Maestro: Notes of Life Collector's Edition Overview & Download link

for $ 13.99 only!

Hello, my friends. Some time ago many of us played very interesting and unusual Hidden Object/Puzzle game dedicated to music thematics - Maestro: Music of Death. And today Big Fish Games studios releasing it's continuation - Maestro 2: Notes of Life. I'm going to give you detailed describe of this game but from the beginning I wish to say just one thing - Maestro 2: Notes of Life is way better than the first part. But let's not run ahead - watch gameplay video first.

I hope you noticed few things from this Maestro: Notes of Life video. First: Maestro - a little boy, just like Mozart (he arranged own musical concerts when he was less then ten years old). Second: graphics. Graphics in the game is absolutely splendid. From the screenshots it cannot be seen, but in animated scenes, shown in the gameplay video it can be seen perfectly. Animation (including faces animation) in this game is perfect, best I've seen in casual games for a long time.

But let's talk about the core of any game - story. As you may remember, story of the first part, Maestro: Music of Death (of course, if you didn't missed it) was pretty good and unusual too. Misterious illness sieged a small village. It was likely supernatural - main illness symptom was very fast aging and dying of the sick person. And all villagers can heard very strange ominous music... So you were sent to this cursed and quarantined village to find the source of the illness, discover the source of the music and connection between them.

 Moreover, your side task was to find and save a little girl, trapped in this god-forgotten village before she become ill and die just as everyone else. It wasn't simple, but possible to save the girl and other villagers from this illness and find the music source of it. Maestro: Music of Death game was really good, it has average rating about 4.8/5. If you missed this game, download it here.

But let's talk about the sequel story - Maestro 2: Notes of Life. This time you must investigate another case, connected with the strange music. Young girl was kidnapped by very unusual way - she was lured away by sounds of strange attractive music. It looks like a young boy is behind this kidnapping, boy with a violin. Hi has bright mind, experienced hands and genuine-level talent. Such talented kid must be great musician, getting big money and success during his concerts and musical performances. But that's not what happening, looks like something is very wrong about this boy...

Music... Usually no one expecting nothing bad or ugly from music. When someone telling us about a little boy playing violin we are expecting heart-touching music, something tense and tragic and very-very sad. Music in our minds is connected with joy, pleasure and relax. Some kinds of music (i.e. rock, especially death metal, pank, rap) may be unacceptable for our ears, but what bad can it cause except the deafness (if listening it with sound level more than 120 dB)? And classical music, played in the violin, can be only good (sometimes boring, sleep-causing but good). Developers of Maestro: Notes of Life are thinking different.

In the first and second parts of Maestro music is a real danger. It may cause illness and death, it may break your will and make you a musician's puppet. Let's set aside ability of musical influence with such power, because it's really possible (as you may know, regular musical sessions affecting even speed of plants growing, not saying about more complicated creatures). More interesting and sad is why a young boy with such kind of power use it for doing something like kidnapping?

 

He may become a favorite musician for any audience, gaining glory and love of the millions. But something in his childhood made him evil and now such great talent is using for causing death and destruction. Maybe he was abandoned by the parents, or teacher, jealous to his great talent, use everything he can to break his musical career. Only Maestro 2: Notes of Life can answer this question. Once brilliant boy becomes dangerous young prodigy with big and evil plans. That's the main tragedy of this exciting game.

During the game, usually for the Hidden object games you will travel through various very beautiful locations, trying to find traces leading to the evil musician and his kidnapped prey. You will search for clues and solve interesting puzzles, some of them are also very unusual. For example, on the screen you may see the mosaic, that must be completed by you with the correct colors. There are also other danger you may step into, for example, poisonous snakes. Will you be able to fight against the evil music, that taken the little girl, music so powerful, that it may make the dead rise and play it? Can you save everyone from the Maestro?

Now let's see, is what you can find inside the Collector's edition of Maestro: Notes of Life worth $ 13.99, or it's better to wait one month before standard edition will be released. Maestro: Notes of Life CE includes:

1. Wallpapers. Beautiful, but for $ 13.99 I may Photoshop such myself ;)
2. Screensavers. That's more interesting, but unfortunately I don't use screensavers :)

3. Concept Art. I always loved that kind of stuff, and concept art of Maestro 2 is really good, I like it.
4. Bonus gameplay. Another spooky story of music of death, music that taking lives. Interesting, really.
5. Integrated Strategy Guide. Helpful for beginners and ones who stuck on something - puzzle, hidden object scene, anything. All included, detailedly described and pictures are also provided.

6. Soundtrack. Good tunes, and none of them will kidnap you or kill you :)

Altogether content of Collector's edition is good enough to buy it, and moreover, you shouldn't have to wait until the Standard Edition will be released.

Summing up, Maestro: Notes of Life game is really remarkable and marvelous. Graphics and music are unique, story  is unusual, gameplay is exciting and admirable. Real must have for any Hidden Object games lover. Good luck!

Rating: 4.9/5.

for $ 13.99 only!

Temple of Life: The Legend of Four Elements Collector's Edition PC Game Overview & Download link

for only $ 13.99!

Hi, everyone! Today is Sunday and it's time to review newest HOG from Big Fish Games - Temple of Life: The Legend of Four Elements. Here you won't find Walkthrough, Hints, Tips, Cheats, Solutions, Help, Guide, Tricks, Answers, Codes, Passwords or Faq - all you can find here is a brief game review with some screenshots and gameplay video. For more information I recommend you to go to the game publisher forums. And we will start our review precisely from watching video.

Interesting, I may say. Last years the most popular thematics for HOG is ghosts. You may see haunting spirits, vengeful spirits, kind spirits in almost every modern adventure game. IMHO it becoming annoying and boring. Fortunately, creators of Temple of Life: The Legend of Four Elements did their homework and you won't see any ghosts here. Moreover, game is dedicated to archeology thematics and you not just collecting ancient artifacts for some shaded mystical reasons - you are trying to save the world before it will be destroyed completely! Can't say this is completely new storyline beginning, but at least it adding some adrenaline to your veins, especially when you seeing the destruction of your surroundings. But let's start from the beginning.

Once upon a time there was an archaeologist. He was old and eccentric, everyone thinking that his life is going to the end and all greatest discoveries he's already made, are in the past. But  archaeologist was stubborn and he didn't give up. So once, exploring very strange ancient settlement in the desert he found legendary Temple of Four Elements (someone call it also Temple of Life). Firstly he told no one about his discovery but he took the Element of Water from the Temple,  arrogantly ignoring the legend about catastrophic consequences of such action. And unfortunately for everyone the legend wasn't lying.

Actually by taking away The Element of Water from the other elements, old archaeologist unleashed the complete destruction on the humanity itself! And now it's up to you, a young pretty girl, to restore the balance of the Four elements and to fulfill the legend about the savior, who's destiny is to rebuild the Temple of Four Elements, Temple of Life in all it's grace and harmony. As any other normal archaeologist (not Lara Croft or Indiana Jones) you will explore archaeological excavations, collecting the artifacts of the passed times and heading your way to the Element of Water.

But some elements of Lara Croft actions are also available in Temple of Life: The Legend of Four Elements. You will disarm ancient traps, solve strange and twisted puzzles from the time of long forgotten empires and kingdoms. Some traps are really deadly, few are guarded by the undead warriors of the ancient times. Open hidden doors, explore crypts, closed and abandoned for thousands of years. And remember: every minute you waste is leading Earth to complete destruction. There will be no rain or snow without the Element, all we can obtain from the weather is hurricanes, earthquakes, sandstorms and tornadoes. Each hour you lost causing lost of human life, thousands of them. So hurry up, obtain  The Element of Water and return it where it belongs before our planet will be torn apart!

As I say, you must work quickly to stop the damage, but don't worry: there is no time limitations in Hidden Object scenes. Of course you may be attacked by the mummy who will eat you alive, or if you choose wrong sequence of actions, floor may broke up under your foot, opening deep trap with the sharp wooden stakes. Or maybe giant axe will fall from the top and smash your head off. Everything is possible in the archaeologist's work, especially in the Temples of the Ancient Egypt.

Sounds and music in the Temple of Life: The Legend of Four Elements game are great and made a really good fit to the sandy desert landscapes. Graphics isn't bad either, but it may be better though.

Now let's talk about complectation of the Collector's Edition. Walkthrough, integrated into Temple of Life: The Legend of Four Elements is nicely done it detailed (just us any other walkthrough) but graphically it completed as ancient book: in table of contents you are chosing needed chapter and then reading the walkthrough as a simple book, page after page. Of cource, images are clickable. Very nice.
Also Collector's edition includes Bonus gameplay, I suppose, the most important part of any Collector's edition. It will gave you about four hours of additional puzzles and hidden object scenes, united in the bonus chapter.
Wallpapers. Usually I didn't really appreciate wallpapers, but not this time. It's not just a screenshots of the best gameplay moments - wallpapers in the Temple of Life: The Legend of Four Elements is a real piece of art. Some of them you may see in the gameplay video.

Collector's Edition also includes screensavers (also very nice), concept art and game soundtrack.

What may I say? I really liked this game. Gameplay is near perfect, story of Temple of Life: The Legend of Four Elements isn't boring at all, music is absolutely splendid. The only drawback I found - graphics may be more detailed for the end of  2011, but just a little. Without it, game may retrieve highest rank. Must have!

Rating: 4.9/5.

for only $ 13.99!