The Magician’s Handbook II: BlackLore

OS: Windows XP/Vista
CPU: 800 Mhz or faster Processor
RAM: 256 MB
Hard Drive: 87 MB

The Magician’s Handbook II: BlackLore review

Return of the much awaited Magician’s Handbook has been received with overwhelming emotions by gamers like us who feel that it is better to play one good game in a year than spoil your hands at 20 bad ones. This time in the Magician’s Handbook ll: Blacklore you would be taken on a mission to rescue the fairies from the hands of the dreadful pirate called Blacklore. The best thing about the game is that the story is well in sync with the hidden objects that you have to find. All that you do in the game has a bearing on how the story unfolds and this is one unique aspect of the game. There is a word of caution for all those who wish to take the magical journey and that is you are not at all going to find it very easy to cross each level so be ready to face a stiff challenge.

The curse from the Magician’s Handbook is removed by the magician and while he waits for some more adventures he finds that the text from handbook just disappears. There is no other way and he had to return back to the mundane life, but after two years it again wakes up and the magician goes on another enthralling journey. The Wise Wizard and the fairies have been captured by the pirate Blacklore. You have to free them from the evil pirate but before the next moonrise. If you fail in your mission then there is no escape from the hands of the Blacklore.

Now, the game gets tough only when you learn that the magician doesn’t possess any magical powers and this is the reason why he has to collect the enchanted items to cast the spells. There are a lot of hints as you get give hints in every chapter but you also have access to another hint. You need to use the black, silver and gold keys for using in the Safe Heaven. The only way to free the fairies is by opening the chests that use different number of keys. The color of the keys for the chest also differs and this can be seen from the fact that one chest requires 7 black keys and the other requires 2 gold keys. Now, this not only frees the fairs but also provides you with the hints, Repel spell and magic wands.

The puzzles pose to be a great challenge and require more than average intellect to solve them. It does not have any puzzles that put your memory to test but definitely has the all the ingredients that can twist the brain. There are two modes to play the game; one is timed and the other is untimed. You will be able to enjoy both the modes and this is the biggest attractive feature.

Conclusion: The graphics of the game is something that deserves appreciation as the hand dawn scenes are really beautiful. The music is in sync with the game that helps to enhance the overall gaming experience. There are some downsides in the game like the keys that require multiple clicks as they are really very small. One thing that really worries me is that the game crashes at some points during the game and this can make things really frustrating for the gamer. The challenge presented in the game is something that would be liked buy al the veteran gamers, but may pose as a stiff challenge to the newcomers!