Ladies and gentlemen! We are compelled to interrupt the total Christmas craze with an urgent message:

Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst - Puzzle-quest to the Ravenhearst Manor

Game story: For decades an enigmatic Ravenhearst Manor has been attracting visitors from all over the world with its mystery; but nobody managed to unravel the secret of the place so far...Quite recently it's turned out that some clues can be found in the diary of a girl called Emma. Unfortunately, the entries of the diary that may hold the key to the enormous tale are missing. You have to assume a role of Master Detective and to solve the mystery held by Ravenhearst Manor.

So your task is to search numerous locations of the  Ravenhearst Manor for different hidden items.

From the very beginning of the game you find yourself in the ancient manor. The multistoried ancient house is huge: there is Entry, Front Porch, Living Room, Parlor, Dining Room and other premises to visit. Not to get lost in the manor, you are given a map of rooms. Blinking tabs indicate areas to search. Once a room is chosen, click on it to visit location.

When you enter the room, you are given a list of items to be found.

In a terrible mess of the room you have to find objects listed in the column to the right of your playing field.  To pick up the item you need, click a right mouse button on it and the object will disappear from the playing field and from the list of items. The time for each level is limited, so try to avoid random clicking. Once you click on the wrong items, your time will be reduced.

If you are completely at your wit's end, you can use Get Hint button.

Try to use help only when you are having really hard time, as the number of hints is limited. The stars under the Get Hint button show you the number of hints left. Remember that a definite number of hints should be extended for sleuthing in about three rooms, so you have to avoid wasting hints in the very first room not to be left helpless in other rooms.

Passing from level to level, i.e. moving from room to room, you have to solve puzzles to be able to move to the next level.

After completing some levels, you'll find that doors to other locations are locked. To open them you have to solve a puzzle. Here your task is to collect journal pieces or to find clues to make some sophisticated gears and mechanisms work.

It's possible to skip a puzzle if you come nowhere with it, but in this case you'll lose a few minutes of your time as a time penalty.

You are constantly reminded of the number of hidden clues. Their number is indicated in the right corner of the playing field.

The Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst game has two modes: Detective and Relaxed. Enjoy the normal, timed gameplay with the Detective mode or ‘savour' extended time gameplay with Relaxed mode.

The game features really impressive graphics and thrilling story. Sinister background music makes your flesh creep.

But in my humble opinion the game is too ‘stuff-heavy' - too many items are crammed in one room, the puzzles are too far-fetched - it took me a lot of time to catch on it.

Besides, more than 70 megabytes is a hefty content for one's PC unless of course you use broadband...