I think that most of us don?t get ?scared? by these spooky storyline HO/adventure games, but it?s fun to play along. Haunted Hotel gets into necromancy, spells, the dead, the almost dead, and the living dead with a mix of good graphics. You are playing against time to save your brother from a deceased evil recluse whose gigantic portrait hangs in the main hallway. You search the house and the surrounding grounds for clues and pages of a journal that your brother has left behind. There is an Info button in the upper right corner of the screen that you can click to re-read any of the written pages you find. You do have to conduct some pretty in-depth spells, especially toward the end of the story. I found those rather interesting and creepy. I played the SE in Casual Mode. I have seen all of these puzzles/mini-games before, in one format or another. They all were pretty easy; but if this is one of the first HO/adventure games that you are playing, then the puzzles/mini-games might provide a bit of a nice challenge. I still enjoyed them all. I admit that I don?t like difficult HO scenes, and Haunted Hotel had just a smattering of nice easy ones here and there: Loved that factor. I didn?t get lost, but it never hurts to jot down notes about which room or path leads to another. I even wrote down a couple of the spells so I wouldn?t have to consult the Info button. Over the course of 2 days, it probably took me about 4-5 hours to finish the game, and I was taking my time. Toward the end of the story, I did have to use the Hint feature twice to find out what to do next. I think that this is an extremely user-friendly game. I did enjoy Haunted Hotel. It moved along quickly, I didn?t mind the traveling between locations in the house and on the grounds, and the storyline was creepy enough to keep me interested: I HAD to find out how it ended!

Kept me intrigued.. loved it so bought the game.. very eerie in some places.. but kept me guessing.. the only downside was boring ending... all im saying i would never have guessed!!!!!!!!.. buy it....

The game has lots of interesting puzzles. Not to much HOS. The hint recharges fast. I loved the atmospheric music and the eerie "weather". And I found visuals to be pleasant. I've played the CE version. Can't say that the Bonus develops the story further (the game play starts where the SE version ends), but it is loaded with new puzzles. If you are a puzzle lover, then go with CE. Try it for your self and see how it works for you. I recommend this game!

I liked the storyline: you have to save your brother from evil... The atmosphere is creepy! I played in expert mode, so no help, no sparkles. - The graphics are good, not too dark. - The objects in the HOS are easy to find. - Most of the puzzles are really challenging! - There is no journal, just a list of all the letters you find, but they contain no clues for the puzzles or the tasks. - The hint system is good, it tells you where there is something to do. - There is no map, and you easily get lost... well, I did... It took me about 3 1/2 hours to finish, and I never got bored. All in all, a good, challenging game!

I've played the CE version and enjoyed it very much. The game is quite challenging and doesn't have to many HOS. I found it to be logical and interesting. Really worth playing. Try it!

If you passed up on the CE version then you really have to get the SE version today and find out just what happened to your twin brother as you explore the abondoned Haunted Hotel. Once upon a time, the very first Haunted Hotel started off as a simple straightforward HOG, but since then the Haunted Hotel series have gradually evolved with each game and with this latest edition, developers now bring us a new HOPA game that takes place in New Orleans, a ideal setting for any ghost story. The tale of Charles Dexter Ward offers something for everyone; Hidden Objects, Puzzles and Adventure and lets not forget, a great Ghost story. I loved the graphics and . using real live film footages always impresses me. This game had me at the opening scene. The sound effects were truly oustanding, I recommend you use headphones while playing and enjoy the sounds of swamp creatures in the background that set the mood for the game. Game features included widescreen, stretch screen and custom cursor. There were two game modes, but be warned, there were the odd sparkles here and there in advance mode which I found to be disappointing. Game features included a task list but no journal and no map. Instead, you need to find pages of a missing diary as you roam each scene. There was a very good hint system when used, tell you exactly where to go and what to do. Game mechanics were standard, involving collecting objects from non interactive HOS (again with the disappointment) and solve a variety of puzzles along the way. The puzzles were very enjoyable and some actually needed a bit more elbow grease. There are also achievements to earn along the way which were basically tied to each task done. The only problem I had with the entire game was the lack of a journal, the fact that you needed to collect the diary pages to unravel the mystery and with each page just seemed to slow down the pace a bit. If you are a fan of ghost stories then you are in for a treat; put on your headphones and be prepared to surround myself with the eeriness of t

Just for me. I'm an average player so I'm looking for some fun, good visuals, intriguing story in games. And Charles Dexter Ward has everything! Nice graphics (like realistic style), not annoying music and interesting (yes, really interesting if you'll pay attention to it) story. Haven't bought CE but now think about it...

This game is a long a story and every turn is an adventure.

Can't understand some of the bad reviews. The game is great. I think that the ending was interesting and the graphics is good on my monitor. The game has some puzzles that I didn't see before, but some are pretty standard. And the relation to some works of H.P.Lovecraft added some interest to me.

i ahve been waiting for this to come out on se version for what seems like an age (because im too much of a scrooge to pay for CE). The only gripe i will have is i had to use the hint button to much as there are so many laces to go i lost my way a little bit! Although saying that, i loved the storyline, the graphics were amazing and the hint button recharged quickly. This is definatley my sort out game - dark, eerie, supernatural etc. A definate must buy.