Jen, great to see you back!  

Tirama, how aggravating!  But I'm sure CS will sort things out for you.  And I'm so glad my little chart is still useful.

Sunshine, you asked if anyone had demoed Facility 47.  Well, I just happened to have played it today!  WOW, what a game!  Amazingly atmospheric with great graphics.  You actually feel cold and so alone.  However, it's very, very difficult.  I made free use of the Hint button, which sometimes gave way too much information but sometimes not enough.  It would say that you had to use something to do something outside some room, but in which building was that room and how on earth were you supposed to get outside it?  There's no map so you have to remember your way around ... at the beginning just all the rooms in the maze of the first building, then how to get to all the other buildings, then what was in which building... you get the idea.  You have to walk around everywhere as there's no jump map - nothing to help you.  The only help you have is the room signs in the first building but you have to remember which route to take to get to wherever you want to go.

There are a few minigames (I counted 11 and they were all either of medium or hard difficulty) but most of the game is wandering around, trying to find out who you are and what the heck happened there.  You spend most of your time wandering around, making notes of everything you find as anything can be a clue (you should see my notes!), getting access cards and keys to enter rooms, sometimes having to go from one building back to another then back again then somewhere else then back again, just to get an access card working.  But not a single HOP.  Your brain really gets a workout, trying to work out where to get a clue for a puzzle you encounter.  You also do scientific experiments and a whole heap of things.

You also have a choice at the end, a very difficult choice.  To get the ending you didn't choose you'll have to replay the entire game (but someone got it down to 22 mins after playing the game several times but not skipping anything - once you know all the clues and codes you could get through it very quickly).  It took me 3:45 hours but that was using hints, although I tried at the beginning not to use any but when I got stuck I wasn't going to wander around in the Antarctic storm, then in each building, trying to find what I'd missed.  You have to click on absolutely EVERYTHING! as there's no cursor change at all.  And I'm used to clicking on everything as I play with a touchscreen so I never have any cursor changes, but even I missed stuff.  One time I was stuck, clicked on hint, then said out loud, "Well, why would I have thought of clicking on the air vent right up in the ceiling?"

If you want a very different experience that's very atmospheric and really gets those little grey cells working (unless you just use hints throughout the entire game), then get this game!  It sure is worth a PCC.


 

lilyr wrote:

Tirama -- OH NO!!  I'm so sorry that happened!  Can you notify your credit card company so they know that would be an incorrect charge?  So sorry especially since this was supposed to be your birthday gift.

I'm waiting to see what BF does before I get the credit card company involved.  Now that I've stopped hyperventilating, I can see that it's a pretty easy fix.  All they have to do is credit my CC for the difference between what I paid and what I should have paid if the coupon had been applied.  And maybe they can charge me for the games I didn't get a chance to buy and put them in my purchase history (along with the punches I should receive) or charge me for the games and then issue me coupons that can be used to get the CE's.

But they REALLY need to do something about that Game App.  Closing a pop-up by clicking on the x should NEVER be construed as an okay to purchase what is in your shopping cart.
 

Okay, I'll start updating you on some of the games I've played ...

First, today's TGT ... Redemption Cemetery: At Death's Door CE

OMG, one of the best games I've ever played!  I'm glad I didn't listen to the bad reviews and went with my gut and got the CE.

One of the constant complaints was that the game was too short ... 2 hours including bonus and no skipping ... All About Casual Game said the MG was only 3.5 hours and the bonus only 45 mins.  However, these people played on Casual and then, yes, I think it would be a very short game with not much challenge.

However, I played on Custom with no BBTs.  And when I say no BBTs, I mean no tips at all.  No hints, not even a nudge.  And, fortunately, you don't get any stupid comments like you normally do when you choose no BBTs.  You simply get ... nothing!  That upped the challenge so much that I never again want to play a game that has any sort of BBTs.  It was amazing, being forced to think to work out what to do, where to go, what to use.  I loved it!  I tried not to use any hints but occasionally I was totally stuck and so used a hint, only to find that I'd missed something in a scene and couldn't continue without whatever it was. 

Unlike everyone else, the MG took me about 5 hours and the BG nearly 3!!!!!!!!  But that was without BBTs, hints and only one skip - I skipped one MG in the BG after dying again and again and again and again and again ... you get the picture.  Yes, you can die in this game with the one timed MG, even in Casual - the BG has Casual/Hard MGs.  II thought that life was too short and I could always replay it once I'd finished, so gave up the achievement for playing all MGs without skipping, and continued on.  But I'm determined to finish that MG without dying!  The only way anyone seems to have managed it was to jot down all the moves in the SG - it has 2 levels, each different - but I didn't think of that.

And no BBTs also means none in the HOPs!  When you normally play a HOP if you click on something and it needs an interaction it will tell you what it needs.  Well, not in this game.  You click and ... nothing.  So the HOPs were also much more fun as you really needed to look around and see what you needed.  I loved that!

Another feature I loved, which you can turn on/off in Custom Mode, is that you can drag things around the scene.  You don't get to use this very often but it sure is fun when you do.  For example, right at the beginning you can just pick up the ladder you've just placed against the tree to get something from there and then slide it across to the statue to have a look up there.  Also, when you have to do things like saw through some wood, you actually move the saw up and down and it saws at exactly the speed you're moving it at!  I loved that.

Collectibles  -  you collect all different sorts of clocks through the ages and some are very hard to spot as you don't even realise that they're clocks.  And, without any cursor changes (I use my touch screen), it was sometimes really hard to see them.  They're also not in every scene.  I got them all so I'm not sure if you can go back later to find any you missed.  But what I loved about them was that each one came with a saying about time ... I'll list them later for those who don't wish to get the CE or the game at all.  But I found that fun and was one of the reasons I got the CE (thank heavens).

Achievements  -  only 2 are earned!!!!  All the others are gameplay ones.  However, I loved the skeletons and the poses they take to suit whatever their achievement was.  And every achievement came with a saying, which I really liked.  So I didn't mind that the achievements weren't earned as I thought they were cute and had some good sayings.

HOPs  -  no alternative.  MG = 23, BG = 6.  They're mainly all lists or multiples of 1 or 12 objects with only a little bit of interaction and no progressive HOPs (I wish there'd been a bit more variety) but they were all fun with some fun twists, like switching lamps to highlight a different area, switching between 2 different scenes with slides, a stone relief, etc.  I put little smiley faces next to lots of them as they were fun.  And nearly all of them were of medium or medium-hard difficulty (made all the more difficult due to no cursor changes).  One new twist - when you've completed a HOP you get a grade - your % accuracy, the number of clicks you made, and your time.  You don't get any gold stars or cups; you just get the statistics.  I've already replayed all the HOPs in Extras to get 100% in each, which wasn't a hardship as I really liked them. 

Minigames  -  MG = 22, BG = 6.  These were also mainly medium or medium-hard difficulty, with a couple that were hard.  They also got quite a few smiley faces, especially in the BG where you had a choice of Casual or Hard difficulty.  As I said above, I skipped one as it's timed and I kept on dying.  I'll replay it now that I've finished.  There's one MG that's repeated each time you go through a portal but I love that puzzle so it wasn't a problem for me ... a jigsaw puzzle made up of rows and columns - you have to switch rows and columns around until you make the picture (the edges match the picture behind, if you want to make it a bit easier), which were fun and not too easy.

Mini-Puzzles  -  there were also lots of little puzzles with the plus items and in the zoom scenes.

Bonus Game  -  almost 3 hours for me, skipping one MG and with no BBTs and cursor changes.  There's a couple of big twists at the end of the MG (which end conclusively so the SE would be great) and the bonus game is a prequel, showing you what happened before you ended up in the cemetery.  I really liked it.  At the beginning you look a the table and have to work out what to do ... without any help from BBTs.  That sure made me think.  You have to work everything out yourself with no prompting.  I think there were 10 steps with 2 little puzzles.  I loved it!

Gameplay  -  there's only minimal back and forth and there aren't a lot of scenes for each soul so there's never too far to go.  I can't remember going back 10 scenes for a screwdriver, then back again, then back 10 scenes again for a hammer, etc.  I only remember once when I was stuck and eventually looked in the SG, only to find that there was a HOP to replay right at the other end and there was no reason to go back there.  I think this was the only one that was repeated, hence why I hadn't considered it.  And, as there were no sparkles, I didn't notice it.

My Recommendation  -  I definitely recommend this game.  I read a few times that it's just like all the other Redemption Cemetery games and so boring - although others said that it stuck to the same premise which was great - but I haven't played many of the others so I can't comment on that.  I also read a few times that it's way too short on Casual.  I can't comment on that, either, as I played with no BBTs, no cursor changes, and only skipped one MG (which is something I never do!), which made the game very, very challenging and very long - and I loved every single minute and was really sad to get to the end.

I really liked the BG, which was almost like a whole new game as it was nearly 3 hours for me, very challenging with a choice of Casual or Hard in the MGs, and fun!  For me, it wasn't just something thrown together to make it a CE, with no relation to the MG or confusing or of lesser quality than the MG.

I also liked the collectibles, even though there weren't very many.  I liked the Time sayings.  I also liked the achievement skeletons and their sayings, even though you can only earn 2 of them.

I thought I really got my money's worth.  I loved the game, which was really long for me, and I liked all the extras.  However, if you only want to get the SE, it's a great game and ends very conclusively and, at 5 hours if you choose no BBTs and have no cursor changes, nice and long with a great story.


 

Last edited by stusue (June 3, 2016 12:44 pm)

Tirama...What a shock for you.  Were you able to get your refund? 

stusue...Thanks for all the information of Facility 47.  I bought that game based on all the good reviews and watching the video.  Nice to see that your computer woes are behind you.

June CEs

Moai IV: Terra Incognita CE  -  Builder  -  Alawar/Toyman Interactive

Grim Legends: The Dark City CE  -  HOG  -  Artifex Mundi

Dreampath: Curse of Swamps CE  -  HOG  -  Boolat Games

Hidden Expedition: Midgard's End CE  -  HOG  -  Eipix

The Keeper of Antiques: The Revived Book CE  -  HOG  -  Elefun Games

Midnight Calling: Jeronimo CE  -  HOG  -  Elephant Games
Surface: Lost Tales CE  -  HOG  -  Elephant Games

Spirit of Revenge: Florry's Well CE  -  HOG  -  Vendel Games