This is the 2nd game in the series, and I found it both fun and challenging. The HOs were good. The mini games were challenging without being overwhelming. The graphics, storyline and sound were all good. In the series, the first one gets your interest, the 2nd adds to that and the 3rd has just enough change to continue your interest. I definitely recommend this series!

The second in the series, this game follows the theme of the previous game and extends it well. The graphics are excellent and the releasing of various characters develops the story. The level of challenge is higher than the other game and, although I haven't timed it, it feels longer. My only negative is the time penalty if a mini puzzle is skipped. It is probably sour grapes saying that, as I did skip a couple!!!!!! The book is helpful to check objectives and I like that you can earn more hints (as in the previous game). I also like that both games in this series ask you to replace items in a scene - a reverse HO if you like.

I have to say some of the mini-games were almost too hard for me. I didn't understand how to do them, so had to use walkthrough for the answer, but still didn't understand how it was done. stumped me! The game was very long, which was excellent. Definitely got my money's worth! I didn't like crossing back on the raft. I think once you crossed the river, the other area should have been done. Other than that, I really enjoyed the game. I like it when I have to think a little and this made me do just that. Didn't have to use hint too many times so had a good number of those built up. Great game...I would definitely recommend!

Love locations, storyline and the grafic, pretty bright

All the echoes of the past are great fun games. Not too much moving all around to keep play flowing.

Started out thinking, "oh this looks like it's going to be cute." Moved onto, "Ugh, not much action, yawn." By the end of the first hour, WOW!!! The storyline is really rather non-existent but the graphics are gorgeous and the music is beautiful. But the puzzles??? Wow. The sheer variety and creativity were amazing. The HOGs weren't just "find 'em", but later "put 'em where they belong", the sugar in the coffee, the lid on the pot, etc. No blood, guts and gore, not creepy or eerie but wow, what a challenge. The mini games really made me think and yes, the instructions were pretty much useless. Half the challenge was figuring out what to do, the other half actually doing it. I did skip one puzzle and when I looked at the walk through afterward (I did get stuck on the game once and had to cheat just a little), I thought, "well duh". I had figured out A and B but didn't put them together to get C. So this is a thinking/reasoning/deducting game more than anything else and man, what a blast!

i really loved this game. really long and plenty of puzzles. The expert level was plenty challenging. one of the best.

Did the last game first, loved it, and this one was really good, too. You have to find the amulet pieces to unfreeze the castle residents from the latest spell (this witch sure does get around, don't she!). Be sure to collect the mirrors in HO scenes for more hints. HOS very clear and interactive and some are put backs, which are really cool. Great graphics, storyline and VOS. My time: casual 4 hours.

Echoes of the Past: The Castle of Shadows game is a perfect mix of hidden objects, puzzles, exploration, and a fun storyline! Not too easy, yet not ridiculously difficult. If you like adventure games, you will love this!

First up, I loved the LOGIC of this game. I always knew pretty much what I had to do and set about doing it. The graphics are brilliant, as they are in all the Echoes of the Past games, and the music is good too. The actors' voice-overs got a bit cheesy and lost a little creditability. After all, we are talking Kingdoms, and Princesses right? Why then voice some of the castle occupants in broad, twangy, southern american accents. Nah, not believable. The CE gives a bonus adventure which is pretty good - warning, no extra mirrors from HO scenes on the bonus, so at the end of the SG, what hints you have, that's all you get to keep. Found I didn't really need them fortunately, just took a little longer to look and think it through. This game should appeal to beginners and intermediate players - the experts would probably breeze through it fairly quickly - though hopefully spending some time to appreciate the beauty of the graphics. Actually these graphics are on a par with those from the Puppet Show games - which says a lot! Will DEFINITELY be on the lookout for more Echoes games, surely there's a few more miles left in that witch!