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    Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman

    genkicoll
    genkicoll


    Posts : 8426
    Join date : 2011-12-28
    Age : 50
    Location : Pacific Northwest

    Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman Empty Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman

    Post by genkicoll Sun Jan 06, 2013 8:36 am

    Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman
    by Fenomen Games - January, 2013

    Available at:
    Big Fish for PC as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition
    Big Fish for Mac as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition
    GameHouse as Premium Edition /
    iWin as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition

    Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman Cursed-fates-headless-horseman-ce_feature

    In the northern part of the state, near the upper reaches of the Hudson River, there is a town named Sleepy Hollow. As is often the case, small towns hide big mysteries. A chain of bloody events commenced one ordinary night. A secret marriage and a new will have inflicted a dreadful curse upon this town. A terrible legend has become reality. The legend of a terrifying creature returned from hell.

    The Collector’s Edition includes:

    • Additional bonus chapter
    • Integrated Strategy Guide
    • Brilliant soundtrack
    • Stunning wallpapers and screensavers

    For the Standard Edition:

    Click images to enlarge
    Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman Th_screen1_Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman Th_screen2_Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman Th_screen3


    Last edited by genkicoll on Sun Oct 27, 2013 2:47 pm; edited 2 times in total
    genkicoll
    genkicoll


    Posts : 8426
    Join date : 2011-12-28
    Age : 50
    Location : Pacific Northwest

    Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman Empty Re: Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman

    Post by genkicoll Sun Oct 27, 2013 2:47 pm

    Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman CE (IHOG)

    Just a warning for those who don't like any type of animal abuse in their games:  We do use a slingshot to scare something off during gameplay, and we have to destroy some bugs, as well.
    Spoiler:

    This kind of thing repeats throughout the game, but the part in the spoiler tag was the hardest for me to deal with.

    WARNING for the arachnophobes:  One huge spider that we must deal with, but luckily, we don't have to see it for all that long.

    Options include separate sliders for music and sound, plus full screen and custom cursor.  The game automatically adjusted for my widescreen, and looks great that way (no black bars.)

    There are two modes to choose from when you enter the game: Easy and Difficult.  No sparkles in difficult mode, so that's what I went with~ Hidden object scenes are indicated, and mini-games are, as well.


    The first intro (upon starting up the game) was very good, but I wish they had used a different narrator -- the subject matter really deserves a dark and eerie voice, not just dramatic.  My opinion, of course, but I'd have loved to hear a voice like the narrator from Deadtime Stories. Wink  The rest of the voices seemed to be very appropriate for their characters, and mostly well done.  The music is understated, setting the tone without being annoying or repetitive.

    The story is very dark, very disturbing, and yet not really all that scary.  There is implied violence, but no blood or gore.

    There is a drop-down box located at the top of the screen, where you can access your trophy room.  Trophies need to be purchased, and your currency is golden horseshoes.  These can be found on just about every screen, including HOS, so keep an eye out!  In this trophy room we also have a display case for any achievements that we earn, with 20 possible.

    There are five chapters, or six if you have the Collector's Edition, and once you finish a chapter, you cannot return to most of those locations, so be sure to find those horseshoes as soon as you enter a scene (assuming that you're interested in collecting them Silly face  )  The first chapter seemed very short to me, but don't let that throw you off -- this is a very long game!

    Something I REALLY appreciate, artistically, is that there is a real feeling of time passing as you play.  When you enter a scene for the first time, it may be daylight, the next time stormy, then when you go back it may be nighttime.  VERY cool!  Of note is that each time there is a transition in time, you may find new items at the locations, so keep that in mind!

    Using a HINT during the adventure portion of the game will give you a directional arrow without discharging your hint. 

    There is no MAP, but as mentioned, when you finish a chapter, most of those locations will become inaccessible, thus lessening the likelihood of getting lost.  Something I really like about the to-ing and fro-ing in the game is that the devs give us good reasons for retracing our steps.  "Oh, I found x-item, I need this two screens back!" and when you get there, you realize that there's a HOS to do.

    Hidden object scenes vary from find-by-picture to list, with the list-HO's being lightly interactive.  Items marked in yellow need some kind of action before they can be found.  There is a rapid-misclick penalty, and hints refill at different speeds depending on which mode of play you've chosen.  The last item you find is the one that will go into your inventory.  These screens repeat, but usually are a different type each time (picture or list.) Just a note that each time you replay a HOS, there will be a horseshoe in a new place on the screen!

    The HOS, and indeed the game itself, start out being pretty easy, but get more challenging as you progress.

    The journal has two tabs:  One for clues, and one for notes that we find.  The clues tab shows us things that we didn't actually DO, such as finding something in a pocket. Huh?  I wouldn't have known about it if the journal hadn't popped up!  Maybe I just missed it!  I didn't notice this happening later in the game.  We have extra story in two places:  The journal, of course, and the main menu screen! OH!  New things will pop up on the menu screen as you progress in the game, and mousing-over these items will give you extra information.

    We can combine things in our inventory to get useful items.  For instance, we have two pieces of something in our inventory, and when we drag one item and drop it on top of the other piece, the item becomes whole.

    The mini-games are varied, and no instructions are given unless you want them -- just click on the ? in the top left corner of the screen if you need them.

    Collector's Edition Content:

    • Integrated strategy guide
    • Bonus chapter
    • 10 Screen savers
    • 10 Wallpapers that are not just in-game screens
    • 7 Music tracks that you can listen to only -- no save function on these :(
    • Collectible - 73 Golden Horseshoes and use them to buy trophies for your trophy room
    • Achievements

    All extra content is accessible at any time, save the bonus chapter, which will be unlocked when you finish the main game.

    The strategy guide stays open to whatever page you were on last, and has a separate chapter to show the location of the horseshoes.  This is VERY useful, as some of those horseshoes are really well hidden... and sometimes (though not often) there's more than one on a screen!

    Bonus chapter:

    The main game ends abruptly, but the bonus chapter is not needed to have a satisfactory ending.  What it does give us is final closure on
    Spoiler:
    The bonus chapter seemed pretty short to me, but my gameplay got interrupted at least four times, so that may have affected my awareness of the time.

    I'd like to point out the amazing time progression -- I am just SO impressed by how they handled this, and with the effort they put into the changing graphics.  SO impressed! Okay

    Overall, this is an offering more aimed at the more experienced game players, with a more mature storyline, and more complex gameplay... although my perception of this may be skewed by the fact that I was playing on Difficult mode Snicker   Despite having more HOS than I generally like, I definitely recommend giving this game a try.
    JustTheFacts
    JustTheFacts


    Posts : 5142
    Join date : 2013-09-01
    Age : 61
    Location : Western Australia

    Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman Empty Re: Cursed Fates: The Headless Horseman

    Post by JustTheFacts Tue Dec 31, 2013 5:48 am

    Developer: Fenomenon Games

    I’m Head Over Heels
    Sunny Sunny SunnySunny

    BASED ON COMPLETED GAME

    What a treat this game is! Not at all difficult, it nevertheless kept my interest over the 4-5 hours it took to play. It’s quite a LENGTHY game. It is also an ATTRACTIVE, WELL-BALANCED & INVOLVING HOPA.

    The first thing to attract me to this game was the STORY. As Ichabod Crane, you are asked to investigate 5 murders using your new-fangled scientific detection methods of LOGIC & EVIDENCE. The locals, however, are convinced the killer is not a man, but a DAEMON. The legend of the Headless Horseman is revealed to you as you progress and find scraps of information, meanwhile you are quickly having to change your tune, when confronted by a series of ghosts – the victims of the Horseman.

    The HORSEMAN is a BRILLIANT piece of ART, both the graphics and the animation. I intend to upgrade to the CE, just to get a copy of him. The GRAPHICS throughout the game are also of a VERY HIGH STANDARD. Despite being DARK often, and sometimes a bit MONOCHROMATIC, they are really nice to look at.

    The MUSIC is pleasant, but the real stand-outs are the VOICEOVERS, particularly Icabod's.

    The HO SCENES are excellent. They are a bit HARDER than most, and I found myself having to ask for HINT occasionally. They are each visited TWICE, once with an INTERACTIVE LIST, and once with FULL COLOUR PIX of the items. I must say, no attempt was made to keep the objects suited to the time period (phonographs in C17th, I think not!).

    PUZZLES are EASY, and mostly FAMILIAR. There are just the right amount of them, and balance nicely with the point and click ADVENTURE component of the game. Nothing is illogical here, no thinking outside the box, so your NEXT MOVE is usually CLEAR. If you need help, HINT is DIRECTIONAL. There is NO MAP, but the game cuts off COMPLETED AREAS, so it’s not really needed. The JOURNAL holds CLUES and the pages about the Horseman legend that you find.

    There are GOLDEN HORSESHOES to COLLECT, and they can be found in the HOS as well as the main game. They can be used to buy “TROPHIES” – they are actually more like SOUVENIRS with which to decorate your office. Dog, pet goldfish, books, telescope, that sort of thing.

    I had a really good time with this one and hope it is the start of a Cursed Fate series.

    I Recommend This Game!


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