Customer Reviews

Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I don't know about you, but I play casual games as an escape, to go someplace where there are no utility bills to pay or meals to cook. Somewhere new and exciting. "Dire Grove" is the perfect escape, so immersive you'll shiver in your computer chair, as it never stops snowing in the strange, isolated little English town where you're marooned behind an abandoned car, its lights on, its doors open, a cryptic note on the front seat.

The graphics are gorgeous and "Dire Grove" is a worthy successor to "Return to Ravenhearst" both as an art production and a drama. Most of the action takes place before you arrive on the scene but near the abandoned car you find the first of 20 videotapes scattered around the area which document the adventures of four graduate students who seek to find the truth behind a Celtic legend and quickly get into deep, deep trouble. The tapes are very well done and as you pick them up and listen to each one you'll detect the palpable rising distress of the students as they get sucked into a strange world from which they cannot escape.

Of course, you've got to find the twenty-somethings! You've got to rescue them! With the snow crunching under your boots and the wild wind whistling in your ear, you'll explore the lonely, bleak cold area, including a creepy old bed and breakfast inn, a cemetery guarded by a hungry wolf, a sabotaged historical museum, an old mill, an abandoned barn, a boat shack and much more.

Sparkles will let you know there's a hidden object cache for you to explore and you save one tool from each hidden object location to use somewhere, somehow- a saw, a plank, a hammer, nails, a fire extinguisher. All of the tools are utilitarian and perform a sensible function. There's no combining of odd or inappropriate objects, but you will have to use your ingenuity to put the tools in the proper place such as powering up a generator to provide lights for the inn.

There are many stand-alone puzzles for you to solve as you trudge along in the snow. They are hard enough to be interesting but not so difficult that you become a basket case of frustration. From tile rotation to code deciphering, sliders, pattern connections and at the end a nifty riddle and alphabet sequencing puzzle, your brain will get a good workout. However, you can by-pass the puzzles if you wish.

"Dire Grove" pulls you into an atmosphere of dread: gloomy orchestral music is interrupted by eerie ambient sounds, crunches, squeaks, groans. You'll get so immersed you'll forget where you are! All in all, Grove is a cut above the rest. Perhaps you can call it class, but whatever you call it, don't miss this one!

This game is definitely worth buying if you're into hidden object games. And while I love Amazon the developer sells this version for 6.99. Catch the "this version"? There is another one. It's called the collector's edition and available only to members of Big Fish Games, the developer. It's the same price as what this one sells for here but has a built in strategy guide, a couple more scenes and behind the scene material. It also has objects that morph from one object to another (spoon to bowl to spoon) and various achievements.

Fantastic series especially from Ravenhearst to Dire Grove. Definite must buy!

search online I got it for $6.99 (downloadable) (from a famous online game company) don't pay this price! You can also play it for an hour free to see if you like it.

This is a hidden object game and an adventure game combined. I really like hidden object games but to be frank the old type gets boring. This takes it up a notch and has 'point n click' - pick up an item then combine with other items or use it somewhere later in the game. Also a nice amount of puzzles thrown in. Nice amount of time - not too short and not too easy either - quite logical with the items and requres some thinking for puzzles which is refreshing.

For those a fan of hidden object this is a must play game, and if you pick up like I did cheaper - it's worth the price.

I love the Mystery Case Files. In my opinion, there isn't any other hidden object/adventure game that compares to this series. They just get better with each new game. Beautifully done, I can understand why BFG releases only one MCF per year. The game flows smoothly as you search for missing students, stranded by a horrific snowstorm in Dire Grove. Brilliant graphics and puzzles, fantastic story and music, I was totally immersed in this game from the very beginning. Thanks again, Big Fish Games!

"Dire Grove", the collector's edition, is one of the top all-time great hidden object games, in my opinion. The graphics are stunningly beautiful, and the music ranges from hair raisingly spooky to downright beautiful. The sound effects are superb. Various things move in the different frames, like falling leaves, birds, mammals and wind blown tree limbs. The snow falls and blows so realistically that I shivered more than once when a gust hit! Fire, smoke and shadows are all realistic, but what really makes the game shine above so many others is the convincing acting of the four real characters! Wow! It blew me away. Very scary and fun!

The game is spooky without blood or gore. As a hidden object game, it isn't threatening--just the perfect amount of chills. I actually gasped twice during two startling reveals, and there were two locations that I was fearful of going! But I went anyway. :)

You can't get stuck in Dire Grove, the collector's edition, because the car you arrive in has a walkthrough on the dashboard! How cool is that? You click on a chapter and use the arrow at the bottom of the page to advance through the chapter, if needed. And the walkthrough book also has fun outtakes, concept art, additional beautiful animation scenes and behind the scenes video footage of the actors and film crew!

The puzzles are a blast, not too hard or too easy, (and they can be skipped, if necessary), and items that you add to your inventory are used in a logical way! There are also 50 morphing items to find, if you can, as well as all the well rendered hidden object closeup scenarios.

So, you arrive in Dire Grove by car. An unseasonably fierce snow storm has you stranded. A car is parked ahead, its hazard lights blinking, the door open. You approach and discover a camcorder on the front seat. You start it and are chilled by what you see! You check out the car and discover a few things, and then you decide to step over the chain that blocks a side road. On the chain hangs a sign that says: CLOSED. Thus your exciting, scary, incredibly fun adventure begins, with lots of chilly landscapes and creepy buildings to explore.

I don't recommend this game for sensitive or young children, but for teens and adults, it's a challenging blast of snow and ice that threatens to take over the world...and free a murderous Banshee!

Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove is the same high quality game you may have seen with Madam Fate and other Mystery Files games. This game is just as addictive and just as fun! The atmosphere is eerie, icy, and you must forsake all chores and things that need to be done to play it. It's totally addictive. In order to move forward there are some puzzles that you can figure out or pass on to get more clues to the Celtic mystery that surrounds Dire Grove.

The scenery is fabulous and so is the music as you move through scene after scene of frozen buildings, people, graveyards, museums, houses and landscapes. In each scene of hidden objects there is an object you'll need to put into your inventory and figure out how to use to unlock doors and get past certain obstacles.

Along the your journey in the small village, you'll find video tapes of the crew who your looking to save. The videos are really neat in a Blair Witch kind of way - this really adds to the storyline that you'll follow to get to the bottom of things and save the kids and unlock the puzzles.

This is a very addictive, super fun hidden object game with a great storyline. Sometimes, the hidden object games have obscure stories that you go through to get to the hidden object puzzles, but this storyline is built in so well and is very well done with actors. This is a great game, but I am warning you - you'll want to keep playing even if you have things to do. It's a really great game if you like hidden object games. The graphics are clear and the puzzles are challenging and super fun. Enjoy!!

I will say that Return to Ravenhearst (R to R) is still my all-time favorite awesome game, but Dire Grove is very very good. There are three types of gaming in Dire Grove (as there was in R to R): Hidden Object, Pure Puzzle (solve the puzzle to open a door) and Adventure Point and Click (find the ax in a cupboard and two buildings later use the ax to break open a fire extinguisher case, add the extinguisher to your inventory and two buildings later use the extinguisher on a fire).

The stand alone puzzles are varied (though R to R has a tad more exceptional creativity to the puzzles) and I'd say above average difficulty, once you find out what you're supposed to do. I wasted a good half hour on one just trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. But that makes the game good. Needless to say, I did't set any record in the length of time it took me to complete the game, but I think I set some record somewhere for the total enjoyment gotten out of the game!

The atmosphere is EXCELLENT, and the videos of these increasingly desperate kids (twenty somethings)ramp up the suspense. The hidden object portions of the game are up to the usual Mystery Case File standards, which are, I think, the best on the market. Plus, they added extra challenges which don't affect your completion of the game, but add more challenge and sense of accomplishment. For example, there's 50 morphing objects throughout the game. I didn't even realize what the deal was until I clicked on one out of curiosity and got a pop-up congratulating me. Danged if I only ended up finding 49 out of 50, so I didn't get that trophy. REPLAY!!

I bought this game at the suggestion of Amazon, in a bundle with Rhem 4. It got here first, so I started with this.

I liked the overall concept, which is similar (with some twists) to other "snapshot" games like Rhem.
Its unique elements, such as the "find the objects" areas, as well as the "morphing" items added a nice touch.

The gameplay was decent, and the puzzles entertaining -- if a little repetitive.

I didn't feel like the game made it clear enough what you really needed to locate and collect as you went along -- unless I just didn't pay attention. For example, who would have known, until too late in the game, that you needed to find mercury? Or an urn full of ashes?

I liked the integrated walk-through, but that made it a little too easy to "cheat". I guess I just need more willpower.

This game did not disappoint after Return to Ravenhearst. It was wonderful! No x-ray vision needed to find hidden objects, great graphics, terrific music, easy maneuvering, great story, just a super game! You have the option to skip puzzles you may not want to do and there are plenty hints if you need them. Always great to have options.
I purchased it from Amazon and got the collectors edition and it was worth every penny. Look forward to their next release!

You are driving through Dire Grove when your car breaks down in a snowstorm. While looking for shelter you come across an abandoned car with a camcorder inside. You soon find out the four teenagers are missing and something supernatural may have gotten a hold of them. Your job is to find the missing teenagers, free them, and stop the kidnapper from acting again.

"Dire Grove" is another excellent hidden object/puzzle game in the Mystery Case Files series. Each game in the series improves on the prior entries and "Dire Grove" is one of the best in the series. It is an interesting mix of live action (seen through videotapes you find throughout the game) and animation and there are some genuinely scary graphics in the game. The storyline is a good one, well written and developed, and having the students appear in live action footage only adds to the urgency of the game. There is a nice atmospheric feel to the game, not only because of the graphics but the background music. While some hidden object games fizzle at the end, the conclusion of this game was just as well done as the rest of the game.

"Dire Grove" is untimed (as it should be) so you can take your time, soak in the atmosphere, and try to solve various puzzles. Pay attention to virtually everything in the game because you may need to use it later in the game. The hidden object games can be difficult but you have ample hints (the hint button refreshes pretty quickly). If you click too fast your cursor freezes for a moment - literally (nice touch). There are a few mini games, none are too difficult, but they can be tedious - these games can be skipped if you wish. There is a lot of revisiting locations in the game - sometimes you find a hidden object game in a location that didn't have one earlier - and a map of Dire Grove would have been a nice addition. Although there is no map, there is a logbook that proves especially helpful close to the end of the game. There is also an inventory bar that I referenced several times. The game is sometimes easy and sometimes hard - towards the end I had to reference a walk-through because I was stumped. My total playing time was approximately 5 hours, although it felt longer.

"Dire Grove" isn't perfect and has a few odd glitches (my logbook repeated the same page three times and the game froze a few times) but for the most part it is a good challenging game and another winner in the Mystery Case Files series.