Ugh, I'm really mad at myself that I didn't read this thread before purchasing the game for $20!!! I got Dracula 3 for free during the pumpkin carving promo in 2008, and thought it was a solid little adventure (if short on vampires).

I've only been playing Dracula 4 for about 10 minutes, but am already NOT impressed by the clunky interface, too-easy puzzles, and graphics. This feels like a circa-2006 (or earlier) game. I guess I was mislead by the flashy trailers that looked like throwbacks to Dracula: Origin (which I really enjoyed!).

Oh, and a minor rant that smacks of laziness: when you see the "newspapers," only the headlines are fleshed out, and the rest of the text (which is large enough to be legible) is Lorem Ipsum. I work in publishing for a living, and even when I do mockups, I don't use Lorem Ipsum to auto-generate text...Even the Nancy Drew games bother to "write" articles to fill out newspapers and text seen in-game.

Also there is a download from gamers Gate.

Sorry but I will have to agree with Uruboo, if this is a full game then it is the shortest full game adventure ever made this side of free, online games. I will also say that it is also short for a Chapter 1 of an episodic adventure. I don't want to be a downer, the game did show some promise story and game play wise but the sudden ending after a few hours of game play and the story continued in Dracula 5 that you see at the end left too much to be desired. If they plan on charging this much for each episode then, depending on how many episodes, a full adventure game might end up costing $80 to $100. Hmmmm...is this why there isn't a real web site for the game opened before release?...Just sayin, would love to see a response from Anuman.

Thanks for letting us know about this. I just played it and loved it. Reminds me a little of how Kheops Studio used to put together games.

Dracula 4 is nowhere near as good as Dracula3 It's not bad but too short being an episodic game (GRRRHHHH!)
I found the game to be most linear in that if you are missing just one thing you cannot solve a puzzle or progress any further. I found in the library I was stuck for ages before entering the secret room. I had read the codes from the books but not clicked on it. As I had not verified to the game I had the code, it would not let me enter. One aspect of the game I did really like was the use of the Adventure Mode and the Casual Mode. I played 99.8% of the game using Adventure Mode with markers turned off. Just a couple of things I had problems finding, so I turned to Casual for a few seconds and found what I was after.
I also found the lip synch to be atrocious when Adam and Ellen talk. There is no lip movement when talking and some lip movement when there is no talking. I put it down to the translation from the native language in what the game was made to the English dub.
These comments are just my 2 cents worth.

Thanks Gameboomers for this excellent discussion. This site is the best for game information and I never make a game purchase without checking here first.

Is it shorter than Yesterday because that one was disappointingly short.

mj2c,

I think so.

Hello,
I just finished this game and it was pretty short for a game like this. it was a good game thou.

kathy

I'm so disappointed - this was a "buy" for me before I read the comments. Shucks, and I was in the mood for a good Dracula game.

I've decided to hold off until a full game is released.
I don't like "episodics" and it sounds like this game has turned out to be one
[And I was SO looking forward to it !!]

Same here, Mad. Someone at Mystery Manor played it and was also quite disappointed.

If 5 is like 4... I won't be playing 5

Of interest is that on the casual game website, Gamezebo, the reviewer gave the game five stars.

I wonder if the main complaint is just that it was short and if you compare to the originals you feel cheated. If it was a stand alone game with no preconceived notions would it be good? Just a thought.

Evidently that's where the money is in Anuman's view, in casual games for iPad and Android and the like. Quite frankly, I'm avoiding Anuman from now on. As far as I'm concerned, they pulled a fast one on adventure gamers.

Mad, if you're waiting for part two to buy it, odds are you'll be paying for two games, not one, and the price for this game was relatively steep considering the length everyone is reporting.

Ana, is it possible for adventure gamers to have no preconceived notions about the Dracula games? Anuman must have known very well what the reaction from AGs would be.

Cynical? Me?

Gil.

There is a huge difference in gameplay when playing casual mode or adventure mode. I played the game in adventure mode first and took me on 6 hours to complete without any help. Then playing in casual mode took me under 2 hours as all the markers show where everything is. The hardest puzzle is the lock pick one as it is strictly trial and error, whereas all the other puzzles are pure logic. Yes, some women do have logic. As far as a score goes, I would rate the game as a 2 out of 5. It has some good features but there are many more bad ones.

"Mad, if you're waiting for part two to buy it, odds are you'll be paying for two games, not one, and the price for this game was relatively steep considering the length everyone is reporting.
"

Yes, I had thought of that, traveler, and it will be another factor I'll be taking into account

A woman after my own heart, Gil!

Yikes... I was so looking forward to playing this game. I had been waiting for this sequel since D3.

I saw the trailer and was impressed by it initially. That impression quickly faded after reading this thread and after learning that the game was being featured and reviewed at Gamezebo.

Has this been turned into a casual game?

I guess I will just have to wait for a full review of this game by a legit adventure game site (**hint, hint**)!

What happened? Was this a production budget cut?

For those of you who bought and played the game -- did any kind of manual or readme get installed with the game?

The game only comes as a digital download at the moment. There is no manual among the game files. At the start of the game there is a Prologue/Tutorial that you can take. The tutorial explains all the cursors and movements that you need. navigation is smooth and simple in Dracula 4, so there is no real need for a manual.

The tutorial does NOT explain why you have a Load Game option on the Main Menu with no ability to save the game. I wouldn't be surprised to see people asking how to save games in Glitches forum, the same way there were with the "updated" download version of Nautilus, etc.

If a second person in your household wants to play the game, it does NOT repeat instructions for creating a new profile. It would be easy for them to overwrite the first player's profile by starting a new game.

At no time was it explained that you miss part of the game by not playing the tutorial before choosing "New Game."

I wasn't able to find a pdf manual or readme in my game folder, which is why I asked if anyone else had received one. I disagree with you when you say no manual is necessary. People shouldn't have to check Marita's walkthrough to find out about these things.

I noticed in the walkthrough that there is no manual save feature. Does this mean that we have to go through huge chunks of the game before an autosave or have to start all over again if we have to quit before there's an autosave? I recently attemped a game like that and had to start all over again after getting quite a ways in. If that's the case I think I'll skip this one which is too bad as I've liked the passed Drac. games.

Regards,

Barry

It autosaves when you close out the game.

Ana