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Well, I managed to demo today's TGT from Eipix, Dead Reckoning: Silvermoon Isle CE, in between washing and doing stuff I have to do before leaving for 4.5 months. I don't have time to do a full demo review as I normally would, plus it's difficult typing on my laptop with a keyboard on my lap, so I'm putting JustTheFact's demo review here, with my own comments following. I've used her review as she gives details of all aspects of the game and gameplay, which is what I normally do.
JustTheFacts wrote:
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BASED ON DEMO
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Opening scenes are good, exciting and mysterious, and done in the very best of whodunit film making. But I am tired of the art deco motif. I love the interface, its colours and crisp lines, but it is sooo déjà vu, at first it almost seemed a part of the Final Cut series. Yes, Eipix, it looks beautiful, but it also looks far too familiar.
SIGHTS & SOUNDS
As mentioned, lose the art deco, or alter it to some other aspect of the era. Apart from that, the art is splendid. The cut scenes are an improvement of some of Eipix’s recent games, and they have done some fun things with point of view. The lip synching is direct in this game, and well done. The actors are good. The music is fine. Ambient noise & special effects also good.
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
Famous actress (who happens to work for our favourite film makers) falls/jumps/pushed off a lighthouse on the night of her birthday party. Island sealed off when you, the detective, arrive to investigate. You have a partner you apparently worked with before, sweet voice, very mild. Your boat dies just as you arrive on the island, so he sticks by the boat while we meet the suspects and snoop around. Already, everyone you meet is behaving suspiciously.
GAMEPLAY
Less HOPs and puzzles in this game makes way for a new style of play, almost entirely unseen before. Have a “deduction dialogue” magnifying glass that gives a hint at something you may want to question when you are talking to suspects. For instance, the maid says she has been crying all night. The magnifier has written under it “Crying all night?” A quick look and click at her eyes and handkerchief show she’s lying and she is forced to revise her story. And so on with her jewellery etc. At other times, it may be an object sketched that you should ask about.
This unique puzzler is combined with a suspect list and an ‘evidence’ board. The list gives detailed information on the history and details you bring out on each subject. The evidence board has items that must first be found and put together, like an incriminating photograph. Later, another way of viewing objects as clues and evidence occurs at the murder scene, where successively highlighted objects give you information about what happened.
The HOPs so far include an interactive word list that is followed by a fragmented object that must be put together once you get it into inventory. Then another mini-HOP of silhouettes, uniquely presented, accompanied by a multiples of. Both types can be swapped for a bubble shooter game I had so much fun with I didn’t notice I had finished with the list and was now “finding” fragmented parts!
Puzzles also include odd little differences, all fun and not difficult. There is no journal, only the evidence board. But there is directional hint and an interactive jump map. And the partner – not that he’s been much use so far. Three levels of difficulty plus a custom mode.
CE BLING!
Achievements, just listed in a sliding, well, list. Not my preferred way of viewing them. 44 collectible stars, and unknown number of morphing objects in the HOPs. Replayable HOPs and Mini-games, and the Bubble Popper game, all accessed through the Extras. You can get up to 3 medals each in playing the Extras HOPs. There’s also a Souvenir Room, a Making Of video, movies and music. Wallpapers look good (12).
COMBINED IMPACT
Will I love this game? Of course, it is Eipix, and they seem unable to serve up anything but irresistible fare for me. This is not going to be my favourite, I imagine, however. The whole “detective from the era” thing somehow escapes my interest. But I love what they’ve done with the deduction dialogue and crime scene evidence, it is fresh and new.
I recommend this game!
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My comments at the end of the demo ...
* I hate art deco
* I loved the evidence board and how it worked
* I loved the evidence and how you worked with it
* I loved the way you checked if a person was telling the truth or not
* The first HOP was simple but hard to tell the objects apart - junkpile and flat graphics
* The lockpick puzzle was very different to what you normally have to do
* I like getting extra info in a scene when you click on things - cursor is a ?
* In the first HOP you get a wrench in a toolbox but the wrench is in 5 pieces
* It turns into a Plus item in the inventory
* You then put the 5 pieces on the shadows to put it together - easy peasy
* I then got an achievement for completing a puzzle in under 20 secs
* I played the bubble shooter game in Extras and it never ended!!!!
* So a good extra as it isn't a simple, dumbed-down M3 or something like normal
Achievements:
* 22, 11 of which have 3 levels (3 stars each)
* Most are the usual with a few different ones
* Coffee Break - Stand idle in a HOP for 5 minutes
* Hoarder - Have 10 items in the inventory at once
* Bookworm - Spend at least 5 secs reading each character's file
* I got all 3 stars playing Bubble Shooter - getting 2,000 & 4,000 & 7,000 points
SE or CE?
* Collecting stars? I only found one but it was huge.
* 12 morphing objects in HOPs? I clicked on one without even seeing it!
* Bubble shooter? I really liked it. It was different to the usual.
* Souvenir room? Not sure what that's like - only available in full game.
* Achievements? Depends on how much you like them.
* Making of video? I've never seen one that I found very interesting.
* All the usual extras? Depends on how much you like them.
* Bonus chapter? No idea how long or how interesting.
I really liked what I played so will be getting the game. As for SE versus CE, I'll be waiting to see what the bonus chapter's like, whether it's a good length and whether it's interesting or not.
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I also played part of the demo of the new $2.95 game at Legacy Games, Voyage to Fantasy, Part I. I only played the first 11 missions (levels) and had had enough. It's a straight, timed HOG with a story, with each HOG being a "mission".
The HOGs either only have 6-9 objects, or find 10 of something, or find as many of the items that are listed one by one as you can in a certain number of seconds (the objects are all on top of each other on a white background). The objects are very large and very easy to see, and the graphics are very nice. I didn't come across anything else in the 11 levels that I played.
You earn collectibles - 3 each of 3 - which you earn on levels 11, 16 and 25. You earn one of each on each level. When you have all 3 of each, you get 3 more hints, 3 more lightening bolts and 45 emeralds.
You earn 1, 2 or 3 stars per level, depending on how quickly you finish and if you used any powerups, etc, as well as emeralds (although I'm not sure what they're for or how you earn them).
The Options Menu is very limited - you can only turn on/off the music, SFX and HD, and can choose between full screen (not widescreen) or windowed modes.
It's also only the first part.
My recommendation:
I don't like straight HOGs so I didn't like this game. However, if you like straight HOGs that are timed, you may like this one and you may like to demo it, which you can do at Legacy Games.
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Anki -- It sounds as though you deserve a nice, relaxing vaction. Enjoy!
stusue -- We rarely get tornados here (maybe 9 a year) and they are very mild ones. The scale they use starts at 0. We almost always have a 0, occasionally a 1. And they also usually hit in rural areas. They might blow down an old barn or take out a few trees. It's nothing like the seemingly continuous tornados they have in the Midwest.
I have absolutely no idea of what game you and Anki are talking about -- BLACK RAINBOW. I'll have to take a look.
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Lily, did you know that Sydney also gets tornadoes? Nothing like the big ones you get in the Midwest but they do a lot of damage, normally cutting a swathe from the SW up through the NE of Sydney. Sydney also gets water spouts in the harbour and just off the coast. But did you know that the city that gets the most tornadoes is London?
Black Rainbow is an adventure game - no HOSs - with lots of wandering around and puzzles. I gave it my highest rating - I loved, loved, loved this game! You can play in Easy mode, using hints, etc, if you want an easy game, or play in a higher mode if you want a more challenging game. I suggest you demo it and there's a fulll review in my review thread, #16, if you're interested.
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I've just heard back from CS re my missing MC promotion coupon. Bummer, I only got a coupon to get a CE for $6.99. Don't get me wrong, that's great but every other time I've either got a coupon to get a CE for $2.99 or a free CE coupon. Now I understand why I was asked if I preferred a CE or SE coupon, as some people may prefer to get an SE for $2.99 than a CE for $6.99. But it's still better than the promotion coupon, which would have meant a CE for $7.99.
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stusue -- Yikes! Tornados in Sydney? I'll bet they do a lot of damage! And i had absolutely NO idea that London got the most tornados! That's the British London, correct?
1/2 price IS better but $2.99 would have been great!
*crosses BLACK RAINBOW off her list* Ummmmm.. lots of wandering around? No HOS? I don't care how good the hint system is, I'm too old for this!
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Yes, Lily, I meant London in England.
It's a pity that you're not even going to demo Black Rainbow. I can understand you not wanting to play it, but you might like to try the demo as it's something different.
I just checked the one promotion coupon code I actually got that was 60% off my next purchase, and it's 60% off the purchase price, not off the retail price, which makes a CE $5.60 for members. So, tomorrow when I can actually keep my eyes open (it's heading towards 1 am here as I was up watching the soccer world cup minor final - Germany's in the final tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed, everyone!), I'm going to write back and say that 65% off the retail price is not 60% off the purchase price, and try to get what I was told I'd get in the promotion - a coupon code that gives me 60% off MY purchase price!
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Stuesue. we´re only be in Gran Granaria one week that´s all the vacation I get...
I discovered that I wasn´t clear about my coupons, I got two CE:s with 100% off!!!
It´s terrible to hear about all the tornados, we very rarely have them in Sweden, they are small and maybe once or twice a year and never in our area.
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I have finished Clutter II -He Said ,She Said. It was rather fun but I only did the main game.
Now it´s back to work again! (On a Sunday , but I got 100% pay )
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Today's FREE game at Game Giveaway of the Day is ...
Age of Adventure: Playing the Hero
Travel back in time to an age of not only chivalry and heroes, but also deceit and no-good, dirty backstabbers in this deliriously fun time management romp! Capturing a traitor, restoring a kingdom and falling in love might sound like a tall order, but it’s all in a day’s work in the Age of Adventure: Playing the Hero!
* 45 nail-biting levels;
* Three immersive settings;
* Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies;
* Learn-as-you-play tutorial;
* 36 achievements to earn.
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When this was released by BFG there were lots of things I really liked about it - eg. the graphics and animation - but there were also some things I didn't like about it - there are a lot more steps to accomplish something than normal TMGs. So I was ambivalent about getting it, then forgot about it. I'm so glad it's free today!