I remember playing the previous Griswold the Goblin game and enjoying it immensely, so it's great to see the sequell hit the net. Especially seeing the bar being raised in a lot of areas since the first one. First of all, the art style used by Chris is excellent. The cartoony look is very crisps and clean and comes across as very professional, as does the incredibly smooth animation of Grisworld and the world he interacts with. Programming is practically flawless as well. At one point I did come across what I thought was a bug. While in the labyrinth I was walking right to the screen with the lumberjack, but ended up in the first screen of the Dark Passage. However this did not happen a second time I followed the path and the game carried on as normal. It was likely just a one off glitch and didn't affect the playthrough at all.

I would say that the story was far too simple and didn't seem to actually go anywhere, but as you've said yourself that this is only the first chapter to create the setting and the story will be fleshed out in later parts, which it does very well. It was nice to have a little bit of light humour throughout the game, which made it quite enjoyable to play through. Griswold's complete indifference to his world in particular is quite humourous. He sees someone get eaten by a giant flower, and where most would probably be shocked he instead sees an opportunity to get a free chicken. Also I don't know if it was intentional, but I did get a kick out of the fact that most of this game involved you searching for a rope to avoid having to just jump down the well, only to have you in the end fall down it anyway. A bit ironic don't you think?

The biggest problem with point and click games is finding that balance between puzzles that are actually doable but ones which are not overly easy and provide little to no challenge. GTG for the most part has this balance but does to jump either side of the line now and then with some really obscure solutions to certain puzzles, and I did end up having to use to walkthrough to solve some of them. (The one that stumped me was fishing for lava, which I'll admit is something that I never would've considered). Mind you after using the walkthrough I often felt like kicking myself for missing something which looking back seems completely obvious. Quite often on some of the least obvious puzzles there are subtle hints which direct you in the right direction, you just have to look for them. A number of people seem to be complaining about the inclusion of minigames and who they distract from the main quest the game centres around. I have to disagree and say that they add a nice bit of variation to the game, and are not exactly difficult to the point where they'd be 'distracting'.

The voice acting was also top notch right down from Josh Tomar's opening narration to each of the characters. In particular the Weeping Widow was quite impressive. The music score additionally was perfect for the game, never getting too annoying or distraction as many in-game loops do. All in all this is a fun game, a great sequel and a good set up for the rest of the chapters to come. I'll be looking forward to the future releases. Though looking back I do have to wonder, where does Griswold lives in a cave, so where exactly is he plugging his TV into? Guess that's fantasy for you.

Point and click games are a dime a dozen, so it's always good to see one made with a very effective concept with just as much fun and style.

First of all, the graphics and art used in the game are very good. The house actually did look like a dilapidated old building with something to hide. The gameplay was also incredibly smooth and straightforward, never presenting a too serious obstacle to distract from gameplay. I did enjoy the concept of searching through a haunted house, photographing elements of paranormal activity. Many a time I would be focussing at something else, then quickly grabbing for the camera as I noticed a chair moving in the corner. The rate at which some objects move could have been slightly increased or better hinted at. I did find myself a number of times staring at a cup waiting for it to move, deciding it wasn't going to and then turn away only to have it slide down the table, just missing it. But then again you don't want to make the game too easy.

One inconsistency I did come across while playing was that I never visited the attic until the very end, yet your character comments on how every candle he finds will be useful for the pentagram. If he's never seen it, he shouldn't know it exists. But it's only a small error.

The backstory to the house was told effectively through the diary pages and newspaper article and while pretty typical, suited the game well enough. However, I felt that it could have had far more depth. During your search you could have ended up actually investigating the murders that took place yourself and possibly using the scattered occult objects to confront the angry spirits which haunt the house. In the end I'm still not sure what their purpose was, apart from pretty scavenger hunt items. There could have been a lot more detail.

Something which I think could be improved on which would greatly improve how the game was played would be to really emphasise the appearance of ghosts. With the exception of the one which jumps out of a closet, the rest really weren't that scary. I ended up reacting more like a tourist, "Oooh there's one! Quick take a picture!", than getting frightened. To really add to the scare effect, when a ghost appears (Or is about to appear) the addition of flickering lights, sudden darkness, an increase in the volume of ambient sounds or the like would really grab the player's attention as they stop doing everything to look for the specific spook. The Exmortis series by Ben Leffler in particular does this sort of thing very well.

This is a very solid game, which plays well and looks excellent. There are only a few areas which I think could be improved on and developed out which would make this a genuinely scary game and a solid contender against other horror titles.

Tip: For those who cannot open the cases scattered throughout the game, there is a scrap of paper in the right bedroom which translates symbols into numbers. Near each case there should be a corresponding 4-symbol code which will open it after translation.

After the release of what was one of the biggest teasers back in 2004, it's great to finally see the first episode finally surface after over four years of work and all the hard work, set-backs and re-writes that went into it.

To start with what is obviously Fallen Angels strongest point, the artwork is flat out amazing. The backgrounds are nothing short of spectacular, and you've really created a realistic looking world. The integration of 3D elements mixed with 2D animation is seamless and incredibly well done. The level of detail that is put into the environments is simply amazing, really only rivalled by Adam Phillip's Brackenwood animations. Specifically, I have to say that the scenes where New York and Washington were destroyed are outstanding. The explosions and the destruction of the cities were drawn and implemented incredibly realistically. The architecture behaved as architecture would, and the level of realism and plausibility that these scenes emulate I think really defines the level that this series is on.

It is interesting that the art style has changed between the release of the Teaser and the first episode, and I've noticed a lot of other people are commenting on it as well. The original anime-inspired style has been dropped for a more realistic western comic book feel, which I think was a good design choice given the serious nature of the animation. It made it seem less action-cartoon if that makes sense. It does make Serra appear slightly less feminine, but that's only down to a personal design preference and both do the job perfectly well. I think what most people are thrown by is not that it's any worse or better drawn, but that the design is just different from four years ago. What did bug me though is that Serra's animation is a bit inconsistent throughout the episode. In the occasional scene (For example, entering the shop in Part 1) the animation is a bit choppy and stands out against the rest of the episode, but it's really only a minor aspect.

What did disappoint me, and what I believe was the weakest aspect of this three-parter, was that very little of the story was revealed. You could understand from the teaser that we were obviously going to be dealing with some form of post-apocalyptic dystopian world, but we only got a small amount of backstory as to how this world came to be. No characters were explored, and only one was introduced. It is important in every story for the audience to be able to sympathise with the protagonist, but Serra could really just be another civilian. We know she is the main character, but we don't know anything about her, what here plans are, and why she's incredibly proficient in using firearms (As seen in the teaser). Episode 1 may have served as a setting for the rest of the series, but I hope you use more character development in later instalments, because the setting won't be able to carry the story on its own.

The use of sound effects and music is also very well done. It really creates an eerie feel as radio stations fail and cell coverage stops, as all technology is rendered useless in only a few minutes. It must have taken a long time to edit the sound to perfection. The voice acting was a bit inconsistent. The majority of Serra's dialogue was far too quiet and sounded distorted and distant, as if one too many background noise removals had been used, which gave the dialogue that metallic twang. It is only a technical issue, and re-recording with a better mic would easily fix it. The rest of the voice acting throughout the three parts was perfectly fine.

Overall this is a very solid first episode. Incredibly well drawn and animated with only a few minor details which don't derail the viewing experience as a whole much at all. You've created something you can be very proud of and the hard work of those four years really shows. My only hope is that this series can live up to the enormous potential it has and is really fleshed out in terms of story and character in upcoming instalments. I wish you all the best.

I was actually taken aback when I read in another review that this was set in a patent office, guess it pays to read the description. On the first listen through I pictured a crew on a ship mutinying against the captain for talking like a pirate cliche. The second listen through I pictured it in the office setting. I can't decide which was funnier.

For my money this is one of the best. Hopefully someone will pick this one up.