Publication History For : Michael Fereday
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When faced with Murder, Mystery & Madness you might well go for the whole hog and tackle a triple pack offering from Focus Multimedia.
This three game pack bundles together Shades of Death Royal Blood to take care of the murder aspect; Time Mysteries Inheritance for a dose of mystery and Doors of the Mind Inner Mysteries to add the ingredients of Madness. Apart from the fact that each of these games was originally published by Big Fish Games and belongs to the Hidden Object Adventure category, there appears to be no obvious connection between these titles. Each of the three games has its own installation routine.
Last year Alawar Entertainment published Behind the Reflection, a game that I missed out on for some reason. Now I have the opportunity to catch up on the games main characters who reappear in the follow-up title which is also published by Alawar. Nor surprisingly this follow-up game is entitled Behind the Reflection 2 and sub-titled Witchs Revenge.
This is a Hidden Object Adventure game that takes in 36 locations which often need to be revisited several times. The game opens with a short video sequence that links the two Reflection titles together as the Witch manages to escape from prison. She immediately sets about getting her revenge as she kidnaps your young son Jacob. It is now up to you, in your role as Jacob’s mother, to rescue the boy and thwart the Witch yet again.
Where once tablets were a form of medication, now they take on the role of an entertainment and information delivery device.
When the words “Galaxy” and “Tab” appear in close proximity then you have a clear idea that the subject matter is a Tablet device from Samsung. In this case it is the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 product. The 10.1 part of the unit’s title refers to the size of the WXGA screen that delivers a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels encased within a body that has dimensions of 256.7 x 175.3 x 8.6mm (W x H x D).
The Pentax Q has the appearance of a compact camera yet it offers the user an interchangeable lens facility.
At its launch, the Pentax Q was described as having the smallest and lightest camera body that was capable of accepting different lenses. With dimensions of 95 x 57 x 32mm (W x H x D) and a weight of just 190g, admittedly without a lens attached, you could understand how this claim could be justified. The Pentax Q is available in a choice of black or white featuring a faux-leather coating. The review sample was the black model and it came with a 3.2mm f/5.
By coincidence I started looking at this next game on the same day that I paid one of my irregular visits to the local barbers. With such a clue you should have little difficulty in working out that the game is about that demon barber of Fleet Street, Sweeney Todd.
To give the game its full title, this is Penny Dreadful™ Sweeney Todd. Developed by PlayPond and originally published by Big Fish Games, this game if now available from Focus Multimedia in Collector’s Edition Format. The main game, which is divided into six chapters, needs to be completed before you gain access to most of the extra content making up this Collector’s Edition.
A quick check of my laptop revealed that it was about time a new Norton security package was due and so it was as the latest version of Norton 360 made an appearance.
Now up to version 6, Norton 360 is Symantec’s all-round security product that can be installed on up to three computers to protect the user from a range of malicious threats. The product is available in either Standard or Premium versions. The former comes with 2GB of online storage space for the duration of your subscription while the latter edition increases this figure to 25GB of online storage. Installing Norton 360 is both straightforward and quick.
Adding to its extensive collection of Hidden Object Adventure titles, Focus Multimedia has brought together two offerings developed by Stargaze Studio and originally published by Alawar Games. Both games are based around a character named Angel who may be the villain or victim of a mystery involving ghosts, zombies and all-manner of horrors.
This double pack is made up of the Twisted Lands titles of Shadow Town and Insomniac. Both titles are classified as being of the Collector’s Edition variety which means that some extra items are included with the main game. In the case of Shadow Town you get a walkthrough to help keep you on the right track plus an option to replay any of the video cut-scenes that are interspersed throughout the game once they have already appeared.
Sections of the entertainment industry are never shy about borrowing ideas from each other. In this case it is a computer game borrowing from a television series.
Crime does not pay. This statement may or may not be true. I don’t just means with regards to criminals but also those who are involved in the production of various crime-based offerings that form a major part of the entertainment industry.
Aggressive contestants in the ring but friends at other times, three wrestlers take centre stage in a new point and click adventure.
Da New Guys are a trio of professional wrestlers named Brains, Simon and Defender. This fighting trio perform their trade regularly at the Wrestle Zone. Sharing the same apartment, the mismatched group are the central characters of a new comedy game created by Chris Burton for Icebox Studio (I’m tempted to say the developers of cool games) and published by Wadjet Eye, a company that continues its love affair with retro style adventure games with a strong element of humour.
Taking photographs is fun especially when you are collecting visual representations of memories of important personal events. You can then store these images locally or in the Cloud knowing you can recall them when necessary. However why stop there.
Even photos captured by professional photographers could benefit from tools designed to enhance images and the same will apply to those of us who do not possess the same skill set when it comes to capturing images. Offering to help with the management and enhancement of your images is PhotoDirector. Developed by CyberLink, a company well-versed in digital image software, the latest version of this product is PhotoDirector 3.
Like some others, I regard shopping as a chore rather than a pleasure. This next title lets you look at this task from the shops point of view as you become manager of a shopping mall.
You would normally expect a product with “Spooky” in its title to appear towards the end of the year to take advantage of Halloween rather than at the beginning of the year as has happened with Spooky Mall. But maybe the ghosts, spirits and hobgoblins that inhabit this particular shopping centre have lost all sense of time and choose now to stock up on provisions.
It is hidden object searching and adventure exploring time with a new title from Youdagames.
Put together a young woman with an inquisitive mind and an abandoned house, mix in a sprinkling of puzzles and copious amounts of hidden objects and you have all the ingredients for a Hidden Object Adventure game. In this case the game is entitled Youda Mystery: The Stanwick Legacy. Your ole in this game is that of Emma Stanwick who was packed off to boarding school when her parents died in mysterious circumstance.
Picturesque Cornwall, a less-than picturesque demon and missing festival attendees all feature in a task-based Hidden Object game now available from Focus Multimedia.
Originally published by Big Fish Games, the Elephant Games developed Hallowed Legends: Samhain is now available as part of the Focus Multimedia catalogue in Collector’s Edition format. As usual with a Collector’s Edition title, you get a Strategy Guide made up of instructions and appropriate screenshots. You also get concept art, wallpaper, screensaver and music plus a bonus chapter which adopts a slightly different approach to many other such offerings that I have seen.
It has been a while since I last looked at a Netgear product. However a change of PR agency allowed me the opportunity to check out a new dual-band modem-router from the company.
The Netgear DGND3700 is a wireless dual band Gigabit ADSL2+ Modem Router that forms part of the company’s N600 family of products. On opening the box I was rather surprised to discover that no software CD was present. On checking the supplied content listing I was able to confirm that the lack of a CD was deliberate and not the result of an accidental loss. This fact immediately alleviates the chicken and egg conundrum as to which procedure comes first.
Developed by Stargaze and published by Alawar Entertainment: Mountain Crime: Requital is a Hidden Object and Puzzle Adventure game.
Like many other games that fall into this genre, Mountain Crime: Requital offers you a choice of two game modes. You can either opt for Regular mode with a quicker Hint recharge feature and highlighted interactive areas with sparkles or take the more challenging Expert route that does not highlight interactive areas and makes you wait longer for the Hint feature to become available after each use. In this game you take on the role of Dr.
A favourite series of mine is the Jewel Quest collection of titles that feature match-3 and adventure and hidden object searching.
The Jewel Quest series started life as games featuring match-3 jewel boards with an underlying story regarding ancient civilisations. Since those early efforts, the series has branched out to include a Mysteries section that brings together hidden object game play in different locations with some match-3 jewel board action. The latest Jewel Quest title to come my way falls into the Mysteries section and is entitled The Seventh Gate.
It is rare for a week to go by without another new title appearing from Alawar. This time it is a retro-style cartoon adventure.
Developed by Stargaze, The Jolly Gang’s Misadventures in Africa is a new cartoon-style game from Alawar. The game’s title gives a clear indication that this is an adventure game with a strong fun influence to keep you amused as you join the Jolly Gang in their escapade to track down treasure. The game’s opening screen gives you a variety of choices although a couple of them only come into their own once you have started playing your Africa adventure.
Watching a DVD movie on your laptop may be fine for a single person but when more are involved you need a larger display. A new product from CablesToGo offers to help in this respect.
If at first you do not succeed then try, try and try again. I took these words to heart as I set about installing the TRULink product from CablesToGo. For those unfamiliar with the company, CablesToGo is involved in the development of connectivity products. The TRULink device has been developed to allow the user to stream video from a computer to a remote monitor, projector or television set using Wireless USB (WUSB) Technology.
Following her introduction in The Mystery of Meane Manor, Becky Brogan returns in The Institute. As with the first title, The Institute is a Hidden Object game with some puzzles thrown in for good measure.
With just one level of game play, The Institute opens with a comic-book style sequence. This lays the groundwork for the story and explains how Becky has come across a report of a missing doctor and nurse as part of the research she was conducting as part of the Investigative Journalism & Criminal Science course she was attending. As this case had never been solved, Becky’s curiosity was piqued and so she sets out to investigate.
Music, photos and video clips make up a sizeable portion of the storage devices attached to our home computers unless, of course, you are in the minority. Managing and making use of the vast store of multimedia data can be quite challenging especially if you attempt this task without the appropriate tools.
Offering to help manage and deliver your multimedia content is Cyberlink’s PowerDVD software. Regarded by some as the daddy of multimedia management (earlier versions are often bundled with external drives), PowerDVD is now up to version 12 and comes in three flavours with a choice of Standard, Pro and Ultra. This review is based on the top of the range Ultra software which includes Blu-ray, 3D and social networking features.
With innovative scrolling and zooming scenes for searching, The Clockwork Man 2 is now available with a bonus game.
Introduced to the game playing public in The Clockwork Man ( ), Miranda Calomy and Sprocket, her robot companion, return for a second dose of Hidden Object Adventure action. Not surprisingly this second outing is entitled The Clockwork Man 2 with the subtitle of The Hidden World. Available as part of Avanquest’s GSP casual game catalogue, The Clockwork Man 2 comes bundled with the original Clockwork Man title.
As the movement from analogue to digital gathers apace, it makes sense to further enhance the audio quality with tools such as MAGIXs Audio Cleaning Lab.
Now up to version 18 (exceeded only by the number of awards the program has won – 19 at the last count), Audio Cleaning Lab MX is MAGIX’s all-in-one solution for digitising and restoring your music collection stored on a variety of media in different formats. Supplied with an English language manual in small booklet guise, this MAGIX software comes on a single disk that also contains a free copy of MAGIX’s Mufin 2.
With a title that begins with the words Elementary my dear, you might think that Sherlock Holmes was involved in some way. However with Elementary My Dear Majesty, this is not the case. Instead the game has more of a fairy tale feel to it as it arrives with the claim of being the first 3D Hidden Object Adventure game.
Developed by Dream Dale, powered by the Neoaxis Engine and published by Alawar, Elementary My Dear Majesty can be played in either Casual or Expert mode. With the former mode the Hint feature will recharge faster, there will be fewer objects to find and you will be allowed to skip any puzzles that you might find to be too difficult. In Expert mode, there are more hidden objects, a slower recharge time and you can not skip a puzzle.
My doctor suggests I should exercise and move about more. So I put his advice to good use as I checked out a set of Sennheiser headphones.
The Sennheiser RS120 headphones have not been designed to be used as your listening method of choice when out and about as you are entertained by your favourite portable music player. Instead this headset is meant to free you from being physically tied to the source of your listening material when in the home. The Sennheiser RS120 achieves this feat through the use of wireless technology to deliver the audio from the source to your ears.
Have you noticed that when a game starts with a raven taking
off in flight or a car pulling up at iron gates then spirits and evil forces
will not be too far behind? If you have
managed to avoid this type of situation then this next game will remedy the
omission. In fact you get both the car
pulling up and the raven taking flight.
Released in Collector’s Edition format, Fear for Sale: Mystery of McInny Manor is now available as part of Focus Multimedia’s extensive catalogue of titles. This release gives you the main Hidden Object Adventure game plus a bonus playable level, wallpaper, screensaver, concept art and eight fun achievements which can be unlock. Also included is a Strategy Guide that can be access from within the main game to help you make progress as you set free various captured souls.
As part of its Home initiative, Archos has developed a DECT handset that uses Android software.
In an attempt to add some French flair to a handset, Archos (better known for its Portable Media Players (PMP)), has launched its 3 Smart Home Phone. This is a DECT device that is powered by the Android operating system. As with the Binatone Android device I reported on recently, this Archos model uses 2.2 (FROYO) rather than a more up-to-date version of the Google software. As its title indicates, this is a home phone rather than your constant companion when out and about.
Regarded by some as the City ofLove,Parisis the setting for a game involving people aging rapidly to the sound of haunting music.
Available in Collector’s Edition format from Focus Multimedia, Maestro Music of Death is a Hidden Object Adventure game. As usual with a Collector’s Edition title, Maestro Music of Death bundles an integrated Strategy Guide with the main game. This Strategy Guide can be accessed at any time. You also get concept art, wallpaper, screensaver, a sound track with sheet music –plus a bonus chapter.
Adding Wi-Fi connectivity and the Android operating system
to a portable media player is the design concept behind the Archos Home Connect
device.
As one of the leading players in the field of PMP (Portable Media Players) for consumers, Archos has used this expertise to produce its 3 Home Connect offering. I must admit that when I first saw this product encased in its packaging, I though that it was entitled 3s Home Connect. This just goes to show that it is probably time I paid another visit to the optician rather than being any criticism of the product.
A match-3 game takes you on a journey from a house through an enchanted cavern to your destination.
As the title indicates, Enchanted Cavern 2 is a follow up title. Unfortunately as I missed out on the original offering, I have no idea how the current title differs from the first game. Published by Alawar, Enchanted Cavern 2 belongs to the genre of match-3 game play. Although the game consists of three modes, only the Adventure mode is initially available.
No sooner do I complete my review of the Eminent EM7280
hdMEDIA RT3 product than the
next version of this high definition multimedia player arrives for
testing. This new member of the hdMEDIA
RT3 family is the limited
edition EM7285 HD media player which offers a range of additional features over
the previous model.
With dimensions of 196 x 180 x 55mm (W x D x H), the media player’s aluminium body is predominately black in colour although it does feature a raised silver Eminent logo prominently displayed across the top of the box. As with the previous model, the rear of the unit is well populated with a full complement of connection options. There are jack sockets for coaxial, AV OUT / Composite, optical audio and Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr). You get a USB 3.
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