...........................................Moderator comment...................................

Retiring for the night, will continue to moderate in the morning, hopefully before the giveaway ends. If you have any issues, please check my review for links to the FAQ's thread, and read through the comments just in case someone has posted a fix. If you need to contact the giveaway team, for example if you are having problems getting a Steam key for the dlc pack from the other giveaway today you can do so HERE.

Good night

To get a feel for today's game before you download it, please check out several game play videos of Elven Mists HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE (Arabic), plus a slide show of 30 images HERE.

Please only post comments about today's game giveaway; other comments either inappropriate, or comments with only one or a few words; for example vg, good, thank you, TY, bad, rubbish, this game is ****** etc , or if the comment has nothing to do with today's game or is complaining (send your complaints to the giveaway team via the contact form that I've linked to below), they may be deleted at the moderator or administrators discretion; however, a little light banter among community members/friends and with the moderator to keep this a friendly place to visit is acceptable and welcomed. All comments not specifically about today's game giveaway will be judged by the moderator and if deemed inappropriate, will be deleted and usually with no explanation. Please see the moderation policy HERE for details about posting comments.

Elven Mists

In Brief

A tetris like puzzle game with 92 levels divided into 11 chapters of color matching fun for all the family.

Installation:

Elven Mists downloads to a 19.3 MB zip file that unzips to three files, (a setup.gcd security wrapper, the set up file and a read me). Those with multiple hard drives are able to save games on any drive they wish. The newly installed game is 22.7 MB in size. The game installs to the following path by default, but can be changed by the user if you prefer:

C:\Program Files (x86)\MyPlayCity.com\Elven Mists

Four shortcuts are installed to the desktop. three of which can be safely deleted (Play Online Games, MyPlayCity Games and shortcuts to a free online game which vary each week). Also, if you don't like icons installed to the quick launch task bar, make sure you uncheck the box when the additional tasks window appears (after the Select Start Menu Folder window)

Introduction:

Thick magical fog has its grip on the Elven land. The amicable inhabitants lie in deep slumber, entrapped by enchanted flower buds. It is your task to lift the fog and wake the elves. Be warned, the fog is not easily driven away. You will need patience and a clear head. Four bonuses will help you through the levels until the entire realm is freed from the mist. Use them wisely to master the difficult challenges ahead. Can you save the elves?

Reference accessed HERE. 2017

The Game:

The following three reviews were written ten years ago and were based on graphics back then, so any reference to great graphics may not be as applicable today when you compare the most recent games to those created ten years ago, however, that said, the graphics are still nice to look at and very colorful.

Review 1:

Elven Mist is a game developed and published by the German developer Intenium over ten years ago (July 2007) where the goal of the game is to free elves that, for some unexplained reason, have become trapped in flowers. In order to free these flower stuck elves, you must make use of colored blocks, which only come in four basic Tetris shapes. Using these blocks, you make a bridge from one larger flower to the next, in order to destroy the blocks and any smaller flowers you trap underneath which contain the elves within.

The game play is really, really simple which allows for anyone of pretty much any age to just pick up and start playing with ease. The graphics are simple and gorgeous looking despite the age of this game. Unfortunately, this game does suffer for several different reasons. i.e

⦁ Game play: Although the simple game play is one of the games strengths, it is also one of the games weaknesses in that the game is too simple. Yes, the game does get progressively “harder” as you go on, but not enough to keep you engaged in the game.
⦁ Lack of innovation/creativity: This game freely borrows from other games in the puzzle genre, while at the same time offering us nothing new with which to separate this game from the pack.

⦁ Music: The music in this game sounds almost recycled from the Nintendo 64 era of gaming. While I wouldn’t expect a game like this to have an epic soundtrack, I would still have liked to have seen some more originality in the music instead of what seemed like rejected music for Super Mario 64.
⦁ Not addictive: The draw with these puzzle type games is that it usually has addictive game play and this game lacks that and definitely suffers for it.
⦁ Levels: The levels seem to change very slightly and offer very little variety other then maybe a new item or another color of blocks to make the level seem more challenging that it actually is

Edited reference accessed HERE. Originally posted by on . Edited, added to and re-posted by Whiterabbit-uk 29th Sept 2017.

Review 2:

Hostile flower buds have invaded the land of the elves, devouring your friends whole! Armed with your trusty Tetris pieces, you’ll set forth to free the elves and end the reign of the flowers for good. While flower buds may seem like questionable adversaries, they make ideal foes within the light-hearted atmosphere of Elven Mists, a world of cartoonish elves (that more closely resemble pixies) who glow and sparkle to the sound of a bubbly fantasy-pop soundtrack. Some may find the game to be light in terms of challenge as well, but with 92 levels of progressive difficulty and simple, unique gameplay, Elven Mists just might capture your attention.

Before embarking on your journey, you’ll be able to create your own player profile, allowing you to save your individual score and progress alongside the profiles of family and friends. Although the game boasts an immersive story-line, the brief text explanation displayed before the first level doesn’t do much to draw you in. If the game had included a few prominent main characters with distinct personalities, the immersion might have happened, but, as it stands, Elven Mists doesn’t offer any reason to invest in the story emotionally (unless you already have a place in your heart for pixies). That’s okay, because the gameplay holds up well on its own.

Those who have played Tetris will adapt quickly to Elven Mists. Tetris’ familiar shapes are all here, the difference being that these pieces can now encompass the flower buds and are placed in the grid-like playing area at your leisure, rather than falling from the top of the screen. If you’re playing the arcade mode, there will be a time limit for the completion of each level, but a relaxed mode is offered for those who prefer unlimited time. Your goal is to use the pieces to bridge the gap between any two glowing portals, upon which the pieces are considered “solved” and will disappear, along with any flower buds that happened to be within the pieces. This is how you free the elves, who will then sparkle and fly away, decreasing the number of freed-elves required to beat the level.

Elven Mists seemed suspiciously easy, although self-proclaimed “complexity upgrades” occurred several times during the first ten levels. These upgrades added things like new colors, which provide the challenge of managing your different colored pieces effectively. By level ten, brambles had appeared, which act like barriers that can only be burned down by solving pieces in adjacent spaces. Special items, like the magic wand, can also be obtained. The magic wand will instantly cause any group of pieces to disappear upon a click, making things even easier.

In terms of graphics, Elven Mists has a pleasant, polished appearance that manages to keep up with other quality casual games. The Tetris pieces have a shiny, juicy look to them, and the tiny elves provide some eye-catching animation when freed from their flower buds. All of this is accompanied by instrumental tracks that match the whimsical nature of the game, creating a very relaxing experience.

Edited reference accessed HERE. Re-posted Whiterabbit-uk 29th Sept 2017.

Review 3:

Game Play: 4/5. Although the plot is a little obscure, and the story woven behind the game really has nothing to do with what’s happening on the screen, the game is easy to play with the mouse alone. It simply involves moving different shapes and different colours to make cohesive paths or shapes and thereby to cancel the various point-scoring items on the screen. There is no need to refer to a book of rules, or even really to know why you’re doing what you’re doing (I certainly didn’t), so it’s relaxing and enjoyable.

Graphics: 5/5. Very pleasant to look at, the creators have made a true fairy-story kind of screen on which the game is played, with very attractive bursts of stars and flashing lights. I would think that there is a limit to what you can do with this kind of game, but I found the look of it pleasing and relaxing. There are some attractive little bits and pieces dotted about the screen, and the flowers particularly are very pleasant.

Sound: 4/5. Not memorable, but again pleasant and relaxing. Each time a group is cancelled or an object is achieved there is a pleasant fairy-like tinkle which matches the happenings on the screen particularly well. Although the sound is entirely electronic, there is no panic or urgency about it, and, like the game, it serves to relax rather than frustrate.

Creativity and Innovation 4/5. This has really been covered by previous comments, but again, the colours are gentle, the game pleasant to play, and an interesting, if entirely unimportant, story has been woven around the game-play. One can’t be terribly creative with this sort of game, but the overall feeling is one of pleasant relaxation and happiness. I certainly can’t say that for many computer games!

The net result is: if you are looking to spend a pleasant hour or so relaxing in front of the computer and you don’t need to take out your frustrations on the game, this is a very good answer. The player is not driven by any time constraint or any minimum score, so the game can be picked up and put down as you feel like it. I am certainly not a great fan of this type of game, but I found it a very pleasant experience and finished up with a feeling of gentle satisfaction, rather than wanting to throw the entire computer out on the street!

Other Reviews and Videos of Elven mists:

You can see Big Fish community reviews of Elven Mists HERE and other information about the game over on Game Boomers HERE. You can see a slide show of 30 images of Elven Mists HERE; and a few game play videos HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE (Arabic).

Conclusion:

I remember playing Tetris until my head buzzed with that awful tinny music from the original game boy back in the early 90's, one of the first computer puzzle games I ever played. I played it until my head was spinning becasue it was so addictive, this game has the benefit of color, which makes for a more pleasant experience, however, with only four helpful bonuses and 92 levels split into 11 chapters, for the more experienced player this game may be too easy and tedious, however it's ideal as a family game especially for younger children. For free I'd at least recommend you try the game; you may like it, however, don't expect anything original or earth shattering. 5.5 out of 10 from me.

Suggestions:

After you've had an opportunity to play today's giveaway please take a few moments to give some positive or negative feedback about the game; for example, what you liked or disliked about the game, or how it could be improved. If you don't like the genre at all, please explain why and if any, what improvements would change your mind? If you don't have time to post a comment today, please do so at your convenience, thank you. To access the comments once the giveaway is over, open up the game giveaway to its home page then scroll to the bottom of the page where it says Archives and select the date the giveaway was live (giveaway days are in bold type). This will open up the appropriate page for you to post your comment or review.

There are thousands of subscribers to the game giveaway of the day every weekend which makes this an ideal forum for giving developers new or fresh ideas as to what their consumers (i.e you) would like to see in a game. For example, you could suggest extra content such as better or more original mini games, or a level editor that you would like to see that would make it more appealing to you. Maybe you think the graphics are a little dated and are in need of re skinning, or maybe you've just had enough of the genre and want to see something different or something with more originality? Giving such feedback instead of saying nothing or just saying this game is rubbish or good may bring more developers to the site, which could mean more and better games. Would 'you' give away thousands of copies of a game (or extra content for a game) away to a community that complains all the time instead of giving useful feedback? It only needs a few moments of your time.

This site could be transformed if only the community would be more forthcoming in their opinions of the games they are getting for free instead of complaining about the way this site has changed, for example, they don't like MPC games, they hate HOG's, have had enough of Match Three and Time Management games, or they want to see the latest version of Call of Duty or some other big name AAA game given away or that they don't like Steam games. If something isn't for you then please move on to the next giveaway, or check out the forums HERE, HERE and HERE, where a few members of the community post details of various free games and free game sites as well as links to various indie bundle sites etc; you never know, you may find something that really interests you.

Problems getting the game to work:

If you're having problems installing or activating or getting Elven Mists to work please visit the FAQ's Thread which you can find HERE and read through the communities comments because sometimes fixes have already been posted, for example, a common issue seen since the Themida wrapper was introduced three years ago is that some community members installation of the game is blocked by their security (usually an error message is flagged for example 'The executable is corrupted' even though in reality it is not) because Themida code has been known to hide malware, so as a precaution some anti malware programs will block and even delete the suspect installation files even though they are actually free from malware. This issue can be solved either by rebooting your computer in safe mode with networking or a quicker method is to temporarily turn off your security software to allow the installation. In the almost 11 years this game giveaway site has been operating there has 'never' been a game given away that was infected with malware.

If for any reason you want to contact the giveaway team, for example, you have a game to offer the community, or are unable to download the latest game or other issues that the FAQ's thread or these comments don't cover or solve you can do so HERE

If you miss today's game giveaway you can always get the game via MyPlayCity 24/7 HERE; or If you prefer to purchase the game you can get it HERE via Big Fish Games.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank MyPlayCity for giving away Elven Mists and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing other ways to get free games.

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

The problems section that used to be posted here in the Game review is now included in the Game Discussion FAQ's thread; which you can find HERE.

I've updated the games section that used to be posted with the review. The thread is now called 'Weekly round up of game deals', formerly the games section of the weekly reviews. You can find the new thread (which I've posted in the sticky section of the game discussion forums to make it easier to find if you are perusing the game discussion forums) HERE.

The rest of the information that used to be posted here can be found in the forums HERE. Finally, check out Delenns for details of other free games and offers HERE