poor quality REVIEW: Very disappointing...The ending was entirely corny. There were too many sketched comic book scenes that made this game seem less of an actual adventure game and more like a cartoon. Parts of it were fun (looking for stuff) and the graphics were fairly nice. The dialogues were sometimes mundane. Being a big fan of the Nancy Drew game series (I have all of them), The Hardy Boys game was much like ND's Game #1, not quite "there" and let's hope the next game comes out with some quality, if there IS another one in the works.
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TECHNICAL: I had no problems with running the game, and did not need the video patch. Am running XP SP2. The voices had problems though, fading in places, as if they cut out the original dialogue and did a voice-over at the wrong sound level. I found myself having to adjust the volume quite a bit, both up and down.
You are in the middle of a civil war in ancient Egypt, pitting Cleopatra's supporters against those of her brother and husband, Ptolemy, who is ravaging the country. In the midst of all this, you are a young apprentice to Akkad, Cleopatra's chief astrologist and astronomist and you fall in love with your master's daughter. But one day, you discover that both of them have been kidnapped. You learn from Cleopatra that he has a prophecy that holds the fate of Egypt. You set out on their trail through the ruins of Egypt, including such legendary sites as the Library of Alexandria and the Lighthouse, all while meeting a whole host of mysterious characters. Can you save Egypt and its Queen, too?
Numerous character interactions
REVIEW
Riddle of the Tomb This is a traditional point-n-click adventure set in Egypt at the time of Cleopatra. The game comes on one DVD which has to remain in the drive during play.
You play in first person as Thomas, an apprentice astrologer. You find your girl, Iris, and her father, Akkad, have disappeared. The object of the game is to find out what happened and why and track them down.
Control is mouse only.
Graphics are good standard, with flowing water. The game is in 3D.
Ambient sounds are well done. Voice acting merely so-so. Lines seemed rushed on several occasions. The story kept me interested even if the characters didn't.
Puzzles are mainly inventory based though there are some logic puzzles. All are well integrated into the Egypt of the time. I managed to complete the game without resorting to a walkthrough, so they are on the easy side of difficult. Solving the puzzles gave a cut scene, nicely done.
Game length was disappointing. There are three venues, Akkad's garden, Royal library and Alexandria lighthouse. There are a couple of brief visits to Cleopatra's palace, but no significant gaming actiontakes place there. There is a system of choosing astrological sign which tailors the puzzles as easier or harder. In practice there is not much difference. The puzzles remain almost the same as does the length of the game. I estimate roughly 18 hours game play if you are as slow on the uptake as I am.
The game ran without problems on an older computer system. I liked what I saw, but wanted more for the price.
Enjoy five classic adventure games from The Adventure Company in one package, a must-have for any adventure gaming fan! ESRB Rated T for Teen ( Keepsake = E for Everyone )
REVIEW
Game by game It's easier to review the games one by one. I have not played Dead Reefs because the reviews say it's buggier than an entymologist's den. Disregard the ratings above because I would rate each game so differently. Also, I would buy it again, if only for two of the games.
1. Keepsake: The visuals were gorgeous; the puzzles were interesting, with a few of the usual puzzles thrown in. The storyline was stupid. We're in a school of magic! Wizards, dragons, you know! Could we have a little action, please? How about a real bad guys? And frankly, Celeste got on my nerves.
2. Return to Mysterious Island: Visually okay, but I really, really loved loved loved the fact that puzzles had more than one solution. I playedit twice just to try things differently. I've always hated the fact that you can be standing over a bomb, needing the wire cutters, and going to die because you only have a pair of scissors. In real life, you wreck the scissors, get a little shock, and live. Story line was a little thinner than usual, but the flexibility of the game made it one of my favorites in this pack. Only one pixel hunt I can think of.
3. Nibiru: This game reminds me of Eastern European films: Grim, humorless, inflexible, and giving me a lot less agency than I am used to. Not a coincidence--it's based on an Eastern European game. Too much walk and talk. Storyline could have been interesting, if it didn't insist on being so noir. At least it wasn't buggy. It was beautiful, though. Points for using Nazis without falling into sterotypes.
4. Tunguska--we enjoyed this one. Humor, action, and a great button. You push on it and you can see all the "hot spots" on the screen. No more pixel hunting. Good storyline. We await the sequel. I think if you like Broken Sword, you'll like Tunguska.
Dracula: Origin reveals the origins of the Dracula curse - that of a man tortured by the loss of a woman he held more precious than anything. He was offended because she would rather kill herself than give in to him. Slowly, the thirst for vengeance has done its work, turning the ardent defender of Christianity into a hardened servant of the Demon. Dracula begins celebrating terrifying satanic masses involving terrible atrocities. He was still alive, still human, until the day he drank his rival's blood and then made a pact, sealed for alleternity, which made him the first vampire. Take on the role of Professor Van Helsing, who is chasing down Dracula. The storyline will bring you to London, Egypt, Austria and of course Transylvania, the vampire's famous residence. Dracula himself is also on a quest for a mysterious manuscript that will give him the power to raise the dead. Prevent Dracula from finding and using this manuscript, and kill him. You'll liberate the souls of all those who have had the misfortune to cross his path.
Using conventional point and click gameplay, impeccable graphics and a rich storyline, you are led to London, Egypt, Austria, and of course, to Transylvania, in the famous castle of the great vampire. With a subtle combination of 2D environments and animated 3D characters, the game faithfully reproduces the world imagined by the celebrated author Bram Stoker, with all its associated motifs (horror, love, blood, crucifixes, stakes, garlic, etc.), in a disturbing, finely-realized and absorbing Gothic atmosphere.
Faithfully reproduces the world imagined by Bram Stoker in a disturbing Gothic atmosphere
REVIEW
Don't miss this game! I have read a few reviews about Dracula: Origin on other sites that simply don't do this game justice. From beautifully constructed and colored screens to good voice acting to haunting original music - this adventure gives everything to you and more. The adventure game genre seems to have taken a back seat lately to first person combat shooters and hack and slash bloodfests, but I really think Frogwares (the creators of the recent Sherlock Holmes series including The Silver Earring, The Awakened, and Nemesis) is making a valliant effort toward rejuvinating this part of the industry. Do yourself a favor and don't miss this game!
Amazon.comPC gamers, get ready for the next great Experience in Action and Adventure with The Experiment. Over sweeping cliffs and across scenic coastlines, this innovative shared adventure begins in the bowels of an old, dilapidated ship grounded ashore. Mysteriously, you find yourself in the ship’s operations room faced with a highly advanced panel of controls, surveillance monitors, and a wide array of sophisticated technology. As you scan the monitors frantically searching for answers to what this place is and why you are there, the only signs of life you have come across are a series of strange, curiously hard to identify animals, but then you see her; a woman.
Help Yourself by Helping Her Professor Lea Nichols is a research scientist in her thirties and could be described as beautiful if the strain of her situation wasn’t so etched into her features. As hard as you try you are unable to communicate with her, but it is clear she is being held captive by someone or something and wants help. The problem is, apparently you too are being held prisoner by an unseen captor. Soon you come to realize that the only way to escape is to help one another. But how and why is it that control over both your fates seems has been placed into your hands?Use the Tools You Have If you can discover a way to use the few tools tools you’ve been given (the surveillance system, an Intranet and other technologies) to Watch, Communicate, Search and eventually Take Control, you may both have a chance at escape. But remember that things are not always as they appear, even in the most controlled of experiments.Full Features:
Unlock a powerful story revealed through vivid flashbacks and shocking plot twists.
Each character has independent attitudes, notions, and fears requiring you to build trust with the other character and overcome human and environmental challenges.
As Lea’s extended eyes and ears, explore every corner of the eerie ship scouting the path ahead for unseen dangers and enemies.
Strategically employ high-tech surveillance equipment to solve ingenious puzzles including: the ship’s Intranet, full 3D rotation cameras, light intensifiers, heat detectors, thermal vision, and even cameras on remote control vehicles.
Screenshots
Explore the odd creatures. View larger.
Attempt to communicate. View larger.
Review character histories. View larger.
Utilize in-game monitors. View larger.
System Requirements:
Minimum Requirements:
OS:
Windows® Vista™/XP
Processor Speed:
1.5 GHz Pentium® 4, AMD® Athlon® or equivalent
RAM:
512 MB (1 GB for Vista) or more
Video:
MB Graphics Card, Supporting Vertex and Pixel Shader 1.1, Compatible with DirectX® 9.0c
Hard Disk Space:
1.4 GB of Free Space
REVIEW
I also wish I could play this game The game would not play. After investigating on the company website I found my video card was not sufficient even though it met the requirements stated on the box. Check company website to see if your card will work.
Fux and relaxing I've played this about 6 times now but I do skip the puzzle area between the find the object levels. I find it very relaxing just looking at a pretty picture and finding objects. Nice change from being on edge and stressed playing other types of games.
Imagine you are Sherlock Holmes trying to catch a thief in late 19th century London. Arsene Lupin is a young French burglar who comes to town with one goal - defy Scotland Yard and Sherlock Holmes. Hewill steal five objects of great value in five days from famous sites around London. Throughout the game, you will meet more than 40 typical characters from the Victorian era who you can interact with, while uncovering hundreds of clues and objects, which you will need to use, and combine to complete your investigation. The handy game history reminds you at any time of the number of documents found, statements taken or events surrounding the story. Famous sites such as the British Museum, the National Gallery and even Buckingham Palace are faithfully reproduced down to the finest detail. Take a closer look at hundreds of works of art, objects, sculptures and paintings while listening to personal commentaries from Sherlock Holmes about the work.
Also known as Sherlock Holmes vs. Arsene LupinSystem Requirements Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista Processor - Pentium III 1.3 GHz or higher Memory - 512 MB RAM Graphics card - 64 MB DirectX 9 compatible Sound card - DirectX 9 compatible DVD-ROM - DVD 4x speed Hard disk space - 3 GB
REVIEW
a drag I got about half way through. I really enjoyed it up until this one point. I had to keep figuring out the same kind of thing over and over again. The fun was totally drained out of the game at this point. It was a burden.
I never finished it. I have these games for my enjoyment...not for tedious tasks that drag on and on and on and on.
I will read all the reviews of the next Sherlock Holmes before I buy another one. This game became SO bad that I did not finish it.
Secrets of Atlantis is a cinematic adventure filled with mystery and suspense, with hours of gameplay and numerous characters and puzzles to solve. Travel back in time for a gritty, film-noir adventure with a young engineer who stumbles across an amazing secret - and follows it around the world. It's 1937 and Howard Brooks is returning to New York from Germany by zeppelin, when he is attacked by occultists. After learning about these mysterious evil-doers, he finds he may be an heir to the lost city of Atlantis. Caught up by his past, Howard sets out on an adventure that leads him to fascinating locations around the world -- but his enemies lay in wait, having set a trap for him. Help Howard Brooks solve the mystery of his heritage and escape from these occult killers in time. High-quality cinematographic production - An atmosphere so captivating, you'll feel like you're really living the adventure
REVIEW
Secrets Of Atlantis - WOW! What a superb game. I enjoyed it from start tofinish.
The graphics, sound effects and music were very well done
as where the puzzles.
My favorites lactations were on the Hindenburg and in Macao.
The ending was great
Former Grand Inquisitor Leonardo and his assistant Bruno are sent by the Vatican to the isolated abbey to investigate the strange goings-on surrounding a carefully guarded secret. Yet hardly have they arrived when their quest is overshadowed by an attempt on their lives...
Murder in the Abbey is a mystery of cinematic proportions whose suspense goes far beyond that of a conventional adventure game!
REVIEW
Murder in the Abbey Review OK graphics. You have to talk a lot with the characters;pretty time consuming when doing that.
Solve another great adventure in Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring. At a reception organized in honor of his daughter, Melvyn Bromsby, a rich tycoon, is about to make an important announcement concerning his future business affairs when, all of a sudden, a shot rings out. Sir Bromsby collapses, having suffered a mortal wound to the heart. Use your impressive array of skills to solve this intriguing affair.
Windows XP / Me / 2000 / 98
REVIEW
Sherlock Holmes is smarter than you For ten dollars, what an excellent game! From the same voice-acting as Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened and Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis comes the case of the Silver Earring. Holmes and Watson, as in the two 'later' games are played quite well.
I wouldn't ruin the plot but will say this. Plenty of people die and it is up to Holmes to link Brazil, a pillow, cigarettes, a ball-room function, and a young woman's fortune together. Needless to say when the case is resolved, bravo if you figured out who the real culprits were on your own. I for one needed Holmes to explain it to me, using very small words.
Graphic Wise, the game is decent but the human characters are blocky and move like robots.
Music is limited and the later games were far better at including more period sounds.
Movement is a true pain, rather than by arrow key, you must use your mouse cursor to tell Holmes where to go. Normally I would not complain except several times there are cases where swift movement is key, and the game is dreadful at it. There is a situation involving guard dogs, and later a fire, which seems to be the main complaint from users I've found online, and rightfully so!
At the end of each segment, a quiz is given where you must answer questions and link them to evidence. A neat feature except thegame is exacting in which evidence you need to use. A few times, the testimony of another would have sufficed.
For ten dollars the game is interesting and not too challenging. The puzzles sadly revolve around little math games. Who does math for fun? If you do, do investigate the other games!
Like the other games you are more a witness to a movie than a real interacting detective. But that is not so bad. Watching Holmes work makes me feel like Watson. I see everything but observe nothing and am amazed by Holmes' conclusion at the end!
