This is the first game I will be reviewing on my new Horseback Riding Adventure Game blog. It was the first horse game I bought and started my new found obsession with them. It is also the one I have played the most, so it seems fitting to start with it.
Overview of the Story:
Your character has just arrived at the Sycamore Riding Academy in Scotland. At the school you will have the chance to excel in Cross Country riding, Showjumping, and Dressage...but it soon becomes clear that a rival has it in for you. You have to solve the mystery of who it is before they can get you kicked out of the school.
I like this game.......there's a few glitches here and there that were absolutely frustrating my first time through the game. I almost wrote a nasty email to Ubisoft on the "sandwich" puzzle. There was no help on the internet at all for this game. So hopefully with the help of this blog, others can enjoy the game relatively hassle free.
Getting Started:
This is what you will see when you first start the game
I like to go into the Options and check out the Keyboard settings. The instruction booklet gives you the key "A" for the Half Pass dressage movement......but as I found out my first time through the game (after I couldn't do the movement ever) that the game came with it set to the "Q" button....
in the photo below I chenged it to "A" as the instruction manual suggests. This might be something you want to do when first loading the game to make sure you don't run into the same problem as me.
Or you can customize your own buttons if you have ones you would prefer to use.
Next you can choose your horse. The game boasts that you have over 14 breeds of horses to choose from. But it's pretty obvious they only modelled one horse shape, coloured it differently, and said there's 14 different breeds. So you don't really have different ones to choose from, just different colours and patterns.
I chose the white horse to match Snuggle Pony, and also because it's easier to see the dirt on the horse when you have to clean him.
Next, here is what your schedule looks like for each week.
You fill in the slots with the choices below the time table. Make sure you schedule in all the activities so that you can pass every subject. There are 5 areas you need to have enough points in by the end of the week in order to compete in the "end of the week" evaluation. You will know if you have enough points in each area if the text colour is Grey, and no longer Red.These categories are:
1) Popularity - you gain popularity points throughout the week from your fellow students. You gain these by doing well in the riding subjects, buying things from the online shops on your laptop, using items you have bought to change your appearance (like changing your clothes or hair colour), and talking to the other students during Lounge time.
2) Show Jumping - you need to complete at least 2 show jumping lessons each week. Your score for each is halved and then they are combined so you have an averaged score. Each week has a baseline score you need to score above in order to pass the week.
3) Cross Country - as with Show Jumping, you will need to complete 2 of these classes per week.
4) Dressage - as with Show Jumping and Cross Country, you will need to complete 2 of these classes per week. It is always a good idea to schedule "Library" time before your dressage lessons, because in order to do the required dressage movements, you must first read the book on them in the library.
It's also a good idea to keep track of the books you have read and haven't yet read on a piece of paper or somewhere else, because you only get a certain amount of minutes in your library sessions.
5) Horse's Level - keeping your horse's health and moral up are just as important as doing well in your other subjects. Schedule "Horse Care" time to keep your horse clean and happy. The higher your horse's level, the easier the riding subjects are.
I've noticed that the blue areas on your Health Bar (the areas which automatically make you knock down poles in Show jumping) are smaller the higher your Horse's level is.
Some things that bother me about the game:
During the horse care part...I find the hose very glitchy. When I first turn on the spray, it doesn't affect the horse at all. As I drag down with the mouse, the spray follows my mouse movement to a point...then it suddenly pops up, and only then does the hose begin to clean the horse. It takes way longer than it should to clean him off when the hose randomly works and doesn't work as you go.
Also when cleaning the hooves.....when you're working on the right legs of the horse, the wodden end of the tool hides your view of it's tip, so you have no idea if you're getting at the dirt or not.
The pre-rendered parts of the game are kinda low quality too....I was hoping for better quality than the in game play, but it seems even lower in quality at times.
But despite it's flaws, I still keep going back to play this again and again.
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