[b]Otherworld 3: Shades of Fall[/b] (IHOG)
My favorite of the series!
Options include separate sliders for Sound, Music and Voices, Full-screen (auto Widescreen) and Achievement Popups. Choice of Casual, Expert or Hardcore mode (cannot be changed during gameplay.) The Steam overlay does not work with this title.
[b]Story[/b]:
An ancient evil, The Shade, works tirelessly with his dark minions to bring about the Eternal Winter. Journey with Fiona and the Storm Cat (aka hint button) to find the perpetual prison and stop the Shade once and for all.
The intro for the game gives us a beautifully-succinct overview of the previous games, so [i]Shades of Fall[/i] can be played as a standalone if you wish.
The interface is set up a bit differently than the norm. We do not have a [b]Journal[/b], but we can toggle back and forth between our items inventory and a clues inventory. Each time you find a clue, it will automatically toggle that section, and you'll have to manually switch it back to the items inventory and vice versa.
[b]Gameplay[/b]:
Be on the lookout for [b]collectible fay dragons[/b] as you play. There's at least one at every location (sometimes two), but you won't be able to see them unless you have The Sight, so let me explain how that works: You are a normal human - not one of the rare cases of a human born with magic - so you will need a trigger to give you the ability to see the magical world around you. The Sight will last you for the entire chapter, so it's not something you have to do often.
Our [b]MAP[/b] is interactive and allows insta-transport, but it does NOT indicate where you might have missed a collectible.
[b]HINTS [/b]are available during Mini-games, and using one during the adventure portion of the game will either pinpoint something on your current scene, or give you a popup with a location that you can instantly transport to if you wish.
The [b]Hidden Object Scenes[/b] are richly varied, and all are interactive to some degree. The latter part of the game is mostly done via find-by-list, but there are also a couple of fragmented object scenes, find-by-silhouette, placing items back into the scene, riddles and full-blown, highly-interactive hidden object puzzles! So fun!
I enjoyed the gameplay so much that I didn't use a single hint or skip (although I did use the interactive map and strategy guide at times! lol~) I missed ONE fay dragon, or I'd have gotten all of my achievements! >_<
You may now be asking yourself how I can tell you about how the hints work if I didn't use any, and the answer is that I started a new profile to get the info... Smart aleck! ;D
[b]Sights and Sounds[/b]:
The graphics are gorgeous, and the fact that they had to draw many of the locations twice (normal sight vs. magical site) makes it all the more special. The extra layer of depth that we see is reflected in the gameplay, and it really adds interest to the game.
The voiceovers are well done, as is all of the sound work for the game.
[b]CE Content[/b]:
[list]
[*]Integrated Strategy Guide
[*]Bonus Chapter
[*]60 Collectible Fay Dragons
[*]In-game Achievements
[*]14 Wallpapers
[*]34 Concept Art
[*]10 replayable Cutscenes
[*]9 Music Tracks (cannot be saved)
[*]47 replayable Mini-games
[/list]
[b]Bonus Chapter[/b]:
The epilogue gives us a little more information on The Shade and how to defeat him. There are nine all-new locations to visit, as well as the remainder of the collectible dragons to find. This chapter gives us some VERY important information and a great setup for the 4th and final game... Except that the game will never see the light of day.
[u]From Wikipedia[/u]:
[quote]Boomzap Entertainment stated in 2015 that Big Fish Games had decided not to continue the series. The final game, which would have been subtitled [i]The Eternal Winter[/i] under Boomzap, will not be released.[/quote]
[b]Verdict[/b]:
This is a beautiful and immersive game with great gameplay and an interesting storyline. It is a bit puzzle-heavy at times, but all of them were fun to do. Despite the fact that the story will not be continued, I still highly recommend this series - especially this title. You'll be missing out on some great games, otherwise!
