Santa's Secret Valley (review)
I'm a longtime fan and sometime developer of computer based adventure games... in fact, the first computer adventure game I played was called "Adventure". It was one of the first, if not the first - from back in the days when the room images were drawn with words (at 128 baud - roughly human typing speed) because that was the only tool available.
Well, this weekend, Rebekah downloaded a new adventure game: Santa's Secret Valley from Big Fish Games. I was very impressed with this one.
Of course, being a modern adventure game this one has a graphic room presentation. The picture shown here is Main Street in Secret Valley where much of the action takes place.
The graphics are great, but that's not what impressed me. The impressive thing is the story and the puzzles that move the story forward.
First, it's a story about Christmas. On the surface, you play Fizbin the Elf, who's bored with making toys for Santa... so Santa assigns you to guard his magic items (magic bag, magic boots, and magic bell). And, since you're so bored you immediately fall asleep, the stuff gets stolen... the rest of the game is your quest to get the goods back in time for Santa to deliver gifts Christmas Eve.
But the Christmas connection is deeper than that. There's a Christmas trivia quiz game show - you'll have to win it at least twice to complete the game. But don't dispair... there's also a library full of books about Christmas and all the questions are answered there. And then there's the maze through which you are guided by the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas"... if you know what the 12 presents are.
The puzzles are often tough, but solvable... and, if one is driving you nuts, there's an excellent system of hints (which you purchase for penalties against your score) that will get you through. There's even a "solve" button for the slider puzzle - I did the slider by hand the first time, but I was glad I could just let the game do it for me the second time (I don't like slider puzzles much, lol).
Santa's Secret Valley would be great for parent and child to play together. It's got just the right balance of educational value (presented in a fun way) with just plain fun.
If you've got kids, pick this one up as a family Christmas present.
Well, this weekend, Rebekah downloaded a new adventure game: Santa's Secret Valley from Big Fish Games. I was very impressed with this one.
Of course, being a modern adventure game this one has a graphic room presentation. The picture shown here is Main Street in Secret Valley where much of the action takes place.
The graphics are great, but that's not what impressed me. The impressive thing is the story and the puzzles that move the story forward.
First, it's a story about Christmas. On the surface, you play Fizbin the Elf, who's bored with making toys for Santa... so Santa assigns you to guard his magic items (magic bag, magic boots, and magic bell). And, since you're so bored you immediately fall asleep, the stuff gets stolen... the rest of the game is your quest to get the goods back in time for Santa to deliver gifts Christmas Eve.
But the Christmas connection is deeper than that. There's a Christmas trivia quiz game show - you'll have to win it at least twice to complete the game. But don't dispair... there's also a library full of books about Christmas and all the questions are answered there. And then there's the maze through which you are guided by the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas"... if you know what the 12 presents are.
The puzzles are often tough, but solvable... and, if one is driving you nuts, there's an excellent system of hints (which you purchase for penalties against your score) that will get you through. There's even a "solve" button for the slider puzzle - I did the slider by hand the first time, but I was glad I could just let the game do it for me the second time (I don't like slider puzzles much, lol).
Santa's Secret Valley would be great for parent and child to play together. It's got just the right balance of educational value (presented in a fun way) with just plain fun.
If you've got kids, pick this one up as a family Christmas present.
posted by Doctor Oakroot at
9:23 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home