Mexicana: Deadly Holiday

Mexicana: Deadly Holiday
by Happy Artist / Alawar - January, 2014

Available at:
Alawar
Big Fish
GameHouse
iWin



The Day of the Dead provides a stunning backdrop for a thrilling supernatural adventure in Mexicana: Deadly Holiday! Featuring visuals and music inspired by the Land of Enchantment, Mexicana is packed with thrills unlike any you have experienced!

Dia de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, provides a stunning backdrop for a thrilling supernatural adventure in Mexicana: Deadly Holiday! Guide a young woman as she sets off on a desperate search for her fiancé amidst the annual celebration in Mexico. Moments after a spectral figure kidnaps her beloved during a card reading, she begins her journey to the afterworld, where demons will plot her demise and ancients gods will lend her a helping hand. As you travel through a stunning fiery wasteland on your way to a realm of peace and tranquility, you'll search for cleverly hidden objects, solve skillfully designed puzzles, and crack dozens of devious mini-games. Along the way, you'll slowly unfold the astonishing truth of who the young woman really is. Set in a captivating world, and featuring visuals and music inspired by the Land of Enchantment, Mexicana: Deadly Holidays is packed with thrills unlike any you have experienced!

• A supernatural love story
  
• Jaw-dropping worlds to explore
  
• Music inspired by Mexican culture
  
• Learn-as-you-play tutorial
  
• Unlimited hints and tips
  

Click images to enlarge
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Developer:  Happy Artist

Pauper’s Calavera!
 
  

BASED ON DEMO

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
At first, the obvious rip off of Calavera: Day Of The Dead annoyed me so much I couldn’t get into this game. I mean, the exact same story – fiancé/e kidnapped on the Day of the Dead and a journey into the afterworld to rescue him/her!  Outrageous. And by comparison, this one just doesn’t have a ghost of a chance. But it grew on me a little.

SIGHTS & SOUNDS
This game’s graphics are very bright and colourful, a little too light for me, I like a fuller colour. Very cartoonish. But nicely done, just not on a par with the mega-games of 2013. The music is a big plus for the game, ethnically appropriate, and tuneful and lively. There is, in both the sights and the sounds, a hint of the humour found in Calavera.

There are no voiceovers, this is a low budget game, but the dialogues do not interfere too much with the action. Voiceovers would have been much better though.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?
As I said, kidnapped fiancé, the need to cross over to the world of the dead to rescue him. In this story, the fortune teller helps you concoct the magic potion and complete the ritual required to make the journey. There we meet lots of specific characters belonging to the myths and traditions of the Day of the Dead.

The approach to the characters is odd. Each time they appear a scene appears with a poster-like look to it with the creature’s image and name.

GAMEPLAY
Again, the game is low budget, so there is not much new here. There are progressive silhouettes and interactive word list HOPs, and an assortment of others, including some carnival ones, and some casino games. These are played too slowly, detract from the game because of it, and are just time fillers as far as I could see. A lot of the game so far has been the kind that includes recipes and spells and finding lots of ingredients.

The most noteworthy feature of this game is the map of the world of the dead. It is flabbergasting. I have no idea how it works – but it does. I have no idea how to use it – but I did. It is beautiful, original, and sufficiently interesting to me that I will buy this game in order to study it more closely. You have to admit, that must be some map! It does show you the places you can go, but I could never describe adequately.  There is also the directional hint and journal to help.

The most annoying thing about this game is that when you enter a close-up window, you cannot back out, you must close it by clicking on the x in the top right corner. VERY irritating.

COMBINED IMPACT
A lesser quality game that is a rip off a better one, but which has a quirky bent and some interesting ways of doing things that make it worth it for novelty value.

I Recommend This Game!