I just finished the new release Delaware St. John, The Curse of Midnight Manor. Beginning this game I set the scene . . . lights out, headphones on and cranked up. It started out as I expected and was a nice spooky treat. The premise is very intriguing with Delaware being a clairevoyant and being aided by a parasychologist. The game progressed very quickly and the story unveiled nicely. I quickly reached the end of story 1 and it transitioned nicely into story 2. I was disappointed though at how short the game was, the lack of inventory item puzzles and not as many clairevoyant sessions and scenes by Delaware.

The second half of the game was about finding the source of the evil that inflicted itself on the first stories victims. There was not much character development, and the explanation of how the evil started was a little sketchy.

The ending quickly came and left me wanting more, but also wondering why the sudden ending and no real solution as to the evil of Midnight Manor.

Considering this to be a one-man operation and I'm sure all the funding, marketing, development, etc. has been an uphill battle for him, I think this game rates about 3.5 BAAGS out of 5. I think the story idea and graphics are great as well as the eerie aspect of it all. (I caught myself looking at "shadows" out of the corner of my eye all evening and taking off my earphones because I thought I "heard something"). As gamers, we all know a good, scary ghost story are hard to come by anymore and I think Big Time Games should be very proud of a nice product.

Hey tinagoss --

Thanks for this most timely review! I'm still waiting for this one to arrive in the mail, and I was dying to know more about it.

What did you think of Delaware as a character? Was it easy to empathize with him? Did you admire him? Is he a traditional hero-type?

Unfortunately, I don't think they developed him as a character very much. I would put him in the category of Nancy Drew, I think. Very aloof and cracking jokes every once in a while. The game opened making you think his gift is a curse, but during the game he's very nonchalant about it. I wouldn't say I admire him like a character like Kate Walker, but he does try to help these souls and that's his main goal.

I'll be interested in seeing what you think. That was my first attempt at a review - terribly green at it as you can tell. It's been kind of fun giving hints on the forums instead of being the one who's stuck. : )

Thanks!
Tina

It was a terrific first attempt! Please write more reviews.

I agree with Tina..... I enjoyed the game for the most part. For a starter project I think they did a pretty good job. Im pretty new to the forum thing but llewton seems pretty bitter. Though I suppose that what forums are for. If I had to rate it on a scale to 5... I would probably give it a 3.5.... It was fun... the one puzzle annoyed me but I finally figured it out.. I liked the story and the sound and music was good.

I was disappointed in the game. The ghostly characters' stories were not developed and you didn't care whether their spirits were released or not.

If you played Inherent Evil The Haunted Hotel, you quickly realized that you were in a reused floor plan of the "Haunted Hotel" instead of a new floor plan of "Midnight Manor". This further shortened an already short game, cause you had no need to learn your way around the "Manor".

I thought Delaware and Kelly were likeable characters, and the game engine was fine. If he works on character development and more game puzzles I think the next "Volume" could be much better. I have hope that he will, and would purchase the next "Volume".

I could only give it a 2.5 out of 5. By the way, check out Inherent Evil a much better game, at least in my opinion.

"Q"

Nice job, Tina! Hope you do continue to write, and a great first effort.

For an indie, a super game! One thing which really grabbed me was the voice acting. Spot on for each of the characters. You feel there is so much more to be developed in future games, like opening a box of chocolates, theres just Got to be another layer underneath!!!

I really enjoyed the game. Some times it is nice to have something short and enjoyable to play. (Although the maze was enough to make one dizzy.) I get frustrated on most timed sequences, but these were pretty forgiving and quite attainable. I am looking forward to Volume II - has anyone played it yet?

Hey cbrogan -- I'm glad you enjoyed the first game in the series.

Volume 2: The Town with No Name will most likely be appearing in the mailboxes of those who preordered late this week (about December 8 or 9) or early next week.

Well, I just finished this wonderful little game--no one can say I'm not right on top of things

I had a wonderful time playing this and am now really looking forward to playing Vol 2--

Big Time Games for a few hours of great entertainment!

Vol 2 is even better than the first, looney, so you're going to have some scarifying fun!

I'm playing the game right now and I have a GameBoomers walkthrough by catsmom2. Having read these comments on the game I have mixed feelings about continuing it. I've recently started Story 2 after having a heck of a time using the doll on the ghosts in Story 1. I'd hear all those ghostly sounds but couldn't find the ghost, at least in time! Then came that moment when I settled down and emptied my brain and totally concentrated (maybe a zen moment?) on just looking for the ghosts, ignored sounds and everything else, no thinking this is too hard in another part of my brain, and I aced it. What a relief, what a high. Not too happy about reading there's a maze as that sounds like even a harder challenge!

Sierra, there is a maze, but there are clues to solve it--though I confess to using the walk through-

After someone explained the clues, I 'got' it!

Have fun

Sierra -- there's a trick to the maze (isn't there always?) but it doesn't involve timing the way the "doll" sequence does.

Your first instinct in the maze will probably be wrong. Analyze why the obvious thing isn't working and go from there.

(Hope that helps and doesn't hinder!)