I hope you have a fun time, as well, Tirama!  
 

Hi Stu
I missed out on those 2 achievements too! NO idea what they were. I found more butterflies after getting the achievement also!!!

I've just finished Shrouded Tales: The Spellbound Land PE. REALLY loved it!

Hi Stu

I did try it and at first thought that this would be a good game to use a credit on....and then.....my thoughts were just like yours!!!!!

I played and finished Dark Parables: Jack and the Sky Kingdom PE today. Not a big fan of this series and I was heartily tired of seeing fragmented HOS's!!!

Also finished Faded Reality. Had it on the go for a few days. Nothing to write home about but it made a change.
 

Dark Romance: Curse of Bluebeard CE  by  Domini Games  

PROS:

  -  one touch
  -  you switch between male/female characters, as usual in this series
  -  lots of collectibles
        -  12 morphing Bestiary (weird animal) figurines, with info about each character
        -  49 roses in zoom scenes - used to furbish your Boudoir
        -  15 scrolls for your Book of Spells
  -  very good voiceovers and lip-synching
  -  very good graphics
  -  the odd extra scene click (eg. photos rattle on a wall)
  -  some challenging and fun MGs with choice of Hard or Easy
  -  1 HOP - with a MG, v. interactive list, picked up mirror and saw myself

CONS:

  -  can't turn off helpful messages and they give TMI
  -  can't turn off plus-item indicators at all - not even just when they've active
  -  and when you open a plus item it tells you what you need!
  -  lots of collectibles but there are 4 circles on the inventory bar
  -  and when one of them is in the scene they sparkle with psychedelic colours!!!!
  -  you're blinded until you find the object/s
  -  whenever you get or finish a task a huge box comes up that you have to click to close
  -  as for all Domini games, it was a very quiet game, which is something I hate
  -  same ol' same ol' story, but that doesn't bother me (but it might bother others)

Recommendation for me:   Wait for GH PE

It started well with one touch.  But then there were hardly any choices in Custom Mode - no choice to turn off helpful messages and plus-item indicators, which meant that I started the game in a negative frame of mind.  But then I really liked the graphics - too saturated for my taste but beautiful and crystal clear - as well as the couple of minigames that I played, with a choice of Hard and Easy, and Hard is definitely harder, although only one MG was actually challenging.  I also liked how interactive the one HOP was that I played, and how challenging it was without contextual pointer changes (as I use touch). 

But when that huge task box kept on popping up I couldn't take any more.  It's never only one negative thing that turns me off a game, but rather a combination of several things that are important to me, and this game had too many negatives for me to enjoy playing it. 

So it's a no for me, CE or SE.  Which is such a pity with all those collectibles!



Recommendation for others:   SE and CE if you like collectibles and think the extras are worth it

Extras:

The usual (wallpapers, etc)
Replayable minigames (not HOPs)
Collectibles
  -  12 morphing Bestiary figurines
  -  49 roses in zoom scenes ot furbish your Boudoir
  -  15 scrolls for your Book of Spells
Boudoir (purchase objects to furbish)
Book of Spells (not sure what that is apart from collecting spells)

I really liked this demo and, had it not been for all those negatives that are really important to me when I play a game, I would most likely choose the CE, although I'd like to know about the bonus game.  I couldn't find a single review of the completed game, so I have no idea about the bonus chapter.


 

Last edited by stusue (October 19, 2016 3:55 pm)

Amaranthine Voyage: Legacy of the Guardians CE  by  Eipix   

PROS:

  -  one touch
  -  can turn off helpful messages  (but stupid comments instead)
  -  can turn off active plus-item indicators  (but only when active)
  -  can turn off contextual pointer changes  (but not important when using touch)
  -  I loved the sliding scene and zoom scene (I always do)
  -  had some extra scene clicks
        -  I loved one of the achievements
        -  in the first scene, click on all books to put them back on the bookshelf
  -  I loved the repeating portal MG (3 levels each time you enter a portal (I think)
        -  a form of pipe puzzle, when you have to turn the "pipes" to link star with black holes
        -  BUT all the "pipes" are hidden and they can form more than one link
        -  so it's trial and error to make the correct links, which makes it more challenging
  -  the HOP alternate bubble popper is available to play in the extras
  -  a few different achievements (unusual for Eipix), although they still looked the same
        -  click on all the books lying around in the first scene to put them back on the shelf
        -  this isn't part of the gameplay - it's only for an achievement
        -  turn off the tutorial
        -  win the boss fight without any mistakes
      
CONs:

  -  I was shocked and disappointed by the graphics by Eipix!
        -  the scenes were blurry but OK
        -  the animation was also blurry and pixelated but OK
        -  but the HOPs were flat blurry 2D with no definition
        -  I found it hard to differentiate the different objects!
  -  I loved the 2 HOPs I played ... but hated the graphics!
  -  I'm so sick and tired of the usual Eipix stupid BBT comments when you turn them off
        -  "I have to consider my options."
        -  "Now, let's see..."
        -  "What could I possibly do here?"
  -  I actually had to click on the "Continue" when the conversation text was at the top!!!!
  -  once again with Eipix, only 1 collectible
        -  they're all the same, all easy to see, and only for an achievement, nothing else
  -  only 13 HOPs and 18 MGs - with lots of back and forth to fill the game

Recommendation for me:   Wait for GH PE - which is really unusual for me with an Eipix game!

I hated the graphics!
I hated the BBTs!
I hated the huge + plus-item indicator!
I hated the back and forth!
I hated the lack of HOPs and MGs!

I have no problem with their games all being "cookie cutter" games as I normally like all their games.  But this one is surprisingly not of the same high quality (at least as far as I could tell with the little I played).  And the last game I played of theirs, just a few days ago, had a surprisingly super short bonus chapter of only about 45 mins!!!!!!!  Normally their bonus chapters are about 90 mins for me, with none of the extra help.  It was a shock and I can no longer count on their CEs being worth it.

However, having no problem with their games (ie. the gameplay) all being the same:

I'm sick and tired of all the stupid BBT comments when you turn them off.
I'm sick and tired of the big fat + to indicate the plus items, although not when active.
I'm sick and tired of their collectibles always being the one thing and easy to spot.
I'm sick and tired of the collectibles only being for an achievement and nothing extra.
I'm sick and tired of their achievements always being the same and always looking the same.
  But at least this time they had a few different ones!

I was bored and only going through the motions so stopped halfway through the demo.

I'm SO disappointed as I normally always get Eipix games as CEs!



Recommendation for others:   SE if you like the demo

CE  -  With only the usual one collectible (which are all the same, easy to spot, and only collected for an achievement), bad graphics (especially in the HOPs), and lots of back and forth with not many HOPs and MGs (I only played 2 HOPs, which I liked, but no MGs), I don't think the CE is worth it.  Plus, the last couple of Eipix Souvenir Rooms I've played have only had 16 and 12 souvenirs to find!  So that really isn't worth it.

Extras:

The usual (wallpapers, etc.)
Replayable MGs
Replayable HOPs
Collectibles  (one)
Souvenir Room
Bubble Popper