Literally the worst HOG/puzzle game I’ve played so far. The art is pretty but the gameplay is annoying. The first game was ok, I like the “mini HOGs” in the inventory but this game takes it too far; everything is hidden (need something simple? Well you’re in bad luck because you gotta find every f*cking atom of what you need), and most of time totally blended with the background and almost impossible to find. It saddens me to give this one a thumbs down, especially because I really like Artifex. But damn, this game p*ssed me off.

2/10. Get only in a bundle if possible.

Fans of this genre should already be a familiar with Artifex Mundi, a prolific and well regarded casual adventure game developer. It should come as no surprise that this is a recommendation. This is your second mission as a Brothers Grimm detective in this Artifex Mundi series. Your mission this time is to find the last of the giants, defeat him and save the world. You think the Grimm Brothers would help a rookie detective more....

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=595486879

The voice acting was passable and the artwork is the excellent standard expected of Artifex Mundi. The best art work in this game is in the Magical World locations. My personal favourite artwork location was Moon World but I think this is the best location artwork in Desert World:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=598089753

I did not enjoy having to click continue on my mouse every line in the voice acting. Listening to the cut scene uninterrupted is preferable. Needing to pause the game is the only possible and useful reason. If so a pause button instead of continue is suffice.

Achievements

The achievements in this title are easier as you can 100% this game on easy, advanced and expert. Collecting all 40 collectibles would of been a good achievement to add. To get all achievements you must play the bonus game. In previous titles playing the bonus game it has been just one achievement but in this game you will be missing four; The Whole Story, Puzzle Expert ,Master Searcher and One of a Kind.

Conclusion

Currently based on the Artifex Mundi games I have played I feel that this is a weaker entry for three reasons.

1. The Mini games in this title are on the easy side and I would of liked more .For the more experienced casual adventure gamer you may not find much challenge in this one.

2. The game feels like constant Hidden Object scenes. This is because as well as the traditional Hidden Object Scenes there is Hidden Object Pieces game play in all locations. This means having to find items before you can use them on objects.

3. The story wasn't as engaging as for me personally. This is really down to a matter of personal taste/themes but I felt like this wasn't the strongest writing.

If you like the idea of easier game play, 9 Clues :The Secret of Serpent Creek , in my opinion is a better game that I recommend for more experienced adventure gamers even if the artwork in the this game is superior.Despite my criticisms of this particular title I still look forward to trying the first game in this series, the first detective mission, recently released on steam which I will still be making time to play this year...

http://store.steampowered.com/app/429600/

Fairy Tale Mysteries 2 shows strong, creative mechanics by mixing hidden and fragmented object scenes, plus it has an interesting (but short) take on the familiar Jack and the Beanstalk story.

When a hidden object game gets a sequel three years after its release, it is usual to see that the two games have barely anything in common. Still, this can be a good thing—case in point, Fairy Tale Mysteries 2: The Beanstalk.

Whereas its predecessor was a fairly forgettable HOG, this one brings something new by mixing up the usual mechanics: every story screen is turned into a fragmented object game, replacing the traditional point ‘n’ click parts, but keeping the standard hidden object scenes intact. So, if you like to search for items, you are in luck, because this game has plenty of it—but not to the point where it gets tiresome.

As for the story, the title mostly says it all: someone is trying to grow a new beanstalk to let the giants escape from their cloud prison, and our protagonist, freshly from the Brothers Grimm Institution, must prevent this by getting the help of the Guardians of four magical realms. Episodic, straightforward, a little too short, but fun for a hidden object game.

Game Information

"Fairy Tale Mysteries: The Beanstalk" is a Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game. The game was developed by Gogii Games and published by Artifex Mundi.

"The Beanstalk" is the second episode of "Fairy Tale Mysteries." Previous episode: "The Puppet Thief."

The Game Review

Game Visuals

I want to mention that the visuals in the game are well done. The visuals can be adjusted in the game's option menu.

Game Audio

I want to mention that audio for the game is well done. Even though the audio is somewhat simplistic and repetitive. The audio can be adjusted in the game's option menu as well.

Gameplay

There are three different difficulty game modes to choose from: Casual; Advanced and Expert.

The notebook keeps track of progression in the game. Such as story events and clues.

There is an interactive map in the game. It allows the player to fast travel between each location quickly without having the need to constantly backtrack. It also indicates that there are a variety of tasks that can be completed at various locations within the game. The interactive map is automatically given at the start of the game.

There is no padlock feature that is available to lock the inventory panel in place to make it stationary. The inventory panel automatically comes stationary.

There are some interactive items in the game. Some of the interactive items in the game may require extra components before they can be interacted with. All interactive items are marked with a symbol in one of the corners.

The hidden object scenes consist of the following: Traditional word lists and Picture items. Some of these hidden object scenes may require little or no interactions.

The puzzles are fairly easy to solve without having the need to skip any of them.

There is a collectible in the game: Decorative Eggs. They are scattered throughout the game for the player to find.

There are eleven different achievements to unlock from playing the game. Each of these achievements does come with some requirements that need to be completed before they can be unlocked.

Since this is a collector's edition, there is a bonus chapter, but it can be accessed only after the main story is completed.

Miscellaneous

There are extra features in the game: Bonus Chapter; Wallpapers; Concept Art and Soundtracks. Most of these extra features can be accessed only after the entire game is completed.

There are five different trading cards to collect. Only three of those trading cards are given out by the game. There are several ways to get the rest of the trading card: Purchased from Steam's Community Market; Trade with friends; Booster Packs and it's Booster Pack Creator.

Final thoughts: I have found the game enjoyable to a certain extent. The replay value for the game is low. I would recommend this game, but not at the game's full price value.

If you like Hidden Object Games (seek and find, puzzles, point and click), then games from Artifex Mundi are for you.

Okay story with some interesting twists on fairy tales. Lovely artwork and better voice acting than usual for Artifex Mundi. The fractured object puzzles can get a bit frustrating, since the pieces you have to find are usually in plain view, but you can't click them until you hunt around for the thing you need them for. Typical difficulty and length for a HOG; maybe three hours long including the bonus chapter. Recommended in a bundle or at a steep discount.

This game is pretty good. It says fullscreen is optimized for widescreen but the images are a bit pixelated and grubby at fullscreen. However it won't be so bad as to stop gameplay. It does not have location hints or a travel map but in casual mode the hints button recharges pretty quickly.

This game is good for the price and will provide a couple hours of entertainment. The voice overs are not too bad and the story is good.

For the value it's worth it but would not buy it at full price. The 40% discount was nice.

For reviews of Artifex Mundi hidden object games, I like to compare them to other games in their publishing line, assuming the reader knows as to what hidden object games are.

A long, long time ago the world was the stage of the struggle between the sinister giants and the noble race of peace-keeping guardians. After a fierce battle the giants were vanquished, except for one, whom the guardians overpowered with powerful magic and banished to a mysterious land above the clouds. Thousands of years have passed and the world is once again on the brink of extinction. All thanks to a boy who got hold of some magic beans powerful enough to open a path to the cloud world and put humankind in grave danger.

Taking on the role of a fledgling detective from the Brothers Grimm Institute, you’ll embark on a journey through magical worlds to find the castle of the last of the giants, and face him using your wits, magic spells, and the protection of the guardians. The fate of the world is in your hands. Are you up to the challenge?

Even more than a whopping fifty intriguing locations, distributed over five aesthetically different worlds have to be discovered, twenty-nine mini games to be played, and fifteen hidden object scenes have to be completed. Accompanied with lots of background story, all set in various settings.

Art style of the game is overall less cartoony, compared to other AM HOG. With gritty, dingy touchy, backgrounds. Some of the locations, most of them are in the bonus chapter, are obviously made with less effort and are traversed much quicker than most normal ones. Overall, the backgrounds are beautiful enough to blend the game to a whole experience.

Remarkable, this is the first time in an AM game the objects are hidden in the backgrounds the player travels through. Formerly there nearly only were hidden objects in the special hidden objects scenes. This change makes for a more fluent and faster paced gameplay.

The ambient sound effects and fairytale music blend in seamlessly with the graphics and gameplay, and add to the enjoyment. Background music is intriguing, atmospheric and gripping, however somewhat repetitive. Whereas all dialogue is spoken. Animations are present in a more simplistic, static manner, but the lipping of the characters is done in a better way than previous AM installments. Also noticeable, the music is adapted to match with the current world the player is at.

There is a bonus chapter included as well, which is required to play to unlock all the achievements. Which makes the game, with only one playthrough required to achieve a perfect game, excellently suited for achievement hunters. Eleven achievements have to be unlocked to become a perfect game. Easily done under twelve hours of gameplay. There are no miss-able achievements, however, make sure you do not use hints at given times. The bonus chapter itself is not very extensive, and the most easy by far. One could state the bonus chapter is a part of the game that failed to make it in the main chapter.

Overall, Fairy Tale Mysteries 2: The Beanstalk, is a lower difficulty, rather linear, shorter edition, compared to other installments of the Artifex Mundi publisher line. Developers “Gogii Games” created a somewhat less typical HOG, with fewer hidden object scenes, but with more hidden objects integrated in the backgrounds. Somewhat weird references a made to the brother’s Grimm, not really sure what that is all about. But another step up from former AM titles.

Recommended for: hidden object game lovers, achievement hunters & casual gamers.

Cheers,
SultanK

The previous part of this game, Fairy Tale Mysteries: The Puppet Thief was amongst the first hidden object games I've ever played. At first I didn't quite like the concept of finding 9-12 specific items amongst a bunch of things (just to receive 1 key item in the end), but the fact that there were plenty of other minigames and puzzles, plus it was fairly cinematic with lots of cutscenes (even though the story was a mess lol), made this genre appealing to me, even if they can't reach the complexity and higher standards of a classic point-and-click adventure game.

Here in Fairy Tale Mysteries 2: The Beanstalk, the Grimm Brothers, the famous German folktale-collectors/writers return and ask us, their mere apprentice to investigate the case of a handful of magic beans (based on Jack and the Beanstalk) which - as we soon find out - endangers the entire world, involving the awakening of giants (if they are so great why do they need beanstalks to climb down though?) and seeking out the mystical elemental guardians to ask for their help, so before climbing up to the clouds we have to visit each one in their realms... even though the identity of the game's villain is so obvious, our own naive character makes remarks of him.

The most noticeable thing is that the game operates with a fairly unique (at least amongst the hidden object games I've played) feature: we have to find objects scattered around every scene to assemble an item required for progression. Each time the task with the necessary components pops up on the toolbar below. These objects we have to find are literally everywhere: on the top of a tree for example and in subscenes as well. Naturally (?) this comes at the price of some serious backtracking, however this way it is less annoying - compared to when we have to randomly search for hidden object scenes. In order to start collecting some of them though, we have to trigger the related objective first - by finding the place where the item is needed.

The dark and often spooky atmosphere of the first part (and of the original Grimm Tales) is completely gone, the entire game is bright and colourful. Utilizing the opportunities provided by the elemental realms, the game throws us into all kinds of different locations after the initial classic tale setting: icy/moon-themed places, a sunset beach, underwater areas and even Egyptian environments, reminding me of The Emerald Maiden: Symphony of Dreams, where by using a rather cheap trick, the game deployed a wide variety of very different locations.

Picking up items directly from the screen, without the usual hidden object scenes is certainly a refreshing move (I wonder why other games don't use this more often), even though it really shouldn't be. The minigames are equally entertaining, with some never before seen ones, like the safe/clock riddle... the 'construction' of the marshmellow bridge on the other hand seemed way too easy.
Some of the fragmented objects can be a bit hard to find though: while they do stand out from the background imagery, they can be hard to notice mainly due to their rough nature, like the turtle shell piece... and the not too high resolution graphics doesn't help either.

We can collect crystal or Fabergé (or at least similar looking) eggs along the journey, but they are just for display, we get no achievement for it. As for the bonus adventure we have to find the remaining magical beans scattered around in the forest near the town, so the Grimm Brothers can destroy them, but its quality doesn't reach the level of the main story.

While the graphics are generally all right with interactive elements and colourful locations, the resolution is indeed not ideal. These hidden object games - the ones published by Artifex Mundi, even though this one was originally made by Gogii Games - usually take up about 1-1.5 GBs of space and the size of this one is about 0.5 and it shows. The graphics are not as crystal clear as seen in other HOGs and this applies especially to the cutscenes, which seem blurry and compressed. Another thing regarding cutscenes: some of them are quite goofy-looking (where Jack is chasing the evil magician and bounces off the iron gate :D) and I'm not sure whether it was intentional or not...

The sound effects are good with the usual 'click' and 'whoosh' sounds, after completing HO scenes and puzzles and the music tracks besides being delightful, match the locations perfectly (like Arabian-themed music in the Egyptian realm).

Fairy Tale Mysteries 2: The Beanstalk is a very enjoyable hidden object game, even if more childish in nature than its predecessor, but better in pretty much everything else with its item colllecting mechanics, evenly distributed HO scenes, minigames and an epic ending (even if the bonus chapter is somewhat of a letdown).

PROS
+ enjoyable fragmented object collecting - within and outside of HO scenes
+ good amount of quality minigames
+ a bit childish, but fun story
+ fitting, relaxing music
+ plenty of diverse locations...

CONS
- ...even if their presence feels forced
- not so high resolution graphics and blurry cutscenes

RATING
7.5/10

Very heavy on the hidden object games and weak on the puzzle content. The hidden object had specific scenes, but then lots of searching for items in each main map location. This made it quite tricky compared to most hidden object games where the objects are created into a specific scene. Here it was very easy to miss items due to them being well hidden in the brush, or other types of patterns background that allowed it to blend in. Because of this use of the locations for hidden objects there was a lot of back and forth to find all of the items as you couldn't pick up all items in a location until you found the location where the items needed to used.

Not a bad game, though story and music weren't great and I prefer a well balanced puzzle/hidden object type of game than this. I still recommend it because it's entertaining for the time that you get to play.