Mystery Case Files: Escape from Ravenhearst? Collector's Edition
3.6
5
815
815
Not worth buying as a CE, will be a good SE.
This is the first time I regret buying a CE here, especially since it's MCF series, that always make the additional money spent worth it. Not this time. It's a decent game, with few drawbacks, but more on that later. Right now let's compare the bonus in this one to the previous MCF bonus content (after all these are series that sets standards to what a bonus content should be for 2x the regular price):
Dire Grove and 13th Skull:
whole bonus gameplay with easter eggs and storyline, concept art, wallpapers, soundtrack, achievements, additional videos.
This one: none of the above (I'm not kidding). Bonus gameplay adds one more thing to do while opening the doors that lead to next chapters. That's all. Not to spoil anything, but basically when SE player will be able to just use the key, the CE player needs to find additional things. So no bonus storyline, the only extra "gameplay" is some tedious backtracking.
You can also look for morphing objects (yes, even more morphing objects) in the journal, to unlock another "bonus" - two hidden object scenes and one journal page (they take around 5min. to solve). That's all.
Few additional things to spot in the places where you go anyway and 2 short HO scenes.This is what is supposed to be worth 2x the regular price.
No concept art, no wallpapers, no additional storyline or easter eggs, no achievements, no soundtrack, basically no bonus in the bonus, except some backtracking.
Is it worth the additional money? No. Especially when compared to what the other two CEs had to offer and what they made me to expect from MCF's CE.
Is it a good game? I'd say it's decent. It was fun, I really enjoyed it. Not a big fan of MO scenes instead of HO, but it worked ok for me. But my eyesight is good. I dare say no people with poor eyesight will be able to enjoy this one.
One warning though - it's short. DR and 13th Skull are at least 5-10 hours long (depending on how you play, of course), even without counting the additional gameplay. This one took me less than 4 hours to complete. The beginning and first chapters are pretty long, but when you reach the last two, that should be intense and explain a lot, you literally get no more than 20mins of play until it's the end.
It could be the best MCF game, as the first 3 chapters are really great and twisted, but honestly it just seems rushed. It actually plays more like a beta than a finished game, that is supposed to set standards for the others.
Worth to play, but not worth the CE price.
November 24, 2011
Spare yourself this ordeal.....
??and don't spend your money on this nauseating experience !
I can absolutely not recommend this game.
I loved all MCF games so far, especially the recent "Dire Grove" and "13th Skull", and of course the original "Ravenhearst" - which is why this game is a huge disappointment.
Let's get to the few positive aspects first. The graphics are very good indeed, and - unfortunately - very rich in detail.
The strategy guide is very efficient, but you won't need it too often, since the puzzles are intricate, but not so hard that you'd despair over them. I also really liked the idea of the morphing object scenes - I thought it good fun to play a puzzle/hidden object game that doesn't leave you dizzy and with bloodshot eyes.
Even so, the object scenes and puzzles are few and far between.
For that matter, I can't understand how the game file came to be so enormous - there was more to do in "Dire Grove" and "13th Skull", and yet those games required half the space.
This game has no business taking up 1.2 GB.
Seems to me like a clever marketing trick.
Still, in the so called "Act 1", the game got off to a very good start.
But it didn't last?.
WARNING : AT THIS POINT SPOILERS ARE UNAVOIDABLE !
The game is promoted as an "intense psychological thriller that touches on deep fears - not for the young or faint of heart".
I'm neither young nor squeamish, and I have never heard such a load of tripe.
There's no psychology in it, and there is certainly nothing thrilling about it.
Actually, it is rather boring. As for the fears, I guess it depends on what you're afraid of.
The game forces the player to relive the life of the antagonist Charles Dalimar. That would work better if his life wasn't such a preposterous contrivance. At this point, there is nothing left of the cozy creepiness that made the first 2 installments fun. Instead, the developers are content to torment the player with one disgusting, vile image on top of the other. None of them are scary, but all of them are wildly annoying. Even the case report is full of whiny comments on how filthy and horrible everything is. The whole scenario quickly becomes so dismal that you don't even care to solve the puzzles anymore?.scarce as they are.
One example : you have to cut long yellow toe nails and twine-like nose hair off a mannequin representing Charles's disagreeable mother. Using a wire cutter. You also have to squeeze juicy yellow carbuncles off her face, and then you collect the nail clippings, hair and pimple grease and put them in a glass jar containing more such goodies. At that moment, with my dinner plate ready on my desk, I congratulated myself on an evening well spent.
However, I did not yet know that later I'd get a chance to blow her up by force-feeding her with a maggot-infested pie spiced up with dynamite.
Contrary to Ravenhearst 1 & 2, the storyline is not interesting anymore. Yet again it's all about EVIL Charles being up to something VERY BAD. How refreshing. He just won't die. And it's very tiresome to constantly have to save the sobbing Ravenhearst ghost gang. Never mind the pretense of missing persons. They only feature briefly in a most unpleasant way, and their fate is ambiguous. But by that time, you don't care anymore.
Like bad fiction, the whole thing comes to a rushed and illogical conclusion that leaves the player shaking with fear of a 4th part.
But, lo and behold, for your investment you will get a sugar coated happy ending on top of the many-splendored decay.
If only all those efforts had been lavished on a game that was captivating and nice to look at, instead of this depressing eyesore.
There is nothing entertaining or relaxing about this tasteless concoction. Fixing the toilet in "13th Skull" was more rewarding than all of this game.
My goodness, what a disaster. Give me Myst Revelation any day.
November 25, 2011
Hold On To Your Tail Fins Fishies
I just played the demo for this game. It is just awesome. Great graphics and I mean great graphics. I am a serious Mystery Case File Junkie. I own every one ever made. Big Fish Studios you have out done yourself on this one.
Finding Morphing Objects instead on Hidden Object Scenes was a very smart thing to do. The story starts with you going back to Ravenhearst due to the disappearance of a person. The similarities end there. The graphics are just awesome, voice overs just great and the stratagy guide is very unique.
You will not be disappointed if you purchase this game. In my opinion, it is the best one yet. Fitting if it is indeed the last one of the series. Great awesome job Big Fish. I am off to buy it.
November 23, 2011
A Very Unusual Game
I have now completed the game, and what a long and interesting (and sometimes stomach-churning) game this was.
Widescreen worked for me - laptop, Win7, 64-bit.
Voices were well done.
I used the custom cursor so that I could see the changes when moving over different parts.
There are no sparkles.
There are no instructions for how to do the puzzles.
There is very little, if any, information on how to proceed, except in the SG, which moved its pages (although slightly behind) with my game progress.
Graphics are very good.
There is one HOS (hidden object scene). Otherwise there are MOS (morphing object scenes), but not all that many. They seemed to get less the further I got into the game.
There is no bonus chapter - just as well as we all always moan about the shortness of bonus games.
Instead, you will get extra gameplay throughout the game. Check out the SG (strategy guide). When you see a diamond in the top right-hand corner of a page, that page is extra playtime, which is exclusive to the CE.
There is no map, but a diary, in which you will find 2 tabs. You aren't told what they are for, but you will find out very quickly...
This was one strange and interesting game. And I am glad I bought the CE. A lot of people who will buy the SE (standard edition) might struggle with the game, because there is no in-built SG.
I never had to use the Strategy Guide before when playing a CE, but I had to use it very often with this game.
November 25, 2011
Challenging and loving it!
I feel that BF has done an excellent job with this.
It still has that "Ravenhurst" feel to it, as far as
the graphics and the setting is concerned.
But it is also updated and I'm so glad that they are
thinking outside the game box with the morphing
objects rather then the Hidden Objects.
I was surprised when I read from others that there
was no different levels, but once I started playing I
really didn't care because it was perfect for me.
This game makes me think about how to solve
problems and is challenging enough for me.
November 23, 2011
The BEST MCF yet! *may contain spoilers*
Wow, just wow. I'm not finished the game, but I can tell you that this game is AMAZING! It really is a psychological thriller! It has the feeling of watching a real creepy movie, which is just what I love!
The hidden object scenes are replaced with morphing objects. This is definitely not for everyone. Some people don't like this idea. I think it's a nice new twist to the game, but I wouldn't want all games to be this way. I do miss the actual hidden objects.
The hint button charges very quickly. The strategy guide is different as well. It just shows pictures of what to do instead of text. I didn't like it at first, but it's really not that bad.
This game is definitely worth the price of the CE, especially if you are interested in the Ravenhearst games.
November 23, 2011
Just OK
Let me start by saying the graphics and the soundtrack for this game are both fantastic. Really great job seamlessly integrating the real-life video of the characters. Instead of searching for hidden objects, you search for morphing objects, which I've never seen in any other game before. I found this to be a nice change, but as the game went on, it became a bit tedious, and many of the morphing objects were so small you could barely see them, so I had to use the hint button quite a bit. Maybe if the next MCF game had a mixture of both morphing and hidden object scenes it would be better. My issue with this game was the story.......I like creepy, that's fine, it can even be fun if well done, as in MCF's Return to Ravenhearst. But there were several parts of this story that were just down-right disgusting -- the type of disgusting that's crossing the line of good taste and decency when integrated into a casual adventure game that's supposed to be fun to play. There isn't much that makes me want to look away, but I was literally cringing during several parts of this game (I'll let you decide for yourself what parts they may be). I wonder why the makers of this game decided to take the disgusting/cringe-worthy factor so far, when it would have been just fine to keep it in the creepy realm. Overall, I have mixed feelings about this game. I do know that it's a game I won't be playing very often, if ever again.
November 25, 2011
Hold On To Your Head - It May Start Spinning...
Mystery Case Files Escape from Ravenhearst is a game that will thrill you, chill you, make you question your views on certain aspects of life and then leave you wanting to phone your mother just so you can hear her voice. In short, it's a trip down the rabbit hole--only the rabbit you're chasing is truly demented and named Charles. This is a game only BFG Studios could have done and they did it oh, so right.
Never has there been a game like this one. It starts slowly...you're sifting your way through the rubble of Ravenhearst because you received a note..."I've got something to show you"...and some news clippings that people are once again, disappearing in Blackpool. The ghosts that you previously freed have warned you to stay away - something bad is going on and they can't protect you. They can help by manipulating some objects, but they still urge you to leave...and they will 'pop' in at odd places to remind you...leave...leave...leave before it's too late. But of course you don't listen...and so the fun begins.
The game offers one mode of play, no sparkles, a limited (but curious) journal, and a strategy guide with picture representations (no text.) There are several areas where you identify 'morphing' objects and in turn, you receive an inventory item. It's a unique twist on the standard HOS and I have to say I found it very refreshing and a welcome change of pace.
This is an adventure game. Those accustomed to using Strategy Guides and walkthroughs are going to be challenged in this game. There are lots and lots of puzzles and you have to figure out for yourself what to do to solve them. The SG does have pictures, however, many, many of the puzzles have random solutions. Again, there is no text in the SG. Also, the journal doesn't record all the details or information you will need to get through the game. There is a hint button and you can skip some of the puzzles, but you can't skip them all.
There is no separate bonus chapter in this game. Instead, there are extras available for the purchasers of the CE that won't be available to those who purchase the SE. These extras include fun additional morphing objects that, if all found, lead to some fun hidden object scenes.
My total play time, using no hints, no skips, no strategy guide, no journal, taking copious notes (I now have my own walkthrough-LOL) enjoying the time, savoring the atmosphere, the gameplay, the sheer madness of it all, was 12.5 hours. And I loved every demented minute of it.
November 24, 2011
Love Ravenhurst of the past, but this one is less than the last..(hey it rhymed!)
Good: The game is visually good and the puzzles are different. The game is strange and the plot is complex and picks up where the other 2 left off. Morphing objects as HOS are a little different than average HOG.
Bad: game play is confusing. Tasks do not always have an impact on game play. I buy a CE version for the Strategy Guide. The SG in this game is AWFUL! It is pictures and numbers only. Hints are not avaliable and skips are only in mini games
All in all this is a frustrating game. It has potential, but the way that the SG is makes it FAR less enjoyable than it should be and FAR lesser than the last 2 games. Mostly I wanted to throw my laptop out of the window (and it wasn't poor Dell's fault)
November 23, 2011
Skip the CE version and get the SE version, review giving you a pro and con list
I am so divided over this game it's annoying! So doing my pro and con list to help you decide what you like and don?t like.
cons -
-That stupid none helpful non informative SG - what was that all about? If I need the SG I want tips on the objective of a puzzle and to have to go out of the game to look at the free walkthrough - What's the point of the CE?
-The sounds of a child screaming at being whipped, not the sound of hand smacking (that wouldn't be OK either!) was pure sick and they kept repeating it in one level.( I didn't have a problem with most of the 'dark' theme - I thought it was excellently done.)
- I had to skip the fuse puzzle - I never skip puzzles. I'm a LF player, so used to long hard puzzles. When I concentrated on just one number it changed when I moved to the next number. I have played these type games before. Just so annoying.
-Non recording of numbers in the journal that I needed for puzzles, was bad and to confuse matters more, gave me 'false' numbers.
- pixel hunting for 1-2 morphs in every scene
- non contained playable areas, so the backtracking for those door tokens was tedious so ruined a good idea
- I had a glitch with one of the body in the morgue, I couldn't read the toe tag, so an hour looking for a non existent item to make it visible was annoying!
- Could have had more puzzles, there weren't that many
Pros
- an actually hard HOPA!
- challenging puzzles
-non junk pile H O scenes (jumping up and down)
- non repeating h O scenes
- love the morph scenes, something different and challenging
-a long game
-some humour ie with the bodies in the morgue, this could have been expanded, especially in this type of game
If the sick parts were taken out,(child screaming being whacked) the SG actually gave hints as to what the objective of a puzzle was and it was a walkthrough, the fuse puzzle was fixed, I would have thought it was an excellent game.
But because the cons were so infuriating, I don't. The flaws are so bad it really let the game down which is such a shame. And I couldn't say this game was fun, even in the parts I enjoyed. (well it's a dark game, so don't think of it as fun!) An easily A+++ game but cons made it a B+ game.
January 5, 2012