Mystery Valley (Adventure/IHOG)
*NOTE: This review is based on the UPDATED version of the game, dated November 9, 2010
Options include Custom Cursor, Wide-screeen, Full-screen and separate sliders for Music and Sound.
There is a (skippable) cut-scene that starts the game, which pauses... and becomes a bleak and dramatic movie for a bit. Beautifully done, that, beautiful!
There are to difficulty modes: Normal and Advanced, both of which are described clearly before you choose. Glory day! If you decide you want to switch modes, you can do so at any time via the options menu! Love that!
There is a misclick penalty, but it takes a bit of clicking before it comes up (and it's short, which is nice). HINTS are refillable and fill at a moderate rate.
You have a journal/diary which keeps you up-to-date on things and also gives you small hints. Throughout the demo, I have seen no misspellings or grammar issues (the devs must've done a good job on that update!)
Tasks and mini-games make sense and are pertinent to the story. The mini-games are SKIPPABLE, and there is a bit of interaction on the hidden object scenes. For instance, you may need to find a "cut apple", but you only see a whole apple. Find the knife and use it on the apple so that you can select the "cut apple".
The hidden object scenes have a refilling list (when you click an item, a new item may appear on the list) with 10 items showing. Something I like is that there is no confusion on how many items to find on any given scene - on the left of the list is a gauge that shows you have many items are left to find. ie. 12/15 (12 items left to go of 15-total items). The adventure portions of the game are a bit dark, but the hidden object scenes are quite clear - no squinting for me! There are some oddly placed items, but not blatantly so - most items are placed in logical places, so it looks pretty natural.
The music is environmental and suits the game very nicely. The graphics are not at all what I was expecting. They are very spooky, and though they seem almost grainy at times, it is a nice art style and I like them very much. The "graininess" is not at all distracting to me, and may not be to you, either - definitely give it a try for yourself before making any decisions!
The adventure and the story is the primary thrust of the game, and the hidden object scenes (as mentioned), interactive, as well. I like the story very much, I like the art, I like the music, I like the options... I think the only thing missing is a brightness control, which isn't really necessary here, just something I like to have.
This game is a buy for me :thumb:
Follow-up:There is a game-halting glitch late in the game. When you get to a place where there are colored potions and wood for a fireplace,
STOP! You MUST do this sequence in a certain order, or you'll have to start the game over!
From
Big Fish's walkthrough:
- Spoiler:
- Zoom into the pedestal (G) on the left to view the alchemy book. The
books states: “If metal is your problem, do not think twice. Mix red
and green and it will melt like ice. A handwritten note says that I
should distill a green and a red liquid.”
- Go towards the bookcase; take the RED LIQUID (H) in the top shelf.
- Exit the zoom scene.
- Head right.
- Place the YELLOW LIQUID (1) on the BLUE TEST TUBE to obtain the GREEN LIQUID.
- Take the GREEN LIQUID (2).
- Place the RED LIQUID and GREEN LIQUID on the distiller and the liquid will turn purple (3).
- Place the FIREWOOD below the distiller.
- Place the TORCH on the FIREWOOD (you need more firewood).
- Put the FAUCET on the pipe on left (4).
- Place the FLASK over the faucet to fill it with water and it will automatically land on the table (5).
- Click down 4 times.
- Click on the sparkly area in the lower right to search for 9 logs.
- FIREWOOD will be added to inventory.
- Return to the distiller.
- Place the FIREWOOD below the distiller.
- Place the TORCH on the firewood; take the ACID (A).
OK, once you have the acid, you should be good. SHOULD be - I never have re-played the game to make sure! I will at some point, definitely, for (glitch aside) it IS a good game