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Good adventure but hard to play

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game was actually quite entertaining. The scenario was intriguing and it had really wonderful music to go with it; the location and scenery graphics were pretty decent, although the people were slightly stilted which started to annoy. The puzzles were just on the easy side of the right level of difficulty, I thought, but they usually fit well within the story which made them enjoyable. The fact that they did fit the story made them quite linear, which is either a plus or a minus depending on your preference.

So why is my review not so good? Purely navigation. I am not one who is prone to motion sickness of any kind (car sickness? nope. sea sickess? nope. big screen imax? all good.), but I found that I could only play this game for maybe a half an hour at a time because just moving around made me feel extremely ill. The mouse controls the way you look and move, but it is fixed at the center of your view. Most of the time that means that if you want to examine something or turn around you have to swivel your look direction around an awful lot; hence the motion sickness. Lots of games have the option to just move the view around from the edges, but I couldn't find any such option here. If you think this won't bother you, you should be fine. Just, be forewarned.

Not Bad, But ...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

well, too many times I was going to drop this game, and thought that it was a very silly one, but something kept pulling me back, the game puzzles (if they deserve to be called that), are sometimes so easy and simple, and sometimes you dont have no clue what to do, anyway mixing easy with hard was not bad, the only thing that REALLY bothered me was the movement, it was horrible, slow, and very boring, and with limited response, the graphics were not so great.
overall it was not a bad one, i finished it in one day, and by the way it worked with Windows Vista perfectly.

Just My Speed

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

On a whim I bought Secrets at Loch Ness and now that I've played it, I want more! Though a little confusing at times, for a simple gamer like me, the game was perfect. I only wish it would have been longer.

point and click heaven

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you like point and click control with your games ,then this one is for you. I highly recommend Loch Ness for its simplicity of play. It's easy to load and save games and accessing the inventory is a breeze.
The main character, Alan Cameron, travels to Scotland to investigate strange goings-on in a medieval manor that overlooks Loch Ness. There are ghosts, underground chambers,hidden compartments and a big conspiracy. His job is to uncover the conspiracy while staying alive.
I got online 5 times to peek at a walkthrough [for shame]. But is was so much fun anyway.Also, I played the game on Windows XP without any trouble.

A couple of times EXTREME PATIENCE AND DILIGENCE REQUIRED.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: December 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

A couple of times extreme patience and diligence is required. There was one time there was no way I would get to the next level without going aimlessly through every pixel of the entire complex. I did not have the patience and got the walkthrough. Finding it on my own really would not have been that gratifying. There was another time that the puzzle was a little off and required recallling what was said in an animation sequence (which I thought I was paying attention to) as well as outside research. You really have to pay attention to the animation sequence and unfortunately the critical info given was not documented anywhere. Often times excellent clues are given as what to do next. The graphics and music were excellent. But when clues were given it was still challenging enough to be interesting. And unless you enjoy repeating the same sequence after dying a thousand times or spend hours looking for a needle in a haystack then a cheat with a walkthrough for a little hint once or twice is definitely worth it. Otherwise you may get fustrated and annoyed if you want to finish the game in a day or two. And remember to save!

NOT BAD AT ALL

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 22
Date: October 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

REally good game for the most part - the graphics weren't quite up to par I thought but not too bad. The movement can be a bit stilted but easy to get through. Good puzzles and story line. Not bad at all.

Just my speed.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 50 / 51
Date: September 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Cameron's attitude in The Cameron Files: Secret at Loch Ness is just what you would expect from a 30s-40s hard-boiled detective. He is wise, skeptical, intelligent, and clever. His mission is to travel from 30s Chicago to Loch Ness, Scotland to investigate mysterious goings on in a friend's Scottish castle. The Scottish references and milieu are fairly accurate---the game refers to Scottish mythology both in the legends of Loch Ness and the ancient mystical Banshees.

The music is absolutely extraordinary---traditional Scottish. The voice acting for Cameron is just perfect---he's the kind of guy you want on your side in a crisis, and he comes out of the Sherlock Holmes tradition, but not quite the film noir tradition. The graphics are extremely detailed, and the worlds that you visit are extremely compelling---the castle,its grounds, and the depths of the lake. The sound editing is integral to the solution of the mystery---you must listen carefully to distant sounds at times in order to determine what should draw your attention. However, I found that sometimes there were sounds which did not require my attention, but that I spent a lot of time chasing around because I thought sounds were consistently important throughout the game---but apparently not.

The game is extremely linear, which can be either reassuring or irritating, depending on your viewpoint. On the one hand, it is always clear when you haven't done some particular thing. On the other hand, as with all linear games, you can go around in circles for quite a long time doing nothing much. As a measure of judgement, I did not find it necessary to cop out and go to a walkthrough, partly because the game is not riddled with impossibly frustrating puzzles, and partly because I enjoyed the game enough to go with it as it is presented. There are some timed sequences, but they are not irritating, and with some vigilant saving (always recommended anyway) are on the whole fun to complete.

I give this game 4 stars because of the engaging main character, the beautiful graphics, sound editing including music and storyline, voice acting, the Scottish milieu, the interesting and logical puzzles, and the way the plot links the otherworld to this-world conspiracies, in something of an X-Files tradition. I give it no more than 4 stars because it is just a little too linear, and because I would have like to have seen a little more development throughout the story which would lead more logically to the final conclusion. I also would have liked it to be just a little longer than it was, because I enjoyed it that much. All the same, I have been eagerly awaiting The Cameron Files: Pharoah's Curse from the moment I finished Loch Ness. Happily, it arrives next month.

great graphics,decent plot

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: July 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

i thought the graphics were great.As far as the plot it is not the best game but still very good.The room on the second floor by the stairs where i heard voices was so tempting to enter.I wish i could have actually gotten inside that room.What is surprising most of all is that there was nothing hidden behind a mounted deerhead.I thought for sure that there would be a hidden chamber behind a mounted sword,moosehead,deerhead.etc.Several rooms i could never enter.I rate the game a 3 but probably at least a 4 if i could have entered every room.Overall a good game.

Annoying in some spots

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: June 18, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The rooms inside the Manor house were spectacular, but limited in what you could do or where you could go. This got annoying after awhile, the snoop inside me wanted to go into that locked room! The notebook was nicely done, and the notes helped me past a few lost and clueless moments. Warning: you CAN die in this game! It's a good game for those who like puzzles, but are scared off by the monster puzzles in Myst and Riven. The detective is a Sam Spade clone, so he's not for the little ones.

12 yr old gamer

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: June 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

lol this game ROCKS 1st of all my name is cameron and i thought it was a real kick when i saw wht it was called, its prob the 2nt BEST and MOST FUN game i have (1st is age of empires 2 COOLEST GAME EVER MADE)although dont be foold by the cover, its not as scary as it looks ( definatly not as scary as MYST)its more of a mystry then it is a scary game BUT they do cuss a lil bit in it i wouldnt buy this for a 6 yr probably a 8 or 9 yr old mostly cuz of a lil cussin and its hard i had to get codes for it. but over all its a SWEAT game, i think its worth every penny of the 20 bucks, to CD's and all its a prety long game, and hard i love it but once you beat the whole thing im probably not gonna play it anymore. anyways i love the it is a MUST have for people who love MYST if you know what that game is lol. :)

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