Please only post comments about today's game giveaway once you've received a copy. If you download the free version from Gametop, please do post some feedback about the game; other comments either inappropriate, or not about today's game will be deleted at the moderator or administrators discretion; however a little light banter among community members 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 not appropriate, will be deleted with no explanation. Please see the end of this review for a link to more details about posting comments, other game deals and links to the teams contact form , moderation policy and the FAQ's thread, thank you and good luck to all who enter the competitio.

Inbetween Land

In Brief

A casual HOG adventure created by Specialbit Studio. 75 S team keys are up fpor grabs. winners will be announced next week.

Inbetween Land is a casual adventure HOG created by Specialbit Studios. Open the portal to a strange world and save your friend from Inbetween Land, a sci-fi adventure.

Suggestions:

If you win a key for Inbetween Land please give some feedback about your opinion of the game once you've had time to play through some of the game, for example, what you liked or disliked about it, or how it could be improved from your point of view . If you don't like this genre at all, please explain why. What, improvements, if any, would change your opinion? There are thousands of subscribers to the game giveaway of the day every weekend which makes this an ideal forum for giving developers 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?

If you don't win a key, miss the offer totally and don't mind playing games via Steam you can get the game 24/7 via Steam HERE. It usually costs £4.99/$6.99. You can also get the game from Big Fish games HERE or for free from Gametop HERE. Gametop games are similar to MPC games with respect to toolbars, home page changes etc. If you do download and install a game from any of these free sites make sure you uncheck any boxes to avoid the above changes. As with all games from these free game sites, when you close the game down, it will open your browser to the sites home page. This earns them cash, part of which is given to the developer of the game you downloaded for free.

Introduction:

The city's mundane rhythm is suddenly disrupted by the emergence of a flying island high in the sky. Though the island initially appeared to be deserted, the citizens realize that they are not alone in the universe. Before long, the island becomes a tourist magnet, increasing revenues and crime. Then one day, Mary, who works at the city orphanage goes missing after a beam of light is seen coming from the island above. Explore the creepy island using the clues Mary left, make friends with the spirits of the island's people, solve challenging puzzles, find missing crystals and take your friend back home in this absorbing adventure.

Reference accessed HERE 19th April 2017

Installation:

Assuming you win a Steam key for Inbetween Land once you've found it (should be sent to the email you used to enter the giveaway - it must be the email you first used to sign into the game giveaway site. If you’ve used a throwaway email there may be problems getting a key, because the key may be sent to that email. If you have any problems use the contact form. Hopefully the giveaway team will re-post the information they posted several weeks ago explaining the email situation. ) you have to activate the game via your Steam client. Once activated it will be permanently tied to your Steam profile and you'll be able to install the game at any time, anywhere on any computer, so long as you can validate who you are (usually via emails etc.). If you don't have a Steam account you will first have to download and install the Steam client HERE

Then create a Steam profile/account. Once that has been completed you can input the Steam code that you've received (after completing the form filling) via the game button along the top of the Steam client, (located between friends and Help). From the drop down menu select 'Activate a product on Steam'. This opens a product activation window. Just follow the prompts to complete activation. Once the Steam code has been accepted, the game will be permanently associated with your Steam account and can be installed any time you wish. The installed game takes up just under 400MB of disk space.

If you have a problem installing or activating or getting Inbetween Land to work, please visit the problems section over in the Game Discussion forums, which I've now incorporated into the FAQ's thread, and which you can find HERE

The Game:

Features:

⦁ 52 Fascinating locations to explore
⦁ 19 Thought-provoking mini games
⦁ 3 Game modes: Casual, Normal, Expert
⦁ 4 Engaging comics

Inbetween Land is one of those games that will either draw players in or lose them entirely based on its story alone. It places you in the role of an average woman, sent to a floating island in the sky where she’s challenged to save her comatose best friend, whose sprit is inexplicably floating around. Still with me? Moving on: crystals are hidden behind locked doors, magical panels or within crypts, and colorful alien ghosts will guide you through the collection of these shards to eventually save the day…and send the floating island…back…to space?

Beyond a test of your suspension of disbelief, Inbetween Land is a test of your patience. From the get go, the storyline proves nonsensical, disappointing, and hard to buy into long enough to form connective tissue with the gameplay. Speaking of which, the majority of your time with Inbetween Land will be spent making your way through linear, isolated groups of environments as you track down five separate crystals, one at a time. Since we’re in the sky, though, we may as well look for a silver lining. In this game’s case, uninspired plotting and overly inspired writing are at least complemented with a mildly engaging take on the genre’s puzzles.

Fragmented hidden object scenes give you images of items that you’ll need to find scattered about a single scene. Once you find all of the missing pieces for a particular tool or item, it’s placed back into the environment in an interactive context. These scenes work well; they feel cohesive, unique and are arguably the main highlights of Inbetween Land. Unfortunately, as the game continues, they may prove to be the only highlights.

In between fragmented object scenes, you’ll collect dozens of “key items,” that are scattered around environments, but will only be given the slightest of opportunities to combine these items into something more useful. Especially after completing the more innovative fragmented object scenes, this gives the game a jilted, almost lazy feeling. Worse still, the puzzles that emerge are too often repetitious tile-sliding or rotation tests.

While these “challenges” fail to hit a difficult sweet spot for pros, it should be noted that this may actually be a good thing for players that are looking for a more casual experience. What definitely isn’t a good thing, however, is the game’s incredibly short length, as you can make your way from beginning to end in less than two hours on the game’s easiest difficulty setting. Functionally, there are also some click recognition and mouse-movement-speed issues within some of the game’s puzzles, as the game makes clicking and dragging some tiles an incredibly slow-moving experience.

Ultimately, Inbetween Land suffers right out of the gate from an over-the-top storyline that I can’t see hooking even the most forgiving or imaginative. And while the fragmented object scenes perform well, and the comic book-inspired graphics prove quite lovely throughout, there’s simply not enough content, puzzle variety, or cohesion here to warrant an immediate purchase. Like the the title says, stay in between on this one: try before you buy, and proceed with caution.

Reference accessed HERE by Brandy Shaul on 30th Aug 2012 reposted by Whiterabbit-uk 19th April 2017

Other Reviews, Videos and a Slideshow of images:

You can see Steam community reviews of Inbetween Land HERE (mostly positive), Big Fish community reviews HERE and forum comments HERE and HERE. You can see some gameplay videos of Inbetween Land HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE and finally you can see a walkthrough (including tips) and a slideshow of over 100 images HERE (walkthrough) and HERE (Slideshow).

Conclusion:

Inbetween Land is a well made Adventure HOG with well made frangmented object scenes. Overall a reasonable game to play, but not the best of this type. If you enjoy adventure HOG's you'll probably like this one. 7 out of 10 for graphics and game play.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the developer Specialbit Studio for giving away 50 keys for this casual adventure HOG and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing other ways to get free games, in this case a Steam key.

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 also befound in the forums HERE. I haven't had the time to update certain sections, but most of the information is still valid and the links that take you to certain deals will still take you to the places where new deals are live.