If you're looking for fun and unique, this game has it ALL! I'm thrilled to be playing a game that isn't the same old, same old... I do get tired of the same "formula" that seems to be the usual for Hidden Object/Puzzle/Adventure games: the scary, sometimes supernatural monster, that captures the main character's daughter/spouse/mother/dog, and as the MC one has to go thru the usual obstacles to rescue her/him. While playing this game [just played the 1 hr. demo - but I'm writing while downloading the entire game], so far I've learned that I'm in a town surrounded by a menacing forest full of mad [-crazy & -angry!] trees, and must use the power of light [literal] to repel them. So, IMHO, seems like a different storyline right there. I won't go into details more than that re: the story, so you can learn yourself... However, I will say that as far as the "mechanics" of the game, the Hidden Object scenes are different from any I've played before, EVER - and HOPAs are what fill up my Game Mgr. - so this is awesome to me! You're still finding objects, but what you do with them or what they do on their own, is unique - hooray for creativity! One hour along in the game, the puzzles have been different, too - not too challenging, rather, they're actually FUN, and not just something I have to get through to progress in the game - which is how I usually view most puzzles in other games [How long until I can skip this one? or will that penalize me somehow??] There are achievements [quite a few!], including picking up acorns along the way. Another neat and actually helpful feature regarding the acorns, there's a little chart in the lower lefthand of the screen, where you can tap your acorn and it will fly up to a tree, which if you hover your cursor over the spot it goes to, tells you what scene it came from, and which scenes you can still find them! You don't have to find out this info if you don't want to... These are just a couple of the great aspects of the game, and some

BASED ON ONE HOUR DEMO This game is awesome! I'll let the other reviewers go into the details of the mechanics, how many difficulty levels etc. (3 + custom btw), let me tell you about the playing of this one. First, everything is gorgeous. The GRAPHICS, the MUSIC, the CUTSCENES. FABULOUS. Intro is really good. VOs are used sparingly but are WELL DONE. There are acorns to COLLECT, and you actually have a tree to put them in as you go along. And ACHIEVEMENTS, accessible from the game. What's got me so excited, though, is the HO SCENES & INVENTORY PUZZLES. They come in different types. I encountered a FRAGMENTED HOS. And 3 of LIST types. The LISTS are EXTREMELY INTERACTIVE, with about half the items requiring extra steps to find them. When found, an item does not disappear, it moves so you can pick up the piece of puzzle hiding behind it. At the end, you must solve the puzzle (simple jigsaws so far) to complete the scene. I LOVE IT! Outside HOS, items you pick up may go into your INVENTORY showing a PLUS SIGN. This MAY mean they need to be combined, but just as likely, you will need to PERFORM more ACTIONS with it before it is USEFUL. For example, a wire coat hanger will need straightening. Another very cool idea. There are also cute critters in this one, but the one that won me was a hamster, who takes off when you open its cage, and leads you into a HO SCENE, in which it keeps popping up! Again, a wonderful idea. There were a few PUZZLES, in the GAME and in the HOS, none of which presented even PUZZLE DUNCE me with any trouble. If you encounter a problem, there is an INTERACTIVE JUMP MAP, DIRECTIONAL HINT, & of course, the STRATEGY GUIDE. HINT & SKIP are very QUICK. All sorts of options on the options menu too. BONUS CONTENT includes: BONUS GAME REPLAYABLE HOS & PUZZLES WALLPAPERS, CONCEPT ART, MUSIC TROPHY ROOM Another GAME Called OLD LADY about which I know nothing. POSTERS of the characte

Our story picks up from where we left off in the town Willow Ridge twhere people have lived under the threat of the everlasting night of the Dark Forest. Their only source of protection is the Great Lighthouse that keeps the menacing trees at bay. Your husband Alan has gone gone off to search for answers and it has something to do with the dreams he has been having of a ghostly woman becoming him. Suddenly the lighthouse erupts into fire and it is now up to you to uncover the history of your town and the Forest Rite. Once again the developers have really done an execellant job with graphics, visuals and artwork. The voice overs are well done as is the haunting music in the backgroug adding tension to the game. Along with three options of gameplay, you can also choose to customize your settings which I actually prefer. Equiped with a journal, you also have a list of objectives along with a map that will also allow you to travel and indicate tasks if selected. There is an amulate that needs to be reassembled that will hold off the trees. A exceptional HOPA, this game offers challenge, entertainment and all of my other favorite extras like achievements, collecting acorns and morphing objects. Looking at the list of achievements, there seems to be many that involve gameplay which will definitely make tis game more interesting and challenging. Packed with adventure, the Hidden object scenes are interactive and vary from the ones we are use to.Mini-games are also very well conceptualized and fun to play. Main menu also offer bonus games and other goodies that tell me that the developers went all out on this sequel. Kudos to the developers for this definite 5 star game that will most probably make the list of my top 10 games for 2013.

Fun and exciting game to play. Has good music and graphics. Good voice over and the game play is pretty good. There is running around to do (they all do now) but has pretty good flow. The HOS are good and not that hard. The puzzles are fun. Some are easy ans some not to me. There are tings to find that gives the game a different aspect and makes it fun. Just as good as the other game they made. Good story and a good game to buy.

This team did a superior job with this game. The voice actors were exceptional. This game to me surpassed a 10/10 rating. I base this on the beta version. Story: As the game starts, you see your hubby walking into the woods, and as you follow him he tells you to stay back. Of course you don't listen and follow him. He does have a dream of a woman becoming him, and a short time passes and the lighthouse blows up. She has to get the lighthouse back working again, or otherwise the evil trees of the forest will devour the town. Then she has to look for her husband. Graphics: Absolutely gorgeous. This team has a top notched art team. Music: Fits the game beautifully. I loved it. H0G scenes: They are fun. Each item you find gives you a piece of the item that will end up in your inventory. I did run into one FROG, so I don't know if there will be more. Mini games: Fun. Not to hard or easy just right. Still like to know how they did that movie mini game. The mini games are totally original. Kudos to this team for a fantastic job well done. I am so looking forward to playing the full version. Thank you.

The graphics in this game are very good; the music is ok. There are four modes of game play to choose from; casual, experienced, masterful, and the ability to customize all game difficulty options to your own personal preference (I like the option of being able to set your hint/skip recharge time for 15 to 90 seconds in duration). After gathering several pieces of a map and assembling them, you are provided with a jump map. You have the ability to change whether or not certain information is listed on the map (from your customizable game settings menu). There are a lot of extras in this game- find 34 acorns that you come across throughout the game, 5 Forest Fruit, 11 morphing objects... and an additional 30 achievements. The puzzles that I have encountered (if you can call them that) are fun but not especially difficult. The game is interactive (and not just in HO scenes) with respect to what you do with objects that you find and what you do with the objects... which makes for an interesting game. All in all this game is a definite winner.

I couldn't resist the play on words. Wow, what a game, those horrible trees are encroaching on our town because the only thing keeping the evil trees at bay are light and our lighthouse has caught on fire and the door is locked from the inside! To make matters worse, the lighthouse keeper has gone into the forest to try and break the enchantment spell cast on these malicious trees. You will earn lot's of achievements during this game as well as acorn collectables and forest fruits, the acorns you find will be displayed on a large oak tree. There are a ton of new and fun mini games such as steering a boat through treacherous waters trying to avoid rocks, storms and sea monsters, if you run into the rocks etc. you crash and have to start over! The HOS are different as well, the items you find move out of the way to reveal notes or puzzle pieces that you put together to reveal the clue and there is a lot of interactive play as well as achievements to earn in the HOS. At the beginning of the game you can choose from three levels of difficulty OR you can customize the game with or without sparkles, map indicators or even how fast the hint button recharges, cool huh? This is a well produced game that is fun to play with great graphics and a great story, I suggest this one for purchase, enjoy!

You live in the town of Willow Ridge that is held captive by a dark and foreboding forest, and the town?s lighthouse is the only thing that keeps the forest from consuming the town and its inhabitants. Well, you?ve guessed it, calamity strikes and there is a disaster at the lighthouse. Your husband has gone into the forest in an attempt to put an end to the forest?s hold over the town and you have followed against his wishes. The game has a very interesting story that gets better as you move along. It took me a bit of time to get going but once I did, I just had to continue because the game really gets good and I didn?t want to quit playing. There are 4 modes of gameplay ? casual, experienced, masterful and custom. The game opened automatically in widescreen on my Windows8 laptop but there is a button for aspect correction if needed. The graphics are very colorful and crisp even though they are a bit darker. Thankfully, they are not the horrible brown palette we have been seeing lately. The game has voiceovers and the music is very fitting for the style of the game and adds to the eerie nature of the story. During the game you can earn ten achievements for either a bronze, silver or gold star ranking. You also hunt for acorns throughout the game that will be used later. There is a jumpable map that shows areas where something needs to be done. The HO scenes are very interactive and very nicely done. I found that most items were not too difficult to find. What I really enjoyed in the HO scenes was the clever interaction required to find all items. There are mini puzzles that are a bit different and interesting. Some require a bit of dexterity to accomplish, and since I tend to be a mouse klutz, they were challenging but fun. IMHO, this is an excellent game with a creative story and much better than some that we have seen recently. In fact the game is so interesting, I don't want to wait for the SE to be released. This game is such a welcome change after several weeks of mediocrity, and I a

Based on one hour demo, but buying today! What fun! The devs have put twists on the old HO game formula and come up with a winner. The HOSs are very interactive with storyline and mini-puzzles included. There are numerous achievements to garner and acorns to find. Even the storyline is good. Love the graphics! Well done devs. The puzzles and mini-puzzles involve multiple steps and are creative and new. Early in the game you have to free a hamster, then follow him to an HOS, play the HOS, then take the hamster to another scene and interact with another puzzle with the hamster! C'mon, that's great!! Fun, fun, fun. You also have four game playing options from which to choose: casual, normal, expert and custom. Nice to see this creative game. We only hope the rest of the game is as wonderful.

BASED ON COMPLETED GAME + BONUS CHAPTER IN "CUSTOM", 4TH OF 4 MODES (Sparkles on HOS only, Black Bar Hints). SUMMARY: Thoroughly Enjoyed beginning to end! Mad Head Games has turned out another winner. - The implementation of features such as "scene complete" and custom game mode is intuitive and polished. The same can be said of the thought and creativity that went into design and implementation of the collectibles, achievements, and the variety of iHOS (details below). DETAILS ------------------------------------------- STORY/THEME: A curse has lured the children into the dark forest never to return, so off we go with amulet & perky side-kick to dispel evil and return the children no harm done. The bonus chapter is "what might have been" had the curse been prevented. It is interesting but quickly completed and doesn't add much. The best part of the story for me - creepy little Ethan & his even creepier song early on. Those cut-scenes aside, ambiance stays light, tongue in cheek, and fun, with a touch of the mysterious and sinister. ARTWORK/GRAPHICS: This drawn world is beautiful, rich in detail, and well executed. There is a lot to see which is good because there is also a lot to find. GAME MODES: Terrific variety of options - what does/doesn't sparkle, black bar hints on/off, recharge time, etc.. AREA COMPLETE: Love this feature & the ways it works in this game. Mouse-over to the right edge of the inventory bar and "scene complete" or "scene not complete" will show. TOOLS: --Journal. Back story and most of what is needed for mini-puzzles. It constantly beckoned to be re-opened with yellow sparkles on the right bottom screen. Sigh. --Jump Map. Concise, well done. Depending on mode selected, active areas are shown, along with areas complete, areas available. --Sassy Side-Kick. Pops up in first chapter. Player even gets to name the little guy. He comes in handy a few times. -