Where have I been? Busy! Unlike "some" people in this house who seemingly sit around and play games all day. Don't they know finals are nearly here? Don't they realize graduation is looming? Don't they realize I have to go back to Pennsylvania and live with my parents?! The only saving grace is that my brother is living with friends, so I'll finally have some peace and quiet from the brat. So... I took a small break from studying from the "final" finals to review a game called The Book of Desires.
Where have I been? Busy! Unlike "some" people in this house who seemingly sit around and play games all day. Don't they know finals are nearly here? Don't they realize graduation is looming? Don't they realize I have to go back to Pennsylvania and live with my parents?! The only saving grace is that my brother is living with friends, so I'll finally have some peace and quiet from the brat. So... I took a small break from studying from the "final" finals to review a game called The Book of Desires.
[[BOOK_01.jpg]]
The Book of Desires looked like it would fulfill my creepy factor and it did... quite well in fact. The storyline is dark. As a little girl, you overhear your parents arguing and cry yourself to sleep. You have a nightmare. In the nightmare, you must do various tasks for these skeletons who all "have a dream."
[[BOOK_02.jpg]]
So you wander around aimlessly picking up random stuff to help fulfill the dream of the skeleton who wants a crown, the skeleton who wants to bring light to others, the skeleton who is hard of seeing... alright. You're a skeleton, hence you're dead. Why do you need glasses?
[[BOOK_04.jpg]]
[[BOOK_03.jpg]]
If you think the story is bizarre thus far, just wait. It gets better, or should I say, worse? While helping the dead or undead, whichever they are, you run into some hidden object scenes and puzzles. The hidden object scenes are pretty easy, thankfully, as they aren't my favorite thing to do. The puzzles are mostly annoying and downright frustrating, so I was thankful for the skip button.
[[BOOK_06.jpg]]
Once you have fulfilled the skeletons' deepest desires, you awake to a lovely day and tell your mummy all about your bad dream. She assures you it was just a bad dream, and you should make your way to the bookstore to buy your textbook. Alone. In the city. In your nightgown. Right... great mom! So now you find yourself staring at a gaping hole that blocks the way to the bookstore. A daylight version of your nightmare. Of course, you have to fill the gaping hole all by yourself, and you're all of eight years old... Once you do that, you make your way into the bookstore and meet a creepy old man.
[[BOOK_05.jpg]]
The creepy old man gives you The Book of Desires, but only after you help him sort his bookshelves with a black widow spider hanging out nearby. Anne would have died. He tells you to write your desires in the book. You run home - it is now nighttime, so you clearly spent the entire day with the creepy old man, not creepy at all... oh, and the street is fixed! No more hole! Once you're home, you write in the book that you want your parents to get along or some such nonsense.
[[BOOK_07.jpg]]
Suddenly, you are now in a new world where you are informed that you are the first person to ever write a desire for somebody other than themselves. It has scared the bookkeeper, and he has blocked the way to... somewhere. So... you're being punished for being unselfish? Huh?
[[BOOK_08.jpg]]
Now you must wander around some more, aimlessly, of course, picking up random objects as before, solving puzzles and hidden object scenes. Are you noticing there is no real plot? At this point, I'm really confused as to why I'm in this weird place and what I'm supposed to be doing, so I wander around and find myself in a world that's a cross between Alice in Wonderland and The Lorax.
[[BOOK_09.jpg]]
Now, there is really no point on going any further, because the game is just plain ridiculous. There is no real plot, no voiceovers, no clear direction of what you are supposed to be doing and why, and, as I have said before, there was a lot of simply aimless wandering.
Was there anything good about this game? The graphics were a redeeming quality, very well done, and spook-taculary creepy. The hidden object scenes were e-a-s-y. That folks, is about it. This game wasn't for me, but it was bizarre enough that you might want to try it for yourself and see if you don't agree with me.
Now, back to stressing, I mean studying.
