fabfractals's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.5
- Helpful Votes:16
- Reviews Submitted:14
- First Review:March 8, 2017
- Most Recent Review:September 9, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Mortimer Beckett and the Secrets of Spooky Manor
Play as Mortimer Beckett and uncover the secrets of your uncle's ghostly mansion in Mortimer Beckett and the Secrets of Spooky Manor!
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
A good start
PostedSeptember 9, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Current Favorite:
Surface: The Noise She Couldn't Make
(128)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
After playing several HOGs, I found that I like FROGs (fragmented HOGs), which add another level of difficulty to the usual "seek-and-find" play. You have to find several items that are hidden in pieces around each room.
The graphics, unfortunately, are not crisp here, or this would get 5 stars. Perhaps the later versions get clearer. This made it difficult to find several pieces, but that's the nature of these games - you don't want them to be too easy, and this one wasn't! After finding items, you have to decide what to do with it, and it's not obvious - you have to think. Hmmm? razor? shave a beard! Ship? Put it in a bottle! Not obvious.
Since finding out I like FROGs, I've searched for more here, and it looks like the Dark Parables series are all fragmented object searches. On to those next.
I hope later ones in this series are also fragmented searches.
I recommend this game!
Vacation Adventures: Park Ranger
Work as a Park Ranger in a beautiful National Park!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
A nice relaxing collection of HOGs
PostedAugust 11, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Current Favorite:
Surface: The Noise She Couldn't Make
(128)Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I liked this game, despite its repetition and small graphics. It managed to combine the usual HO setups with the collectors edition "extras" - find the litter or lost objects.
While the scenes were very nice and the work that these men and women do is necessary, I had a few objections to the scenarios:
1. They used small objects way too often (rings, insects, etc.). Is this the only way to stump HO players: hide tiny things in vast vistas?
2. Since this is the first of several games in this genre by the same company, it was disturbing to see them promoting ATV use in the parks. Perhaps this is normal, but it shouldn't be. When will they make an environmental game? (maybe really clean up those sites!)
Surface: The Noise She Couldn't Make
When a young woman is found comatose by the side of the road with a bloody knife beside her, it's up to you to unravel her story!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Very well done
PostedAugust 5, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Current Favorite:
Surface: The Noise She Couldn't Make
(128)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This, I think is the first game I've given 5 stars to. It's an excellent blend of live action and great artwork. The story is compelling, and the use of the psychic allows for the imagination to run wild in problem solving.
The artwork is great, the music and sound are terrific, and moving around is a breeze with the map.
The only negative I found was that the HO scenes were too easy and the mini-games were too hard. Mini-games are my nemesis as the solutions seem to go on forever. This game was no different: unravel some strings? move crystals around with magnets? The solutions are so random and take so long, I'd be at them forever. So I skipped, which I hate doing.
All in all, a great game, though, and highly recommended.
I recommend this game!
Dark Parables: Curse of the Briar Rose
Help a detective explore a rampant briar growth in Scotland, and discover the true tale of the real Sleeping Beauty!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Lots of challenge
PostedAugust 2, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I just played the demo version to see if I'd like this series and it was fine. The graphics are a bit old and look a bit grainy on a large screen. Their attempt at 3D wasn't very good but they're on their way. I expect later issues in this series are better.
You assemble things in the HOPs rather than collect full objects. It's easier to hide pieces than full objects, so I understand their reasoning for this. Unfortunately, this means a LOT of small pieces, difficult to find, especially when many of the scenes are dark. So while I applaud the "assemble-the-object" tasks, they are sometimes a little too difficult to find when they are small and dark lighted.
Otherwise, the story is good, the music is excellent, and the help is adequate. I would play the full version of this - and the later stories in this series - as I like a lot of HOPs. Minigames, not so much.
Find the princess, get rid of the briars - a plot worth following.
I recommend this game!
Bring balance to different worlds endangered by chaos and help your partner, Seuss, find his lost love – Ariadna.
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Why is this called "Hidden Object"?
PostedJuly 30, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Why is this listed as a hidden object game? From the preview, all I saw were match 3, match pairs and complete picture games - nary a hidden object puzzle among them. Not for me.
I don't recommend this game.
Puss in Boots just showed up at my office with a request. Help investigate the kidnapping of his beloved and delve into a world full of secrets!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
Very difficult game
PostedJuly 23, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I was looking forward to this. An interesting story line with interesting characters - animal and human. But I couldn't get past the library where the crime was committed. Help (hint) was no use - it kept pointing me to the rapier, but I didn't know what to do with it. When I'm stuck this early, I'm not likely to finish it.
Probably another one of those illogical games with crazy tool associations. Not for me.
No wonder there's only one of them.
I don't recommend this game.
Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers
Guide Ethan Black as he attempts to rescue his bride-to-be from a terrifying menace known as the Faceless Ones!
Overall rating
5
/
5
Good, old game
PostedJuly 23, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This appears to be what games were like before all the collecting, morphing objects, interactive maps and achievements. (There is, however, a collectors edition, which I did not play.)
It's a straightforward game with things to find to open doors, etc., and advance. Good puzzles, not too difficult; lots of HOPs (YAY!) and a story to keep you going. The puzzles were not too hard, except for a couple. The HOPs were also very nice, with one or two objects difficult to find.
You race against a gang of "faceless ones" trying to stop you from interrupting the task of the villain. Progress in the game is not too onerous, with objects to find being logically connected to items to open (not like some other games). I like that. The artwork is excellent (although not as crisp as more recent games) and the sound is not too annoying. After brief voicing of the characters at the beginning, the rest is left to text interaction. Perhaps an upgrade?
All in all, a good game, and worthy of 5 stars.
I recommend this game!
100% Hidden Objects
Forget those long-winded stories and dive right into the HO scenes you love! 100% Hidden Objects gives you complete control over your gaming experience.
Overall rating
3
/
5
Good, but not that good
PostedJuly 12, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
As expected, this delivered many, many HO scenes. Unfortunately, I expected well drawn scenes, in the recent style of many 3-D drawings, with crystal clear graphics. What I got was cluttered scenes of sometimes fuzzy objects, drawn from a vast library, either of stock images or drawn by an artist employed (I hope) by the company, most of which in each scene you will not need to find. They are just there as distractions from your main goal.
Fair enough, but some objects are so poorly drawn that it surprised me when I clicked on it and it appeared to be on my list. I was uncertain what it was and just clicked out of curiosity. The other annoying thing this game does (as with some other games) is draw dark scenes where the objects are lost because of poor lighting. This is a feature not a bug.
Another feature (not a bug) is to draw objects so small they are hard to make out on any screen. Then, they make you find objects with only a spotlight, making you buy (for funny money) a temporary light.
I hate timed and I hate spotlights, but I will persevere with this game because I like HOG. Despite all the above it's not bad. It certainly keeps some artists busy!
I recommend this game!
Visit popular fairy tales and fix the broken stories! Familiar characters need you!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Definitely a challenge
PostedJuly 11, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
While the repetition can be annoying, at least the objects are in different positions each time. The problem I have with some of the scenes is that the object to find is so small, it really is hard to see in the overall screen, the scenes are quite large and detailed. I suppose that's deliberate, but making them so small is a bit of a cheat.
I recommend this game!
Grim Tales: The Legacy
Overall rating
3
/
5
0 of 1 found this review helpful
Challenging, but uneven
PostedJuly 8, 2018
fabfractals
fromRiyadh, KSA
Skill Level:Beginner
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The lock mechanism in the torture room is IMPOSSIBLE to figure out - and they make you do it 4 times, each one more impossible than the previous.
The map helps, but still it was often difficult to know what to do next, even with a full inventory.
I don't recommend this game.