Phew… this summer has been incredibly busy so far for me and we're only in June… I think I had more time for myself during school! My family and I just got back from a fun, if exhausting, trip to South Carolina for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. The entire family was there… I feel like I've been hugging and kissing people I don't really know all weekend… oh wait, I was! Ha! It was really fun though, and it was nice to see my grandparents so happy surrounded by all their kids and grandkids.
Anyhow, while I was down there, I did manage to bring my laptop so I could still play a game or two in between all the commotion. I had been hearing some really good things about The Tiny Bang Story, so, I decided to download it to see what all the fuss was about for myself.
I have to say, I have such mixed feelings about this game. You know me, I have to have a story to get into! And this one, just didn't seem to really have one. All you know is that there was some explosion in the universe that messed the world up, and now you have to travel through it to fix everything. There were no instructions really on how to play either. Just some images of a mouse clicking on things. It took me a little bit to figure out what I was doing. It could have been that I was distracted by all the events we had to attend this weekend, but I found it really hard to catch on to the play style.
Any hints or instructions were given visually. Even when you would meet characters. They wouldn't actually talk to you. They would just show a little thought bubble with pictures on what they wanted you to do. Maybe I'm just dense, but I didn't always get it right away!
As you travel through the world, you will need to collect puzzle pieces. You're also going to have to collect other items in order to solve the many puzzles scattered around the world, and some of them are really challenging. Most will have you collecting some item so you can complete a puzzle. For instance, you will need to collect light bulbs in the first board in order to start a puzzle that will switch the train tracks for you to get to the next board. They are scattered all throughout that first area, so you will have to keep going back and forth until you find them all.
There are hints you can get in the game by collecting little dragonflies that buzz around the screen. Once you click on enough dragonflies, you are able to get a hint. I thought this was a good thing and a bad thing. It was a good thing because I was the one that controlled how many hints I needed throughout the game. When I got stuck and needed a hint, I simply started collecting bugs. On the other hand, it distracted me from the game a bit much. They were always flying around, and even if I had collected enough to earn a hint, I would still try to click on them. I couldn't help myself!
One thing I have to say about this game and that is, visually, the graphics were stunning. Everything looks hand-drawn and beautifully illustrated. And the music was wonderfully soothing, especially during such a stressful weekend for me. And, once I caught on to the game play and got past that frustration of not knowing what I was doing, it really was quite unique for a hidden object/puzzle game, and I appreciated it much more.
Again, I really wish there had been more of a storyline to the game for me to lose myself in. Without that, the game tended to get a little boring for me after a little bit, but again, that's just me… a good game is like a good book to me. With a great story, characters I can love and hate, and a reason to skip my chores for a few more minutes of game time. Overall, it's worth giving the game a try just to try something completely different than what you're used to and to see the awesome graphics.
