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Magic Encyclopedia: Illusions Game Review

Magic Encyclopedia: Illusions Game Review

Magic Encyclopedia: Illusions is the 3rd installment of the Magic Encyclopedia adventure puzzle series. The Magic Academy has come under attack by an illusionist and are trapped by his illusions. Star student Catherine happens to be in the right place at the right time, and is the only one able to fight the illusionist and free the other mages. Join her as she searches the world for ways to confront the illusionist and disrupt his plans!

Magic academy star student Catherine is hard at work in the academy’s library when suddenly everything around her transforms into something completely different. A door turns into a drape, stairs disappear and arcane writings turn into children’s drawings. Catherine manages to magically contact her masters, only to find that someone has stolen the Book of Illusions from the academy and has used it to trap all the mages in an illusion. Fortunately, Catherine was at the library when the illusionist struck, and is able to use the scrolls in the library to escape. It is now up to her to defeat the illusionist and free the other mages.

Magic Encyclopedia: Illusions starts with Catherine trying to find her way out of the library. She is not all on her own though, as her masters are able to provide her with hints via her magic crystal ball. She has to find ways to dispel the illusions preventing her escape. And once she’s free, she has to go in search of the illusionist in an adventure that will take her around the world to exotic places such as China and even an undersea kingdom!

The gameplay in Magic Encyclopedia: Illusions is very much a fragmented object game style. Instead of searching for totally random objects like a spider and an umbrella, you are tasked to find different parts of items that can be used to break illusions or help you on the quest against the illusionist. For example, find all 8 parts of a levitation scroll and you can then use it to interact with a previously out-of-reach item.

However, what makes this game unique is how it handles the concept of illusions. When you first encounter a scene, what you see is usually an illusion, with people and items appearing to be something else entirely. For example, that palace guard standing inconspicuously by the door might actually be a demon waiting for you to gamble with it. And in terms of solving the puzzles, certain items can only be interacted with or obtained while you are viewing the illusion “phase” of a scene, while others require you to have dispelled the illusions before you can interact with them. You will also have to switch back and forth between the phases to solve all the puzzles.

Dispelling the illusions might involve magically transforming day to night, or using potions, or even magical glasses. Some of these items might dispel the illusion for the entire scene, while others might only reveal the truth around certain areas that you select. And some others will only dispel the illusions for a short time, requiring you to act fast! This concept adds a new level of difficulty to the game, and might take a while to get used to. Some of the particle effects such as distortions surrounding the “dispelled” areas might create a bit of confusion as well.

The game is also more challenging than other hidden object games. There’s a lot of deduction and reasoning required in order to solve some of the puzzles and to find out what is the correct next step. Do not worry that it may be too difficult for you though. The “hint” and “skip” buttons recharge quite quickly. There are plenty of mini-puzzles in the game too, again mostly of the logic variety. They are also magic-themed, with examples including a potion-mixing puzzle and a magic word puzzle.

The artwork in the game is gorgeous, as is expected of a Magic Encyclopedia sequel. The art is vibrant and crisp, and beautifully illustrates the magical scenes and locations that you visit, from the mystical Atlantis to the Forbidden Palace of China. The music is quite uplifting and entertaining as well, with hints of the various cultures that you visit. The soundtrack might not be arranged perfectly though… you can sometimes hear Chinese music when you are in Egypt.

Overall, Magic Encyclopedia: Illusions is a great adventure puzzle game with a higher than average difficulty level. The unique method of showing and dispelling illusions makes it stand out from other hidden object games. If you haven’t visited the world of Magic Encyclopedia yet, you owe it to yourself to try this installment out and see just what you’ve been missing!

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Children’s Book Review- Pearls Adventures Volume 1

Children’s Book Review- Pearls Adventures Volume 1

Variety is the spice of life. Children need to have a variety of reading experiences if they are going to learn to make good decisions. Children’s books should be food for their thought process. There are two separate stories to each volume. This Manuscript is a story about a bear named Pearl. Pearl lives on a boat with her Mum and Dad.

Readers Report: DORRANCE PUBLISHING

“The first adventure Hide and Seek reveals that Pearl was named after a pirate ship named the Black Pearl. Pearl cannot leave the boat without an adult because she might fall in the water.

Pearl enjoys playing Hide and Seek with her Mum and Dad on the boat. Pearl climbs up the ropes of the boat to play the game with her parents. Pearl’s Dad finds her.

After she is found, Pearl helps her Dad to find a pulley and fix the boat. After the pulley is found Pearl holds the wheel straight. After helping her Dad, Pearl is tired and goes in for the day.

This manuscript aims to show children what it’s like to live on a boat. It also shows the love between a child and his or her parents.”

Letter from Managing Director Dorrance Publishing

“My editorial staff has completed the review of ‘Pearl’s Adventures Volume 1: Hide and Seek’ and has provided me with the attached readers report. I am pleased to advise you that we think your work would make a positive addition to our Dorrance Publishing list of titles.”

ROPES and COLOURS is the second story in PEARLS ADVENTURES VOL 1. Pearl is being shown the use of each rope on the boat. The ropes are different colours so Pearl can remember what they are used for.

Pearl also gets to play, and tidy the bundles of rope that are not being used. Sometimes she gets in a real mess, but Pearl tries to remember to always play safe.

Pearl listens very carefully as her Mum explains what the colour of the rope is and what that rope is used for. Not long after they had finished Pearl decided that she would like to tighten some of the ropes.

Pearl insisted on doing this until Mum gave in. Pearls Mum had already tried to explain that she may be too little, but that didn’t stop Pearl from trying.

This manuscript aims to educate children on some of the basics on the handling of a boat. It also shows that children do not always agree with their parents.

If you are short of something to read to your child tonight click here and download now.

http://stores.lulu.com/slapdashink1/

Written by Helen Rogers.

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Learning French With Kids: French Comics For Kids Review

Learning French With Kids: French Comics For Kids Review

Learning another language is a great way for kids to find out about other cultures around the world and French is a popular language spoken in many countries on different continents. Learning French, like any second language, can be intimidating, so it’s important to provide additional resources that they find enjoyable and engaging, that are separate from their traditional textbooks.

One way to help kids connect with another language in a casual way is comics. Comics are a universal form of literature that children are introduced to at a young age and tend to love immediately. Comics match dynamic and fun images with a small amount of words, usually in the form of colloquial dialogue. With so few words on a page and with picture cue’s to help with story comprehension, kids are not overwhelmed and encouraged to identify what the words mean.

Like most kids, French children love comics and you can find a great range of comics in the French language at sites on the Internet such as Amazon’s UK website, which is as easy to order from as their US site. Kids who speak English will be drawn to foreign language comics in the same way that they are drawn to comics in English. The pictures draw them in and then they are motivated to identify the words.

Some of the comics recommended for younger readers are Yakari (by Derib and Job), Garfield and Star Wars Adventures. All these comics are aimed at young French readers from ages 6+. There are colourful images and few words. The vocabulary is limited and at the level you would expect from a similar book aimed at young English readers.

To help with searching on Amazon’s UK site for French language comics try adding the following terms. The term for graphic novel or comic in French is BD, short for bande dessinée and the term for volume is tome. You may find that searching for BD comes up with more mature selections so start with the phrase “tome” and one of the titles suggested above.

So if you can’t seem to find a volume of Yakari in French (as it is also available in English) you can try a search for “Yakari tome”. Yakari is also available as a prose based book so make sure you choose a comic version.

Helping kids to love a language for life is helping them realise that people in countries share similar thoughts and feelings, and finding out we all love comics can help in that process.