I guess we need to steer clear of those bright-looking mushrooms…
By: Uma Smith
Valentine’s Day may be long gone, but that doesn’t mean that love isn’t still in the air. With help from Alawar Entertainment, you will perhaps find it in the forest with their latest PlayStation 3 title, Forest Legends: The Call of Love. The real question, however, is whether or not this game will get enough love with what it has to offer.
CONTROLS (3.5/5)
A game like this is best played either using the mouse or touch screen. That’s because Forest Legends: The Call of Love involves a lot of pointing and clicking. With the PlayStation 3 controller, the overall feel is still satisfactory, but it doesn’t give the same degree of control and autonomy in terms of movement.
GRAPHICS/SOUND (2.75/5)
On the surface, Forest Legends: The Call of Love looks pretty decent with background scenery that is artistically and beautifully designed. The particle and lighting effects add a majestic impression that gives the forest a fantasy atmosphere. That being said, it’s unfortunate how awkward and mediocre the animation is featured in this game. To rub salt in the wound, the audio doesn’t hold up well in the game, especially since the voice acting is awful.
GAMEPLAY (3/5)
Playing as a princess who has just fallen in love with a “werecat,” you enter into a quest after your beloved gets shot by your father. Taking note that Forest Legends: The Call of Love is essentially about solving puzzles and collecting items, the gameplay will involve lots of pointing and clicking. Specifically, you’re tasked with finding items within the environments you come across, after which you would use said item on particular objects in order to unlock another challenge.
The good thing here is that the game will highlight the specific object that you should be examining if you happen to be stuck. Additionally, you can summon a baby dragon, who will breathe fire onto an area on screen to aid you on where to search. So you won’t run into the danger of being stuck indefinitely on a puzzle. But at the same time, the game also won’t be a mindless clicking fest since you can’t constantly summon this dragon as each time it’ll need a moment of rest.
Forest Legends’ entertainment can be short-lived, especially when the game can be completed in just a few hours. That lack of longevity is really unfortunate since the puzzles are challenging enough to get players addicted. You’ll need to put in some effort in order to progress further in the game, and the story is engaging enough that you’d like to see how it turns out. While the bonus chapter tells what happens several years after the main story, the overall experience does end up being shallow in the end.
OVERALL (3/5)
Despite the sub-par animation, atrocious voice acting and short gameplay, Forest Legends: The Call of Love has plenty to offer for players that give it a chance. Since it’s littered with engaging puzzles against a beautiful backdrop, this PlayStation 3 title still deserves a little loving from players.
RotoRob GAMING 