ffox on 12/5/2010 at 18:08

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JonesCrusher: Quite a way to go for the gizmo. :)

You don't need a rope arrow - you can get that loot from above. Look around the passage for something you have missed. You have to go back the way you came.

Unkillable Cat on 13/5/2010 at 16:02

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Well this was certainly fun. Although I was put off a bit by the "90s adventure games logic" blurb, and the unimpressive mansion, everything past the shed more than makes up for it.

The roots of the puzzles may originate from old adventure games, but I found strong homages (read: ideas nicked) from other known FM's, like Ominous Bequest, Mission X and of course Sepulchre of the Sinistral + Mystery Man.

I loved the gizmo, and I'm going to revisit earlier saves to try to have some more fun (and find more loot and secrets) with it.

The good parts:

# Good range of puzzles. Neither too easy nor requiring you to sit down with a calculator and a piece of paper for 30 minutes. A definite improvement over the puzzles found in UVI.

# The gizmo. 'nuff said. Adds a whole new dimension of gameplay.

# Although the underground area is simple in design, good ambience and lighting make it "work". (On a related note, what is the music being played in the "tower room" with the ladders in the middle?)

The bad parts:

# The mansion is unimpressive. The rooms seem to be too big and square (especially the front entrance) and makes me feel this is a fancy hotel rather than someone's home. If more effort had been put into the design and look of the mansion, this FM would have shone through all the way.

# Way too many guards, especially in the mansion. The underground area also suffers from this, but they're more spread out, so it's not so obvious.

# One minor way I managed to börk things over was that I entered Ihsahn's bedroom before entering Igor's room, so I got the objectives related to those rooms in the wrong order. While not game-breaking, it does screw up the "flow" of the puzzle related to the safe combination.

Overall I'd give this FM a high 7. It starts out a little shaky, but once you get into the shed it takes off in style.

ffox on 13/5/2010 at 16:26

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If you are stuck, or merely trying to find that last piece of loot, secret or Bonus Objective you can now get the walkthrough and lootlist from Cheap Thief Missions (http://www.thiefmissions.com/info.cgi?m=InsanitysCrescendo) here. Thanks to epithumia for hosting them.

Haplo on 13/5/2010 at 23:22

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A rope arrow?

sister renee on 14/5/2010 at 22:39

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Please I can´t take Shed key and torc in safe what happen? i ned help