|
List Price: $19.99 Price: $1.47 You Save: $18.52 (93%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Binding: CD-ROM Brand: Dreamcatcher EAN: 0625904289100 Edition: Jewel Case ESRB Age Rating: Everyone Format: CD-ROM Label: Dreamcatcher Interactive Manufacturer: Dreamcatcher Interactive Platform: Macintosh, Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows Me Publisher: Dreamcatcher Interactive Studio: Dreamcatcher Interactive Accessories: Editorial Review: Product Description: Set in 19th-century China, this legend is the story of Emperor Xian Feng and his love for a beautiful Han concubine named HeHanQu. The emperor renamed her Lotus Spring because, just like the flower, she possessed a delicate beauty. As she grows from a young girl who is forced to leave home to save her family, she develops strong character, warmth, and a spiritual soul. A love story wrapped in a mystery. Amazon.com Review: Enter a world of mystic serenity and surpassing beauty in search of the ending to a tragic romance in The Legend of Lotus Spring. This first-person role-playing game in the style of Myst and Amerzone takes players on a tour through a lost archaeological treasure--China's Garden of Perfect Brightness--which was burned by the British and French during the 1860 Opium War. As you visit the stunningly rendered structures, courtyards, and pools within the garden, you are in search of Lotus Spring, a lover of the emperor Xian Feng. Imprisoned in the garden by the jealous Dowager Empress, Lotus Spring has now disappeared. Fearing for his lover's life, Xian Feng has returned to the garden to discover her fate. Gameplay in The Legend of Lotus Spring is simple and straightforward, to the extent that it may seem too straightforward for seasoned gamers. The various scenes within the Garden of Perfect Brightness are littered with objects and interactive hot spots. By exploring the garden and trying out the objects, players trigger animations that tell the story of Lotus Spring's doomed romance. Each discovery also fills out Lotus Spring's dream diary, providing more information about the missing woman's past. However, the mystery is often less than intriguing when compared to the garden itself. Using paintings, photographs, and the original construction plans, the destroyed garden has risen--gloriously--from its ashes. It is easy to forget that there is any point to the game beyond examining the treasures of each room. It is unfortunate that the game does not include more hard information on the garden or the architectural principles behind it. But even without this information, the garden offers infinite fascinations and a distinct sense of being haunted. Designed to appeal primarily to women, The Legend of Lotus Spring is a love story wrapped in a mystery. It is moody, romantic, and musical--a different sort of journey from most games of its type, and one that lovers of fine architecture and storytelling will find rewarding. --Alyx Dellamonica Amazon.com Product Description: Set in 19th-century China, this legend is the story of Emperor Xian Feng and his love for a beautiful Han concubine named HeHanQu. The emperor renamed her Lotus Spring because, just like the flower, she possessed a delicate beauty. As she grows from a young girl who is forced to leave home to save her family, she develops strong character, warmth, and a spiritual soul. Lotus Spring and the emperor live together in Lian Xi Le Chu, Lotus Haven, part of Yüan Ming Yüan, the Garden of Perfect Brightness. The story unfolds against this backdrop. Lotus Spring disappears, and the emperor frantically searches through pavilions, temples, and exotic chambers to discover what happened to her. The emperor remembers and collects a number of objects, each one a piece of the puzzle that brings her closer to his heart. The Garden of Perfect Brightness evolved slowly over a period of 150 years, beginning in 1644, at the height of the Qing Dynasty. It was destroyed in 1860, burned to the ground during the second of the opium wars. Although parts of it were eventually rebuilt, it never regained its former glory. Now you can take a fascinating journey through this small slice of China's history by traveling through this re-created slip of paradise on earth. Access a fascinating wealth of information about life as it was lived in this secret world, the clothes and jewels that were worn, the temples in which Emperor Xian Feng and Lotus Spring worshipped, the galleries where they painted, the music they played, and the chambers where they lived. The beauty and magic of this world will envelop you when you enter Yüan Ming Yüan. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Use it to prepare kids for a trip to BeijingSure, this game may not be top of the list, based on its plot flaws and lack of real challenge. Nonetheless it's a great tool for getting your kids interested in Chinese history and culture if you're headed to China soon. The setting for the game was painstakingly recreated from historical information about the Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan) in Beijing. After playing the game, your kids will be much more interested in visiting the palace ruins while in Beijing. Buy it for its historical and cultural ... Read More Rating:  - Boring & Insulting to It's Targeted DemographicThe genius developers that produced this train wreck invested a lot of time and money in the myth that women don't play computer games. Their solution? Create a game that is the technological equivalent of a picture book - lots of pretty shiny things to look at and none of the challenges that real gamers - men - like. Oh, and it also helps to turn the cursor into an adorable naked baby. Every time you move the mouse around, the baby turns to show the direction you are going...and to remind ... Read More Rating: - Despicable.A dull game that consists mainly of meandering. Puzzles are simplistic, yet unintuitive. Rewards consist of cut scenes featuring a courtship. The game is strongly targeted to women. To the extent that women are maudlin simpletons, it should appeal to them. For my part, I found it a bit insulting. Rating:  - Though Clunky, One of the Best Older GamesI am a Myst, Atlantis, Syberia, Egypt II gamer (with even some Nancy Drew thrown in to play with younger friends; and a little Tombraider), and to this day, Lotus Spring remains as one of the most enjoyable & educational games I've played. I never traded it in. It stays in my collection. If you want to go back over the older games and you are a female gamer, try this out. It is clunky, but if you have patience, you'll enjoy the story and graphics. Most guys I know think it moves too slow and won't finish it. ... Read More Rating: - A Stinky FlowerGame produced to appeal to a specific audience - namely teenage girls with nothing better to do with their time. That is fine, and may be benificial as the monotany may force them outside, away from their monitors. Repetitious and tedious. Buy if watching grass grow adds excitement to your life. |
