Black Mirror II: Reigning Evil (2009)

I love a good adventure-puzzle game, and Black Mirror 1 in my opinion was a great game. It had such a superb haunting atmosphere. This sequel started out really well. The Maine setting was a nice and the atmosphere was good. At first I couldn't stand the terrible voice acting, especially the protagonist. All of the accents are really forced, and it sounds like they're all Australians trying to do American accents, but I'm not sure. But anyway, I got used to the voices and even started to like the characters.

But then this game took a fatal stumble. The game pretty much has a hint system that you cannot deactivate. Any time you enter a room with a puzzle to solve, Darren will ruin it by giving away the answer. "Hmmm I should try using my rubber chicken on that pulley" he says, completely destroying the enjoyment one gets from figuring these things out.

So yeah the game was pretty good actually, but they made it way to easy with all the hinting dialogue. Most of the puzzles were too easy anyway. I liked BM1, it seemed like the perfect amount of difficulty: tricky, but not so tricky that you need to look at a walkthrough.

Another gripe I have is that the story was terrible. Toward the end there were all these ridiculous plot twists that were completely unbelievable and over-the-top. Also they ruined Darren's love interest, completely removing the damsel in distress element.

Ultimately, it wasn't at good as the first one, but it's pretty good in its own right. Once you get into it and adjust to the voice acting it's actually not bad. Since it's so easy, it's a pretty relaxing game without any frustration. Overall I enjoyed the experience, but I'd only recommend it for people who played and enjoyed the first one and wish to know more of the story. The atmosphere and immersion are pretty good overall and it was a pleasant experience.