Sea of Lies 1: Mutiny of the Heart

Sea of Lies: Mutiny of the Heart
by Eipix - August, 2013

Series links:  Sea of Lies 1: Mutiny of the Heart, Sea of Lies 2: Nemesis, Sea of Lies 3: Burning Coast, Sea of Lies 4: Tide of Treachery

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



A pirate’s been executed, and the Baron takes a hostage to ensure you’ll help him track down the treasure he left behind. Only it’s not the plunder he’s looking for…

Based on the true story of a famous pirate, Sea of Lies: Mutiny of the Heart takes you on a rollicking adventure as you track down a pirate’s treasure and find out what really happened between him and the Baroness.

The Collector’s Edition includes:

• Play the bonus game to discover the lovers’ secrets
  
• Get soundtracks, wallpapers, screensavers and concept art
  
• Try the available Strategy Guide
  

For the Standard Edition

• Walkthrough
  
• Strategy Guide (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge
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Collector's Edition

Another Great Nautical Adventure
 
    

BASED ON DEMO

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
There are so many of these lately, they practically constitute their own sub-genre! Not that I’m complaining, I love them all. This one starts off very low key, only becoming truly exciting ‘after the hanging’. But all the signs are there of another Eipix sensation.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS
Graphics are superb, although the cut scenes look kinda weird in texture, but I suspect that the inadequacy is in my graphics software rather than the game. There is plenty of rich colour and variety, and the incorporation of live actors (which I now recognise as Eipix team members!) into the visuals is exceptionally well done.

The music is delightful. Nautical and cheerful, very Caribbean. The voiceovers are nearly synced and chosen well. Ambient sounds, wonderful. Sound can really make a game an experience, so I appreciate the effort Eipix puts into them.

WHAT’S HAPPENING
We are a lady detective in an era when, in reality, that would not have been possible, but it is still fun. A pirate is hanged, throwing a necklace into the crowd and challenging them to find his treasure. The young boy who grabs it brings it to you.

Before we’ve had a chance to decipher its significance, we are summoned to the baron’s manor, where he hires us to find the treasure for him. To ensure our cooperation, he holds the young boy hostage. So we are off on a voyage that MUST succeed. The proceedings are complicated by the history of the baron, his wife and the pirate, so don’t expect smooth sailing!

MAKING PROGRESS
Mainly HO puzzles, with interactive lists, and a zoom-in HO scene with silhouettes inside each one. You can choose to play a Match 3 game instead - it is colourful and fun too. The few mini-games are easy and fun. The adventure tasks are helped by an interactive jump map, a directional hint that will transport you the next location if you are too far off base, a detailed journal and an objective list. Again, nothing too hard, but fun.

BLING!
CE extras include the standards, plus replayable HOs & mini-games, achievements and collectibles. These are pages from a code book that we will presumably need sometime, so I doubt that they’re exclusive to the CE.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Love it! Can’t wait to get back to it. What else can I say?..

I recommend this game!

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME

GAME SUMMARY
Loads to like about this game. Looks good, sounds good. Fun gameplay with lots HOPs and puzzles. Useful hint and map. Choice of difficulty. A story based on historical facts, that at times seems confused but is definitely intriguing. Pirate’s treasure, evil baron, a little romance, and of course, adventure on the high seas. You gotta love it. A couple of things I noted:

• VOs were synched to a portrait image of individual, while the person in the scene remained still.
• There were items which could be combined in inventory.
• It’s always nice to see a change in the weather.
• Each HOP had a mini-HOP with object outlines within it.
• The scroll holding the collectible pages stayed unravelled until you found the page in that scene.(CE only)

BONUS CONTENT REVIEW
      

In total, I must say I don’t think the bonus content lives up to the main game’s standards.

The main game finishes well enough, and if you didn’t know there might be more to the story in the exclusive chapter, I don’t think its ending would frustrate you. Yes, we go one step further, but the information isn’t vital. The bonus chapter lasted only 50 mins for me, which is less than my usual time.

The game area uses a couple of old scenes with minor changes and about 7 new ones. Likewise, there are some new HOPs using interactive list, and some old ones with object outlines only. The puzzles (about 4) were all new, but were considerably easier than the ones in the main game.

There are collectible pages of a code, which get entered into a book found in the achievements room, and at each stage of the alphabet a section of interesting trivia about this pirate’s true career is decoded. This was definitely fun. The achievements are not too interesting, almost all being fairly predictable.

The gallery includes: game wallpapers and pictures of the developer’s team having fun (which they seem very good at), movies, music, a ‘making of’ home movie (funny), and replayable HOPs and puzzles.

There is, of course, also a built-in Strategy Guide.

Would I buy the CE again? Probably not, because the bonus chapter was somewhat disappointing. As an SE, this is an incredibly good game and worth every cent!

Still recommend this game!

DELETED

Thanks for adding the info in the spoiler, Sporty!  I haven't played the game, so I'm not peeking, but I know I'll want to see what you posted once I do~!

Sea of Lies 1: Mutiny of the Heart (IHOG)

"This story is based on true historical events..."  Snake alert for those sensitive!

Options include separate sliders for Music, SFX and Voices, Full-screen, auto-widescreen and Custom Cursor.  Choice of Regular, Expert or Insane mode, which can be changed at any time.

Story:

A condemned man challenges a crowd of onlookers to find his hidden treasure, so confident that they will never find it that he even gives them a clue.  The Baron wants that pirate's plunder, and he has no problem extorting you, Madame Detective, to make sure that he gets it!


Our lovely Journal gives us a nice ongoing narrative of the story, including some extra tidbits to help make it more immersive.  The tale mostly unfolds through a series of cutscenes, so there's not a lot of reading.  There is also an Objectives list in the journal if you need it.

We have an amulet that is supposed to be a central part of the story, but I feel that it was pretty underutilized.  More than anything it was a way to re-watch a few of the cutscenes having to do with the 12 Labors of Hercules (which is important later in the story, but also not well-integrated, IMO.)

Sights and Sounds:

The first half of the game had this jaunty, fun music that made me feel like Captain Jack Sparrow could make an appearance at any time.  There are a LOT of music tracks in the game, but this one in particular stood out for me. ;D

The voice overs were well done, although they seemed a bit at odds with the young men that were pictured.  Still, they were fun, and I especially loved the smiling pirate.

There are some gorgeous graphics in the game, and I really enjoyed visiting all of the locations to see what kind of beauty I would behold next.


Gameplay:

Be on the lookout for collectible pieces of paper - one at each location.  The MAP can be interactive, and has instant-transport to open areas, but does not indicate where you might have missed a collectible.  Luckily, there is an indicator in your toolbar at the bottom right that will roll up (like a treasure map!) once you've found the paper at your current location.

Directional HINTS are available, and some of the inventory items are interactive.

Most of the Hidden Object Scenes find-by-list, but interactive in multiple ways:  Items that need to be combined, those hidden behind other objects, and then there will be one on each scene (indicated by the color green) that you'll need to zoom in on.  Once selected, you'll find maybe 10 items to find by silhouette before you can collect that object.

Ah-hah, but did I mention that you don't HAVE to play the hidden object scenes?  This is one of those games that offers you a chance to find all of the items by playing a Match-3 game, instead... or switch back-and-forth at your leisure!


The Mini-games were enjoyable, and one in particular had some beautiful artwork!

CE Content:

• Integrated Strategy Guide
  
• Bonus Chapter
  
• Collectible Papers
  
• In-game Achievements (There is also a book in the trophy room with some historical info in it)
  
• 8 Wallpapers (4 dimensions, from 800x600 to 1280x960)
  
• 20 Behind-the-scenes pics plus a Making-of Movie
  
• 29 Cutscenes
  
• 23 Mini-games
  
• 22 HOS
  
• 25 Music Tracks (can be saved to computer)
  

Bonus Chapter:

The extra chapter takes up right after the main game ends.  Although we left off in an OK spot, the bonus chronicles your trip home and what happens when you get there.  There are no collectibles during this portion.

This is where the gameplay abruptly changes.  There are a few scenes that are find-by-silhouette ONLY, and where you CANNOT switch to match-3.  The rest of the HOS are like those in the main game (where you can switch), but this departure was big enough that I thought it should be mentioned.

Verdict:

Call me a cynic, but I don't buy the way the story ended, nor the way the bonus wraps up.  I don't know how much of this was actually based on "true historical events", but at least there's a little bit of story in the trophy room that is based on fact! ;D

I was surprised to find that my total time in-game was less than 3.5 hours, but then, I played on the easiest mode, so that will have contributed to the short amount of time it took me to finish.  Despite my skepticism regarding the story, I had a lot of fun with this title.  I literally giggled a few times, and I really enjoyed the artwork.  Recommended to IHOG-lovers, those who like having an option BESIDES finding hidden objects (match-3), and those looking for a rollicking adventure on the high seas!