The snow had begun to lightly fall but little did the college students know that their doom was eminent. Soon this small tourist town, called Dire Grove, would become a prison of ice. She was coming back for her revenge.
Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove is the sixth game in the Mystery Case Files PC adventure series. It is a point and click adventure game with search and find scenes, similar to Eye Spy books, scattered throughout the story line. There seems to be an unending supply of search and find games out there similar to this one. I can say right now that this particular game stands out like a shinning gem among the many games. This game alone is the reason I started loving this type of game.
I had been looking for a new video game to play after a 2 year media fast. I simply decided that I would go to the local Wal-Mart that day and pick up a new game. It would be my first game to play. As I perused the selection of titles this one caught my eye. With its frozen title and mysterious snowy forest, I was instantly intrigued. When I saw it was a search and find game I was almost instantly and completely turned off. At the time I saw point and click games as a sorry excuse entertainment. The graphics weren't amazing, it wasn't 3 dimensional in the traditional sense, and there was no action. However, it was the only intriguing looking game in the store. So I just decided to buy it and find something better later.
I got it home and installed it and began. I was instantly drawn in by the live action videos, the creepy atmosphere, and the gorgeous music. Never had I been so wrong about a video game genre in my life. This game was like playing Silent Hill or Resident Evil, except it was all exploring, puzzles, and story without the grotesque scenes of violence. This made the game work all the better.
Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove is the sixth game in the Mystery Case Files PC adventure series. It is a point and click adventure game with search and find scenes, similar to Eye Spy books, scattered throughout the story line. There seems to be an unending supply of search and find games out there similar to this one. I can say right now that this particular game stands out like a shinning gem among the many games. This game alone is the reason I started loving this type of game.
I had been looking for a new video game to play after a 2 year media fast. I simply decided that I would go to the local Wal-Mart that day and pick up a new game. It would be my first game to play. As I perused the selection of titles this one caught my eye. With its frozen title and mysterious snowy forest, I was instantly intrigued. When I saw it was a search and find game I was almost instantly and completely turned off. At the time I saw point and click games as a sorry excuse entertainment. The graphics weren't amazing, it wasn't 3 dimensional in the traditional sense, and there was no action. However, it was the only intriguing looking game in the store. So I just decided to buy it and find something better later.
I got it home and installed it and began. I was instantly drawn in by the live action videos, the creepy atmosphere, and the gorgeous music. Never had I been so wrong about a video game genre in my life. This game was like playing Silent Hill or Resident Evil, except it was all exploring, puzzles, and story without the grotesque scenes of violence. This made the game work all the better.
The game opens with you as a detective as you drive on a rural back-road in England. There are notes about a previous case you've solved and your intentions of returning to headquarters. When a freak snow storm causes you to pull off into a town of Dire Grove the mystery begins. You soon realize the creepiness of the situation when you find a video tape of a college student being attacked by some unknown assailant. Being a detective you take it upon yourself to find out what happened to her.
You enter the small township and realize that the entire place has frozen over in a strange and ungodly manner. It's almost as if a new ice age has over taken the town. No one is to be found and its strangely quiet. From here on in the mystery gets thicker and thicker. You realize that there is something truly malevolent coming after you. You must solve the mystery and save yourself before it is too late.
I give this game credit for being the only point and click game to ever scare me. I jumped a few times throughout the game and was sufficiently creeped out by the strange beauty of the game. Because of this game my favorite video game genre is now point and click mystery adventures.
You enter the small township and realize that the entire place has frozen over in a strange and ungodly manner. It's almost as if a new ice age has over taken the town. No one is to be found and its strangely quiet. From here on in the mystery gets thicker and thicker. You realize that there is something truly malevolent coming after you. You must solve the mystery and save yourself before it is too late.
I give this game credit for being the only point and click game to ever scare me. I jumped a few times throughout the game and was sufficiently creeped out by the strange beauty of the game. Because of this game my favorite video game genre is now point and click mystery adventures.
Summing it Up
Once I had finished my first run-through of the game I instantly wanted to restart, which I did. Dire Grove is one of the only games I have ever wanted to come back to over and over again. It's atmosphere, story, and game-play make it, not only one of the best adventure games ever, but one of the best video games period.
Language: 0
Gore Factor: 1
Sex Factor: 0
Scare Factor: 3
Fun Factor: 5
Overall Rating: 5
Language: 0
Gore Factor: 1
Sex Factor: 0
Scare Factor: 3
Fun Factor: 5
Overall Rating: 5