Melissa K and the Heart of Gold – Review
Point and click games are a real hype and we got the chance to review a new one: Melissa K and the Heart of Gold. The game offers you some new features, read on to find out more about them!
Story
The story of Melissa K starts when she receives a letter from the Queen. She gets a personal invitation to tutor a young monk in Bangkok. When she arrives at her destination, she gets quite a big welcome and meets her guide and an older monk. As it is quite late, you go to bed immediately. That night, you have a bad dream. When you wake up from your nightmare, you get a disturbing message: the young monk has gone missing! It is your job to find him, with the help of your guide, and bring him home safely.
This storyline is what you find mostly in point and click games. Someone disappears and you’ll have to find them. On that point, there isn’t anything refreshing. The big plot twist makes up for that though.
Graphics
Overall the quality of the graphics is great. The game consists out of several static environments which have multiple clickable areas. These surroundings are finished marvellously and have such bright colours it feels like you’re right there. This game gives you the opportunity to view areas in different angles and the transition between these angles is well done.
Melissa K and the Heart of Gold implemented the option to view certain items from up close, so you can tinker with them. These items are really well done and feel lifelike.
It has to be said though, the cutscenes aren’t that great. The quality could be way better and the textures seem quite blurry.
Sound
Every area has its own particular soundtracks, which gives a specific feel to the place. Overall the music is really dramatic and full with tension. You won’t get bored when you listen to these tracks.
There are some sound effects in the game but a bit more would have been better. The game could use a little bit more punch when it comes to effects. For example, a bit more effects when you click certain areas would have made the game more interesting.
The voice acting on the other hand is great and the synchronization of the lips and speech is almost perfect.
Gameplay
Melissa K and the Heart of Gold is a point and click game in first person view. This means you run around as Melissa and you see everything through her eyes. You have to find the missing monk by collecting items that will help you to advance to other places. Your search will be full off point and click search events and some other puzzles as well. A very cool addition is that you can take a closer look at certain objects so you can find hidden objects to help you on your way. You can also change your angle of a room, which gives you another perspective, giving you the opportunity to find items.
Next to the items you find and reuse, the game also offers some items that you can use multiple times. For example, at the start of your adventure, you will find a little animal. This friend will help you during certain situations.
Point and click games are sometimes somewhat easy and it is clear what to do next. It has to be said, this game is something else. It is quite hard to find what to do next. At least you got hints, but it depends on what difficulty level you’re playing. If you took easy, your hint meter will regenerate fast and you won’t have any trouble with the puzzles. Even more, you will get some help to find the important areas. The medium difficulty don’t have that much hints at once and the regeneration time will be higher as well. Expect to face some more difficult puzzles. The hardest difficulty gives you clicking penalties and the hint button won’t regenerate that fast. This level has the most difficult puzzles.
It has to be said though, the difference between the puzzles isn’t that big, which is a shame. It doesn’t feel any harder at all, only the clicking bonus is a bit bothersome. Another remark is that the game isn’t that long. You will have a bit of fun, but you won’t be busy for a while. The clickable areas
The sensitivity of the clickable areas is quite big. You might want to click something and that you’ll trigger something that was a bit further away.
Conclusion
Melissa K and the Heart of Gold is a real point and click game with some nice features. Overall the graphics and sound are great and will keep you focussed on the essence. Although the game doesn’t take that long, you will have some fun moments.
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