Whoa... what a disaster !!! How does this series still call itself "MCF"??
Even the unavoidable and magnificent original music has disappeared, while it was one of the major signatures of the series !
The mediocrity and graphic platitude of the last titles is matched only by the indigence of their animations and their cinematics.
But where have the fabulous titles created by BFG Studios gone, such as the mind-blowing "Escape From Ravenhearst" and the equally grandiose "Dire Grove", "13th Skull" or "Shadow Lake" ?!?
The incredible beauty of their graphics, the videos played by real actors, the astonishing details of any animation made them real masterpieces. (The last "MCF" really great and totally jubilant, although graphically different from those mentioned above, is "Fat's Carnival", an unbridled madness not to be missed...)
This "Black Crown" does not escape the disaster and is as mediocre as its predecessors and those who followed.
By an incomprehensible inversion of things, the more we have advanced in time with the progress of AI and graphics software, and the more the HOGs that have been released for 10 years have become shabby at all levels.
Anyway, if the current HOGs are A LITTLE LESS bad than their predecessors, I have never seen again such extraordinary ones as those released between 2008 and 2013....
An excellent game with very good graphics and an atmosphere that we suspect will be as foggy as it is disturbing ! The main criticism to make of it would be a lack of animations and cinematics, which gives it a somewhat cold, rigid and frozen appearance, despite the quality of its illustrations. But a very good HOG nonetheless...
This excellent game may not have a very original storyline, but the beauty of its hyper-realistic graphics and its creepy atmosphere make it unique. It's the kind of title that is impossible to confuse with any other. Too bad there are a little too many HOS for my taste. (And difficult, as the objects to find are sometimes tiny...) Same critic for the music, which remains almost the same from start to finish, and a lack of help lack of Map. Luckily the Hint quickly recharges and shows what to do and where to look ! But despite these few flaws, it's a game which leaves a good memory once finished...
Finally a game that goes off the beaten track, far from Heroic-Fantasy, haunted places full of ghosts and witches or medieval atmospheres !
This "Pianist" has a very original scenario which evokes the Second World War, and sumptuous graphics such as we unfortunately no longer find never in the HOG since 2012.
It also has some flaws, such as a lack of help which requires you to make numerous trips back and forth. But the locations are close to each other and everything is easier once memorized.
The musics are magnificent and bring a lot to this nocturnal atmosphere, where the storm and the rain are uninterrupted from the first to the last image !
It's a shame that the "normal" versions of the games are less available, because once again, the CE of this one is just an excuse to sell it twice as much...
"Black Rainbow" is a game with original graphics made of photo-montages reminiscent of "Myst", even if they are fixed like in a HOG and are not of the same level as those of this series.
And be careful, it's a pure Adventure game without the slightest HOS !
In addition, it is significantly longer than expected, with 5 Interactive Maps and nearly a hundred different locations located in the jungle, in labyrinthine underground spaces, or on the flying islands of an imaginary planet.
The story is well constructed, the numerous Puzzles are nice and rather easy, the Interactive Maps facilitate the countless movements and the music and the different atmospheres are engaging.
A very good "Alawar Games" ! Story, graphics, music and cinematic are excellent, all in a really original atmosphere. It's funny and full of brilliant ideas ! I loved this completely crazy game where even death is not that scary....
For me the great "MCF" started with "Ravenhearst" and ended with "Shadow Lake".
It was by pure chance that I came across this pure madness, a game so unique and exhilarating that it would be difficult to describe it in a few sentences.
Everything is incredible in this game, from the extraordinary graphics, (Although a little too colorful IMHO...) to the cinematic, the superb interactive triple map and a completely crazy story.
I don't know how long it took the creators of this game to make it, as it's so full of details and brilliant discoveries, but the result is truly impressive !
After playing this game, you'll think twice before taking hitchhikers in your car! This "Shiver" is as awesome and scary as "Poltergeist", and IMHO, to rank among the best HOGs you can find. Thanks to its superb graphics, its hazy and disturbing atmosphere, its exciting story, its excellent soundtrack or its perfectly realized cinematic, this game will keep you in suspense until the dermière minute.
A game with magnificent graphics but which is far too complex to understand ! The diary is armored with texts of endless length and the inventory has three categories : The usual clues / Those to find and sometimes to join to the previous ones / And the Objectives to achieve...) Moreover, the Hint doesn't work permanently, but depending on where and when you are in the game. "Devil's Triangle" was already not easy, but this title is much more difficult. What's the point of playing a game where we don't know what to do half the time and where the hint doesn't help us ?!? It's a shame because the illustrations are really splendid....
What an amazing game ! Why can't we find any more titles with videos with REAL actors, and not these actual animations which are well done, but which don't yet reach the perfection of reality ? (Only Car Racing games have been able to do this, and since years...) In addition to these videos, the graphics of this game are absolutely sumptuous. The story is completely insane, but that's the case with the majority of HOGs. This game is to be ranked among the best and most beautiful that I've played for almost 15 years ! (Watch out for "Deadly Sands" : this sequel also has good graphics, but is incomparably worse than this "Black Widow"....)
In the "SHIVER" series, "Poltergeist" and "Vanishing Hitchhiker" are to be classified in the twenty best HOG that I played in almost 15 years and among hundreds of titles. ("Moonlite Groove", with its disastrous interface and its many faults, is a complete failure compared to the other two....) The graphics, music, cinematics, scenarios and atmospheres of "Poltergeist" and "Vanishing Hitchhiker "deserve the same praise : they are as extraordinary as each other, and this, from all points of view. Here are two games not to be missed under any circumstances and to buy without the slightest hesitation !
Excellent "little" game ! The graphics and animations are far to be the best of all HOGs and the whole is visually a bit stiff and cold, but the story is more subtle than it seems at first glance, as the anguishing atmosphere of this disturbing psychiatric hospital. (The flashbacks to the lives and behaviors of the different characters, accompanied by a complete graphic style change, are original and very well done....) Main complaint : the absence of a Map, which forces to go back and forth a lot. But this "Mystery at Shady Pines" is a good surprise and you play it with pleasure the more you progress in the game....
If you like games with scary atmospheres happening in abandoned and gloomy places, this game is for you ! The graphics are superb and this "Mystic Hospital" is to be ranked among the very best titles. Moreover, the Bonus is very long and as excellent as the main game.
Like "13th Skull", "Fright", "Motor Town", "Dire Grove", "Alex Hunter", "Shadow Lake", "The Missing", "Shiver: Poltergeist", "Escape from Ravenhearst", "Top Secret Finders" or "STT: Livingstone", this fantastic "Nemo's Secret Vulcania " is to buy with your eyes closed !
Without a doubt, this game is to be classified among the 20 best HOGs you can find....
You are asked to choose only TWO titles among the thousands of existing HOGs ? Then your choice will be fast, obvious, indisputable and without any hesitation : it will be this "13th Skull" in first, and "Fright" in second. All the rest oscillates from the excellent to the execrable, whereas these two titles reach levels of quality remained unequalled and never found since their releases ! (Especially since there are no more games with real actors in the videos and in-game character overlays....)
Gone are the days when we found these games with extraordinary graphics and brilliant stories, (Like those of "Ravenhearst" or "Shadow Lake", to speak of the "MCF" series...) with videos played by real actors, and not these "animations" which are still far from being so close to reality. As for companies like "Domini Games", "Friendly Fox", "ERS Games"and other "GranMA Studios", with their games with hideous graphics and garish colors, they would do well to take a look at the fantastic games of this era, like this awesome "Dire Grove", in order to take drawing lessons... and good taste !
Surely one of the ten most fabulous HOGs you can find. From its story to its incredible graphics, from its interface to its cinematics, from its music to its mind-blowing atmosphere, everything is extraordinary ! In short, this game is an absolute masterpiece. (To be stored alongside "Fright", "Shadow Lake", "Top Secret Finders", "Livingstone", "The Missing", "13th Skull", "The Fog", "Motor Town", "Nemo's Secret Vulcania" and "Alex Hunter"....)
One of the most beautiful HOG I've played among hundreds, and surely one of the very best too ! The graphics are sumptuous, and of exceptional beauty and precision of detail. (Despite the smallness of the 4/3 screen....) The cinematic have the same level of excellence. The Interactive Map is essential, and the Hint indicates what to do in case of difficulty. The story is captivating, well written and the atmosphere is truly unique, thanks to a perfectly chosen soundtrack. In addition, the idea of having to find gold coins hidden in the decor, in order to access certain clues, is really brilliant ! This game is awesome, but players with bad eyesight will have to make efforts, because some gold coins are not easy to spot....
One of the most beautiful and extraordinnary HOG I've played since 2008, and surely also one of the best. The graphics and cinematics are sublime. The IM is very practical, and the Hint indicates where to look if you have difficulty. The story is well written and the atmosphere is really captivating, thanks to a perfectly chosen soundtrack. In addition, the idea of having to find gold coins hidden in the decor in order to access some clues is great ! This game is a masterpiece, and I regret not having bought this version, so much we would like it to be even longer....
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