Upon launching Nightmares from the Deep: The Siren's Call, you're immediately drawn into the shrouded mists that surround a small island. 

 

Lightning crackles overhead as the rain begins to lash the sides of a nearby ship floating just beyond the reef. Between the flickering shadows of moonlight, you spy a dark shape silently gliding through the water, right before a massive tentacled beast rears up and smashes the vessel to pieces.

 

Well, isn't that just a nice slice of awesome served up fresh from one of my favorite developers - Artifex Mundi. 

 

 

Nightmares from the Deep: The Siren's Call was just released and already I'm salivating after only watching the first few moments of the beginning reel.

 

The title screen made matters worse... it was drop-dead gorgeous. I probably sat there and stared for at least 5 minutes at the shimmering greens and golds mixed with lovely shades of blue and purple.

 

However, the gentle lapping of the waves and the cry of distant gulls infused with a sweet and haunting melody inevitably enticed me to finally push that play button. 

 

 

Nightmares from the Deep: The Siren's Call continues the story of Ms. Black, the curator who braved the seas in the original Nightmares from the Deep game in order to save her daughter.

 

Now, a mysterious package signals the start of a new adventure as she is whisked away to a strange island where she's thrown right into the action as fish people are storming the building and a lovely siren is desperately trying to escape her servitude to the town's mayor.

 

After a fierce battle and a giant octopus ripping apart the house and capturing the siren once more, it's up to you to discover a way to break the curse on the village, save the siren, and put an end to the mayor's evil ways!  

 

 

The story was amazing and immediately drew me in, even if it more than resembled a certain Disney movie I know... Davy Jones... the Kraken... fish people... I admit I had a moment of some discomfort... I even researched the legend of Davy Jones a bit to see if Disney borrowed from it, but didn't find anything that tied those three concepts together.

 

Still, the story is unique enough that I managed to shake the feeling off and just enjoy Nightmares from the Deep for what it was... a sensational pirate adventure game. 

 

 

The graphics were awe-inspiring. I kept stopping to drink in each scene, taking note of all the intricate details that were painstakingly put into the artwork. The slick cobblestones, glistening in the moonlight, reflecting the glow of the lanterns lining the streets, the tiny barnacles clinging to the rotting wooden surfaces throughout the village, the soft green spanish moss slowly suffocating the trees and rooftops... it was all so well put together.

 

The music was dark and delicious. Haunting and eerie, like the sound of  the legendary siren's call, and it was accompanied by a slow and steady drumming, as if there was always something stalking you, something unseen and dangerous just beyond your field of vision.

 

It melted perfectly with the sounds, as your senses were greeted with the crashing of waves against the shoreline and the distant call of gulls overhead. 

 

The voice-acting was well directed, with a script a talent could actually work with. I loved the different voices of the townspeople, especially the old man in the tavern whose gruff and raspy voice capture the part of the world weary sailor perfectly. 

 

 

Gameplay was smooth and intuitive. Hidden object scenes varied from your traditional hunt from a list scenes to silhouette play, and while the scenes were your classic pile-of-junk scenes, they were each extraordinarily beautiful to look at. However, if you don't feel like sorting through HO scenes, the game does provide an alternative Mahjong game for you as well.  

 

Scattered throughout Nightmares from the Deep were several collectibles including golden octopi, silver parrots, and bronze seahorses. These are sometimes hidden in places were you may not know to click, so don't by shy about investigating areas of interest on the screen. 

 

 

The puzzles of Nightmares from the Deep: Siren's Call were surprisingly multi-leveled and varied. While I didn't encounter anything too challenging, it was exciting to see the many different kinds that were featured. Even though the basic fundamentals weren't unique, the way they were presented were. For example, one of my favorite little games was where you had to identify from smallest to largest, fish in the food chain... in other words... find the smallest fish... then find the next smallest that would eat that fish and so on and so forth. How fun!

 

Overall, Nightmares from the Deep: Siren's Call was an amazing hidden object adventure game that offered the complete package to players. 

 

If you spring for one collector's edition this summer, Nightmares from the Deep should be at the top of your list... it's that good.... in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we see it in the running for best HOG of the year.