Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts

10/09/2012

Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy Review

Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy
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After being sorely disappointed by the previous installment in HER's usually fun Nancy Drew series, I admit I was a bit apprehensive about this one. Happily, however, I thoroughly enjoyed this solid game.
Set at a girls' boarding school, Warnings at Waverly Academy offers a well-thought out plot centered around a mysterious series of threatening notes. As the story develops, it weaves both the fictitious history of the school as well as the real history of an American literary figure into a much more complex storyline than you might expect from the initial premise. There's a particularly clever twist that comes just when you think you've got it all figured out, and while you've probably pegged the bad guy--or girl, since Ned's the only male voice in this one--by the end, it's not a "well, duh," kind of solution.
Practically all of Nancy's tasks are seamlessly integrated into the storyline, making even the usually somewhat tedious chores such as cooking feel important to the advancement of the game. I found the game immensely less difficult than some other recent ones--I'm looking at you, Ransom of the Seven Ships--and although some of the puzzles were head-scratchers, none were so baffling to drive me to online hints. There's also a nice diversity of tasks: some visual, some logical, some skill-based.
The archetypal characters at the school are distinctive and interesting, with what come across as actual personalities and motivations--which is good, because there are quite a few of them, another welcome change from the last game. The addition of texting made the story feel very contemporary and real. Although the setting was fairly limited with little exploration available, the graphics were nicely rendered and the music quite pleasant.
So what are the downsides? The world of the game isn't as deep as it could have been, with few locale additions as the story progresses; equally, the game isn't perhaps as long as some others, although it's certainly not the shortest, either. Suspense or even a sense of foreboding is distinctly lacking. Nancy's perils involve demerits rather than actual danger most of the time. And the nature of the storyline seems to dictate the audience for this game to a degree: girls and young women will probably appreciate the characters and school life aspects much more than would some older players. For some, too, the puzzles are probably too easy. Those caveats aside, I recommend this games wholeheartedly for the ND player more interested in plot than in puzzles and in secrets than in secret passages.

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Threatening notes and dangerous accidents plague the valedictorian candidates at a prestigious boarding school. Suddenly the rumors start flying, and no one can tell the difference between fact and fiction. Does someone want to knock these students out of contention for top honors? What secret could the culprit be trying to protect? No one knows for sure, but thankfully, Nancy Drew's here to figure it out. Join her as she goes undercover to find out who's behind these strange occurrences.

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8/30/2012

Thief Bundle: Thief 1 and 2 Review

Thief Bundle: Thief 1 and 2
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normally, i use a mac, but when i bought my windows game box, i had to buy some food for it. i ordered, with low expectations, a whole bunch of [cheap games] including these old thief games. what i got absolutely astounded me. let me start by saying i dont play internet games, and the military games so much in vogue dont interest me (the real history is so much more fascinating). with thief, here are two games that are "shooters" where you dont have to kill anyone. as a matter of fact, the higher levels of expertise require that you dont. in this way, this game reminds me of two of the best ever, deus ex and nolf.
it is often easier to kill the people who are obstructing you in your larcenous quests, but that makes the games easier . when i am stealing, all these characters attempt to interfere. killing them allows the player to steal in a stress free environment, but a good thief shouldnt kill. the difficulty level depends not on the strength of opponents, but on the number of tasks and objectives you have to accomplish. on expert difficulty, you must find many hidden relics, gather more loot, kill fewer people, all while getting less available health. health is very uncommon, so you have to go through this whole game taking almost no hits (no convenient medikits) which adds considerably to the difficulty. many reloads are required.
thief 1 is an old game, with rather crude graphics. dont let this fool you. it is dark, creepy, and very difficult. for outright fear, it is better than Undying, and there are several levels that are as hard as any video game (bonehoard, haunted cathedral, and return to the cathedral). you have to contend with haunts, zombies, burricks (overgrown frogs with bad breath), bugmen, and scissorhands. this is video gaming at its best. thief 2 is more refined. the bad guys are more plausible, though not as scary, and the combination of middle ages setting with modern technology (electricity) can be quite amusing. the police station which you must infiltrate has all the modern accoutrements despite its medieval location. the shooting range has the electric target track runners, but with archery targets. the levels are HUGE, particularly citibank, party, and soulforge.
two complaints only: the two game set does not contain the "gold" version, typical of windows reissues, and its not available for mac. games of this quality should be.
so, if youre looking for games which are exciting, challenging, and give a sense of accomplishment, and at the same time have a cheap price, forget the fact that these are old and look at the gameplay and the level design. they have not been surpassed.

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7/29/2012

Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy Review

Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy
Average Reviews:

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It didn't take me long to get hooked on these games. This is one of my favorites. It's nicely updated, easier to navigate. It has rich characterizations and an interesting mystery, although I found the scenery to be limited, typical small college and a tree outside- that's it. The puzzle games are more forgiving than they've been in the past as well as the clues. Often in this series, I get frustrated not knowing where the next clue is or how to get to it, a lot of time spent wandering around aimlessly clicking randomly on everything (or walkthrough). The learning interactive was interesting as usual. You also get to play shuffle hockey and darts as well as the typical match pairs game- that had me occupied for hours and it was just fun! The tasks are as annoying as ever. You have to make sandwhiches everyday, some of them were timed and I couldn't make them fast enough. I didn't guess right away who the baddie was- and that is always a good sign. Excellent effort!!

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11/07/2011

Voyage Review

Voyage
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Rather a nice little game.
The journey to the moon is on an artillery shell (a là Verne), and when you get there, you have to deal with a hive society of Selenites (a là Wells).
This is basically a puzzle game, with quite attractive graphics, a total lack of violence, and healthy injections of humor. The puzzles are logical, and appeal to anyone with even a slight grasp of Engineering. There are clearly French influences, since Cooking is important in one's dealings with the Selenites; brush up on your recipes for compĂ´tes.
The game was developed by the makers of 'Mysterious Island', and you may recognise the technique of replacing costly cut-scenes with el-cheapo comic strips. I found this irritating when playing 'Mysterious Island', but I guess I've got used to it. It works, but I don't like it.
You may recognize the voice of 'Oscar', as one of the Selenites.
Worth the money.


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Live the dream that begins with the tale of three scientists whose vision is to pioneer new explorations to far off places of discovery: an ancient temple, mysterious ruins, and an unusual subterranean civilization.SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS -WINDOWS 98/ME/2000/XP / Pentium III 800 MHz / 64 MB RAM / 64 MB DirectX 9 Compatible Video Card / DirectX 9 Compatible Soundcard / 16x CD-ROM Drive / Keyboard, mouse, speakers

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