Voodoo Chronicles: First Sight
Rating: T - Teen

Detective James VooDoo, not the voodoo I expected, is charged with solving a murder, which leads to more mysteries, bad magic, a colorful set of characters, a lost tribe and a terrifying menace attacking the city. Can he save the day?

The puzzles are easy to medium, with the emphasis on hidden objects. It was a nice leisurely game that doesn't take a long time to play out. It gives you a good amount of hints which you can earn easily along the way. You are guided quickly along and even have the option of skipping certain puzzles.

The main problem, a large one, on the mechanics of the game, is the inability to save it at any specific point. I got to a hidden object puzzle towards the end and I got stuck. I had to research a walkthrough to discover something I had apparently missed. On that particular puzzle, you needed to find the items in a certain order, which was indicated by the font color on the hunt list. I had not done that and needed to in order to finish the puzzle. As a result, I couldn't get it to recognize my last choice and couldn't earn the prize which allowed me to continue the game. Not being able to save the game put me in a spot where I had to start the puzzle over. I was not willing to restart the game. It wasn't that interesting or challenging to do so and it was too annoying to deal with the same issue on the second game. With no way to fix the mistake, I simply folded the game altogether.

The 3D aspect isn't a plus. The inability to save your game is a large minus. With better games available that have good graphics, music, challenges and voices, don't be swayed by the 3D.

G4W: Adison points our a serious flaw that, once recognized can be easily rectified – put in enough save opportunities. Not only that – specify “Save” at the beginning along with instructions on how to load the game. It is something that we have argued for after watching players and reviewers frustrated, disgusted and feeling cheated. How dare game designers be so dismissive of the gamers time. I don't accept the macho arrogance of making a player earn the game, when she has already paid for it. Here is an example of a good game that leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the player because someone ignored the needed Saves.
Gen Katz, Editor.