ruadhan's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:164
- Reviews Submitted:26
- First Review:November 14, 2011
- Most Recent Review:December 22, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Can you solve the mystery of the mansion?
Overall rating
2
/
5
9 of 11 found this review helpful
Terrible game
PostedOctober 2, 2022
ruadhan
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
First, they're clearly riffing off the game series "House of 1,000 Doors". Not very original.
Second, I recognised a lot of the in-game characters from other games I had played. Okay, games developers have troubles right now and it's not easy to work on new games, so throwing together a game from pre-made characters from other games is understandable.
But thirdly, it's dreadful game play. Right off the bat, you are thrown into mini-games that you can't skip. It's not hidden-object, and there is no coherent story: your uncle is missing and you inherited his house, now meet fairies and witches and dimension-hop by earning stars playing the mini-games.
Very, very poorly designed and not worth the money. Not a collector's edition, not even an ordinary edition. I can't recommend it for gameplay, plot or even passing the time.
I don't recommend this game.
Embark on a magical journey along the Royal Roads!
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 10 found this review helpful
Disappointing entry in series
PostedApril 24, 2022
ruadhan
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
8Floor games are usually good, but this one isn't. There's the basis of a decent game here, but as others have said, it's terribly slow. You can't build up enough resources in time to upgrade which leaves you missing the timed levels.
This is clearly a deliberate choice by the game maker to force the player to plan out their strategy ahead of time - it is time management, after all - so that they can gather enough resources and beat the timer.
However, even on easy mode that is not timed, the slowness is frustrating. You're waiting for workers to reach the workplace, they take time performing tasks, they run back slowly, and rate of production is also slow so that it takes a long time to gather resources to upgrade.
There isn't a plot as such, which is no problem, the point of this genre of game is to complete tasks on each level and the story is only an excuse. Art is simple, but not bad, although I kept expecting that, for instance, I could click on the fruit bushes to gather resources. You can't, so don't fall for that one.
I can't recommend purchasing this as it stands. If they sped up both the worker movement and rate of production of resources, it would be much better gameplay. As it stands, don't bother, you'll only be bored and frustrated.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save your kingdom from a malevolent creature in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
30 of 40 found this review helpful
Clever twist on traditional fairytale
PostedFebruary 25, 2022
ruadhan
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
If you know the Neil Gaiman story "Snow, Glass, Apples" then you will be prepared for the revelation here about Snow White. Elephant Games seem to have been inspired by this, as well as Blue Tea's excellent and beautiful series "Dark Parables".
So, as a game, how is it? I've played the demo and it seems to be standard fare so far, but what makes it stand out is the graphics and the plot. The Wicked Stepmother is the heroine, and Snow White is the villainess. They've cleverly adapted elements (the Dwarves here are not the Disney dwarves) from the Gaiman story and I can recommend this as something a little different - not for the gameplay, which is standard fare, but for the high standard of the visuals and the unusual take.
If Elephant Games are trying to create their own version of "Dark Parables", they have a high standard to meet, but so far this is going well.
I recommend this game!
A mysterious bartender gives extraordinary guidance to those in need.
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 14 found this review helpful
Promising but flawed
PostedDecember 31, 2021
ruadhan
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Interesting game premise, but extremely buggy. Badly needs a patch to make it playable.
I recommend this game!
A strange and deadly pollen is spreading around the world, and you’ve been hired to track down its source. But the secrets you discover in the fabled kingdom of Floralia are much darker than you imagined...
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 4 found this review helpful
Blue Tea have done it again
PostedJune 28, 2014
ruadhan
Skill Level:Intermediate
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is the latest instalment in the "Dark Parables" series and it's up to the usual high standard.
The one negative point #and it's not a negative for me# is that this does nothing new. It doesn't have to: it's the same style of game as always. They take a fairy tale we all know and put a twist on it. This time, it's the story of Rapunzel.
What Blue Tea do, and do excellently, is that they have a marvellous and consistent art style that links all these games together, as well as having developed an overarching plot thread. You play the Fairytale Detective who is sent on the job to investigate what are purportedly magic kingdoms throughout Europe.
You meet the characters #some of whom you will recognise from previous games in the series# and play through a combination of hidden object scenes and mini-games until you've solved the puzzle and defeated the bad guys.
That's it. No bells or whistles or live action acting or anything but the tried and tested formula.
Yet it's not boring. The artwork, as I've said, is absolutely gorgeous and holds the attention, and the twist that is put on the fairy tales means that you don't quite know how the plot is going to go. They're ingenious turns on familiar tales that manage to make them new while making sense of the old story at the same time.
If you're looking for innovation, you won't find it here. If you're looking for a richly-detailed and realised world that does the basic things right, this is the game for you.
I can't believe I haven't grown bored of these yet, but I haven't. And since there looks to be another one in the pipeline #they always hint at the next game in the ending#, then yes, I'll be buying that as soon as it's ready.
Excellent game and I highly recommend it.
I recommend this game!
Something wicked has taken over Fate’s Carnival!
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 18 found this review helpful
Back to their best
PostedNovember 26, 2013
ruadhan
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
For everyone anxious what the latest instalment in the Mystery Case Files series would be like, rest assured: they've returned to their roots and remembered what made these games so unique by comparison with other HOGs.
For this one, they've (thankfully# dropped the live acting; I liked it in the Shadow Lake game because the acting was good and the characters were humorous, but it really adds nothing to the game #and in 13th Skull it was absolutely dreadful). We're back to good old hand-drawn graphics, some voice-overs, and a game stuffed chock-full of content.
You'll want to go slow with this, as there is so much to do and to find out in it; not alone are there mini-games in the game proper, even the staple element of the game diary has games as well - if you figure out that they're there in the first place.
To sum up: great graphics, great sound, great storyline, great content. They've dropped the novelty elements from the last two games that just didn't work; they've used the tried-and-tested Ravenhearst scenario but put a fresh spin on it by linking it with Madame Fate's carnival.
Try this - you won't be disappointed!
I recommend this game!
You shall have to investigate the mysterious disappearance of young Luciano Folgeri from the orphanage.
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 7 found this review helpful
Good, if basic, HOG
PostedSeptember 5, 2013
ruadhan
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
First, a warning: if you dislike occult themes, steer well clear of this game. Skulls, blood, and black magic galore abound.
It's not a particularly unique theme or even that much of a variation - you play a detective who has to find a missing child who has been kidnapped for ritual sacrifice.
You pretty much find out straight away whodunit and why, so the challenge is to complete the tasks and get to the end, If you're not looking for anything particularly new or challenging, just a basic HOG game, this is the one for you.
I liked it well enough, but I was in the mood just for some plain, not too difficult gameplay. The graphics are okay - there are some well-drawn and fancy ones, but they are more for decoration - the main game is plain enough.
No map, which is a big letdown - you spend a lot of time tracking back and forth to retrace your steps.
The music is good, again it' s basic; the most fun is recognising that they 'borrowed' Saint-Saëns "Danse Macabre" for the theme that plays throughout.
Not a bad, basic game if that's all you're looking for and since it's not a Collector's Edition, worth the money #or more likely, the spare game credit/free punch#.
I recommend this game!
The residents of Bitterford, Maine have fallen prey to a terrible curse. It’s up to you to unravel the series of mysterious events that led to the town’s downfall and uncover the evil that was responsible.
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 7 found this review helpful
Latest Mystery Case Files attempts to add novelty to HOG genre
PostedNovember 22, 2012
ruadhan
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is one of the non-Ravenhearst entries in the Mystery Case Files series and you can see the difference in the art work and graphics. That's not a criticism, just an observation.
There have been some tweaks and changes to the usual elements of the HOG genre; the included Strategy Guide, for example, is in pictorial form - you don't read a list of instructions to know what to do next, you look at the screencaptures and compare what you need to do. The 'Bonus Chapter' is incorporated into the main storyline #though as a side-quest# rather than being added on at the end; it's a good try at refreshing the expectations people have of these games, which can be very formulaic, but it needs to be clarified a bit better. It's too easy to leave this 'bonus' gameplay until the end, when you would expect to have a clear run at it, only for the game to seemingly be wrapped up with nothing more said about it.
I can't give a high score to the plot as, although it started out well, it ended weakly #after all that's happened in the town, the McGuffin more or less ends up back where it started#. Though, are there hints about the character of the psychic consultant setting up in her own right in a spin-off series? I wouldn't be surprised!
What I can praise, though, is the live acting. I usually hate this in games because it can be very stilted or distracting, but congratulations, MCF, because you've done a great job! The acting is fluid, appropriate for the characters #and very funny# and fits in well with the action of the plot.
All in all, a good installment and a brave try that doesn't quite come off, but the best of the series is still the original Ravenhurst.
I recommend this game!
Find out who is behind the shocking zombie invasion.
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Another fine entry in the Haunted Legend series
PostedNovember 17, 2012
ruadhan
Skill Level:Intermediate
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I loved this game. I really enjoy the Haunted Legend series, and this latest installment lives up to its predecessors.
It's not startlingly original as far as gameplay or plot goes, but don't dismiss it as more of the same old thing. Yes, you're a lone investigator exploring a cursed town to defeat the magic-wielding villain. Yes, you will be sorting through hidden object scenes and solving puzzles to move through the steps. Yes, the bonus chapter ending sets up for a sequel in the continuing adventures of the Detective versus S.G.
All that being said, it strikes the right balance between being challenging and permitting you to advance (you can choose the level of difficulty at the start#, the graphics are gorgeous as usual, and the setting #zombies are rising from their graves and menacing the locals# is not too scary in terms of blood and gore #indeed, there isn't any gore that I can remember, and unless you're very, very worried about the occult or anything horror-related, it shouldn't be more than an amusing Hallowe'en-appropriate gimmick).
So I can recommend this almost unreservedly; the only quibbles I have is if you are looking for something that is out of the run-of-the-mill HOGs, this is not it, and the only real disadvantage is the lack of a map - the running backwards and forwards between locations gets a little tiresome.
I recommend this game!
Help Angelica get her witch-stolen beauty back! Save a young woman suffering from the witch’s sorcery for over 100 years!
Overall rating
5
/
5
11 of 14 found this review helpful
Really good game
PostedAugust 17, 2012
ruadhan
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I can unreservedly recommend this game. Three levels of gameplay mean you can set how easy or how difficult you want it to be.
The plot is nothing novel (visit long-abandoned institution in order to foil evil plans of antagonist) but the storyline has enough of a twist on this basic theme to keep it interesting.
There is a nice balance between puzzles and hidden object scenes, and the artwork is simply exquisite. If you're worried about occult themes or horrific imagery, don't be; the only really spooky/creepy image is that of the witch in her real form, but there isn't any blood, violence or gory images.
Well worth the money for a Collector's Edition. Try the free hour first and see for yourself!
I recommend this game!