Customer Reviews

Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst [Download]

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

 

 

Although this game has been out for a while, I never got around to playing it. Then, since I've had the flu for several days and have been trying to stay entertained while stuck in bed, I spotted this game download on Amazon. Wow, am I glad I've finally experienced the HOG that's still considered the gold standard for the rest! Visually stunning, this game has a wonderfully spooky atmosphere that I found is best enjoyed with headphones. The puzzles between levels are absolutely fantastic: witty, inventive, and not so difficult that you'll pull your hair out. But, just in case you run into problems the game lets you "call in a puzzle expert" to bypass the puzzle solution.

Although I consider myself a semi-speedy HOG player, my first go-round of this game involved more than 6 hours of play. Of course, once completed there's an option to replay using all new clues and, quite frankly, I intend to do so because this game is well worth a replay... maybe even two!

Unfortunately, Amazon isn't offering "Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst" as a game download... yet... but I'm thrilled to see that Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate [Game Download] and 2 others in the series are available!!!

I made the mistake of playing Dire Grove first and then because I loved it so much, I bought THIS. I was unaware that there was a mandatory running timer through the whole thing, even in so called "relaxed" mode. Dire Grove had no timer. I actually have PLENTY of deadlines to deal with at work and I want to play games at my own place to relax. The clock in the corner constantly ticking down was a major distraction- you can't even turn the sound off without turning off all the game sound effects- and I found it hard to even enjoy the game at all because all I kept noticing was the clock. It felt like work. I don't think I'll continue with this and if this is how the rest of their games are I won't be buying any more. I suppose Dire Grove was a fluke. They should at least give you the OPTION of beating a clock or not. *sigh*

Not a fly by game. Takes time which I like and the puzzles within the game can be challenging.
Best game of this type I have tried so far.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with this game after reading the rave reviews - I wouldn't say it's the cream of HOGs. On the other hand, I'll certainly buy the sequel, if it becomes available.

It gets high marks for sheer length - it took me several nights to finish the game. I liked the 'total objects' concept for each level - like another reviewer, I got stuck on a snowflake and had no hints left. I gave up and left the room, and then realised that I only needed 45 of the total 50 or so objects to be found in the three rooms on that level. So, you can skip something if you really can't find it. I also enjoyed the jigsaw puzzles that put together scenes from the story, and the story itself gets high marks.

What I really disliked about the game was the lack of attention to detail. The developers put a lot of effort into some rooms, giving them the perfect atmosphere for the story, but others looked like they'd been borrowed from another game. I realise that many objects are going to be anomalies, but there is no excuse for the VW bug van in the garage of a stately mansion that's supposedly been deserted for a hundred years, or a video surveillance room a good fifty years before such technology existed.

I also found that the 'logic' puzzles added nothing to the game - most were impossibly difficult and the hints useless. What was the radio station connection to the game? Again, if this takes place in Victorian times, it was totally out of place.

There is also a minor technical problem - it may be related to Vista, but I haven't had this problem with any other game I've downloaded, and I have a very good video card and 3 GBs of RAM: the game seems to pause every few minutes or so. It's very brief, and definitely just a bit of an annoyance. In addition, some objects are difficult to click - there is a pick in one scene that I found but apparently didn't click in just the right place. After much hunting, I gave up and used a hint and still had to try several times to get it. I came back to the room on another level and once again had the pick, and despite knowing exactly where it was, I had trouble clicking on it.

I was really disappointed in this game and would like my money back. I had just finished MCF's Dire Grove and had assumed-my mistake-that there would be the same continuity throughout-items found would have relevance, etc. Comparing the two, this one sucks.

I invested a LOT of time in this game. Got to one of the rooms, it wanted me to find a "snowflake." Couldn't find it. Used a hint to give me the general area. Couldn't find it--and usually given the general area, I spot the item right away. Used another hint. No snowflake. Well, I ended up using all 6 hints and it kept giving me one area. I was playing relaxed mode, so I started clicking randomly in that area. Of course it scolded me but I had 45 minutes left. I ultimately had clicked on every bit of that area within the hint circle, no snowflake. I could see that the game was over for me since something was wrong, so I started clicking everywhere on the screen. No snowflake. ALL THAT TIME WITH THIS GAME FOR NOTHING. Good luck to you if you get to the room with the snowflake--NO, it's not at the top center, I can tell you that.

Very angry at the waste of time with what is clearly a buggy game.

I prefer games where, as another reviewer put it, you wander spooky hallways in search of a mystery - and this is not that. It's just one hidden object game after another, with jigsaw-type puzzles and Rube Goldberg locks that were only occasionally frustrating for me. The graphics were just okay, too. But somehow this game was addictive! I think it's the satisfying noises it makes when you find an object or complete a puzzle. I didn't mind the clock too much (I accidentally chose timed play and there's no way to change it once you start) as I have a wide monitor, but it was frantic at the end trying to complete the last hidden object hunt! I didn't really need that, I don't play these games for the adrenalin rush! Still, not bad, and I got 6.5 hours of entertainment out of it.

One note - I'm using XP, and after beginning this game, other programs would no longer maximize - I could see them in the toolbar but couldn't get the window to pop up, even after I'd finished the game and uninstalled it. I fixed it by, I think, reinstalling one of the programs and restarting - somehow that fixed the rest of them as well. Might be just a problem with my operating system, though.

I love this game but i have a problem and was wondering if any of you experts out there can help me.
i got through the game and when i get to the coffin at the end, it says the spirit is free and then the game ends. i cannot get to the final puzzle. so i played it AGAIN and just about 10 minutes ago, i got to the same point and as soon as it says the spirit is free, it ends.

i think there is another puzzle. i have read there is an elaborate puzzle but i can't seem to find it.
can someone please tell me what i am doing wrong? i am starting it AGAIN and hoping by the time i get to the end, one of you will answer me.

as for a review, it's a great game except for the above in my case.
it's easy enough but challenging. the minigames are fun too.

please help !!!

They got it just right in this one, which came before MFC "Madame Fate". The latter is far too hard, with less and much smaller objects to find and more "embossed" ones, which are far less fun and border on annoying. In this game, released before, they managed a great balance. People are put off by the "weird" puzzles but I found them quite fun to figure out. This game had the perfect balance: a mystery to solve; haunting but not overly so; and I could finish each of all 20 levels in 2-3 tries - without becoming frustrated. And the puzzles could be skipped as well. I personally think they hit it on all cylinders on this one, then decided to make the next harder by making the objects to be found smaller and/or less familiar. I'd say out of all the MFC games this has been the best - difficult and many hours of fun but not frustrating like the follow-up "Madame". The best of the series by far. Runs perfectly on Windows 7, whereas MFC "Madame Fate" seems to have problems.

Better set a timer if you need to do other things -- because the time will just escape you!! I've had so much fun! Lost so much time! I'm glad the kids haven't found out yet -- this is one time that's MINE.