Big Fish Games offers a wide selection of interactive games that you can enjoy anywhere – on your PC, Mac, mobile phone or tablet device. Their website, games and customer service are even offered in 10 different languages making it easy to game worldwide. Big Fish Games also quality test all of their games and best of all, you can even try them out through a free-trial before you purchase the game to ensure you will enjoy the game before purchasing. We were recently given the opportunity to play one of Big Fish games newest releases, “Fiction Fixers: The Curse of Oz“.
About the Game:
The Land of Oz is in great peril. An evil man has erected towers that consume the people, light, and energy of Oz itself. Protect Dorothy and Toto as they travel across Oz in hopes of finding a way home to Kansas. Team up with the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Lion and use their powers to overcome great obstacles. Beware of the Wicked Witch and Victor Vile! It’s up to you to save Dorothy and the Land of Oz in Fiction Fixers: The Curse of OZ, a fun Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game.
We were already familiar with Big Fish games as we have a few of their games on our iPad. The kids favorite prior to this new game was Everest: Hidden Expedition. The neat thing about Fiction Fixers: The Curse of Oz is that it is designed for use on the PC. Our children are 11, 8 & 7, so I was very excited to see that they could choose between 2 levels of game difficulty as the game began allowing us to set the game on a difficulty level they all could enjoy. There is Regular Difficulty (recharge quicker, active zones & construction pieces are highlighted) and Expert Difficulty (recharge slower, and the active zones and construction pieces are not highlighted). We chose to play on regular difficulty so the youngest child could enjoy the game too.
I have to admit, when the game started I was concerned because the screenshots were pretty dark and I knew this was a hidden objects game so I was concerned about the ease of seeing objects. However, it turned out that the graphics are amazingly clear and we didn’t even need the “hints” to find the hidden objects. The graphics themselves are absolutely beautiful and make you feel like you have literally stepped inside the pages of the storybook and are living it out in first person. If you have younger children who can’t read well, the game will even read the instructions for them making this a game that children and adults can all enjoy.
The only thing we have found that the kids don’t like is that throughout the game you have to “go back” to areas you have already been to and pick up objects you need. The frustrating part is that most of the time when you first arrive in these areas, you can see the hidden objects but you aren’t allowed to pick them up until you actually need them in the game. Then the game requires you to “go back” and find the objects you need (when you could have just picked them up the 1st time and put them in storage or something). That part is something the kids complain about every time they have to “go back”.
The characters in this game (TinMan, Scarecrow, etc.) are interactive and funny. Each of them also contain a special power that can assist you as you complete the game. There are lots of “mini-games” intermingled throughout the story as well. I have to admit, that even on regular difficulty some of them were challenging for me. Overall, the kids LOVE this game and they play it several times a day. They are still holding out hope that they will run into the munchkins soon (we haven’t seen any yet). It is neat to see them all 3 piled up at the computer desk working together to find objects and complete puzzles so they can advance in the story. There is also a “WalkThrough” of this game which offers tips & tricks to help you complete the game but I haven’t informed the kids of that yet…I’m making them figure it out on their own!
You can find Hidden Object Games and also find Fiction Fixers: The Curse of Oz on Big Fish Games (available in both PC and Mac versions). You can download a free trial (which gives you one hour of play time) or you can purchase the game for just $9.99. Today there is a deal on this game – only $2.99! Check out the Big Fish website to take advantage of this sale. Make sure you check out all of the other great gaming selections for PC, Mac, mobile phone or tablet devices as well that are available through Big Fish Games.
*Gretta received the above game, free of charge, to facilitate this review. She will also be compensated for taking the time to post her honest review.
