[b]Dark Dimensions 2: Wax Beauty[/b] (IHOG)
WARNING for those sensitive to such things: One large spider and two snakes that we need to interact with.
[i]Dark Dimension[/i]: A place where the border between the living and the dead has fallen away due to some kind of atrocity or injustice, causing the area to be displaced from time and space.
Options include separate sliders for Music and Sound, Full-screen/Widescreen and Custom Cursor. Choice of Casual or Advanced difficulty.
[b]Story[/b]:
We continue our search for Dark Dimensions, and have found one in a place called Red Lake Falls. The ghost of a young beauty queen beseeches you for help, here in the town where the wax figures are more beautiful than real life. Although [i]Wax Beauty[/i] is a complete story, there is an ongoing storyline that ties the these games together. The first game, [i]City of Fog[/i], is excellent, so I recommend playing that one first!
The story advances through a series of cutscenes and notes/journals that we find as we progress.
Our [b]Journal[/b] gives us extra story to enjoy :hearts:, and nicely summarizes the longer notes that we find... You know, for those who don't like a lot of reading in their games. ;) Sadly, there are some hints in there, but I guess they'll be helpful if you get stuck.
[b]Gameplay[/b]:
The Dark Dimension itself is a great explanation of why things are different than in the real world, but I was nonetheless a bit irritated with the game logic. I really need to learn to just let these things go. lol~
There is no [b]MAP,[/b] nor fast travel, but most of the time the active areas are in a tight group, so not a lot of backtracking.
Using a [b]HINT[/b] during the adventure portion will either highlight an area, or show you which direction you should take.
The [b]Hidden Object Scenes[/b] are lightly to moderately interactive, with items listed in yellow needing some kind of action before you can collect them. Items on your list will actually help you find the interactive objects. For instance, you may have a gnome listed in yellow, but you can't collect him until you find his hat - which is also listed - and place it on his head.
The gameplay was mostly well-balanced, but there are also times when you play HOS almost back-to-back.
[b]Sights and Sounds[/b]:
[i]Wax Beauty[/i] features live actors, and their performances are OK... I was a little thrown off by the speaking parts not syncing up with their lip movements, but it's possible that the actors were not originally speaking English. Be warned that some of the cutscenes are very long due to the actors pausing either for dramatic effect or for their lip movements to catch up. *giggle* Cutscenes are skippable.
Both the sound effects and the music were well-suited to the environment.
There were a few pretty scenes, but the overall graphics for the game are kind of junky. There WAS a massive earthquake that took out half the town, so perhaps this was intentional.
[b]CE Content[/b]:
[list]
[*]Integrated Strategy Guide
[*]Bonus Chapter
[*]7 Wallpapers
[*]10 Concept Art
[*]12 Music Tracks (can be saved)
[/list]
[b]Bonus Chapter[/b]:
The extra chapter takes place just about immediately after the final cutscene. Here you will deal with the aftermath of the main story's conclusion. I highly recommend playing this, as you'll discover something very important about the cult that is involved with these stories.
The bonus has the prettiest graphics in the game, and the gameplay is the same as in the main story.
[b]Verdict[/b]:
I am hypersensitive to issues relating to logic (Why yes, I do analyze movies and pick them apart. How'd you guess?) so I had a few moments of irritation as I played. Still, this was an entertaining game with an interesting storyline, and one that I recommend to my IHOG-loving friends!
