Spirits of Mystery: Song of the Phoenix Collector's Edition
4.8
5
207
207
Brilliant and skip factor in hardest mode!
My overall rating and review title say it all. Two additional notes: loved the minigames that thought outside the box - eg. match two with rotating balls and the cube minigame and thank you for the hardest level still having the skip factor - I appreciate the challenge and will persevere for a long time so if the skip takes a long time to appear it works for me to be there altho i seldom use it.
Many, many points for the SE portion ending - there are some CE games where the ending of SE portion leaves one wondering if the game is over and what just happened(?!) to the ending. This game is so well done that altho the bonus is wonderful and continues the theme faultlessly one can be satisfied that the designers took into consideration the players who will only play the SE portion deserve their best effort as much as the CE players. With thanks - these designers are among the best in the business as proof of all the games they develop.
May 13, 2012
A MUST HAVE game
Just started this game and I'm addicted! Great graphics, voice overs and puzzles. The story is great and would make a great movie.
April 12, 2012
song of the phoenix slightly out-of-tune
in this hidden object puzzle adventure, you are a princess of the dragon kingdom who is preparing to marry the prince of the phoenix kingdom. these two kingdoms have been at each other's throats for 300 years, so this marriage is of great importance. the fact that the prince and princess are actually in love only make everything that much sweeter. however, just when your prince is scheduled to arrive, you learn he has been kidnapped by his evil cousin isa, who then declares you are his betrothed. your goals in this game are simple: find your prince and rescue him so you can marry and your two kingdoms can finally live in peace.
graphics: the art and graphics are absolutely wonderful. i also loved the cut scenes, which are integral to the story. they elevated this from simply "a fun HOPA" into a truly exceptional experience. these cut scenes made me feel i was watching a full-length theatre film. the hidden object scenes were interesting; including item lists as well as shadow lists (the shadow of an item is shown and you have to find the object). the hidden object scenes often required you to locate one item or more that you then used to find or create another item that was necessary to progress in the story -- a bit of a logic puzzle within the hidden object scenes.
this game just feels so generous because, for example, even though a hint button is provided, there is no click penalty. additionally, this hidden object game is generous with the puzzles and mini-games, which i also enjoy -- and these were actually part of the storyline rather than silly busywork. the puzzles and mini-games are well thought out, interesting and solvable, and have hint buttons (although -- generously -- a skip button is provided, too). further, the hint button is actually useful for a change, even outside of the hidden object scenes. there is a notebook (although it is beautiful, i think it is of limited use) and since there is minimal back-and-forth, a map is not essential.
music & soundtrack: music was average, certainly nothing exceptional (but also not annoying), but the voiceovers and sound effects were above average.
storyline: this is a typical good versus evil fairy tale, but the characters were so well developed (well, for a video game) that i actually wanted to follow the story to see how everyone fares.
my interaction: one hour demo, casual mode (this game has three modes; casual, advanced, and hardcore).
i highly recommend this game, but i must warn you about the inexplicably slow load times. the sluggish transitions between scenes and temporary cursor freezes drove me crazy (at least 10 seconds and sometimes even as long as 30 seconds -- yikes!). i wanted to play the game, not have my laptop freeze temporarily whilst i waited for the next scene to load! in fact, my four star rating -- which actually is 4.5 stars -- reflects my frustration with these technical issues, since i would otherwise have given this game 5 stars. i interrupted gameplay to check my laptop to make sure everything's up-to-date (it is) and none of my other games have this issue so i am baffled about the source of this annoyance. if you are interested in this game, i recommend you play the demo first to make sure you don't also suffer the same problem.
June 12, 2012
So much fun.
I enjoy "using" these games as a way to decompress from a very stressful job. The reviews from other gamers are very helpful as I know now which ones are more likely to like what I like and their feedback is often helpful,
I too was struggling after playing many games with the "been there done that" feeling of many games (especially with the "defeat the evil witch theme") This game however, is a real delight. I really like the storyline.You care enough to want to accomplish the goal. Enjoy that the HOG and HOP scenes lead to actually using the objects and relatively quickly and in unigue ways, rather than finding one obscure object after another (although I did enjoy the banter about horseshoes and crowbars) and while there is some moving from location to location it doesn't require a map to do so. The music is what it should be, enhancing but not distracting. I think best of all is the game makes you use your sense of logic. You have to think outside the box but it's not all that hard just refreshingly different. And you feel pleased to figure it out without the strategy guide although it's there to give you the boost you might need if some particular game is not your strength. Just fun. I haven't gotten far enough to awaken the "fairy mouse" that other reviewers are remarking about but am really enjoying the flow of the game. If it were a book, it would be one that one reads well into the night despite having to go to work tomorrow! Thanks Big Fish. I suspect this may be up for game of the year.
April 12, 2012
Fantastic HOG
Not the usual hidden object game. In the scenes ,you look for things that are useful to the game. Not phone, bowling pin etc.. which have no bearing in the game. Great graphics and storyline. It had me hooked from the beginning and too quickly my hour was up. Two thumbs up BIG FISH. This is one I will be buying.
April 12, 2012
absolutely amazing!!
I bought the game before the full hour demo was up because it was simply amazing! The voice overs were very well done, the story line was to rescue the prince, with you as the princess, while his evil cousin tries to take his place on the throne. I'm not a fan of HOGs, and this one had just the right amount.
There were the typical HO scenes, finding objects, but the scene was very interactive where you had to use an object and combine it with another one to find yet a third. There were also shadow HO scenes where you are given a shadow outline and had to find that object in the scene. Again, those were very interactive. My only issue with the HO scenes was that the "typical" ones were often quite jumbled and they blended some of the objects into the background REALLY well. That added to the fun challenge once I realized how they were hiding some items.
It was an adventure game in the sense that you had to find items and carry them around in your inventory, ultimately figuring out how to use them. The hint button told you if there were no actions to perform in a particular scene, so not just useful in HO scenes.
The game had a great deal of suspense to it, but was NOT in my opinion a dark atmosphere (feeling) at all. I don't like the games with all the ghosts, zombies, vampires, skeletons, and the like, and this one had some supernatural aspects, some white & black magic, but nothing I wouldn't let my 12 year old daughter see.
Overall, it was the best game I've played on BFG. It was really lengthy, taking me 6 or 7 hours to play completely through.
Also, it was a LOT longer than its prequel Spirits of Mystery: Amber Maiden ... takes place about 2 generations earlier than Song of the Phoenix. Phoenix puzzles were harder, more imaginative; HO scenes were much more interactive, more interesting overall.
take a chance on it and at least play the demo! I think you'll love it!
April 27, 2012
More than just an HO
Enjoyed this game immensely. Good storyline draws you into gameplay. Lots of puzzles beyond hidden object. Even the hidden object was interesting as extra combos needed to complete. Collectors edition had short story that continued on from main storyline and was a little tougher to figure out what to do next but not disjointed.
Final thoughts: Happy with purchase and looking forward to other games by this developer.
April 15, 2012
Wow! Wow! Wow! Fantastic game!
Played the demo. Knew within the first few minutes that this was a buy for us.
The game has fantastic everything! Voice overs, story line, graphics, sound.......
all awesome!
The scenes are interactive & different in the most clever of ways.
An amulet helps you find symbols to overcome evil.
You will be so caught up in the story that you will oblivious to what's happening around you in the real world!
Probably won't get many "this was helpful" on this review because the download is done and I want to get back to playing. Seldom do we play a game straight through, but think this one will be different.
Try the demo. You will love it............
April 12, 2012
Savor Every Moment of this Beautiful Game
Love IT!! I have only purchase one other CE in my life. I feel that the extra cost does not justify the concept art, wall paper or music; I do not use any of those so it is a waste of money for me. I do enjoy the extra game play. But after playing the demo I just HAD to have this game NOW.
Graphics are gorgeous (you can see the whiskers on the panther!); voice overs are very well done. There is no click penalty. I am not a fan of HOG; however the way they did this may just change my mind. It is better than any other IHOG?s that I have experienced; you actually use every item that you have to find. It adds a totally different dimension to the HOG?s. I may actually change my mind about HO if all dev. would use this method. .
I have been waiting and wanting for a long time something different than the run of the mill spit ?em out as fast as we can same ole same ole. Finally it is here! So, after 30 minutes of the demo I?m buying it! I plan to savory every gorgeous glorious moment of this game! The quality of this game does not come along very often.
WELL DONE BF!!!
April 13, 2012
Another high standard game.
Would like to give 4 1/2 stars - a beautifully done game, but without any extra frills.
Absolutely stunning graphics, good voice-overs, and lovely cut-scenes. Catered for wide-screen.
I played the hardest level, yet still got those annoying sparkles.
No bonus items to find or achievements to earn.
Both the hidden object games and puzzles were relatively easy, but they also both varied slightly from the norm. I really enjoyed it when certain hidden object games required a task to find the next item, and so forth. The puzzles weren't much different to normal, but were presented in such a way that they appeared fairly novel. .
The story flowed nicely and made sense, and the game wasn't very long, but still a passable length.
The bonus chapter followed on nicely from the main story but was not an essential part of it. It was also a passable length.
April 23, 2012