My Review
This
is the sixth in the popular Mystery Case Files series of games, and
it takes place immediately after the events of the previous episode,
Return to Ravenhearst
(though you don't have to be familiar with that game in order to
play this one). As you are driving home, you're caught in an
unexpected blizzard. You turn into the small hamlet of Dire Grove,
which is closed for the season, and you come across a mysteriously
abandoned car. Footprints leading away from the car take you into
the ghost town of Dire Grove, where you begin to find VHS tapes left
behind by some badly frightened students (no doubt inspired by The
Blair Witch Project). And so, you're off to solve a new mystery.
Like its predecessor, Dire Grove is a point-and-click adventure
game, which allows you to freely explore the town. There are plenty
of hidden object scenes and the usual mind-boggling puzzles, though
the puzzles feel a bit more contrived in this game than they have in
previous episodes. This game also marks the return of morphing
objects, which we first saw in Madame
Fate. As usual, the graphics are gorgeous - the artists really
capture the feeling of a snow storm, with its strange diffuse light
and eerie stillness. You'll definitely want to bundle up with a
blanket and a cup of hot cocoa while you're playing this game,
because you'll start to feel cold! Like the other games in this
series, I rated this one Teen. The gameplay itself is pretty clean,
but the story is definitely too intense for smaller children. During
the course of your investigation, you'll come across the frozen
bodies of some of the students. And the story itself is a bit dark
and creepy.
There's
also a special Collectors Edition for Mac
and Windows
for $19.99 that includes an in-game strategy guide, bonus
achievements to unlock, and extra "Easter egg" levels and
puzzles that reveal secrets related to both past and future Mystery
Case Files episodes. This review was based on the
standard edition, so I cannot comment on the family-friendliness of
any of the bonus content. |
