The Legend of Crystal Valley (Adventure)
Before I begin, a note: Although this is a game in the casual market, it is still a true adventure game. This means that all saves must be done manually.
SAVE OFTEN! You cannot die, but if - for instance - your power goes out, you will lose all progress!
If you click on the 'Help' button on the game's main page, you will get a html popup on your browser (in this case a good thing) that shows you a TON of information about the game. Everything from the need to save often (as mentioned
) to game controls to shortcut keys, etc. Awesome information! I will quote a bit of the guide here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inventory: Your inventory is the collection of all the objects that Eve acquires on her journey.
Magic: Displays the spells Eve has learned in her travels.
Diary: View every discussion Eve has had with characters in Legend of Crystal Valley.
Save Game: Save your game progress in an available save slot.
Load Game: Load a previously saved game file to start from that point.
Menu: Open the in-game menu.
Close: Close the Inventory window and return to the game screen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It may see like a lot of information, if you're used to playing IHOG's, but no worries - there is a tutorial, and it's not as complex as it might seem. The
tutorial is optional for those who've played before and/or are used to this kind of game.
There are too many options to list (under 'Settings') but I will say that you have two categories that you can adjust: Audio and Video. The game supports desktops from 800x600 to 1440x900 pixels - very nice!
In this game you control the protagonist, Eve. A little trick you might not know if you didn't look at the tutorial is that you can make Eve walk faster (very fast!) by holding down the space bar. Beware, though - hitting the space bar will also skip dialogue and cutscenes.
The main goal of this kind of game is to explore everything. Mouse-over anything that might be of even the slightest interest, and watch for the cursor to change. Pick up anything you can, and experiment as much as possible. Above all else, don't forget to save! You won't find any sparkles, nor are there any HINTS, so you really need to watch that cursor. You can always fall back to the walkthrough (link in the first post) if needed
If ever you are stuck with your inventory open, "holding" an inventory item, or reading something, simply right-click to return to regular gameplay. You can also right-click during regular gameplay to enter your inventory.
Double-click on a magic spell to cast it upon yourself.
The gameplay is fairly straightforward, and the mini-games few, making this a good beginner's adventure game. I found the story to be interesting, especially since it was so unpredictable. Be aware that the 3D graphics are quite outdated by today's standards, and waiting for Eve to walk somewhere can be annoying... Just hold down the space bar, and it's much less of an issue
The game took me about four hours to complete, and I enjoyed seeing where the story would lead me. The ending is kind of a "you decide" affair, but that can be good or bad, depending on your perspective.
A good beginner's adventure, I enjoyed it
