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Jadefalcon | 07-10-2011 02:31 PM |
Art of Murder:Deadly Secrets....
I realise the Art of Murder and Chronicles of Mystery Games don't get great praise here, but I had Art of Murder:Cards of Destiny lying about and decided to try it. Despite its faults I enjoyed the game except for a few frustrating parts.
However, I saw Deadly Secrets, what looks like to be the latest in the series and bought it. First impressions in the start screen weren't great when there as no voice acting for Agent Nicole Bonnet. Into the second screen and instantly....its a sodding Hidden Object Game.
Now I know there's been a lot of debates about these games, but its pretty angering that an established series, albeit a minor one gets hijacked by the HOG brigade. After all, there's plenty of them out there, and my local Morrisons store gets them in by the bucketload with the occasional other title in it.
millenia | 07-10-2011 02:39 PM |
Yeah you need to be very thorough these days when finding out about a game to buy. Lots of series have both regular adventures and HOGs and there's no way telling which one from the title. I always look up the games from several sources and keep looking for screenshots or mention of Hidden Object Screen/Puzzle/Game so I know where we are. Some HOGs can be fun but it surely is a disappointment if you are starting a full fletched adventure and end up with a HOG surprise.
I enjoyed Art of Murder: Cards of Destiny immensely, also found The Hunt for the Puppeteer good if not great adventure. The Scorpio Ritual was pretty nice too if horribly short. I don't think they are really hated here or anything, as you can see even TLJ got a lot of negative criticism here on that under/overrated games thread.
Jadefalcon | 07-10-2011 02:42 PM |
I haven't got AOM:Hunt for the Puppeteer, and I know there was a fourth game AOM:Secret Files, which DID mention on it that it was a Hidden Object game, usually saying things like "Hidden Object minigames/puzzles" etc, however this didn't which led me to believe that City Interactive were perhaps returning to the formula of their earlier games. I hear even the later Chronicles of Mystery has went the HOG route.
diego | 07-10-2011 02:43 PM |
It happened to Kheps Studio too, AWE Games... Frogwares made casual game out of Dracula sequel, and are producing both casual and full-length adventures.
Himalaya Studios made Al Emmo casual game, and AGON producers are planning fifth sequel both in casual and full-fledged versions.
So yes, these things happen, and there's been a debate whether HOGs are something bad or actually good for the genre.
As of Art of Murder, i also recently finished third part and is maybe their best effort yet. I was surprised how long and on occasions, hard it was since it was "last" one from CI before they took the "casual path".
Ascovel | 07-10-2011 02:48 PM |
A while ago City Interactive has officially announced here in Poland that they won't be doing traditional adventure games anymore. And I also heard they fired the majority of their adventure games making division (based on the once independent studio Detalion - Reah, Schizm, Sentinel), but I can't confirm that 100%.
Jadefalcon | 07-10-2011 02:49 PM |
Well personally I think it's a bad thing if it means that existing series are going to go the route of the casual game. It's one thing when you have established HOG game franchises like Mysteryville, but if normal point and click is going that way as well.....
I mean there's times I just want to sit and play a point and click rather than blast somethings brains over a wall 20 feet away. :)
millenia | 07-10-2011 03:53 PM |
Yes I agree that going HOG in an adventure series is pretty bad. Seems to me that they just start pushing those HOGs out and forget the long adventures completely then. I wouldn't mind is they used a franchise for HOG games too but ideally they would separate clearly from the adventure line and it would already show in the title and perhaps on the protagonist(s) too.
I really would have welcomed another AoM adventure since they obviously were getting the idea how to make a good adventure game. If they improved as much for the 4th one it could have been classic.
Stuart | 07-10-2011 04:36 PM |
The "Chronicles of Mystery" series, or rather the two proper AGs, is one of my favourites out there and I feel it is very underrated. OK, the first (Scorpio Ritual) was very short but had a fascinating plot and nice gameplay - and a lead character with some actual substance. And then the second (Tree of Life) improved on the biggest flaw of the first - length - by being a much longer game, and yet was only rated **1/2 here compared to ***1/2 for its predecessor.
I'm just starting on the first "Art of Murder" and the gameplay mechanics/UI are nice but the translation/voice acting is hurting it a lot for me - some of the lines and delivery are shocking even to someone used to shoddy translations. So far the storyline is slightly generic "female cop on killer hunt" with the main character really underdeveloped so far, but I'm expecting some twists and hopefully improvements.
millenia | 07-10-2011 04:45 PM |
The first Art of Murder is the weakest by all aspects really. The UI, voice acting and puzzles all improve tremendously on the second game and the difference between FBI Confidential and Cards of Destiny is huge.
I almost didn't finish the first game. And the reviews here give it 3½ while the sequels get a 2½. Personally I think the first review is very forgiving and the others then are nitpicking. Gray Matter got 3½ too and one would have to be insane to consider FBI Confidential better ;). Of course there still are people who prefer the first game but I think it's just some kind of personal "the atmosphere felt better" kind of thing.
zoecastillo | 07-10-2011 05:48 PM |
I absolutely loved AOM 2 & 3 - played them a gazillion times (due to play again soon!). I also thoroughly enjoyed both Chronicles of Mystery. It annoys me too that they made new ones that are HOGs - I also thought new AGs came out. Hopefully we'll get some new AGs from both series again soon.
Jadefalcon | 07-11-2011 10:01 AM |
I really should get hold of Hunt for the Puppeteer as I enjoyed Cards of Destiny. The only bits of COD that really ticked me off was the searching of the cinema seats using the default settings as if you were in there too long sometimes your video card could start chugging, yet its a decent card I've got. Instead I temporily shoved the gamma settings to max.
The first AOM game looked nice, but as I remember it was a bit rough. Then again, this can happen to multiple game series. Look at the first Agatha Christie game, And then there were None I think it was called, but the series gradually got better with Murder on the Orient Express and finally Evil Under the Sun. As I understand it Murder on the Nile and another Poirot game were HOG's done by a different company. A shame that the series could not be carried on as it was.
I've rechecked Deady Secrets box, and there is no indication anywhere, either on screenshots or on box blurb that it is a hidden object game, therefore I'm going to try returning it. If I had picked up an HOG without checking and there was text mentioning it, it would have been my fault.
Jackal | 07-11-2011 11:28 AM |
Not only have the last two games of both Art of Murder and Chronicles of Mystery gone totally casual, they're some of the stinkiest, steamiest piles of gaming excrement ever dumped on the public. If you can't get your money back, do yourself a favour and just stomp on the disc until it breaks. :r
Ascovel | 07-11-2011 12:29 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by zoecastillo(Post 585161)
Hopefully we'll get some new AGs from both series again soon.
Like I said above City Interactive confirmed that this won't happen, so there's no use hoping.
Jadefalcon | 07-11-2011 01:29 PM |
Now that's depressing, at the rate they were going both series had a promising future, plus they were relatively cheap as well. I will not buy the HOG incarnations on a matter of principle. As I've stated, I'm not against HOG's having their franchises, and I realise there are Sherlock Holmes HOG's for instance, but in multiple cases the Holmes games have had different developers.
terhardp | 07-12-2011 03:49 AM |
I don't have much of an opinion on the games from City Interactive, even though I've played all of the "Art of Murder" and "Chronicles of Mystery" games. Funny enough, their release dates always coincided with the adventure games dry season for me, so that's the main reason I've got them. But the only thing that really stands out in these games is mediocrity. Plus, agent Nicole Bonnet from "Art of Murder" series is one of the least likable game characters I've encountered thus far.
cbman | 07-13-2011 10:54 AM |
I played FBI confidential and thought it was awful.
Stuart | 08-20-2011 08:18 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuart(Post 585146)
I'm just starting on the first "Art of Murder" and the gameplay mechanics/UI are nice but the translation/voice acting is hurting it a lot for me - some of the lines and delivery are shocking even to someone used to shoddy translations. So far the storyline is slightly generic "female cop on killer hunt" with the main character really underdeveloped so far, but I'm expecting some twists and hopefully improvements.
Bumping this thread as I've now finished the first and second Art of Murder games.
The first really wasn't a very good game. Not awful but had a sterile, bland feel to it.
I was put off while playing it because the sequels get even smaller star ratings in their reviews here at AG and began to wonder whether it was worth it.
But having just finished Hunt for the Puppeteer, I now believe what a few here said - in every conceivable way it is superior to FBI Confidential. In fact, for variety of locations it is one of the most diverse AG games I've played, even if a still slightly generic feel prevents it from being some kind of classic.
And how cool was the Sylvie Leroux cameo for players of the Chronicles of Mystery series? :D
I enjoyed AoM2 much more than AoM1 though and am about to start on the third game.
diego | 08-20-2011 03:08 PM |
AoM3 is, not necessarily the best, but most definitely the most complex game of the series. It's interesting that City's Interactive "final" adventure before they ventured into HOGs territory is at the same time their longest game.
So in a way, they left the "full-fledged" adventure game scene with a style, and i suggest you stick with Cards of Destiny even if you find it a bit boring at places.
Stuart | 08-24-2011 06:07 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by diego(Post 588149)
AoM3 is, not necessarily the best, but most definitely the most complex game of the series. It's interesting that City's Interactive "final" adventure before they ventured into HOGs territory is at the same time their longest game.
So in a way, they left the "full-fledged" adventure game scene with a style, and i suggest you stick with Cards of Destiny even if you find it a bit boring at places.
I just finished the third and final entry into the trilogy and agree that it is a long and complex game, with lots of puzzles and higher difficulty than the others. I really do think the gameplay mechanics and ideas improved as the series went on. The terrible voice acting was forever a problem though and gave the whole series a slightly amateur feel to it.
Even though I think Cards of Destiny was the best made of the games, Hunt for the Puppeteer was my personal favourite because it took Nicole around the world rather than across a few states... and there were a lot of dark, gloomy locations in Cards of Destiny that I guess fitted the theme, but made me miss the more exotic and diverse locations of Hunt for the Puppeteer.
Its a shame really that they stopped making these as each game offers something the last doesn't and each newer title felt more polished than the last. With better voice acting, which would have been helped by a better translation, this would be a more memorable series I think.
It isn't a bad series overall but I do prefer what I guess you could call its sister series by City Interactive, Chronicles of Mystery. Sylvie Leroux is a lot more interesting than Nicole Bonnet, thats for sure. :)
Puzzler | 08-28-2011 09:53 PM |
I bought the art of murder pack from the adventure store. Played through the first one, thought it was alright. played the second one which really wasn't any worse than the first one but I just put it down after I got past the slider puzzler. I haven't even played the third one even though I bought it. If I could, I give it to someone else for free. But it's a download from the adventure shop, so I don't think I can do that.
These games are just too generic for me. I just can't take the mediocrity. It kills me after a while.
City Interactive actually made the right choice by going into making hidden object games. They just don't have the originality and creativity that is needed to make a really good adventure. Everything they made was soulless and full of cliches.
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