coffeyfan77's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.5
- Helpful Votes:672
- Reviews Submitted:141
- First Review:November 19, 2011
- Most Recent Review:March 27, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Can you overcome your fear to save your family?
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
A One-Night Stay
PostedMarch 27, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The Haunted Hotel series has certainly had its moments, and this game was an overall winner for me. Your character signs a contract with a very questionable hotelier in order to track down what happened to both your mother and your little sister way back in the day. Things won't be as simple as just finding them, naturally, and you'll have to rid more than one visitor of their darkest fears in order to confront and ultimately conquer your own.
The game is divided into chapters, and gives you some winks to the past history of the series as you run into more than one familiar face. It's a nice treat for longtime players. The hidden object scenes are plentiful but rather easy on the whole, although they are divided into the traditional ones mixed with uncovering pairs. Minigames are just long enough and generally variations of things you've already done before.
The game looks and sounds good, as is the norm for this series. Voice acting is above average and the development team did a nice job of keeping things moving. It might be a little too good, as the game is fairly short in the standard edition. It would not appear this series is ending any time soon, and if this is any example, that's not an issue for me.
Overall this is a solid story and scary enough without being over the top. If you've played the series, you need to check it out. If not, you'll likely still enjoy a diversion through some dark material. Well done.
I recommend this game!
A magical egg is about to turn one girl's world upside-down.
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
Fantastic Game
PostedMarch 22, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I found Born of Fire to be a great game from the beginning. The initial graphics were stellar, a true step above what you're generally used to in the genre. The story grips you from the very start and turns the entire game into a story that is both fantastic and makes sense at the same time. And the ending has a bit of a twist that you won't see coming which perfectly sets up the next one. Really well done and a treat to play.
Your character picks up a strange box which contains some form of a phoenix. The phoenix changes her hair, gives her a cool tattoo, and has mystical properties that nobody in her village can really understand. The mystery of what it is and it's importance in the upcoming conflict is central to the story. Along the way, you'll play the variation on standard hidden object games where you gather items from the scene and use them in the same scene to reveal the item you need. They are generally well done and look really good.
The characters are voiced well and while there are only a couple of them they have a good depth to them which I appreciated. I really don't have many negatives to report about this game except the backtracking is extensive and a bit silly during a "timed" mission. Very good and well worth a play.
I recommend this game!
Answer a distress call at an arctic research lab where scientists have made a chilling discovery!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Far From Tragic
PostedMarch 20, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I've generally always liked the games in the Mystery Trackers series, and it's pretty hard to keep every new entry feeling fresh in a situation where your detective faces down supernatural creatures. This is a fresh entry that really feels different and unique, and fortunately none of the changes subtracts from your playing experience.
Your detective heads to a high tech facility to get briefed on a situation involving the mysterious and dangerous Cold Stalkers, who are essentially snow-covered Harrys from that movie with the Hendersons. It doesn't take too long for things to go south quickly, and you're left to prevent them from plunging the world into frosty chaos. Stakes are high and things are moving very quickly, so it plays like a real adventure game, which I personally quite prefer.
One of the interesting side angles in this game is that you get some high-tech equipment allowing you to scan certain scenes in order to get information. It's pretty simple but used quite a bit, and adds another layer of fun. Hidden object scenes are spread out well and generally easy, although I profess to really enjoy one inspired by a paintball shooting gallery. Little extras like that are nice to see.
Voice acting is solid but fairly infrequent. Bonus points for the Cold Stalker voice actor doing his best Dr. Claw impression. Music is okay but does tend to dive into the emergency mode way too often. Length of the game is okay but could have been longer. Really enjoyed the bonus chapter.
Achievements are varied and fun to collect. Morphing objects as you'd expect, plus statuettes of the characters and a cool side project of gathering stars to make some constellations, which fit in nicely with the Eskimo theme. Very well done.
I recommend this game!
Experience a steampunk hidden object adventure full of gothic horror and fascinating puzzles!
Overall rating
3
/
5
9 of 10 found this review helpful
Scarlett Fever
PostedMarch 18, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This hybrid adventure and hidden object game is equally good at both and therefore tremendous at neither. The storyline is the best part of the game. Your character, Scarlett, uses her powers as a budding medium to seek out the mystery of what happened to her father. During the course of this fairly short investigation, you uncover how entwined both of you are with another family and an even bigger mystery to solve. Plenty of poking around unearthing family secrets and whatnot. All good stuff with a steampunk vibe. Not sure why one of the main characters has a robotic hand, but hey..let's run with it.
Hidden object scenes are spread evenly throughout and look great. Everything is easy to find without much manipulation. Minigames are equally simple, particularly the repetitive one where you rotate pieces of a picture until your psychic vision takes over. It's a neat concept, but with the amount of times you do it you'll likely find it pretty redundant by game's end.
Voice acting is okay, but intermittent. No real reason why some things are spoken aloud and others not. There are also some grammatical errors and speech not matching subtitles that really should have been worked out before this hit the market. Sound is decent but again repetitive, as you get the same background music for every HO scene. As a game goes, it suffers a bit in length but makes up for that issue with plot. You're emotionally invested in the outcome and it's likely not what you think by the time you get to the end.
Unfortunately, I have to deduct a few points for the CE, which has a paltry couple of extras that don't cut the mustard and a way short bonus chapter that was rather pointless in my view. Wait for the standard and you'll be much better off. This has the potential to become an interesting and well developed series, but they will need to improve some of these issues to get any more coin from me.
I don't recommend this game.
Journey into your nephew’s mind to save him from a nightmare!
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
More Like Tossing and Turning
PostedFebruary 18, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I have enjoyed most of the Maze games, but I agree with a few of my fellow reviewers that the mature themes stated in the forefront are frankly much ado about not much. Your character enters the dream state of her nephew thanks to a funky dream helmet from a serious looking chap in a turtleneck and you proceed to figure out what got him into the predicament to begin with and how to defeat the monsters that plague him. And you change a LOT of lightbulbs.
There is plenty done right here. The game looks and sounds good, the settings are well done, the ability to pick your challenge level is better than in most games, and you do make some decisions as you go. Unfortunately, the decisions are to do one of two things and it doesn't matter what logic you use. One's right, one's wrong, and you just pick the other one after. I'm all for adding a layer of depth to your standard HO, but this feels tacked on to me.
Hidden object scenes are plentiful and for the most part well done, excepting a few silly ones where you gather the same thing fifteen times. Gameplay was exciting and interesting, although I confess I found the ending strange. Maybe more is revealed in the CE, but I don't intend to find out. This is a bump in the road for a series that has far better chapters in it. Every maze has a dead end or two. Fun but average.
I don't recommend this game.
The flutist returns to Hamelin, but he’s back for revenge!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Blind Justice
PostedFebruary 18, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I really enjoyed this League of Light game, which plays much more like an adventure than a traditional HO game. You play a detective who is pressed into action when the mythical pied piper figure returns, able to summon ghosts with his flute and generally wrecking the town and its more prominent denizens. The backstory as to why he is doing so and who the real villain is will be revealed by the end of the game.
Almost every decision made by the developers of this game sat right with me, starting with not being forced to take some cute companion along if you don't want to. Any type of choice in games like this is appreciated, as they are often so streamlined. Using the various objects collected makes sense, and you'll get frequent uses out of the same things in a pretty expansive inventory. It's true that pretty much every lock has two pieces that have to be collected from the next couple screens, but it's very clear when you've finished with any given area and there's precious little backtracking.
Voice acting was quite solid, and the game looks pretty good. Cutscenes in particular are well done and on the high end of games like this. I enjoyed the twist on the story, even if the end is a bit formulaic. Overall, this is a really good example of a well done adventure game and I highly recommend it.
I recommend this game!
Charon's train has left the station, and you’ll never believe who’s on board!
Overall rating
2
/
5
Too Many Stops On This Train
PostedFebruary 17, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I wanted to enjoy this game far more than I did, because the premise is very interesting. You play a character whose love died tragically in circumstances yet to be completely revealed. You figure out exactly what happened by serving as an apprentice of sorts to Charon, the mythical ferryman who takes souls to Hades. This adaptation uses a train rather than a ferry and has his hands full of a group of passengers who are stuck because their killer remains at large. The killers contain a motley bunch of famed characters, from Bluebeard to the Pied Piper of Hamlin. It's thrown together, but not without its charm.
Where this game suffers most is in the technical aspect. It crashed several times while I played it, and some of the cuts between scenes really seemed unfinished. Voice acting is decent enough, but there were long pauses between the end of a HO scene or a comment from the protagonist that didn't fit what was going on. I would expect better from a CE of a game that tested so highly. Unimpressive.
In addition to those annoying issues, the extras are overall pretty weak. Other than the music tracks and some storyboards, you get a bonus chapter that is a quick revisit of most of where you were and an unsatisfactory ending. With the game being relatively small already that is a dubious achievement indeed. A couple collectibles would have gone a long way toward giving you better value.
Minigames are frequent but generally very easy, particularly the one you do to advance to the next area. HO scenes will generally be visited twice and you'll literally collect just about everything in the scene by the time you're through with minimal effort. The skeleton was there, but not enough meat on the bones. This trip to Hades was not worth the coin.
I recommend this game!
It's more than your average survival show...
Overall rating
4
/
5
10 of 11 found this review helpful
Reality Show Gets A Whole New Meaning
PostedFebruary 11, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I generally enjoy new twists on hidden object games, because unfortunately many of them fall into the same standard rut. That cannot be said for this game, which features a reality show that is so close to Survivor as to risk copyright infringement and rather smartly uses that vehicle to shoehorn in the status quo story of saving the world from the demonic evil spirit that was already banished once forever. But really will be this time, we swear!
It can get a little hokey, to be sure, but I liked the concept of reality television potentially sucking the souls of its viewers and causing the end of the world. Maybe I watch a little too much reality television. The game itself looks great, with solid effects and voice acting that is largely solid with a couple of exceptions. HO scenes are just enough, and you will repeat a couple of the scenes. Minigames are pretty standard and generally not challenging, especially true of the one at the end. I did like the twist that your character uses a couple of special powers, but to be honest they aren't that interesting. More could have been done with that facet.
Overall, though, you could do much worse. The story moves along well, and it's predictable but largely very fun. The theme is interesting, while a bit over-the-top. I liked the chance to do something different rooted in an area we can all relate to.
I recommend this game!
Can you save the holidays before it’s too late?
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 5 found this review helpful
The Spirits Are Restless
PostedFebruary 11, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I wouldn't think of combining a Christmas themed game with The Wizard of Oz story, but maybe that's the point here. You play as Dorothy, returning to the scene of the storybook to help the Munchkins and your well-known trio of friends save Christmas by getting their gifts back from the Wicked Witch. It's a fresh take, I'll say that.
The game flows pretty well overall, and many of the minigames are quite challenging, especially on the harder setting. There are a few hidden object scenes, all very easy, and you can switch to Match-3 if you prefer. Graphics are decent with some very good points, especially when your character is traveling. Voice acting is fine, although whoever they got for The Tin Man doesn't really fit with his character at all. Minor gripe but you'll notice it too.
Where this game comes up short is the story, as it's far too simplistic given the circumstances. I don't think this game quite figured out the tone, trying to make it really playful despite the dire circumstances. It's interesting if you're an Oz completist, but otherwise you can most certainly skip it. Consider it a Christmas gift wrapped well that turns out to be socks.
I don't recommend this game.
Scour the world uncovering clues and apprehending Interpol`s most dangerous criminals!
Overall rating
2
/
5
Least Wanted Sequel
PostedFebruary 9, 2018
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The first Interpol was a junkpile search, and the sequel is more of the same except much shorter. You play an agent who visits the same eight to ten scenes to catch a ring of three criminals by picking up random objects over and over. Yes, really.
The same issues that hampered the first game come into play in this one. The music is monotonous, the plot is paper thin at best, and the bonus game is an exercise in clicking. The scenes are more well defined with less items, and you don't have to collect as many things in each round, but that's about all I can say here.
If you enjoyed the first game, this will be decent enough. It missed the mark for me.
I don't recommend this game.