The Secret Order 5: The Buried Kingdom

[i]The Secret Order 5: The Buried Kingdom[/i] had the opportunity for a fresh start (after we managed to return to the present in the [url=steamcommunity.com/id/atisz2/recommended/517360/]previous installment[/url]) and to get back on the track where the amazing (and now evanescent) [url=steamcommunity.com/id/atisz2/recommended/399890/]2nd part[/url] ended. While the mentioning of the conflict between the Order of the Griffin and the Dragon Clan seemingly makes this sequel somewhat more coherent and closer to the original, it feels just like an excuse as we visit a magical kingdom deep underwater without any time travel involved (there's an explanation to that though, since the order has decided to destroy every device capable of time travel). The plot is barely existent: after giving us a quick summary of what happened so far, our high school friend, Julie informs us about her recent discovery: the location of the Buried Kingdom. Shortly after, she is kidnapped by the latest representatives of the Dragon Clan (their leader does actually look like a half-dragon humanoid). As much as I disapprove this approach - an installment leaving the path laid down by he previous part(s) of a series - as a hidden object game, [i]The Secret Order 5: The Buried Kingdom[/i] functions rather well. There's a large selection of puzzles and minigames with all the necessary elements of the genre. Some of the items must be combined (the ones with a + mark) and there's a special dragon eye which is required to view a past event that occured at the given location. Upon each use, we have to solve a pipe puzzle to recharge it. There's an assortment of valve-, pathway-, measuring-, mirror- and ring puzzles as well. As for the ring puzzle - which can be bothersome - there's one, a 3 circle rotating puzzle that can either take ~half an hour or just a few rotations, depending on whether we know what we are doing or not. I thought I was and I managed to solve it in less than a minute, but it turned out that I moved the matching colours to the wrong side - since the game didn't provide any hints on which colour goes where. Needless to say it's not a very elegant way to prolong gameplay time. In addition to the dragon eye, we also receive a little dragon helper that can reach things we cannot + can set things on fire, so if we get stuck, we should always check around whether there's anything that can be set ablaze. As a matter of fact I got stuck at one point, where shoveling coal was the key to progress (I thought the coal being there right at the furnace was enough) as our shovel casually breaks so we can get a handle... for a pickaxe. Also, later on we find a ceremonial dagger that's not strong enough to cut a rope, but it has to be used to force open a grate? The game at least does give an explanation why we can't use otherwise potentially right items at unintended situations - instead of the commonly utilized general error messages - it still feels forced and illogical. I know that hidden object games shouldn't be compared to pure point-and-click adventure games, but relevant item use should be a standard procedure here as well. One other thing which has been present in several other HOGs before: the cobweb + broom anomaly... why can't it be removed just by our bare hands? :/ Besides being able to choose from preset difficulty modes, several elements, such as hint recharge time, penalty cooldowns can be adjusted separately on a slider and the sparkling effect to reveal hidden object scenes, that's automatically available on casual. In the bonus chapter we have to save the Buried Kingdom after an explosion and rescue our friend - again. While it's the direct continuation of the main game, it's basically a 30 minutes long fetch quest with lots of items we carry around from screen to screen. The use of the dragon eye also feels forced here, there's a point where it's necessary to remove a piece of cloth to reveal a ladder which we can use to reach our friend, even if it's very apparent that the cloth is concealing something - without the use of the dragon eye... There are many types of collectibles we have to look out for: blue, green, purple + lava (in the bonus game) eggs and shapeshifting objects. Since locations consist of just a few scenes, it can be easy to walk past some of them. The graphics are great for a hidden object game and there's quite a variety of different locations - underwater, a fantasy realm and a strange, dreamlike area. Character animations are pretty good too, although some of them appear to be of low quality when compared to important characters. Again, just like in the previous part, the high quality sound effects and ambient sounds are well done and I really liked the music at certain points. [i]The Secret Order 5: The Buried Kingdom[/i] seems to be quite far away from the first parts of the series, trying to mix too many things together, but in some way it still has more to do with the originals, than the previous part, which was just about floating between time and space. On its own, it's an OK hidden object game, but if we expect a worthy sequel, we are likely going to be disappointed. PROS + plenty of minigames, fair amount of HO scenes + great sound effects and music + difficulty slider + many different locations... CONS - ...too different as a matter of fact - not much of a sequel - the bonus chapter feels unnecessary RATING 6/10

[h1] Добротный поиск предметов с некоторыми огрехами русского перевода [/h1] В целом неплохое приключение с драконами, магией и зельями. Такие приключения у Артифекс довольно частые. В целом скоротать время получилось и достижения довольно простые. При внимательном зрении или при использовании руководства можно пройти за один раз, чтобы найти все коллекционные предметы. А в остальном здесь полный набор плюшек магазина и после прохождения будет ещё одна идеальная игра в коллекцию. Но всё же издателям и разработчикам стоит поработать над переводом. Тут главный злодей почему-то говорит про себя в женском роде. Также в поиске предметов не всегда точный перевод некоторых вещей. Несмотря на огрехи, проходится довольно просто для уже заядлых поклонников серии.

I did a switch with the HOG game i wanted to play, the criminal minds one had a bug that didn't make me progress further. So i switched to this one even though I didn't really fancy the story line, but the game is really great. The music is amazing too. Short and sweet, the cute pet dragon which you can have and enabling him to do certain tasks is really creative. There is also a chargeable dragon eye which is directly linked to a mini-game that part is very innovative. The artwork is pretty, I think the character art might need work but it's overall fine. Liked the HOG puzzles they have a good creative touch up. The achievements are okay and not that difficult to get if you are a novice HOG player. Overall would i be interested in playing the next game in the series, probably if it really have good reviews.

Nice Game

Uhm....... This game was so different from the other Secret Orders in the series... That I thought I booted the wrong game. It looks the same... Has the same character and a helper, but... It doesn't feel the same. It's not necessary bad, however, if you get used to four other games being one way and then it throws you in for a damn strange loop? You either hate it or don't. I just mindlessly played it. It was odd and rather easy. You guys know that you can hide items better, right? I mean... When I enter the H.O. scene...? I already know what items are going to be needed... WITHOUT looking at the list! Maybe I played these for too long or... Games like these don't offer much of a challenge nowadays. Uhm story... I forgot. Like others in the series it had Dragons Versus Gryphins. While that happened and yet.......... It was like "Here friend in danger. Go help friend. Meet bad guy. Oh! Can't defeat him too early! Get thrown off. Walk around for aeons and find yourself back in the place you started... Okay NOW you can defeat bad guy." *Claps* Where was the Time Travel?! Where was that sexy, overly powerful ship?! I mean... You guys messed everything up in the world...! But it was fun! (And for those who say that the ship was wrecked... TIME TRAVEL. There are OTHER copies of it elsewhere! So shh...!) Who were any of these people?! What happened to the family members and the ORDERS?! WTH was the BONUS GAME ABOUT?! Also, you said the "Dragon Eye" shows the past, right? Then how in the hell is the "past viewing" ability capable of "physically altering things in the future?" Is it... A powerful spirit...? No. I am not helping you! Also x2... Why didn't the "Dragon Eye" power work on that hanging blanket in the end? Was it because we could've resolved the issues in the Bonus Game in a few seconds instead? Lol.........! You want easy and mindless? YOU GOT IT!!! You want a decent game with a decent story... WHICH Artifex is KNOWN FOR?! *cackles* Not here you wont find it still yet at all. (You wont find it here...)

Very beatiful art! Puzzles and story is ok. Nice game in this series.

Kolejny HOG od Artifexu (a przynajmniej przez niego wydany) - to dalej "to samo". Jak podobały się poprzednie gry, to ta też podejdzie. Mało literówek, bez poważnych błędów. Grałem chwilę po poprzedniczce, która była wyjątkowo słaba, więc może gra mocno zyskuje w porównaniu, ale była bardzo ok. Nie irytowała tam gdzie tamta. Dalej trochę ograniczają typowe sceny z ukrytymi obiektami, co mnie smuci, ale też te nowe zagadki są ciut lepsze niż ostatnio, choćby dlatego że dostajemy informację, ile interakcji zostało na ekranie, więc jest mniej błądzenia. Przyjemny wieczór, prosta "setka" z osiągnięciami, standard - choć tu chyba łatwiej przegapić opcjonalne rzeczy niż w paru innych.

A decent Artifex Mundi hidden object game.

Новая редакция игры-головоломки, продолжающей сюжетную линию противостояния ГГ и таинственного ордена. Сюжет тут, в основной своей части, это ширма для оригинальных загадок. Сами загадки стали проще и требуют в основном внимательности. Все картинки отрисованы хорошо и радуют глаз деталями. Игра подходит чтобы "размять" мозги и она достаточно короткая, чтобы не успеть надоесть.