Tag: awakening

Awakening: Kingdoms (iPhone App Store)

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Queen Sophia’s away on another quest. As steward, it’s your job to bring Skyward Kingdom back to its former glory.

Okay, I wasn’t going to touch this game because I try to avoid free-to-play whenever possible. If Monika Guballa from Boomzap (the company that made the Awakening games) hadn’t emailed me personally, I would’ve never even played it. Like I said, instead of taking the role of Queen Sophia, you take the role of the steward. You meet characters from previous Awakening games and help them accomplish their goals.

The game play is a mixture of hidden object and building sim. You gather materials by participating in various hidden object scenes. You use the items to construct buildings throughout the land. During the game, characters will give you quests and it’s your job to complete them. You can also send messages to your friends and play mini-games in various buildings.

This game is beautiful and addictive. I give it 7 out of 10; it renewed my interest in the Awakening series.

Awakening: The Redleaf Forest (Bigfishgames.com)

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Queen Sophia’s journey to save her parents finally ends at Redleaf Forest. She has to destroy the evil Dreadmyre once and for all.

That’s it, the end of the Awakening series and it’s about time. In this game, you learn about the conflict between the centaurs and the dwarves. That’s right; you have to bring peace to two peoples in order to advance the plot. In the bonus story, you play an unknown nanny who takes care of Sophia’s kid.

The game play is your typical hidden object. You go from scene to scene collecting items for your inventory. Some items will require you to take part in hidden object games. You will have to play a mini-game in order to advance through the story and you will be backtracking throughout the game. If you’re stuck, use a hint.

This series was fun at first but now it’s past its prime. I give it 4 out of 10; glad it finally ended.

Awakening: The Sunhook Spire (Bigfishgames.com)

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After finding her parents in a cursed sleep, Queen Sophia sets out to find the Enchantress for a cure.  Along the way, she encounters treacherous mercenaries and must find her way through Sunhook Spire.

The plot is simple, Sophia has to navigate a treacherous land and save the Sunhook Spire from an evil wizard.  One thing I did like about this game is that instead of leaving Sophia as a princess with the excuse that since her parents are in a deep sleep she hasn’t truly earned the right to rule, they just promote her to queen.  The reason I liked this development is because too often when a franchise has royalty as the leader, there’s always an excuse about why they’re still a princess.

The game play is not all that different from the last games in the series.  You go around collecting items to add in your inventory.  Some items will require you to participate in hidden object scenes.  If you’re stuck, use a hint in the form of Sophia’s owl companion.  The collector’s edition includes extra bonus footage.

This game is beautiful yet boring.  I give it 3 out of 10; I wasn’t in a hidden object mood when I was playing it.

Awakening: The Skyward Castle (Bigfishgames.com)

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After awakening from a long sleep, traveling through Moonfell Well, and seeking the Goblins’ aid, Princess Sophia finally discovers her home.  For some reason, the people have been turned to stone and a man named Dreadmyre threatens the safety of it.

Like the last games, Sophia has no powers and is reliant on her own skills and her magic companions.  In this one, it works to her advantage because Dreadmyre can’t harm her.  She also meets the many servants of the castle and discovers why her parents did what they did.

The game play is reliant on logic.  You have to find objects throughout the game and figure out which object would be put to better use in which scene.

If you’re stuck, you can use a hint.  You also have two companions in the form of a pocket dragon and a wise owl.

After this, you can play the epilogue to discover that the series isn’t over yet.  If you feel like shelling out extra money, you can get some bonus content.

This game is beautiful and fun.  I give it 8 out of 10, great artwork and a great game.