The Secret Order 8: Return to the Buried Kingdom

[h1] Довольно умиротворяющее приключение в жанре поиска предметов, где для всех достижений нужно пройти основную и дополнительную часть [/h1] А также за один вечер будет ещё одна идеальная игра. Хоть здесь рисовка не ахти, да и есть типичные косяки с переводом. Но привыкшим людям, кто уже давно играет в игры от Артифекс, всё будет интуитивно понятно. Здесь сложных головоломок вообще нет и всё довольно просто. Нужно лишь с руководством нажимать на коллекционные предметы, которые не сюжетные и их можно ненароком пропустить. А в остальном вполне себе фентезийный сюжет с небольшим уклоном в наши дни. По плюшкам тут традиционно полный комплект - поддержка линукс, карточки, достижения и облако. Так что прогресс не утеряется и бонусы вполне порадуют. Жаль только, что цены на игры конкретно выросли притом без каких-либо обновлений в плане исправления шероховатостей перевода. Это в издательстве не очень понравилось. Поэтому для покупки лучше подождать скидки, благо они у издательства практически на каждой распродаже.

Если бы игра была бы для меня одной из первых, то может быть по наивности и неопытности я бы её порекомендовал. Но пройдя не один десяток адвенчур с поиском предметов могу сказать, что данное творение сделано на скорую руку, по-видимости исключительно для заработка. Убогий сюжет, куцые кат-сцены, из которых ничего не понятно и которые сделаны для галочки, малое количество сцен поиска предметов, простенькая рисовка задников... Единственное, что мне зашло, так это местные мини-игры. Было несколько очень занятных, подобных которым я не встречал. В остальном - посредственная игра, которая не вызовет никаких эмоций, кроме огорчения за потраченное время.

비밀 결사단의 이야기를 그리는 HOG 시리즈. 비직관적인 아이템, 좋지 않은 번역의 시너지로 힌트를 남발하게 됩니다. 예1) 목걸이로 못 뽑기, 머리뼈로 로프 자르기 예2) 꿀(Honey)의 번역어가 '여보' ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 수집 아이템들에 주의하면 도과 올클은 쉬운 편. 보너스 스토리까지 다 깨야 합니다. 가이드 참조. [code] 스팀 큐레이터 : [url=store.steampowered.com/curator/44849820/]INSTALLING NOTHING[/url] [/code]

In the 8th (7th on Steam, since the first episode is missing here) entry of [url=store.steampowered.com/bundle/1573/The_Secret_Order_Collection/]The Secret Order series[/url] instead of a grand finale of the longest hidden object game series, we return to the detour created with the [url=steamcommunity.com/id/atisz2/recommended/574260/]5th part[/url], to the under[strike]ground[/strike]water sunken realm and receive a barely average game that does apparently nothing with the legacy of the great earlier parts. Our friend Julie from the 5th part, asks for our help to save the Buried Kingdom, an underground fantasy realm hidden under the sea once again. A necromancer kidnaps the princess (with Stockholm syndrome) of the land and threatens to take over the kingdom by reanimating the dead mother dragon as a bone dragon. The fact that instead of a proper ending to the series we get a rather standard, uninteresting, thrown together story that's the sequel to a spin-off episode, instead of the better earlier ones, unfortunately makes this an underwhelming experience. The game deploys many of the late hidden object game elements, including interactive storytelling, where we have to click on the mentioned actors/objects for the story to unfold and progress, a wide variety of minigames, hidden- and fragmented object scenes and combinable items, or alchemy. The number of riddles & puzzles surpass the hidden object scenes (something I like, since they are more entertaining than finding the 12 defined items in a heap of things), they are from the fairly easy kind however - even the sliding- and the rotating ring puzzles, which I didn't mind. There are some dubious item uses, such as crafting an oar from a bone, or using the teeth of an animal skull to cut a rope when there are more convenient sharp objects around which would have been much more suitable and then using mushrooms (!) to plug small geysers in a swamp... in the correct order, furthermore. On the other hand I liked the cauldron, which we have to return to from time to time to mix potions producing different effects depending on the mixture, like removing rust or magically restoring broken items. We don't get any kind of animal helper (which we had in most of the previous parts) nor a special magical artifact. There are 2 types of collectibles: puzzle/jigsaw pieces and various morphing objects (they are visible for a period of time, shortly disappear, then reappear again). Since the game closes previous areas rather frequently, I recommend not going forward until we inspect the current location. The game is kind enough to mark how many and what kind of collectibles are present on the actual screen (shown by the flower symbols next to our tasks). There's a bonus adventure, but I wish there wasn't: it's one of those 2nd rate additional contents, in which a (nameless) dragon rider knocks us out and tries to steal a newborn dragon. It barely extends the ~3 hour long playtime of the base game by 20 minutes. The game supports a somewhat older graphics style, it doesn't look bad, but not as good as the preceding ones. Animations however clearly feel cheap and lazily done, especially when compared to the previous entries in the series. The audio is as great as it is in most hidden object games, it's actually surprising how some A class games can still have poor sound effects sometimes. There's reused music from the previous parts and while it's not unusual, it's quite frequent and noticeable. Also, at times it's very faint then gets really loud suddenly. While [i]The Secret Order 8: Return to the Buried Kingdom[/i] isn't a bad game on its own - wouldn't call it good either - I would definitely not recommend it to those who played any of the games from the series, because clearly this is the weakest one. For those who didn't, it could provide some entertainment, since there's no problem regarding the gameplay, but then again, I would rather suggest the great [url=steamcommunity.com/id/atisz2/recommended/399890]second part[/url] instead. PROS + plenty of various minigames + high quality audio + displaying how many collectibles are on the screen is helpful CONS - weak story, doesn't have much to do with most of the previous parts - no constant animal helper or diary - lazily done animations RATING 5/10

"The Secret Order 8: Return to the Buried Kingdom" is a free mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as a nasty cash grab by the mobile app developers, Artifex Mundi. A typical Artifex Mundi Hidden Object puzzle game, the type you normally see on mobile app stores or even as browser apps. There's literally hundreds of these on Steam, most of them published by Artifex Mundi, many of them free on mobile app stores, but this one will cost you money on Steam. There's a fantasy/magic theme to the game, but this is a just a veneer over a tired and overdone set of hidden object minigames and Adobe Flash tier puzzles, wrapped together with a bunch of static screens that you "move" through by tapping your finger on your iPhone screen. While these kinds of games are popular amongst casual gamers, it's difficult to argue this is a great value proposition as a PC game, especially considering the price of this compared to the hundreds of free HOGs on the mobile app stores. From a technical perspective, as a mobile app, this doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard. There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks. There's no way to ensure this is running at the native resolution of your display. There's no guarantee this game will look right on any PC as a result of this hamfisted design decision. Because this is a mobile app, it carries a number of deliberate design deficiencies. Compromises were made to cater to the iPhones that the mobile app was designed for. These are unfortunate handicaps and limitations that PC gamers shouldn't be forced to accept, but it's evident that PC was an afterthought for the iPhone developers who are to blame for this. The mobile app is deficient as a result of these choices, and would have been so much better without the handicaps that designing games for mobile phones forces upon a game. Once more, mobile devs have made gaming worse for everyone. I didn't spend thousands on building a gaming rig just so I could pretend it's an iPhone. These technical defects push this mobile app below acceptable standards for any modern PC game. The mobile app never really caught on with the millions of gamers on Steam, with a very low peak player count close to launch, and then just a handful of players launching this mobile app every couple of days. This is undoubtedly caused by factors such as those raised in this review. It's always helpful with buying decisions to consider how popular and successful the product is, and unfortunately while this did accumulate a few participation trophy reviews, overall, people just aren't using it. So, should you buy this mobile app? Is this one of the best of the 100,000+ games on Steam? Once more we see greedy mobile devs trying to scam PC gamers. On Steam, this is $15 USD, on app stores, it's free. Mobile devs must learn PC gamers are not here to be gouged, and can't be expected to pay a premium for a free mobile app just because it's been lazily dumped on Steam. This is unacceptable disrespect for PC gamers. Because this can be played free elsewhere, and because of the other defects, it's impossible to recommend. FIFTEEN BUCKS FOR A FREE MOBILE APP. Just who do they think we are?

The FINAL GAME and you cannot be counting it as the 8th of the series. No, nope. YES, you still play as Sarah. YES, you see some characters of the past. But NO... There is NO ORDER business and nothing from the previous games that relates to what made up the whole "SECRET ORDER". You don't even get cute pets anymore either... I mean... You get a hedgie for a few minutes... But he is an "item"........ :< This one shall be titled: "The Final Farewell". Because everyone is tired by now, even Sarah... Who looks like she could use a few weeks of sleep in that image. Well, in this one they brought back a few characters, but... I can't recall exactly who they are. I don't know of any person who can play 8 games of H.O. one after another and still be sane or know the meaning of "fun" afterwards. So that said... I only remember the dragon, who had no name back then (right? Oh well), only due to flashbacks. Then the gameplay and stuff. Visuals are fine. Music is fine. Puzzles are simple and okay, this time I'll give them credit as there were some stuff they hid really well. Outside the H.O. scenes. Otherwise you just blow past the game and things may have happened and you ask yourself... "Where is that damn sexy ship?!" Or rather... "What happened to the ORDER in the freaking "SECRET ORDER?" Oh screw it! We made it to the end and we went through it and we can finally put this whole series to rest. Woo? Yeah. We can do a small "Woo." But that's it. Woo. Fin.

This game delivers a fairly underwhelming experience. The story feels flat and uninteresting, making it hard to stay invested in the game’s events. While the riddles are generally fine, they don’t make up for the lack of a well-rounded experience. The game often feels disjointed, with puzzles and story not blending together very well. Overall, it’s not a bad game, but it’s not one I would recommend. The weak narrative and uneven structure keep it from standing out, even with decent puzzles.

Сюжетное продолжение 5й части серии. Авторы попытались вдохнуть новую жизнь в странную историю об утонувшем драконьем царстве. Даже если бы это получилось на геймплее это бы никак не сказалось, ибо с 4й части он не меняется - всё те же головоломки в разной подаче. Для тех кто играл в предыдущие части, прохождение ни составит ни какого труда. Игра годится чтобы немного "размять" мозги.

Kolejny HOG od Artifexu (a przynajmniej przez niego wydany) - to dalej "to samo". Jak podobały się poprzednie gry, to ta też podejdzie. Fabuła nadal jest żeby była, zagadki nadal się powtarzają w porównaniu do poprzednich gier... I to wszystko póki co przekleiłem z poprzedniej krótkiej recenzji, no bo niewiele się zmienia. Z błędów - czasem dwie kropki zamiast trzech w zdaniach... i chyba więcej tym razem nie zauważyłem, co można uznać za sukces. I tak się kończy legendarna 8-częściowa epopeja, gdzie z fabuły nie zapamiętam nic, a pierwsza część (której nie ma na Steamie) była najlepsza :) Ale i tak się przyjemnie klikało.

[i]<Game native resolution 1366 x 768 >[/i] What happened to the quality levels in this eighth game? The artwork is grimy, gungy and grainy. It needs to look slick and smooth for a proper pleasing fantasy feeling. It appears the native resolution was lowered from series standard 1600x900 to 1366x768. This is slightly lower than the native resolution 1400x900 of the first game! (not available on Steam) Despite the strange reduction in quality, there are finally some interesting things in the gameplay. There are a couple sections of action, where timing and reacting are required. It's not difficult in the slightest, but it's such a departure from the usual gameplay that I enjoyed them a lot. I don't know if there will be any more Secret Order games, but it has been 3½ years since Sunward last released a game to Steam. Over the course of the series, they took a very unique first game and pumped out generic, yet inoffensive, sequels. I like The Secret Order as a series, but I literally cannot remember what happened in any of them without looking back at my screenshots. These sequels were forgettable, to the max. I've looked for other games like the first Secret Order: New Horizon, but haven't found any. I'm sure there are some out there in the thousands of hidden object adventure games on Steam, but I'd really expected that the sequels would have been those similar games. Well, there you have it. I've now played and reviewed all The Secret Order games. (Except for TSO: New Horizon which I played but haven't reviewed because it's not on Steam.)