Grim Tales 6: The Vengeance

Grim Tales: The Vengeance
by Elephant Games - May, 2014

Series links:  Grim Tales 1: The Bride, Grim Tales 2: The Legacy, Grim Tales 3: The Wishes, Grim Tales 4: The Stone Queen, Grim Tales 5: Bloody Mary, Grim Tales 6: The Vengeance, Grim Tales 7: Color of Fright, Grim Tales 8: The Final Suspect, Grim Tales 9: Threads of Destiny, Grim Tales 10: The Heir, Grim Tales 11: Crimson Hollow, Grim Tales 12: Graywitch, Grim Tales 13: The White Lady

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



You’ve been summoned to court to provide testimony in a trial against your nephew James, who stands accused of murdering his sister. By using your power to learn an object’s history simply by touching it, you must examine evidence from the crime scene to determine what really happened to Elizabeth. Can you prove James innocent and find the real killer? As you explore the family mansion, a dark force is trying to cover up the truth! Watch your step, or you could be next! Follow the trail and crack the case in this thrilling hidden-object puzzle adventure game!

The Collector’s Edition includes:

• Bonus chapter featuring a new story!
  
• Gather evidence to present at court!
  
• Collect figures for more story info
  
• Use the available Strategy Guide
  
• Get soundtracks, concept art, and wallpapers
  

For the Standard Edition

• Walkthrough
  
• Strategy Guide (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge
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Grim Tales 6: The Vengeance
Collector’s Edition

Release Date: 2014
Developer: Elephant Games

There’s Just No Excuse...****

BASED ON DEMO

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
For what Elephant have done to the beset Gray family this time. They’ve gratuitously changed the names in utterly ridiculous ways! And without any cause I can fathom. It really is quite unforgivable. Luckily, they have introduced a new dimension to the story – now we are not the only one who can travel back in time to significant events in a person’s lifetime.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS
As you’d expect from Elephant, the artwork in this game is brilliant. The style is beautiful, colourful, detailed. The Dobermans are way scary, and the creep behind them is ominous too. The voiceovers and acting are both excellent. Ambient sounds of a courtroom are pretty unnerving – all this shuffling and coughing, everything waiting on my ability to ‘read’ personal objects. Much of the music, though, really bugs me. Too loud and jarring. I am normally a person who finds music essential to the gaming experience, but in this case I think I’d rather silence. It is not for the whole game, though, and the rest of the quieter music is actually soothing and pleasant. There are 4 sliders for altering sound, plus gamma, and the usual mix.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?
Well, see, here’s where I get cranky. The “McGray” (previously known as the Gray) family is now minus my sister and her husband (remember, the first game, all those years ago, started with their wedding), who have died unceremoniously and left a will that leaves the entire estate to Elizabeth – reasons unknown. Even worse, Elizabeth is now also dead and our dear nephew James is accused of her murder! We, as Aunt Gray (what? My sis married into the Gray family, not me), are subpoenaed to give evidence to the court, based on our ability to use important objects as a kind of doorway to significant events in the past.

After finding an old photograph of the Black Rock (wasn’t it Black Lock?) mansion, we are transported back to a moment sometime before our niece’s death, to find James looking exceedingly angry and threatening Elizabeth. While they remain suspended in time, we must seek evidence of James’ innocence to show the judge. But we are not alone. Impossibly, something or someone is moving it this normally frozen environment. And it is getting nasty.

One thing I dislike about this game is that there is a confusing and contradictory back story to go with all this, with family trees and so forth, all delivered in an amazing assortment of media, that could have made the backstory interesting and involving. Again, why couldn’t they just stick to what we know and build from there?

GAMEPLAY
Standard Grim Tales fare. Each location has an interactive word list HOP, as well as a puzzle/mini-game here and there. Nothing too demanding, and usually nicely integrated and imaginative. The adventure component is also not too difficult, and there is a teleporting hint system, as well as the interactive jump map. The map shows where they are active objectives, but also where there are none. The action flows nicely, but there is a lot of to and fro even this early into the game, so that map really is necessary. There is no notebook. The demo lasts for 2 out of 6 chapters.

The inventory is lockable, and there are items which can be combined in it. There is no journal, and there are only 3 levels of difficulty. The unique elements in the game play are the evidence items you must bring back from each excursion into the past. There are 5 items that must be found, and each has a story attached to it that may affect the judgement on James. These are indicated along the right side of the monitor and are separate from any other searches. That doesn’t explain how different this method of investigating is – you really need to have a go at it.

CE BLING!
There are two types of collectible. There are 13 figurines, each with a story attached, and in groups of two or three, a film reel is played, giving further information. I played the beta for this game, where there are also 35 morphing objects and I didn’t find any in the demo. There are 10 achievements, based on performance.

The gallery has 9 wallpapers, including the Dobermans, 8 saveable concept art, 5 music tracks, and a screensaver of the beautiful waterfall.

COMBINED IMPACT
Grim Tales has always been a simpler series of games than most of the other Elephant games, and this one ought to be too. The mechanism of testifying in court as a method of structuring the flashbacks is great, but all the changes, differences and contradictions that are to be found in this game spoilt it quite a bit for me.

Certainly not one of their best games, not a world beater, but a good game, if you can ignore these story-related issues.

I recommend this game!

They seem to change the family more and more, with each game.   

LOL !!!!  You're not kidding.  I was so confused.  Either make it a new family, or keep the old one.  Geeez.   

Sooo drove me nuts! What we need is a good esme rant to smooth down our feathers - but we'll have to conspire against her to get to even play the game lol. You know, she's not too keen on inconsistencies!   

  

Since there are no stupid underwater lizard people who defy the laws of physics (I assume) I will give it a try. This series is so dunder-headed that I almost relish their shenanigans. 

Almost.  


ETA: I am going to assume (dangerous, I know) that not playing #4 in this series will in no way inhibit my misunderstanding of this game.  

Actually, it might help, esme. It was a battle to incorporate its deviations from reality on such a scale, stupid underwater people would feel right at home!  

I say all this, mind you, despite having loved the game!   

Just wanted to be sure that no one misses Esme's Ranting Spoiler Thread for this game   Oh sure, we all know right where it is NOW, but with this handy dandy link, anyone who comes in to the forum later will easily be able to find it~