I just did a beta from Lazy Turtle Games called
Mystery Expedition: Prisoners of Ice.

I found it a little confusing story wise, but very intriguing.   I can't wait for it to come out so I can continue with the story.   Your grandfather is a explorer who went missing on a mission in the arctic.
It had a X-Files vibe to it so far in the demo.

I didnt' care of the Toymaker too much either. the graphics were really dark. The only straight HOG's I will play are the Mystery P.I. games or maybe Amazing Adventures. Hasn't been a new one in awhile though. 

It has been a very long time since I played a Hidden Expedition Game, I have Unchartered Islands in the queue and four others in my history but I don't remember them 2006-2009 was too long ago for me.  My point is I know the old ones were strictly ho scenes.  This game is far more and was so much fun to play, puzzles adventure ho scenes that are layered.  Very nice graphics.  There are collectible and achievements as well.  The story starts out on a moving train and then jumps to three weeks prior and of course invovles the Hope Diamond. Lots of little educational tidbits.  It is BFG with Eipix.  Based on the beta I'll buy it.

I played the beta for Artifex Mundi's Grim Legends: The Abyss today.  The opening scenes before and after the main game screen are fantastic, very clear and mysterious  Then the sense of urgency in the first scene is real and, until you get to a house in the woods, the gameply makes you feel like you're actually in the middle of a movie and you're totally immersed in the story with lots of animation.  Then, once you get to the house, you're suddenly back just playing a normal HOPA, and I told them how disappointing that was, no matter how good the HOPA was. 

The minigames are, unfortunately, really easy, although well done and some of them are fun.  For example, at one point there's a door you have to open and there are 6 or 8 symbols around the doorway you have to push in the correct order to open the door.  I thought great, something a little harder.  The first 2 I clicked on (next to each other) were the correct ones and then I only had to find one more as, when I clicked on the correct one the door opened.  You only had to find 3!!!!!

The gameplay was a bit more difficult and the graphics were fine.  The animations were fantastic!  All the people, the helpful kitten (no, you don't name it and I love the movement when it helps you), and a boat move superbly.  And the slide down the mountainside was fun.  There's also great attention to detail, like when you have to go to the next scene, the people waiting for you turn around and wait for you or even beckon you to go with them.  Also, when you do something in a zoomed-in area it happens at the same time in the background if you can see it.  I thought that was great.

The HOPs were also fine, especially the fragmented ones (quite difficult to find) and the one I did where you have silhouettes and you have to find one object to do something else to get something else, etc.  There's a minigame to play if you don't want to play the HOPs.  I suggested we have the option of playing both instead of one or the other.

3 difficulty levels with each level getting different levels of black bar hints, although sometimes in Expert Mode you got too much info.  Great music and voiceovers.  No journal (just task list in a book, which I imagine will be a journal in the final version), no collectibles, no morphing objects, no achievements, no SG, nowhere for "Extras" on the main game page, so maybe it's only going to be an SE and not first a CE.

The beginning of the beta was thrilling and I thought wow, what a great game and I couldn't wait to get the game.  Then when it turned into just another HOPA with really easy puzzles and not much challenge, going to one scene to pick up an item to go back to another to do a task, etc., I decided I'd have to think about getting it, even though I loved the music and animations.  The story is also quite mysterious.

I finally got that to dl as well Sue and I agree with what you are saying.  But having said that I was so sucked in to the storyline I'll have to get it to see where they are going.  When it ended I was left hanging.  I thought the puzzle with the kitten chasing the light was quite clever.  While a lot of it was quite easy, puzzlewise, the bear intrigued me and the story has such potential. (The spelling in it was a little shaky, I trust they are far from releasing this, lol whooly scarf and woops stuck out).  They do seem to take feedback in to account.  When I have rec'd betas for eg for an ERS game, often it is released within days.  With AM I have beta'd quite a few and they don't seem to come out for weeks-months later.  And I've never turned my firewall off for them.  All the info you are going to get from me is in the survey and I take the time to write stuff like you.

Last edited by oscar66 (November 4, 2013 6:56 pm)