The Clockwork Man 2: The Hidden World

The Clockwork Man 2: The Hidden World
by: Total Eclipse

Series threads: The Clockwork Man, The Clockwork Man 2: The Hidden World

Available at:
Total Eclipse Standard Edition & Ultimate Edition for PC and Mac
Big Fish for PC and Mac
GameHouse Premium Edition / Standard Edition



Gear up for a fantastically unique journey in The Clockwork Man - The Hidden World, the gorgeous follow-up to the sensational and challenging
Hidden Object/Adventure hit.

Two years after her courageous exploits in New Coventry, Miranda Calomy finds herself embroiled in a fresh adventure after discovering a mysterious obsidian object. A mundane day of studying at the Steamworks Academy ends up being the beginning of a quest to find a mythical place: The Hidden World. Armed with her incessant thirst for knowledge and the excessive amounts of wanderlust that run in her family, Miranda embarks on her journey but she is not alone. Doggedly chasing her every step of the way, an unknown menace will do anything in his power to discover the legend for his own benefits.

Join Miranda and her robotic friend, Sprocket, in this amazing journey through a parallel Victorian universe where steam fuels technology. Use your intellect to solve unique and exciting puzzles. Interact with colorful characters to advance your quest as you search for magnificent, detailed objects in innovative horizontal/vertical scrolling and zoom-able scenes. Call on Sprocket's upgraded abilities for help and explore breathtaking, hand-painted environments so that you may discover for yourself the land of legends: the Hidden World!

Critics and fans alike applauded the first Clockwork Man, calling it "nothing short of breathtaking on almost every front" where "the story and setting are exquisitely presented and the game itself a true joy to experience". The Clockwork Man - The Hidden World is certain to exceed those expectations with full voice-over, exceptional music, and gorgeous scenery. See for yourself when you try the free trial version or download the full-unlimited version of The Clockwork Man - The Hidden World today!

• Voyage through a Victorian Universe where advanced technology
  powered by steam exists in this incredible Hidden Object adventure!
  
• Immerse yourself in the dreamy, uncharted landscapes of the Hidden
  World with full voice-over, exceptional music, and gorgeous scenery.
  

Click images to enlarge

Clockwork Man 2: The Hidden World (Adventure-IHOG)
Based upon the Ultimate Edition purchased at Total Eclipse, October, 2010:

The game is set in a fanciful Victorian-era, steam-powered world. Amazing machines from the artists' imaginations have been brought to life in complex and beautiful detail. The artwork is colorful and rich, featuring hand-painted items and scenes to take your breath away.

The Game Guide:

I purchased the Ultimate Edition of this game from the developer, which includes the best Game Guide I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. The layout, the content, the ease of access... everything about it made me absolutely thrilled that I had bought the Ultimate Edition - and I hadn't even looked at the game yet! The game guide is not integrated into the game, but I don't see how it could have been - it is not just your straightforward walkthrough, it is a very detailed guide with easy navigation and a LOT of content. The walkthrough is just the beginning, there is also concept art (fascinating), wallpapers, maps, extra story, background on characters, and my favorite - the full soundtrack for the game. The music can be easily accessed and played within the guide, and the whole of it can be saved onto your hard drive with a single click. The guide even includes video walkthroughs of tough areas in case you need the extra help.

The Game:

You can access not only the usual player, options, etc. on the main page, but also Cut-scenes and Credits. I absolutely love having the ability to really view these things any time I wish (although you have to unlock the cut-scenes).

Options include FOUR slider bars for sound: Music, Sound, Ambience and
Voice Volume. There is an option for Full-screen/Windows and you can toggle the Tutorial on and off from the options menu, as well.

The game itself starts with a dramatic stillness, using only voice and text. This progresses to a cut-scene (still voiced) and back again. All of this is skippable (though you can't click through it - watch it or skip it), but you will be missing out on a rich and immersive story if you just skip through them. The voice acting is compelling and the characters diverse. Some made me actually laugh out loud, whilst others made me scowl with irritation. It takes a well-told story to evoke such emotions, and this game definitely has a good one.

I haven't even gotten to gameplay yet, have I? :: Ahh, there is just so much to see! This is not your usual hidden object game. This is a hidden object game with depth. I'm not just talking figuratively, but literally as well. This game incorporates multiple layers with scrolling scenes to create the illusion of actually moving about in the scenes, not just viewing them. Not only are there scrolling scenes, but ZOOM-able scenes, as well, adding even more depth. Scrolling and zooming are explained within the game, making these aspects of the game intuitive and easy to get the hang of. Not all scenes scroll/zoom, and
the game will let you know when you have a "static" (non-moving) scene.

HINTS are given to you by Sprocket, your cute robot companion. As you progress through the game, Sprocket will gain upgrades, which will allow you new kinds of hints. Each kind of hint has it's own refillable meter, so if you use the Advanced Object Locator, you can still use the Hint button (for the adventure portion of the game) without having to wait (assuming that both gadgets are fully filled when you try.)

Your inventory is kept in an auto-hiding bar at the top of the screen, while the find-the-items list auto-hides at the bottom. Changing locations is done via map. Sometimes you just don't know what to do, but that is what your task list is for. You also have an extensive journal to add even more story to the game. If all else fails, there is always the Game Guide!

There is no mis-click penalty.

Have I mentioned the artwork? And the soundtrack? In my opinion they are equally beautiful, dramatic, compelling and appropriate to what the creators are trying to accomplish - Rife with color, beauty and intrigue, the music and artwork twine together along with the voice acting and storyline to create a truly immersive world.

It is evident that the developers lovingly crafted this game, adding innovative game design and inventive hints to a stellar art team, great voice-actors, talented musicians and a compelling story. Absolute thumbs up for this game.

What A Shame!  
 

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME

This game has so much going for it. The story is fun and easy to follow (although the time jumps make it more confusing than it ought to be), the graphics are delightful, the characters are lovable.

Your robot companion has three ways of helping you with different hint styles. All of which recharge separately. The voice over is good, ambient sound fine. The HO scenes are well put together, puzzles challenging. It also has one of my favourite features: scrollable screens.

Now for the reasons I don't like this game.

There really aren't that many HO scenes in this game. Most of the time is spent travelling between two or three scenes to pick up one item. This is not picking up after a HO scene or puzzle; this is literally going back to a scene to find one thing then having to move on. And I mean two or three scenes literally too. You never have access to more than that at once.

You’d think that would at least appeal to beginners, right? Nope! Despite the monotony it was annoyingly finicky monotony that I don’t think would help newcomers at all.

This boring and repetitious gameplay totally spoiled the game for me. I wish it were a better game – so much good work has obviously been put in.

I don't recommend this game!

It's not my favorite game, but the attention that went into making it and the beauty of it were primary in my thoughts whilst writing the review.  Couple that with the fact that one of the devs was spending a lot of time with us giving us extra information, too