Mayan Prophecies 2: Cursed Island

Mayan Prophecies: Cursed Island
by Elefun Games - Oct. 2013

Series links:  Mayan Prophecies 1: Ship of Spirits, Mayan Prophecies 2: Cursed Island, Mayan Prophecies 3: Blood Moon

Available at:
Big Fish as Collector's Edition / Standard Edition



After narrowly escaping the ship of spirits, Coast Guard Officer Alexis and her friends find themselves lost at sea in a life raft. A sudden storm shipwrecks them on an island, and the Mayans living there demand retribution for the artifact stolen from them centuries earlier. Alexis must return the artifact to its rightful place in the ancient temple before the Spirit of the Volcano causes the entire island to break apart. A young girl may be their best hope to appease it, but a shadow from their past could bring about their doom – and can they stop the evil poacher from escaping his fate? Join the crew and save the island from destruction in Mayan Prophecies: Cursed Island, a thrilling Hidden-Object Puzzle Adventure game!

The Collector’s Edition includes:

• Bonus gameplay chapter
  
• Bonus Mahjong gameplay
  
• Achievements
  
• Screensavers
  
• Wallpapers
  

For the Standard Edition

• Walkthrough
  
• Strategy Guide (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge
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Volcanic Eruptions And Mayan Curses!****

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

This game is very much the direct and immediate sequel to the first Mayan Prophesies game, Ship Of Spirits. We pick up exactly where we finished the bonus chapter, taking our vicious poacher back to land. Now, however, we are lost at sea, and things are looking grim. In an excellent intro, we are reminded, in black and white images, of the story so far, and the new dangers that we now face are picked up in colour. Fully immersive video! (You’ll get the joke when you play the intro). We end up washed ashore on some unknown island and once again have lost the poacher.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS

The quality of the graphics is great. The cut scenes involving the volcano look like real life footage of a volcano eruption. Awesome. The graphics elsewhere are not quite breathtaking, but they are very good. In the first game, colours were dominated by orange and green. I am pleased to find the colours this time focus on tropical green and a dozen vibrant contrasts.

The voiceovers are once again very good, with all characters and the narrator sounding excellent. I didn’t get into the music, but it in no way interfered with the game.

MAKING PROGRESS

The gameplay for this game is as good as the first. There are loads of mini-games as well as HOPs. This time finding the hummingbirds requires you to find a Mayan idol or artifact, activate it, then catch the bird.

The HOPs can be exchanged for a very fun mahjong game instead. The scenes themselves are beautiful, with a lot of detail, and while occasionally some items are a bit hard to find, for the most part they are really very clear. The HOPs are interactive lists, and we visit each scene twice. The puzzles, as always for me, ranged from “do it with your eyes closed” to “even the SG solution is too hard”. Some interesting twist on a few regular games. There is of course an interactive jump map and directional hint.

BLING!

I like this game’s bling. Bonus game, gallery, SG. 20 Mahjong boards. Achievements, although not many. 40 of those lovely challenging humming birds to collect, plus 32 pieces of a Mayan calendar, and 40 beyond objects. Which were hard enough to find that I only got 2/3 of them. The main story ends well enough, although they did a line that makes it clear there’s more to be said.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS

This is a great, fun, entertaining game, and I enjoyed playing this and the first Mayan Prophesies back to back immensely satisfying.

I recommend this game!

CE vs. SE - Bonus Content Analysis ****

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME

JUST IMPRESSIONS (For full review of game/s please read my CE review)

This is a great sequel to the first Mayan Prophecies. It begins exactly where the earlier game finished and gives us another chance at appeasing Mayan gods. The story is entertaining enough to keep you interested through several hours of play.

The look of the game is better than in the first, with the same tropical greenery but with multi-hued contrasts. The volcanic eruptions are spectacular, TOTALLY real. Other touches I liked included the volcanic ashes fluttering about in the air. Another thing I noticed and appreciated was that the ‘junk piles’ needed for the HOPs often had to be created by the game play. For example, dropping a load from a crane.

BONUS CONTENT ANALYSIS

There are some wonderful features in this game. Sorting out which ones are CE exclusive is a bit tricky. It includes:

*Bonus chapter follows on from the point where the main story ended. It is not necessary for closure. Bonus chapter is longer than most, and is quite interesting. It doesn’t feel ‘tacked’ on, and includes a lot of new material. The achievements and collectibles continue through to the end.
*Strategy guide – didn’t really need it except for a couple of puzzles.
*20 Mahjong boards – playable ones, with real designs and minimum flash like powerups.
*Gallery includes wallpaper, concept art, movies (of all those wonderful volcanoes), screensavers and music.
*40 collectible hummingbirds, which must be brought into existence by activating an artifact or totem in each location.
*40 beyond objects (morphing).

*32 pieces of a Mayan calendar, which is NOT a CE exclusive and reveal the backstory.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

I loved having so much to do in each location, even though I almost never get the collecting achievements, I do enjoy coming across them whenever I can. Also I love the mahjong from the first game and can now enjoy these boards as well. So, personally, I am glad I bought the CE.