Having produced games since 2002 for various operating systems, Nevosoft is not a new contender in the video game industry.  The company’s newest release, Vampireville, drives gameplay with an involved storyline through Malgrey Castle, where the user meets ghosts, ghouls, and a terribly unhelpful butler.  According to Nevosoft’s press release, Vampireville is:

A hidden object, puzzle adventure game with three-dimensional characters and dynamic, addictive gameplay. Players  have to open secret doors, dig through the archives, catch bats, analyze blood samples,  play golf, learn about vampires and ghosts, and meet a young witch who will predict his future!

While these features may sound intriguing, you will need your patience to finish the challenges.

Design

Vampireville certainly sets a high standard when it comes to graphics.  Utilizing three-dimensional characters, the storyline is visually appealing from the beginning.  Although a majority of the scenes have  a static background, the characters are well-designed.  The mouth movements hardly ever correspond to the verbal track, but even console games have just recently made the leap to realistic conversation.  Overall, I appreciate the detailed graphics Vampireville offers, but that is mostly where the excellence ends…

Gameplay

After playing Vampireville for a decent amount of time, I was still stuck on the first level, which could be described as an interactive I-Spy level.  Given a view of the castle’s parlor the user is prompted to find pieces of map, tape, and scissors to assemble a blueprint.  I spent around 10-15 minutes pecking aimlessly around a slightly interactive room trying to uncover items.  The view of the room never changes, but pinching-to-zoom, I was able to view things in a slightly more detailed perspective.  After using a few clues, which are limited but regenerate with time, I finally figured out what to do.

Other than aimless pecking levels, there are other simple puzzles such as picture jumbles, lock picking, and interactive minigames, which I determined to be much more interesting than the hidden object levels.

Another particular complaint is the toolbar location.  When gathering items throughout the game, the items are held in a top-screen-item-bar.  To use the items, they must be pulled down from the toolbar to the corresponding interactive object.  Moving the objects is made particularly difficult because the Notification Center tab will pull down with the objects.  In addition, the game does not seem to be the active iOS program – when watching the cutscenes, which are particularly lengthy, the iDevice will autolock if the setting is for 1 minute.

Conclusion

Rating: 2.5/5

This new release for vampire-genre enthusiasts is a mix of good and bad features.  Vampireville ($2.99, iPhone link; $4.99, iPad link) utilizes excellent graphics and a constant action driven soundtrack, complete with random creaking doors.  Even the humorous quips and anachronistic jokes are entertaining.  But, this is a game; graphics, sounds, and humor cannot make a game.  If you are a trial and error fan, this is the game for you but, ultimately, my advice is try-before-you-buy (trial, iPhone; iPad).  If an involved storyline, with excellent gameplay, and a humorous storyline is what you desire, Puzzle Agent is a much better bet.

 Pros

• Graphics
• Humorous storyline
• Varying puzzles
• The game gives you hints – must have to complete gameplay

Cons

• Game does not save progress until reaching checkpoints
• Not a universal app
• No iCloud or syncing service to keep game progress the same across multiple devices
• No tutorial
• Not intuitive
• Frustratingly difficult

Trailer