Letters From Nowhere 1 (HOG)

Letters From Nowhere
by Awem - 2010

Series links:  Letters From Nowhere 1, Letters From Nowhere 2
or get both games in a bundle -- check HERE for details

Available at: 
Awem
Alawar
Big Fish for PC / Mac
GameHouse
iWin



Help Audrey find her missing husband! After disappearing mysteriously, the only clue left behind are the Letters from Nowhere! Dramatic and captivating story, heaps of mysterious letters, tons of Hidden Objects and much more await you in this captivating game. Meet eccentric characters, explore enigmatic locations, and find important clues in Letters from Nowhere!

• Follow the mystery of a missing husband in this engaging Hidden Object search.
  
• Explore 30 enigmatic scenes including an old cemetery and a provincial town.
  
• Use four special help tools to find objects and clues.
  
• Challenge a variety of simple, yet puzzling mini-games.
  
• Unlock a second Unlimited mode playing a secondary quest.
  
• Walkthrough (Big Fish)
  

Click images to enlarge
__

Quality HO Game With Fun Features    
    

BASED ON COMPLETED GAMES

If you like the Golden Trails series (by same developer), I believe you’ll love this one and its sequel too, although they are quite different. This game brings together high production qualities and unique gameplay.

Like all pure HO games, there is little else to it, with just a puzzle within the HO scene once per episode (chapter). There is only a sketch of the story, although it is well integrated into the game process.

The graphics quality is wonderful, particularly for a game that is almost 4 years old.  Aspect ratio is retained, using a panel wallpaper on widescreen.  The HO scenes are well lit and extraordinarily clear, but some of them are tricky to find, as they are partially hidden. The VO of our heroine is very well done, and what little bit of music and sound there is, is apt. The music is ethereal, very pleasant and relaxing. There also isn’t much animation, but it’s good.

GAMEPLAY

Being a pure HOG, there are no inventory items and nothing for us to do between scenes, so movement is through the map. There is a total of 25 scenes, each visited 3 times, but integrated into the story and spaced out enough to keep it from becoming repetitious. We are kept very busy in these scenes, with the following available actions.

*A list of 12 items to be found. Some of these will be hidden, or require interaction, but only the in-scene puzzles are indicated.
*In some scenes, a letter needs to be found, which will progress the story.
*In each scene, there are 3 stamps to collect. Collect 50/75 to unlock unlimited mode.
*We accumulate points and trophies for speed and accuracy, among other things, including achievements in unlimited mode.

There are also bonus items we can ‘buy’ (with points) to help. After buying them, they will be added to the HO scene, but we will still have to find them to use them.

*Thermometer -  indicates “hot vs. cold” spots in the scene for a time.
*Surprise – a mystery bonus, e.g. 10 000 bonus points.
*Camera – a brief flash of the scene with all the remaining items highlighted.
*Palette – the list is transformed into a series of pictures of the remaining items.

I’m not usually much of a fan of pure HO and generally only play them for my mother’s sake, but of the HOGs out there, I’d much prefer to play this series and Golden Trails than any others I’ve played. They are well made, unique, a little mysterious, and just plain fun.

The only major issue I have with this game is that it ends with “to be continued”, but as a bundle pack, these two games are excellent value.

I Recommend This Game!