It was okay also it didn't suck so that's a plus.
Reviews for "Josh Tam Mysteries G2 : E"
Mmm, okay. Interesting game, with some nice bits and not so good bits.
It was fun, I quite liked the characters and the setting. It was certainly something different, I don't think the text hurt it at all, although it would have been better had you made the screen larger with clearer pictures.
Music was good, story was... passable. It was alright as a game, better than quite a lot on here.
My main problem has to be with the puzzles; you give no indication about whether the player is on the right or wrong track, making it basically a guessing game. In the future, consider playing sounds or showing some sort of prompt when the player is on the right track; for instance, if they put the grass on the right rock, the rock could lower and click into place.
Some of the later puzzles were just a little baffling - the one with the mechanism didn't make sense at all, and I had to refer to the walkthrough to have any idea what was going on. Even then, I was baffled about how anyone could get that right without guessing as you give no clues about it.
Work on the puzzles, give the player more hints, and make the scenes bigger, and the next one could be a classic. Good job though, will look out for any more you make.
josh-tamugaia responds:
Your comment contains information, opinions and suggestions that are helpful to me to create another sequel. Thank you for your insights! And thank you for spending time playing and leaving a review. I appreciate it.
Too much dialogue, not enough gameplay. However, the story line is amazing! I really wish that we can do more than just clicking "next" or "proceed".
what kind of sound effect is groong
josh-tamugaia responds:
Haha good point. Next time I will use a different SFX word.
I actually enjoyed the adventure-story format, and I thought the puzzles were tricky, but not impossible with a little observation and logic. There were several instances that required trial-and-error, which is a little on the frustrating side, but I disagree that it was really necessary with the moai. The first time I placed the three objects, and returned to the moai, it was easy to tell which were correct. All it took was switching the incorrectly-placed objects into the right locations.
As you continue to create these games, your drawing (a purely technical skill) will improve, as will your ability to write dialogue. You aren't doing poorly in either area, though they can only get better with time and practice.
I would be interested in seeing a little more depth and more investigation in your next game; it wasn't shallow, precisely, but the bulk of the game consisted of clicking around the area to move things in order to solve puzzles. I'm a big fan of mystery and detective games, and the genre gives you so many possibilities for plots, locales, and intrigues. I think more could have been made of this, satisfying as it was. Decoding the glyphs, interacting with the natives that were mentioned, searching for survivors, and so on would have added a greater sense of richness and scope. The glyphs might have imparted some obscure legend leading into the sequel; the natives could have provided hints about the island puzzles or the location of the plane, offered quests, or just given more background information on the island and the moai mystery; the survivors might have helped lead the detective to other resources or offered helpful information about the boy's possible location ("Just before the plane went down, I noticed smoke coming from the trees over there.").
These stories have the potential to be really engaging, and I look forward to the next one!