and expository, and Danielle herself is insufferably bland. She trudges mechanically through the bizarre events unfolding around her, never intrigued, never excited. The game ends with a conclusive epilogue, and the Collector's Edition bonus chapter is a prequel set decades earlier, in which Chief Torres investigates the unexplained murders and disappearances of the rapidly-dwindling population. Unlike Danielle, Torres is acerbic and vocal, which adds a bit of spice the main game lacks. Regrettably, this segment wallows in pointless hidden object searches of screens you've seen already, feeling like little more than a tacked-on extra. While disturbing in parts, the game is never scary, but if you like dark, surreal mysteries, Stray Souls: Dollhouse Story delivers with an unusual premise, a unique core object (the dollhouse), and a complex plot that twists and turns rapidly, leaving no one above suspicion right up until the dramatic finale.


This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-In-Chief, AG.

Review: Treasure Seekers: The Time Has Come: Collector's Edition

game format: casual hidden object adventure

puzzles: inventory | logic

playtime: 6 hours | difficulty: easy | size: 300 MB

publisher: Big Fish Games | developer: Artogon Studios | links: buy this game

game brief: The time has come for Nelly and Tom to stop a potential catastrophe and save the world in Treasure Seekers: The Time has Come! With new powerful devices, such as the Ring of Time and the X-Glass, Nelly and Tom must go on their most exciting adventure yet! Is Totenkraft really as evil as they previously thought? (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers®.

This review is a part of the 'Casual Collection: January 2011 New Releases' article.

Artogon's Treasure Seekers series, featuring the brother-sister duo of Tom and Eleanor (aka Nelly) Lonsdale, debuted as a hidden object game sprinkled with a few puzzles. Its watershed year was 2009, when the sequel was released. The Enchanted Canvases seamlessly integrated hidden object searches, inventory management and logic puzzles with an engaging story, superb production quality and lengthy, tight gameplay, establishing itself among the pioneers of casual adventures. The fourth installment, The Time Has Come, is rather topical, being based on the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world. It's March 2012, and übervillain Totenkraft, a veteran of the series, stands atop a rain-swept rooftop, declaring his plans to unleash himself on the unsuspecting denizens of the planet. Just then, the scene shifts to 1932, to a French news report about Nelly having decoded a Mayan stone forecasting doomsday, then pans to Totenkraft stalking her as she window-shops in Paris. A month later, Tom learns that Nelly is missing, and with nary a thought for his poor hamster, sets out on a quest to save his sister.

Not content with such a simple premise, the developers have piled several adventure game staples into the story: the Templars, the Crusades, dead knights, living demons, politically-correct vegan sacrifices, the Holy Grail (yes, the Holy Grail), time travel, actual travel (Paris, Jerusalem, Scotland, Mexico and a parallel universe, if we include the Collector’s Edition bonus chapter), plus a Star Wars-style finale – it’s all there, linked to the ‘Great Catastrophe’ of the world colliding with an asteroid. But while Totenkraft fine-tunes his world domination plans, Tom’s life is an endless nightmare of locked doors, lost keys, stuck panels and dark rooms. But he chips away diligently at crumbling plaster and choked chimneys, flitting between the past, present and future with dizzying alacrity using a magical ring. In theory, time travel can be a potent tool if wielded correctly, but here it’s reduced to a mechanism to locate banal inventory items. (Um, need tomatoes for the soup – I mean, the sacrifice? Let’s go back 700 years and get them!) To be fair, it’s visually interesting to compare scenes then and now – for example, a statue outside a church in the past is now reverentially enclosed in a small chapel of its own – but because the locations are so isolated and the difference is mostly in aging, not modernization, it’s not even always clear which era Tom is in (not that it matters to the plot).

Despite its time travel, the game is very linear, as Tom must solve a specific sequence of inventory-related tasks in order to proceed. Sometimes only one item is needed, but many puzzles require a combination of several objects together. These are displayed in rings around the puzzle, so you don’t actually have to think about what’s required, merely find the necessary items. Single item quests are stretched further with gratuitous interactivity, as they must often be assembled from parts lying next to each other. There is also repeated hacking at foliage, brushing off dust and hammering things, not to mention tapping an egg several times to crack it. On the easier difficulty setting, interactive items are either tagged on mouse-over or highlighted with a ‘hand’ cursor. Both the easy and advanced modes have a rechargeable hint option which gives you further assistance if needed. Some items can only be found through traditional hidden object searches, but this episode lacks its predecessors’ discretion in stocking such screens – a church shed hides a propeller and a crash helmet amongst other generic items – which reduces its credibility. There are a couple of interesting additions to the basic formula, however. The first, an X-Ray glass, can ‘see’ objects literally hidden underground, behind walls, inside storage units, and even in another era. Besides breaking the monotony of object searches, it moves the story forward by revealing mission-critical items that require toggling between the past and the present. The second is the need to perform actions like moving aside curtains and opening boxes to find items or meet certain requirements. The few standalone puzzles are extremely simple for the most part, though any can be skipped. Among them are jigsaws, directing light rays with crystals, trial-and-error sequencing games, and pattern-painting. Notable exceptions are a logic-and-inventory puzzle that requires making crystals to decode a map, and another that involves alternating between day and night to solve.

The action is all set against decent looking scenes with standard animation – some dust motes, a few swinging censers and chains, a bit of falling water here and there – though there are occasional moments of brilliance, such as when an hourglass turns day into night for the first time. The music is similarly good but not special, though there’s no voice acting of any kind, including during cutscenes. Thankfully, what appears at first to be the game’s Achilles Heel – its inexplicable story hurtling towards ridiculous with each new revelation – suddenly snaps into gear, doing a u-turn just short of doom to wrap up with a genuinely clever twist. This leads to the most interesting part of the game, the ‘secret’ bonus play available only in the Collector’s Edition that’s unlocked once the main quest is over. It allows players to roam a limbo-like alternate universe as the three key characters, and as the world reshapes itself around them to reflect their professions, they must work in turn and in sync to escape it. This small but sharply designed segment is a gratifying reward, though it does earn The Time Has Come the dubious distinction of being grossly outclassed by its own extra. The main adventure certainly isn’t bad, as it’s ambitious in scope and substantial in length; it’s just a little too bloated with story clichés and gameplay filler for its own good, at times making you wonder if the time to finish will ever come.


This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-In-Chief, AG.

Walkthrough: Love & Death: Bitten

Review: Love & Death: Bitten

game format: casual hidden object adventure

puzzles: inventory | logic

playtime: 8 hours | difficulty: moderate | size: 195 MB

publisher: Big Fish Games | developer: Playfirst Games

links: Buy this game | Strategy Guide

game brief: After Celeste, the vampire queen, curses Damon to life as a vampire, he finds Victoria, the mortal girl who might be able to save him. Together they search for hidden clues, solve puzzles, unlock passages and fall in love along the way. Play as Victoria by day and Damon by night in this story-rich hidden object adventure game. Will their story be a victory for Love... or Death? (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers® | rating: 4/5

summary: This vampiric casual adventure will suck you in before it's even dawned on you that you're playing a hidden object hybrid.



This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-in-Chief, AG.

Review: Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull: Collector's Edition

game format: casual hidden object adventure

puzzles: inventory | logic | conversations

playtime: 8 hours | difficulty: easy | size: 295 MB

developer / publisher: Big Fish Games | links: official site / buy this game

game brief: Shortly after moving into a creepy mansion in Louisiana, Sara Lawson is struck with tragedy when her husband mysteriously disappears. Sara’s daughter, Magnolia, believes her father was kidnapped by the ghost of a vengeful pirate seeking to protect his lost fortune. With the locals terrified of the pirate’s curse, you are the family’s last hope. Only a Master Detective with incredible Hidden Object skills can locate Marcus! (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers® | rating: 3.5/5

summary: The latest CSI adventure includes the FBI and drug cartels, but tedious gameplay and dull stories kill any potential intrigue.


This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-in-Chief, AG.

Review: CSI: Fatal Conspiracy

game format: classic adventure

puzzles: inventory | logic | conversations

playtime: 8 hours | difficulty: easy | size: 2.5 GB

developer / publisher: Ubisoft | links: official site

game brief: Partner with FBI agent Gene Huntby in 5 connected cases. Huntby will both help and challenge you in a hunt for the Queen of the Hive, a formidable drug lord that may be behind a series of shocking murders. Be prepared to work with your CSI partners, including the returning Sara Sidle, to solve murder cases and uncover the Fatal Conspiracy behind the crimes you investigate. (Official site)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers® | rating: 2/5

summary: The latest CSI adventure includes the FBI and drug cartels, but tedious gameplay and dull stories kill any potential intrigue.



This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-in-Chief, AG.

Review: Posh Boutique 2

game format: time management | arcade

puzzles: none

playtime: 3 hours | difficulty: very easy

developer: Puzzle Lab | publisher: Big Fish Games | links: official site | buy this game

game brief: Just as her vacation gets off the ground, Alicia suddenly discovers she's won the lottery! Now, with her winnings in hand, Alicia's ready to take her Posh Boutique to the next level. Use your Time Management talents to help Alicia expand her business by assisting each customer in their search for the perfect outfit, adding just the right accessories, and choosing the best upgrades for each location! (Bigfishgames.com)

review: Posh Boutique 2 is an easy, frothy race against time and mismatched outfits... quite like sipping a lukewarm cappuccino on a lazy afternoon.

the story: The game takes off after the presumable success of the series' premiere installment - Posh Boutique - with proprietress Alicia on a plane, en route to a long-overdue vacation. But fates conspire otherwise and she wins an in-flight lottery of $1 million (seriously), which propels her to abandon her trip and return to her dream of building more boutiques - international ones this time.

Alicia starts with great ambition - to build 'all kinds of boutiques to satisfy the shopping needs of every possible customer', a mission statement few retailers would dare to voice, let alone attempt to implement outside the world of casual gaming. Soon afterward, she states with equal élan that she doesn't really care about income from her stores; her true interest is the process of building new ones. Her pell-mell management is reflected aptly in grannies dressed in fur coats, leather pants, hippie shades and sparkling white gloves... but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

game-play: Like its story, Posh Boutique 2 offers negligible originality of game-play. Alicia has to equip and service 6 boutiques, including one in a television tower, one underwater and another inside a hot air balloon. She spends a week at each location, totaling 42 'days' i.e. levels for the game. Alicia is a hands-on tycoon and attends personally to each customer, helping them pick out their item(s) of choice via three simple mini-games and billing them at the cash counter. One item selection mini-game is a static image match with 9 options, another a moving carousel match, and the third a scroller match - requiring the options to be scrolled through till the correct one is displayed.

Customer types are few, with no distinct traits except minor differences in patience levels. In addition to the usual retinue businessmen and 'optimistic women', teenage boys and girls, kindly elderly - in this case a granny with a puppy and a 'sporty grandpa', Alicia's all-purpose boutiques are also frequented by couples who must be served simultaneously (but who pay individually), VIP buyers and journalists.

The last two categories of guests are naturally more entitled to tantrums than regular folk; even then they display exemplary patience by the standards of this genre, and spawn two more mini-games. The journalists aka 'press' require certain items to be located in the store in a rudimentary hidden object search, and based on the time taken, rank the store on a scale of 1 - 5 in their reviews in 'Boutique' magazine. This glory translates directly into additional sales, each star earning an extra $100. The VIPs, meanwhile, return to the store after closing time for personal consultations with Alicia, who must interpret their (literally) hazy thoughts into actual items within a given time for extra revenue.

Alicia likely spent her lottery earnings in buying the stores, since there's no evidence of the moolah in her day-to-day operations. She starts every store from scratch, building up from the 2 basic counters each of three items - combinations of clothes, hats, shoes, gloves, accessories, sunglasses and luggage - to 3 advanced counters of each, and her only help is a cleaning girl. The interior upgrades, including two speed upgrades for Alicia and one for the cleaner, are focused on increasing capacity and efficiency of the stores. Alicia also uses her earnings to jazz up the storefronts with mannequins, garlands and posters, which then attract more customers, improve their moods (indicated as smileys) and increase their inclination to purchase.

Each customer can have three to five smileys - depending on store upgrades - that determine their level of happiness, or lack thereof. Depleted smileys can be refreshed, and deleted smileys reinstated, with prompt service and attention. Alicia can also dole out always-gratifying discount coupons, generated automatically at intervals, to guests who are sufficiently agitated.

Posh Boutique 2 takes a detour from the usual concept of 'combos' - chaining actions for bonus points - to introduce its own take: single customers who want the same type of item can be combined into groups i.e. combos of two or three, which increases both their patience as well as propensity to purchase. Similarly, it puts a new spin on trophies earned for achieving preset milestones. While most games hand out a trophy only the first time a target is met, here the player can win each trophy repeatedly, with numbers counting up each success. A third unusual game mechanism is that once a boutique or individual level is deemed completed, it cannot be replayed without restarting the game from the very first level, a caveat that may have posed a problem if the game hadn't been unbelievably easy.

The 'Ultimate' mode of the game, available once the Standard mode is completed, allows the player to select the boutique and mini-game type for each of the three items before unleashing a relentless stream of customers on Alicia while constantly upping both the difficulty level as well as store upgrades. Ironically, the fast-paced action of the side show makes it far more interesting than the dawdling main event.

There is a mini-game on the start screen too - each day Alicia thinks of an item that appears in a thought bubble beside her head. The player can earn $1000 by selecting the correct item from the carousel near her feet. While extra cash never hurts, the game does not require the money desperately enough to warrant exiting to the start screen 'daily'.

art & graphics: Posh Boutique 2 has above-average, cheerful art that works overtime to brighten up the dull proceedings. The clothes and accessories are intricately detailed when seen in close-ups, as are storefronts and shopfloors. Alicia is generically pretty, and her customers are well-rendered as well. The small 'movie' at the start is devoid of animation barring a sliding background, but there is considerable, smooth in-game animation, both of characters and effects. The interface is easy to navigate with large, clearly demarcated hotspots. I faced trouble occasionally while trying to place customers in their slots near item counters, but that's a small speck in the overall superior efficiency of the interface.

text, sound & music: Alicia's story and thoughts are narrated via sparse speech bubbles; the rest of the text is functional and generally free of spelling and grammatical errors. The music is unremarkable - ordinary loops played in the background that do not really register other than to keep the tempo going. Likewise for voice-overs - a few sound bites repeated throughout the game, though mercifully none of the clips are annoying enough to jar despite constant looping.

bottomline: Posh Boutique 2 is a generic product, and nothing about the game suggests otherwise. The mash-up of time management, object matches and hidden object searches is easy to the point of being lame - both Basic and Expert goals are eminently achievable till the end; if anything, the slow trickle of customers keeps Alicia unoccupied and waiting for large intervals of time. This, when combined with the overly simplified game-play that exempts mistakes and penalties, all but eliminates the sense of urgency that normally accompanies time management games. This game should have been a high octane race; instead it's a short, leisurely stroll through the neighborhood mall.

g@mrgrl rating: 2.5/5

	game interface, art & graphics
	too easy, short, unexceptional
	no bugs noted

This is an original review written by me. Please do not distribute the text and images without my written consent.

Walkthrough: Adventures Of Keith Night: After A Shadow

Review: Adventures Of Keith Night: After A Shadow

game format: classic adventure; freeware / indie development

puzzles: inventory

playtime: 2 hours | difficulty: easy | size: 43 MB

developer: Tero Tapio 'Canardo' Kerttula | links: official site

game brief: After A Shadow is a traditional point-and-click adventure game that Canardo created for his Bachelor's thesis. The purpose of the project was to study and partly imitate the visuals and narrativity of Film Noir adapted in a game world. All the backgrounds are 3D rendered while everything else is hand-drawn. The game was made with Adventure Game Studio by Chris Jones. (Official website)

review: Read my review @ Adventure Gamers® | rating: N/A (Freeware)

summary: This black and white film-noir whodunit has plenty of highlights for a one-man indie production.



This is an original review written by me and owned by Adventure Gamers®. Please do not distribute / adapt the text and images in any way without written consent from Jack Allin, Editor-in-Chief, AG.