stusue -- I'm glad you found your game!  Hpe you enjoy the replay.

Thank you for what you said about  A WIZARD'S CURSE.  I don't mind short.  I want a game that's enjoyable, not frustrating.  This sounds like one I'll be happy with. 

Wow!  That's one complete review!  Thank you for replaying the game.  I really didn't expect you to do that.  I think I will get it.  I looked at it and was, at first, put off by the dark & grim feeling I got.  I was looking for something fun and bright at the time.

I just finished Dance of Death. 

OMG, why don't they make them like that anymore?    It's hard!    I had to skip a few puzzles after I'd been going around and around in circles for a while.  I just didn't have the patience to fiddle any longer.    And one HOP was so confusing I just sat there, staring at all the moving parts, wondering what on earth I was supposed to do - there were no instructions as it was a HOP, not a minigame, and only 3 of the objects weren't highlighted.  I loved it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   

It wasn't a very long game - I took under 4 hours, which included all my note taking, but I ended up skipping a few of the minigames, but only after I'd been trying to complete them for a while.  If only all games were like that I'd be a happy little Vegemite.    It just shows how really, really dumbed down all the games are now.  I'd forgotten what they used to be like.  I'll have to check out the developers and see what other games they've made.  I sure hope this isn't their only one. 

I wholeheartedly recommend this game, but only if you like very challenging minigames and HOPs.  And they're all unique!  Even the HOPs!  There were 2 HOSs with 12 morphing objects to find ... but whole objects didn't morph, no, just maybe an ear twitched, or an eye blinked, or a feather quivered, and they only morphed for a second.  So you had to really look carefully to notice movement, then focus where you saw the movement to spot the morph.  And I think only one object morphed at a time until you found it.  The last morphing object in the second morphing HOS took me forever to find as it was the tiny lower jaw on a fish that opened and closed.    Like I said, this isn't a game for those who like easy games or who have no patience.  I loved it!    And I will definitely play it again.  And, for the first time ever, I wish this game had replayable minigames and HOPs as I'd love to try those I skipped again when I have the time. 

Wow what a fun day I've had playing this game today!    Now I'd better go and grab the washing before it's too late!    Full review to follow later...
 

stusue...Glad you got to enjoy your game.   Good to know that the puzzles are skipable.  I will try hard to work them out even quitting game and going back to work at them some more, but sometimes enough is enough.  Hard to say that the reason more games like this are not being made except maybe that they are not big sellers.  Interested to know what other games were made by this developer.

sunshinej wrote:

stusue...Glad you got to enjoy your game. Good to know that the puzzles are skipable. I will try hard to work them out even quitting game and going back to work at them some more, but sometimes enough is enough. Hard to say that the reason more games like this are not being made except maybe that they are not big sellers. Interested to know what other games were made by this developer.

Sunshine, I never thought to quit the game and go back in and try again.    However, I did try backing out of the minigames and then going back in to see if they would reset, but no.  Only one or two had reset buttons and with the others, if I got myself in too much of a tangle and just couldn't work out how to get those 2 pieces swapped when everything else was okay and you could only rotate blocks of 4, I gave in and skipped.  I didn't want to spend an hour on each one, especially if it wasn't any fun.  One I finished but had the wrong colours on the wrong spots so had to swap 2 whole colours around, which took a bit of time and effort - and a few choice words - but I managed to do that one.  But if it became more frustration than fun and I didn't like the puzzle, then I just moved on, especially as there was no way to reset most of them.  However, when I replay it I'll spend more time on those puzzles.  I just wanted to continue with the story. 

But there was one minigame where you have to shoot darts at a heart in the middle.  First you have to find the darts, then press DART when you wanted the dart to be thrown.  The problem was, that you had to hit DART before the crosshairs got near the heart as there was a delay.  Oh boy, I'm glad my mother couldn't hear the language that came out of my mouth as I kept on missing - and you had to hit the heart 8 times, maybe for the developer's name, eight game studio?  But I sure had a good laugh when the darts almost missed the whole board.    That one took me a while because I just kept on missing but it was fun.

It looks as if this is their only game.  I went to their website but all it has is their logo and one little envelope to click to send them an email.  I'll do that tomorrow and see if they're working on anything else as Dance of Death only came out last year.  If it's a very small company then it may take them 2 or 3 years per game.

I thought it was funny when I checked out the reviews at GameHouse, though, as the first reviewer I read said that it was so easy with no challenge so it was boring and she didn't even finish the demo.  Yes, the gameplay is really easy as there are only 2 locations at 2 different houses, but it's the unique puzzles and HOPs that are challenging.  Yes, it's short, but what a few short hours!  The graphics aren't as clear as games from the big developers but they were gorgeous and the music was also wonderful.

I have no problem with easy puzzles, as long as they're not insultingly easy and done in 3 moves.  But it was nice to play a game that had some really challenging puzzles and HOPs, especially as they're original and unique.  But then, you may find them really easy!