Nothing fancy here but it is fine for your basic mosaic entertainment and relaxation. The music is soothing but I had to turn it down, became like a drone after a while. Everything worked well. It comes with brief instructions. There are 2 game modes, Normal and Advanced and a good cursor.
There are 15 categories with 10 levels in each. You must complete each category in order before the next levels will unlock. We have Animals, Plants, People, Professions, Holidays, Transportation, Home, Clothing, Hobbies, Food, Places, Fairytales, School & Work, Farm, Weather. I didn't care for the images I finished in the demo. Hopefully they are better later on, they weren't very artistic and without the super colors we all love in quality mosaic games.
The 12 tile choices are not very attractive, no bright and shiny which I found disappointing, but it was fun trying the various styles. 6 errors are allowed and 2 tools give you a hand if you get stuck. The Brush reveals 1 cell and the Bucket uncovers a 3x3 area. There is a 3-star goal and up to 6 colors for each image. They aren't spectacular and some of them don't stand out well against the grid's background color.
The Timer is just FYI, you're not trying to beat the clock unless you replay to improve your time. I do like knowing how long I've worked on a puzzle. Normal Mode is great for the demo in the interest of time, but I like switching to Advanced sometimes to test my skills in the games I own. I'm not an expert at nonograms so Normal is a good way to learn. I like the strategy and challenge of mosaics. Seeing the images come together is fun, some I can't figure out but the labels take care of that little problem.
Art By Numbers 5, perfect for chasing the gloomies away! This series has won my heart with its fun features, awesome range of colors and delightful images. This collection is even better than in Number 4. The background choices, painting textures, Free-Style option are just a few of the reasons why I love it so. Art By Numbers is such a special treat.
The pictures come to life so vividly with so many yummy colors to work with. This art style is enhanced with shading and textures that add more dimension and interest to the subject matter. Each image turns into a little masterpiece that is bursting with beauty. I just wish they didn't disappear so suddenly after completion. I want to savor my creations and in a larger size.
I like the cursor, very accurate and the enlarged numbers over the cells make the target easier to see. The Hint is really great for getting those almost invisible specks of color that always frustrate us and the number of cells displayed above the color palette is very helpful. I love the many variations on the fantastic colors, making each image so bright and beautiful.
I'm all praises regarding this series and truly hope it is here to stay, bringing us quality painting fun and a growing variety of subject matter. Would also love to see more than 72 images. I have a feeling that this dev will make sure that we are not disappointed. There's much I haven't gone into with this lovely art game, but I know its fans will have lots to say and supply more detail. Can't beat it for quality fun and relaxation, also the replay value that the Free-Style option gives us.
I recommend this game!
+17points
23of29voted this as helpful.
Summer Adventure: American Voyage 3
Explore incredible cities across the Americas and complete a wide variety of challenging puzzles!
However, South American cities are also included. Can't say it is a bad game but I've never cared much for this series. It just seems to become boring quickly, the locations don't present much interest or beauty. I was anxious to leave the demo although the game performed well and was enjoyable for a short time.
The graphics were extremely sharp but many objects were hard to spot, being in dark areas or blending in so closely with the background colors, some were very small. You can drag your mouse around the scene while using the zoom feature, which was quite helpful. Also, an enlarged area appears by clicking on a designated symbol in each location and contains some of the hidden items. Collect 3 hearts, 3 GPS icons per scene to explore hidden animals and their locations. They're saved in a book. Plus 2 pics are taken in each level to keep in a photo album.
There are lots of birds and animals that comprise your collection and 18 gifts to purchase after points are converted to $$. I didn't collect enough to buy anything, outlines of the items are in the shop indicating what they are. The mini games were the usual mix. I thought the find-the-difference game was a decent challenge, I hate mahjong and the solitaire was too easy. The memory game was easy, not having very many tiles. Didn't have enough time to reach the clutter game.
These HOGs are basically run of the mill. Each mimicking one another, no matter which developer. They lack creativity and all work the same. There seems to be no point in buying a "new" one if they are all alike. And it would be really great if a good quality game was offered on Bonus Punch Monday. It rarely happens these days!
This is a decent HOG if you don't mind it being a repeat of so many others you already own. There were no glitches in the demo. It has enough locations and features to keep you entertained for quite a while. It can be played in Timed or Relaxed Mode so all can enjoy. Good coupon purchase.
Not a bad game, but this Adventure Trip offered nothing above or beyond the previous ones. The demo exposed only a few of the mini games, the Match 3 and Memory were slow, the Jigsaw was fun. I usually enjoy the additional games but I wish the devs could come up with something different once in a while.
In spite of the sharp, colorful graphics I noticed some occasional blurring. Many items were very small and hidden in darkened areas, the scenes were very full and items well blended. I had some difficulties which required the Hint and Magnifier and that didn't make me happy. Accessing the sparkly areas to find things was annoying, it feels like an interruption of sorts.
The Diary contains all the landmarks along with a pic and informative description of each. There are 15 gifts to purchase with earned coins. The Gift Shop prices range from $500 to $7000. A Progress Board keeps track of everything and the usual 5 Game Modes are available. The Fact Symbol is highlighted at the end of level with a little blip of trivia on the subject, slightly interesting.
In my opinion this game is not CE worthy, not enough here to justify the higher cost. Considering the replay value of this type of HOG I really feel the SE version will provide ample seek and find enjoyment. It would be great to play HOGs from other developers with fresh creations and a new take on this popular genre. I tire of the same old thing from the same devs over and over again, the boredom has reached its limit and I can't continue supporting them.
If not for this great hero we would be missing many exciting adventures in books and movies. I'm glad to see that H.E.L.P. is involved in this story, leading me to believe that we'll have a fun game with H.E. taking us on an interesting journey. I think the early Hidden Expedition games were the best.
I bought fewer of them as they started changing, but today's release pulled me in again. I've always loved the educational value of the games, a great learning opportunity if all the facts are accurate. The Medieval Ages are so interesting and King Arthur and his Knights contribute much to the fascination. I liked the old Fact Cards better than today's disks.
The graphics are beautiful with lots of color and an interesting cast, well depicted in character and voice. There are not tons of collectibles as falsely claimed in every synopsis, but at least Domini has us collecting something different from their typical assortment. As usual there isn't much challenge, but I still enjoy the search. The number of HOPs and games are not overwhelming, which I appreciate.
I've enjoyed the very interactive HOPs, there is a good variety and I like the storybook scenes. The puzzles were fun for the most part, not involving a lot of time. They're playable in easy or hard mode, sometimes I need that option but the challenge in hard mode wasn't so difficult. Although I'm not a puzzle lover, I don't have anything to grump about with the one's here.
There are enough activities and tasks to move the game along at a steady pace. A good map helps with travel though I've used it only twice. The scenes/locations aren't drenched in Domini's favorite neon colors, the music is okay. The 4 play modes make this game entertaining for any skill level and the theme should appeal to all ages with a good mystery to solve as well. Will Rutland realize his dream of building a great research facility? Or will H.E.L.P. be able to protect the valuable piece of land involved in its construction? A good controversy to be played out in today's Hidden Expedition.
The game is running smoothly, I am approaching the end of the adventure. I hope the Bonus Chapter is a continuation of this story, not something totally unrelated. At this point, it feels like I've not been playing a terribly long time, so I don't think this game will be of great length. It just depends on each player's own particular pace and how many puzzles were skipped, I guess.
I love the Seven Sails games I own. They are all fun and "busy". Today's release is no exception. This SE can compete with any of today's CEs and come out a winner! It even has the 4 game modes so we can choose our challenge. I hope more of this type HOPA game is on the come-back.
How long since we've had a FROG? This one doesn't ribbit and jump around but it is lots of fun. The graphics are beautiful and there are no garish colors spoiling the scenery. And, as Sunnyglow mentioned, it is a fabulous trip back to the good old HOPA days. This game doesn't need all the bells and whistles to make it entertaining or a multitude of puzzles as time-fillers.
There are just enough HOPs and puzzles to keep it flowing and they are all very creatively designed. I challenge any of the "other" developers to do better. A range of difficulty kept them from becoming boring. The HOP fragments weren't so easy to find, there was a fun variety of puzzles. For the price, you can't go wrong!
I liked the story, the adventure made sense. I enjoyed searching each scene for the items to help Iselin on her journey to confront the witch and, of course, win the battle. The map is critical in your travels, it's quite basic but takes you quickly to your next active location. The dialogue doesn't ramble on with lots of reading or talking. Although, I thought I detected a slight Southern accent here and there, it didn't have a negative effect.
If you haven't played a FROG before, please give this one a chance. You may be pleasantly surprised! It isn't fancy and the extras that might usually attract you aren't there, but honestly, I don't think they are needed. This is a great HOPA game, a good length and it didn't leave me feeling cheated after purchasing. I'm very satisfied and hope you'll give it a try. And, for once, the synopsis wasn't over-blown with a bunch of untrue claims, which always led to someone being disappointed in the end.
to save us from more chapters in a slow-dying series. It had a great run for a while. but has itself become a ghost from better times. I think my favorite episode was "Death Sentence" from 2014. The older games were really entertaining and generated lots of fans.
The CEs have also changed and today's is not offering much of a deal, especially with it being such a short game. The dark graphics and chilling music always added to the creepy atmosphere. The stories were well written and plotted with good paranormal adventure. All of that has become far less creative over time which makes Haunted Hotel's departure not so painful.
Today's game wasn't all bad, it was just too middle-of-the-road. Not enough action and interesting activities to keep the boredom away. Hopefully new paranormal stores are on the table with updated ghostly mysteries and clever detectives to entertain us.
Polygon Art repeatedly delivers a poor collection of "artwork". As before, the images are totally boring and they lack the beautiful colors that are necessary to make them fun to paint. The geometric style just adds more to the unappealing appearance of the subject matter.
They are all single objects, plain images featuring lots of fruit and little else. There is no indication of creativity or imagination anywhere. When these elements are added to the fact that the entire first level still must be completed in order to advance to other levels, it is a no-win situation no matter how you look at it.
Save your money and time for one of the other series where art is definitely involved and the painting experience will be fun and satisfying.
Now that's something new for a change! I don't think I can adequately describe this game, so hopefully Pennmom submits her take on it, to help us out.
Right off, the music drove me nuts, luckily it can be muted. It looks really different from the paint games we are used to but works pretty much on the same premise. There are 3 power-ups which you will definitely be grateful for. The Bucket paints an entire area of the same color, the Block Buster blasts a rectangular area, painting the tiles underneath, the Rainbow Brush when swept across the tiles paints them all, regardless of color. If you paint swiftly while the Brush icon is in motion, you can cover a lot of territory. You will love this power-up for the larger images because it speeds up the process considerably. This was my favorite of the three. Each requires a brief recharge, the Brush a tad longer.
Choose your colors from the crayons at bottom of screen. They are lettered and numbered, the number of pixels for each color is displayed, very helpful feature. Many of the images have MANY colors, so you won't be finishing them quickly. The 100 images will provide painting fun for a very long time! Your selected letters will appear in a yellow shade. They are very tiny so you will make good use of the Zoom feature, plus you can move the image around. I don't see that the smaller pixelated image to the right was necessary, but I may be mistaken.
There are several planets containing levels to paint. Although you can paint any image you want, you have to complete them all before you can switch planets. Your % progress for each image is shown. There's a HUGE array of colors and they are bright with varying shades of each. As you complete a color, its crayon disappears from the screen.
It took a long time to finish the first image so I used the rest of the demo to check out the others. The subject matter is quite childish, but the artwork is interesting. I don't really care for the style, but still, it is somewhat of a breath of fresh air in the paint by number genre. I'm on the fence about purchasing, but may pick it up in a good sale. I am always on the look-out for something new in this category and "Artists of Fortune" certainly is that!
The game played very smoothly, very quick response. You just might like this one as a change of pace!
I remember the great underwater adventures from years ago, loved them! Hopefully we have another great one to dive into. The demo began with beautiful underwater graphics and creepy-looking mermaids. That was enough to catch my attention. I was immediately given a magical pearl to save me from the most dire situations. So I was eager to see what my special gift could do. Stories of humans and sea dwellers always intrigue me.
My inventory quickly filled and emptied, parts to the Plus Items were readily available. Items were not difficult to find . There was a good map but didn't need it, minimal back and forth. Engaged with just a couple of characters. All I accomplished was collecting this and that, unable to reach the action part of the story. Didn't even think to check out all the extras at the beginning.
There was a lot of storytelling, both vocal and written, with simple hand-drawn illustrations, all could be skipped. I didn't care much for the voice-overs. The artwork throughout the demo was wonderful. I liked that the sea creatures were designed to be more unique than frightful in appearance. The scenes displayed rich, beautiful color and were full of interesting things that caught my eye. The buildings were creatively rendered, most decorations inside and out had to do with the sea. I loved the dank atmosphere of the seaside village.
The collectibles were easily found, except the morphs weren't so obvious. A handy pop-out indicator kept count of them. I played one interactive HOP, it was dark, some items were very small, but I enjoyed it. I had three puzzles, not too difficult, all were fun. I have no idea of how many HOPs and puzzles we'll have but hopefully not an over-abundance of either.
I'm definitely interested in the storyline with sea dwellers and humans at odds with each other. I'll probably buy this game because it comes from Friendly Fox which means fine quality and the theme of the story seems like a good adventure. I rated 5 stars, expecting it not to disappoint.