Amber's Blood 2: Out of Control

Oh silly me. So I sat down at the computer and fired up Amber's Blood, and golly gee darn it, I played the whole thing.

I was able to do that puzzle I found last night, but it took a few layers of investigation before I got the correct numbers. Wasn't difficult once I saw the clues, but you do have to visit several places to find them, as always.

OK, so it's true that the Carol Reed games are all alike, but if you enjoy 'em, that's what you want! This one was no exception. 

This one is about finding out the scandalous history of Stina's grandfather, who it turns out, unbeknownst to Stina, died only a few years ago instead of decades ago, as her family said. Why did Stina's family hide most of the life of her grandfather? And, if he lived all the way to age 94, what else might be going on?

Carol's investigation will take her to several derelict buildings (as usual), one of which we'll be visiting at least half a dozen times. Good thing the scenery's nice, but this is standard operating procedure in Carol Reed game.

The usual supporting characters all eventually appear: Stina, Jonas and Bigge. And as usual, we have to gallop all over Norrköping, back and forth, looking for items.

I confess that I used the hints four or five times. A couple of the "whadda-I-do-next" things were pretty darned obscure. I did, of course, hit my head once or twice because I'd already thought of the thing, but just hadn't looked closely enough at some of the screens. I'd like to say that's because I've been away from these games for so long, but yes, it's true--I miss stuff in every game.

And as always, the screens are some of the best parts of these games! For example:

 There are always lovely city parks

We always visit Carol's allotment

A scene from Carol's window

We get sepia-toned photos of sites we visit

We always have shots in four directions wherever we go

An unusual night scene of Norrköping at the beginning of the game

The lovely industrial park always shows up

A nice street scene

We explore some old windmills

Some art work in a museum (closed, but Carol gets in!)

With all that eye candy, who cares if we have to traipse around, back and forth, to get every little inventory item? That's actually part of the point. You explore a new area to find perhaps just one item, but usually you'll have to go there at least twice.

And there was humor. Bigge has started to get personal, for example. Also, "Amber's Blood" isn't what you think it is. Yes, Carol often does murder mysteries, but this title does not refer to a bloody body hiding in some obscure place.

However, as has been the case in the recent games, there is a villain who will threaten Carol with death or bodily harm--but don't worry. The villain will stand there threatening you until you figure out how to escape.

And the puzzles were pretty good in this one, perhaps even above average for an MDNA game.

I enjoyed it a lot, obviously!

And here's another little treat (I'm sure this isn't real):

There's at least one more visual reference to adventures in the game for those who look!

Have fun!