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 escape the mirrored world to save your love?
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
I'll Take The Other One
PostedNovember 6, 2017
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
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This game has the makings of a good story, but it appears to have dissipated completely during the development phase. What is left is a semi interesting game with far too many boring and repetitive elements. Any seasoned player will blow through this likely in one sitting. The HO scenes are incredibly easy, and you'll play most of them twice. In addition to the normal collection, you'll pick up matches and the like, but they are mundane to the point of irritation.
As for the minigames, there were a couple twists on the standard variations, but overall it's just a quick spin as you wait for the next mirror world to step into. Your character suffered an unfortunate family tragedy as a child, the consequences of which she is still feeling to this day. As she approaches what should be the happiest day in her life, her wedding, she is suddenly thrust into a mirror world created by either her own internal monologue or her family's penchant for oddity. Either way, you'll have to clear several separate but linked areas to proceed.
And this, naturally, is the central issue. While the game promises the mirror area will unlock your inner fears, the whole thing is pretty tame and frankly not that interesting. You ramble through one spot after another collecting random junk in order to have a showdown with your "altar/alter" ego that is underwhelming and ridiculous. I'm willing to suspend disbelief, but not from the Empire State Building.
The game looks like it's from ten years ago. Voice acting is acceptable, and the music was fine but I barely noticed it. I can't recommend due to the brevity and silliness of the game. I wish the story had been as complex as promised.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save Netville from a dangerous artifact before it’s too late?
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
What's Old Is New Again
PostedNovember 5, 2017
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
This hidden object game hits a lot of the marks for me. While I hadn't previously played this series, it's a great idea. Your character and her uncle seek out cursed or enchanted techniques, use technology to pacify them, and therefore save the world. Or at least the local community. It feels big and it plays big, and most importantly the plot makes sense. I really appreciated a story game where the story drove the game instead of being an afterthought.
The hidden object scenes are plentiful, and you'll visit most of them twice. They run the gamut from the standard collection to minor interaction to puzzle solving. You can also switch to mahjong type play if you prefer. Puzzles are deceptively simple, which are good for keeping things moving without getting bogged down in a particular area. I especially liked the development of the characters, who are all given something to do and presented in a way that makes sense and is entertaining all at once.
When the game starts, you have an idea where it's going, but it ends up going in a different direction entirely. That element of surprise played really strong for me. Graphics and sound were fine, nothing too fancy. Voice acting was acceptable but a bit forced at times. Overall this was a really solid adventure and I will have to check out what I've been missing with the other entries. Highly recommend.
I recommend this game!
Save your kidnapped daughter Jessica by solving the secrets of the castle. Rescue the trapped souls from captivity and defeat Groth!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Plenty of Mirrors and Not Many Secrets
PostedOctober 31, 2017
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
3
/
5
This combination adventure and hidden object game is decent in all areas and not particularly great or memorable in any of them. Your character is having a perfectly lovely storytime in the middle of a camping trip when her daughter is promptly abducted by your standard evil spirit who whisks her into a castle. You, naturally, must pursue. Your task is divided into different areas with the same premise each time. You will go into a scene, meet a ghost, do something for said ghost, and reveal the next location before claiming a shard of a mirror that you need because..well, I still don't know exactly, but you need them!
The game shines with that rather unique presentation, and I also liked the voice acting and appearance of the ghosts you meet with to help you overthrow the villain. Some of the scenes are quite colorful, but most are the standard rooms you find in any game of this nature. The tasks become simpler and more cut and dried as you progress, and the last couple felt very thrown together. You literally collect almost half of the shards in the very last portion of the game. I feel like the developers ran out of steam and closed it out quickly and without much ceremony.
HO scenes are just about all played twice, and there is some interaction. You can also unlock achievements and morphing objects, which is a good value for a standard edition. This game is decent in all areas and worth a look, but it dragged on a bit too much for me at times. Hard pass.
I don't recommend this game.
Travel to a mysterious city and save your love from an ancient curse. Solve perplexing puzzles and explore colorful locations in "Dracula’s Legacy".
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Big Things At Stake
PostedOctober 30, 2017
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
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
That will probably not be the end of the vampire puns. I picked this up with Halloween approaching and enjoyed it a lot. Your character and her soon-to-be husband are on the hunt for a strange town when you end up in a dungeon with your companion gone. The action starts with a bang in this game, and it's much more adventure than anything else. You literally battle monsters around every corner, and while the game flows with the standard grab everything not nailed down and use it shortly thereafter theory, I have to say some of the solutions required some welcome thinking outside of the coffin.
HO scenes are infrequent and frankly the easiest part of this game. They look good and require some simple interactions from a short list of items. Minigames are standard for the genre, with most of them just taking a few minutes and only a couple of them real stumpers. You'll be helped along the way by a former mayor of the town, who will provide advice and some decent if monotone voice acting.
I really enjoyed the heroine in this story, who takes the fight to the undead and is in general the type of character you want to play in stories such as this. The ending was interesting, if not conclusive. Overall, it's a lot of fun. I wouldn't call it scary, exactly, and the monsters are thrown together to some degree, but there's enough there to keep things interesting. And a couple of the cut scenes were top notch. Enjoyable and solid gameplay.
I recommend this game!
Discover the secrets that lie buried in the eerie, crooked halls of Mnemosyne Asylum!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Throwback Suspense
PostedOctober 24, 2017
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
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I really enjoyed this solid mystery. It may not have the latest and greatest graphics, but the story makes sense and has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. It's also plenty long, which is a relief given how many short games they seem to be coming out with lately.
Your character and your partner, who is capable enough but largely useless and/or incapacitated throughout the course of the story, head to an asylum due to a distress call you receive. No sooner do you get there then you encounter your first big mystery, and things stay hectic from there. The game does a great job of keeping you away from inaccessible areas of the game logically, and doesn't overload you with a million inventory items. You take what you need, knock out a couple of simple but decent minigames, play each standard HO twice through, and move forward.
That fun drives the game forward. You piece together what happened in each area through discovering various clues, then do a quick minigame to reconstruct the order of events and watch it play out. Different and engaging, and a much cooler way of transitioning to other parts of the story than usual. The story is another strong point, as the adversary is more than what you'd imagine and the big reveals all make sense. There's also really excellent maniacal laughter, so extra points for that.
The graphics are a bit dated, but the cutscenes are in a nice comic book style and the characters look great in close up. There are some spelling issues and translation problems, but I could care less when getting to the end of the game is so enjoyable. Speaking of the ending, I'm generally disappointed by them in these type of games but I felt this one nailed it. All in all, I really enjoyed this case. Well done.
I recommend this game!
Explore the streets of Paris as you track down the Strangler!
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Solid and Enjoyable Mystery
PostedOctober 22, 2017
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
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Donna Brave has a pretty lame name, but that's the worst thing I can say about this very fun adventure and mystery hybrid that had me hooked from the first second. Your character is summoned to visit your uncle and gets involved in his semi-secret society full of creative types and, needless to say, things pretty much immediately go awry. A monster is stalking members of said club and you have to deal with that and the individual behind this mayhem. The twists and turns are both fun and reasonably intelligent, especially for a casual game of this nature.
This game does have hidden object scenes, which I enjoy, and they look good but are not the focal point. You will collect individual objects and pairs, and generally they are attached to another action, like opening a drawer, before you complete them. The attention to detail really impressed me, especially when you zoom into a larger scene for the HO.
The game looks great and moves very quickly. Voice acting I found above average, and the music was fine. Really liked the pace and the twists of the mystery. It plays and feels like an adventure, and while there may be a few too many items missing one piece conveniently found in the next scene, it rarely drags. Minigames were just hard enough for your average player to be challenging and not frustrating.
All in all, I really enjoyed this game. It's good value for the money and the speed and creativity of it were refreshing to me. Highly recommend.
I recommend this game!
Help a young woman dig up her past and face her fears in this hidden object adventure!
Overall rating
3
/
5
9 of 9 found this review helpful
Challenging And Cerebral Mystery
PostedOctober 21, 2017
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
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game worked for me, against all odds, but I'm not sure it would have that effect on everyone that plays it. Your character survives a plane crash that oddly seems to involve nobody else and slowly starts to piece together her memories against a backdrop of good and evil with decidedly religious overtones. That's pretty deep for a casual game, but I liked it a lot as it veers far away from what you'd expect. The story is very good and extremely compelling.
Unfortunately, as good as that storyline may be, the game has some pretty major flaws. Minigames are many and quite challenging, so if you frustrate easily that's going to be an issue, especially if you play on the harder levels. The game looks and sounds okay, and you won't be getting much direction. In general, you'll collect a bunch of random items and pop a few handles into threaded holes before moving on. HO scenes are okay enough, with some minor interactions. The secondary subplot is pretty underdeveloped, so you'll play as another character briefly and without much explanation. You will also make a couple of in-game decisions, one early and one late, that just allow you to pick the other option if you choose poorly. Feels like unfinished business in development to me.
If you don't mind the pixel hunting and general control clunkiness, though, this is an interesting little game with dramatic overtones and real challenge. It's not for everyone, but I felt the struggle was worth it. A bit of a throwback that makes you think.
I recommend this game!
Crime Secrets: Crimson Lily is a captivating blend of hidden object challenges, puzzle solving and daring detective work.
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Flawed But Fun Mystery
PostedOctober 18, 2017
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
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This fun little adventure game delivers in a lot of areas, but unfortunately seems a bit too unfinished in the details for my taste. Your character is looking for a vacation in a remote hotel, but finds that those plans will be changing quickly as you're thrust into a neat little whodunit with just enough characters to keep you guessing for a while.
One thing I quite enjoyed about this variation is that there are several times when you enter a scene and gather clues for a quick minigame before your character deduces what occurred with a brief animated sequence. This is a great idea for a detective-themed game and I looked forward to it every time. In between, though, everything is pretty standard. HO scenes are scattered and low maintenance, minigames range from easy to super simple, and there are the usual challenges of language translation that sometimes plague these games. It's not enough to keep you from wanting to play, but it could have been cleaned up better in my view.
Other than the scenes I mentioned, the game looks okay but nothing fantastic. Voice and sounds are fine but nothing to write home about. Game was decently long, and I liked the variety of scenes. As mysteries tend to be, the plot was a bit convoluted, but I enjoyed the red herrings and overall it was a satisfying experience. If you like a retro feel and a fun mystery to puzzle over for a while, you could do much worse.
I recommend this game!
A Halloween party becomes a spine-tingling fight for survival!
Overall rating
3
/
5
16 of 22 found this review helpful
More Trick Than Treat
PostedOctober 17, 2017
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
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Buyer beware. As others have said, this game is far from being all bad. The intro is one of the best I have seen, the characters look and sound alive, there are a couple of genuinely decent scares, and the game in general looks fantastic. As a work of art, it's two thumbs up. As a collector's edition game worthy of your dollar, different story.
The main game is ridiculously simple and underdeveloped. You play a girl going to a Halloween party and immediately some very real ghosts from another dimension show up and you have to save the day. Hidden object scenes are decent but infrequent, and slider puzzles abound. You can collect small monster dolls, which are cute but pointless, and morphing objects which are incredibly easy to spot and often the focal point of the screen. Picking up fragments will earn you the ability to assemble a jigsaw, and completing the tacked on and repetitive bonus chapter earns you..the right to play the boring minigames again. Hard pass.
I think the Halloween theme is interesting, but a better effort should be put forth to merit the CE tag. It's like expecting a Snickers bar and getting a rotten apple.
I don't recommend this game.
Create the perfect garden! Comb the rooms of a mansion for hidden items and restore a once stunning garden to its former glory!
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Addictive, Mindless Fun
PostedOctober 15, 2017
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
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
If you enjoy time management games AND hidden object games and were looking for a fun way to combine the two, Gardenscapes has you covered. In the game, you inherit a mansion from a relative and are contacted by a butler-gardener type who thinks you should come see your haul. As it turns out, the spacious garden outside the mansion has fallen upon hard times, and it's up to you to get things spruced up, pun intended, in an attempt to restore lost glory and maybe even win a gardening competition.
Gameplay has a simple, winning formula: You will have one of the mansion's many rooms to sell things from in order to raise the money for improvements, and will sell items or groups of the same item to customers from the neighborhood. This is the game's simultaneous greatest strength and weakness, as the levels offer plenty of variety in collecting different objects but not much in terms of challenge. Objects are relatively easy to collect, and you will get bonuses for locating additional coins, not using hints, or completing with time left in the timed version of the game.
As you raise the funds, you will customize your garden by going through about 20 different items, which aren't really as different as the game would have you believe. I didn't really notice much difference between the pricing and the item itself, but by that time in the game I was invested and it didn't matter. Completing it will take some time and you will be rewarded with the ability to use your garden as a screensaver should you so choose. I didn't, but thought it was a cool option and a way to make a simple game more interactive.
I give this credit in taking a subject I don't care too much and making it very addictive. You will enjoy yourself, even if it is more than a little repetitive, and that's why we play these things after all. Well done and different.
I recommend this game!