Secrets of the Dark: Eclipse Mountain Collector's Edition
4.6
5
119
119
OMG IT IS FINALLY HERE !!!! :)
I was sooooo happy when I saw this game today. I beta tested this game it seems eons ago and was fascinated by the story, the graphics and the challenge level. Do like voice over, I was particularly proud of myself because beta testing games do not have hints and I was able to do it ALL on my own. This is a game that will capture you since its beginnings. I do own the previous one ?Secrets of the Dark: Temple of Night? and have not been able to finish it, I do like it but this is so much better. I do recomend this one, I am not sure if to buy the CE or wait for the regular version.
May 3, 2012
Demon of Darkness CE: Beautiful and Deadly Dull
*these comments are based on game completion in Advanced Mode*
D of D is a beauty no doubt about it. I give it one star just for the joy of watching the elephant while the game loads. In fact, that is why I gave it 3 stars, D of D in a visual banquet. There is so much to look at and marvelous renderings of a cultural world, of which I am only vaguely familiar.
D of D takes one to many locations all equally finely crafted. As has been noted there is a lot to do in this long playing game. Unfortunately, I found myself getting rather tired and bored. Then, uh oh, tedium replaced boredom. Tedious, gratuitous puzzle solving eventually murdered my personal game experience. In the end, all that long play is nothing but padding. Granted, the repeating puzzles do become incrementally more difficult, but is still the same puzzle. If you like long games and solving the same puzzle as many as 5 times, this is a game you should visit.
I made it through the entire game, because. . I don't know. . because sometimes I like to torture myself? I did not make it through the bonus game when once again I found myself confronted with another round of previously "resolved" puzzles.
Imho, this is a wonderful game for those that are new to this genre. D of D is fun to play when it is not getting it its own way.
May 20, 2012
Great game that gives you your Money's worth!
Last time I played a game in this series, I wasn't sure I liked the switching back and forth between scenes that morphed with a change of lighting. This time it seemed to fit in better and wasn't a bother at all. There's a fair amount of "to and froeing" but it's logical and not hard to follow. The HOG scenes are busy but not junk piles and the graphics are as nice as other reviewers have commented on. The puzzles are fun and very logic driven so generally enjoyable. I too enjoyed having the "extra" step of finding artifacts and having to have them "morphed" into essential objects, but again, things are pretty logical and it wasn't hard to pick back up if I had to leave the game. Overall a very entertaining game that lasted quite awhile. The music is oriental in timbre and added to the experience if one like's that kind of music. Very fun and glad I have it in my collection. I will most likely play it again as it was complex enough to hold one's attention a second time.
May 6, 2012
Secrets of the Dark: Eclipse Mountain CE
I don't usually write reviews but this game was hands down the best game I have played in a long while! It was long, not too hard, excellent graphics, excellent everything! I LOVE the room changes with the lights, twice the scenes. The only thing I would add would be the time travel map, but I would like to see that in all games. I RECOMMEND THIS GAME!
May 5, 2012
Finally something original!
I don't normally review games, but I had to make an exception with this one. Yes it's another HO/Adventure game, but this game slightly tweaked each of the common elements that we've come to expect from these types of games.
A few of the puzzles may be on the easier side, but there are some fresh concepts that take things up a notch.There is also a twist on some HO scenes where you replace objects rather than find them. This has been done on other games, but it's a nice change of pace some require a little more thought than you would think.
The Thai setting is also a welcome change from the typical fairy tale, haunted manor, ghost story lines that seem to make up the bulk of HO/Adventure games.
There are two nice elements (minor spoiler here) that I really liked - being able to morph objects you find into something that will help you on your journey by bringing the objects to certain statues and also turning the lights on or off in certain rooms to gain a different view of your surroundings.
The graphics are lovely and in keeping with the setting of the story, the music has an Asian flair.
You have three options to choose from for your level of difficulty and while playing in casual mode I don't recall having to ever use the hint or skip button.
I really enjoyed this game and hope this helps anyone who is on the fence about spending money on a CE. Happy gaming everyone!
May 7, 2012
A good buy
I liked the first Secrets of the Dark and bought this game right after the demo ended. Yes, it is similar to the last Secrets of the Dark, but once you change a room light, you do not have to change back to move from one area to another. The story line and graphics and such are good (although I find the smoky demons a little lame) but then I am more interested in the game play, being able to choose the level of difficulty, and the length of a game. As to the game play, the HOS's and mini puzzles are plentiful but not difficult even at hardcore mode. You do go back and forth through scenes a lot, at least I do, trying to remember where to put that newly acquired puzzle piece. As to the length of the game, I have played about 2-3 hours, so I can't yet fully comment on that, other than there seems to be much more playing time since several areas are not yet accessible. All in all, I would recommend this game if you like HOS's, mini puzles, and game that is not over before you seem to begin.
May 4, 2012
Outstanding !!
A great game with a great bonus game. The mini games are very well done. The game play itself i found intreging. The HOS are easily enough to find and the voice over is clear and sounds great. The first review said that she enjoyed the first game more. I disagree, this game , i think is better. Although in th first game i found that the characters were done better. Music is okay I Definately recommend this game.
May 4, 2012
Game great, Bonus Chapter lame.
This review is based on completing the entire game. I loved the story line, graphics were great and really enjoyed the voice overs.
The HOG scenes were uncluttered. Easy navigation throughout the whole game.
Now for the BAD. I was very dissappointed in the Bonus Chapter. It was TOO EASY and very short. The bonus chapter only confirms what you already learn in the main part of the game. For example: you already know 2+2=4, then why search for another answer. The bonus chapter failed big time.
I reccommend this game as a standard edition, but not as a collector's edition.
My loss, but maybe your game if you wait for the SE
May 5, 2012
A Truly Outstanding Game
This game comes to us from Orneon, the developers of the Echoes of the Past games and Secrets of the Dark: Temple of Night. Having enjoyed those games already, I was expecting good things from this game and was not disappointed. The graphics are lush and gorgeous, and the atmosphere is excellent. Hidden object scenes are well done; along with straight hidden object scenes, you also get to play "figure out where to place the item in the scene," as well. Puzzles were various and most were challenging without being obtuse or overly frustrating. The game is also a very good length - I didn't use a lot of hints, and the main game took me a good number of hours (roughly six). The bonus gameplay was equally good and of a very generous length. The storyline was nothing unique but I felt that the entire game was expertly done. There was a lot of backtracking, but the game was so beautiful and interesting to look at that it didn't really bother me. I highly recommend this game. I've played a lot of Collector's Editions and this is one of the best that I have played. This is a very high-quality game.
May 15, 2012
Didn't grip me
I deliberately didn't rate on Fun Factor, because I just didn't have any fun doing the one hour trial. The graphics are ok, but nothing that really stunned me. The storyline is nothing extraordinary either: The ancient Demon of Darkness and his minions kidnap the friend of the hero in the jungle in Thailand, friend comes straight to his rescue and in the process has to find keys to open doors, missing pieces to solve puzzles, he has to find and/or fix tools to get other items he needs to solve other problems.
It amazes me how ill equipped some people set off on a search and rescue operations. Had this guy here brought a Swiss Army Multitool he would had not only a knife, but also a saw, nail clipper and among an array of other useful tools probably even something to clean horses hooves with.
The HOG scenes are dark but I haven't come anything that was so blended in or tiny that was undetectable without a hint.
The puzzles I came across were ok, but can't be skipped if you choose the hardest of the three available game modes.
Its an ok game, but really nothing I haven't yet played and for me certainly not worth spending the extra money for the CE.
May 3, 2012