It's nice to have a romantic story this time of year instead of the usual car crashes, nutty people, mad doctors/sciencetists running around, vampires etc. Story Prince hires detective to find girl who lost her slipper! 1--3 modes of play 2--interactive map, informing you of tasks that need to be done (beam me up Scotty# 3--help button refills quickly in casual 4--not your usual HOS, in this you have to place the items where they should go #you may need Spock's help to think logically) 5--items so far appear to be in same time period that is portrayed in story which is what I prefer 6--take photos during gaming 7--you get to ride a Unicorn Not just for young girls though the game gives that impression since the Prince and the Girl appear to be rather young. I personally would have preferred them a little more mature and better looking, after all it is a takeoff on a fairy tale. All in all a nice game for this time of year when everyone is looking for their "happily ever after".

Who doesn't love Fairy Tales, especially the story of Cinderella. Based on the famous story, you are a detective hired by Prince Charming to find the girl who stole his heart at the ball. Can you guess what your only clue is? and can this story get anymore cheesier? So off you go, with a glass slipper on hand, a Unicorn to ride, a letter from the Prince and a camera to take the odd photo for your album, (There are 30 photos required to collect thropughout the game). From one of my favorite game developers, this time we have a unique HOPA where the HO scenes are reversed and not as simple as one would think. Placing objects back to their place is fun and a break from your standard HOGs. There are three modes to play, you have options with many settings to adjust and the Graphics are stunning but I do wish the resolution was a bit better as there was some blurriness in scenes. I loved the voice-overs and sound effects as well as the soundtrack which really amplified the gaming experience immensly. The mini-games started off simple but gradually they became more challenging and fun. You have inventory objects to pick-up and ofcourse the HO scenes to play. I had a blast with the demo and look forward to helping Prince Charming find the girl. Naturally I am expecting to run inot trouble as I have already encountered the nasty harpies on the first leg of my journey.

This little gem turned out to be a wonderful palette cleanser, ridding me of the rotten feeling from a much-hyped sequel that undelivered in just about every category. "Detective Quest: The Crystal Slipper" was a wonderful tonic! Elephant Games delivers a beautifully constructed, fun, whimsical, and original kingdom complete with excellent graphics, unique and memorable creatures and scenery, gorgeous and highly interactive HOS and many clever, well packaged, if easy mini-games. GAME STRUCTURE: STORYLINE-Clean and strong to end of bonus play. Use of creative twists and turns kept all activities focused on the mission. Game play did not feel formulaic or become tedious and there was a good balance of iHOS, Mini-Game, and Adventure through the end of bonus play. MAP-Yes, Excellent. Showed objectives for each area, gamer location, allowed jumping to locations. (THANKS!-Without this feature the schlepping back and forth and forth and back would have resulted in a very different gaming experirence.) JOURNAL-No. Not needed. For potions and other directions given or available as needed. VO/Music: Not the best voices overs but not bad. Music was fine. Non-intrusive but also not-memorable. Sound effects pretty good. HINTS-Not available in hardcore mode. I did reference the strategy guide a couple of times. In hard core mode there were still some black bar hints that I would have been happy to do without. STRATEGY GUIDE: Yes. It was useful and well done. iHOS: OUTSTANDING. BEST EVER. I have not encountered this type before so maybe this is old news and a yawn for everyone else. For me this is a new type and a great find. For each iHOS, a list of objects was shown at the bottom of the screen.The gamer had to place each of the objects where it should go in the scene provided. The scene was a little junk pile style or sometimes had a theme. What a blast! Figuring out where the item should be applied at times was a puzzle in itself. There was always s

Graphics are stunning. HO games are very interactive. I like having to figure out where each object must go as opposed to just finding an object. Very different from most other HO games in that respect. I was hooked after only 15 minutes into the game. Definitely worth buying!

When you see a game by this developer, Elephant Games, you can generally expect excellence. This game is no exception. It reminds you of The Nutcracker, which is also one of theirs. The game starts out with you being summoned by the prince to find the girl who has totally stolen his heart and disappeared. After that comes the twist. It seems that our heroine, Isabella, has left the ball in a hurry because her father has been changed into a beast, and she, of course, has to help him out. This game is delightful entertainment, with crisp graphics, interesting puzzles, including a match 3. A map is included for easy navigation; a camera takes pictures of bad guys and gives you a clue as how to deal with them. When I saw the two star rating, I assumed that I wouldn't like this game, but I always try games to form my own opinion. I'm so glad I did, or I would have missed a delightful game. I highly recommend it!

GAME COMPLETED TWICE This is a fun story that embellishes freely on the Cinderella tale, with a darker theme to it, but filled with lively creatures as well as skeletons. I really enjoyed this one, more for the beauty of it than the gameplay I think. The game opens in an atmosphere of archetypal detective stories ? I think bootlegging and cabarets. But don?t get used to it, before long you?re off to a ?faraway land? looking for the girl with the crystal slipper. In the process you come across magical locations and spectacular creatures the likes of which could only be possible in a fairy tale. I found the HOs invariably beautiful, even the really ugly (sometimes disturbing) ones. NOTE: The HOs are all ones where you must put back items. The rest of the gameplay is adventure lite, not too many brain cells likely to fry, but I did occasionally need to use the map and the hint system outside HOs to direct my next move. Both were really good for that, so consequently I didn?t even open the SG. Using the help sped things up, the game still seemed a decent length to me. ... and the story ended happily ever after. Well worth many a replay. Bonus Content Review **** In the CE, as well as helping the prince and saving the girl, we also can photograph the strange beings we encounter for our photograph album. This is a really fun exercise and the chief benefit of buying the CE. The album is then available from the play page. The usual wallpapers, screensavers and concept art are available. And I want to make a point that applies particularly to this game, but most other CEs as well. Frankly I, like many others, wouldn?t care if we had these items in a CE or not, but if you?re going to have them, let?s do it properly. At the very least, the wallpapers should have been depictions of the gorgeous creatures, surely. Why not make the photo album the choice for the screensaver as well? Even concept art would be more interesting if it followed through the several incarnations

Another fantastic game right on the heels of The Nutcracker! Everything about this game is delightful, from the HOS which are different in a pleasing way to the graphics which are fantastic. I was seriously considering taking a break from Big Fish because so many of the games were becoming boring and I don't have the finances to waste my money on games that are just so-so. So spending my money on this game means something. I think it's worth the price.

Played 30 minutes casual - Elephant Games - 3 modes, casual, advanced, hardcore - Integrated SG which shows 7 chapters + bonus play - Bonus chapters and extras available in the demo - Voice overs - Very nice music - Map, you can jump from one place to another, shows areas of interest - Hint, outside H0, it tells you what you should do, very useful. Refills quickly in casual - H0, you have to put objects back where they belong - Good mini games - Gorgeous graphics Modern detective landing in a fairy tale !! Elephant Games are better and better, a real pleasure this game, unfortunately this is a buy for me....

This is a great game. It's not short, it's not childish, it's not for girls only. Enough with the stereotypes! You can and should demo it to see what it is about and if you like it but reviews shouldn't just be about whether you like it or not, whether you will buy it or not. I cannot afford to buy it but I was so disappointed that the demo time flew by so fast and I had to come back to reality. I say it is one of the best because the story elements, and the hidden objects and the puzzles fit well together and don't distract you from one another. There is no random moving around with zillions of things in your inventory without knowing where they are to be used. This is an interactive story with HOS and adventure elements that flows well together and allows a pleasant immersion in the story. Maps, music, graphics, difficulty, all blend together to form a standard that other games could use and strive to improve. I hope this review is of help to put things into perspective.

Elephant Games should change their name to Elegant Games. This one is especially classy and stylish, with outstanding graphics on wide screen. The story is a new take on the Cinderella Fairy Tale and extremely well done. There are a huge number of characters in it, all interesting to interact with. There are some of the most unique and fascinating beasts I have ever seen. Truly their creators are so talented. There are also exotic animals and birds which play their parts in the tasks and story. Then there are those of the furred and feathered kind we are used to, who are our helpers, or in some cases just there to make us go "OMG, that is so cute!" And I did, several times. The iHOS are of the return the items variety and just the right amount. The music is a little sparse in places, but there are ambient sounds, which do lend to the atmosphere. There are collectibles in the form of a camera you receive at the start of the game, with which you photograph all the wonderful creatures you encounter. The SG was a little slow to respond but I did not use it much because the internal directions and instructions are just superb. No problems with navigation as there is a beautifully constructed jump map that transports you instantly. The puzzles were difficult for me, mostly, but those who love a challenge will be well pleased with them. The main game took me 5 hrs and ends conclusively for those awaiting the SE. But I really loved the BC. It is about a new threat from a different enemy and is of a more mature nature, rather scary actually. It is so well done, I did not even notice it had taken me 1hr 45 mins, I was that engrossed in it I lost count of the number of times I got a new surprise, or found myself smiling like a loon, or laughed out loud, or went all gaga. Just splendid.. A wonderful, marvellous and thoroughly intriguing piece of craftsmanship, polished to perfection. Nothing clumsy, awkward or lumbering about it. So, what ya think, devs? Elegant Games, yes