JulieJay's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.7
- Helpful Votes:2,142
- Reviews Submitted:84
- First Review:December 10, 2011
- Most Recent Review:November 23, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Who knew a single butterfly not flapping its wings would cause a chain reaction through time? Can you help Helen correct history?
Overall rating
4
/
5
35 of 39 found this review helpful
The Clumsys 2: Butterfly Effect
PostedMay 14, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is an interactive hidden object puzzle game.
You find items by blue shadow. If the items are black shadow then they'll be found by zooming into another area i.e. drawer, cupboard etc. There may be 1 or more items needed to make one object but it is not what I would consider a FROG in as much as you don't get the full picture of an item and then have to find the parts - you get the shadow of each part and you have to find them individually. You then apply all of the bits to fix a machine. I hope that is making sense.
At the end of each "chapter" you have to clear the scenes of items that do not belong in that time period. You don't get a list, or shadow - you just have to look around and work it out yourself. You do get told how many there are to find though.
It took me a while to get used to the gameplay but by the end of the hour I was well engrossed.
I completed 6 chapters in the hour demo. There are 30 chapters so this is a really good length - approx 5 hours #give or take# depending on difficulty of each chapter.
I recommend this game!
An endearing 1930s love story set around a traveling circus.
Overall rating
3
/
5
42 of 43 found this review helpful
Runaway with the Circus
PostedApril 23, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
If you like the Amazing Adventure series of games, then you will like this one. Similar game play, i.e. 1 ho scene followed by 1 puzzle.
You can play relaxed or timed.
You collect 2 hearts in each scene - don't worry if you don't find them immediately as you can go back later. Hovering your mouse over each scene on the map will tell you how many hearts you collected.
If you collect all of the hearts, you will unlock 1930's era videos and also unlimited puzzles. Completing the game will unlock the music.
The music is in line with the 1930's and can go from being very upbeat to a bit melancholy. For me this meant that one minute I felt I was being rushed, and then the next I could have dozed off. Lovely music but not for me whilst I'm playing a game.
Items in the ho scenes can be a bit hard to spot sometimes as they are very well hidden. Some times you have to zoom in on i.e. a poster to collect say 10 of something. I did come across some interactivity in ho scenes later on i.e. put battery in torch.
Each hint will cost you 5000 points and the hint system takes 45 seconds to recharge.
The puzzles are the norm, i.e. spot the difference, word search etc., - all easy - and all puzzles can be skipped but the skip button takes an awfully long time to charge.
This kind of game would be my ideal i.e. ho - puzzle - ho - puzzle etc., but alas, just like the Amazing Adventure games, the puzzles are just too easy. I would love to see this type of game but which included some mind bending puzzles.
No buy for me but I would recommend you at least give it a try. You might like it.
I recommend this game!
Amazing Adventures: The Lost Tomb
Search for hidden objects and circumvent unique puzzle traps to recover the Lost Tomb of Ancient Egypt.
Overall rating
3
/
5
28 of 35 found this review helpful
Easy Hidden Object Puzzle Game
PostedApril 21, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is a great HOP with a HO scene followed by a puzzle. In each HO scene you have to find an added extra. Graphics are brilliant.
Your game is scored so it does have lots of replayability so you can try and beat your score.
This genre is my ideal as I love HO's and puzzles. Unfortunately they have made the puzzles just far too easy - i.e. you place jigsaw pieces onto the picture so you know exactly where to place each piece. Again when you have to swap puzzle pieces to create a picture, the picture is underneath so that you can see exactly which piece goes where.
I recommend this game!
Save Oz from the evil Victor Vile! Team up with the Scarecrow, Tinman, and the Lion and use their powers to overcome obstacles!
Overall rating
5
/
5
24 of 26 found this review helpful
Fiction Fixers: The Curse of Oz
PostedApril 21, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Fun hidden object puzzle adventure - although puzzles/mini games are few and far between - imo could have done with a few more thrown in. Quite a few ho scenes which you do revisit but I never mind that any way. Great voiceovers and great graphics although the ho scenes were a little dark depending on where they were. I enjoyed what puzzles there were although I do wish they'd gone into full screen.
Definitely worth the DD price. I enjoyed this one just as much as the first and hope there'll be some more coming soon.
There's been mention in the game forum of this game only being 2 hours long by someone who hasn't even bought the game. I am quite a fast player but never use hints or skips and this game took me 4 hours 13 minutes to complete.
I recommend this game!
Something unnatural is stalking you through an abandoned town! Escape by gathering useful items and solving clever puzzles!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Vampire Saga : Welcome to HellLock
PostedApril 20, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Great Hidden Object Adventure game with a few puzzles thrown in. Graphics were good and music non-intrusive. No voiceovers. Cut scenes ran smoothly - kind of like a comic strip.
I preferred this one to the first - VS: Pandora's Box - which I played immediately prior to this one. Only because the HO's in this game were better.
I am not a user of interactive maps as I do like to keep my memory fresh of surrounding areas and remember where you need to use something but I couldn't have enjoyed this game without using the photo album which was great - photos of every area which showed active HO scenes and areas of interest.
This VS is not a sequel as such to the first one and they can be played independently of each other as no reference is made in the second to the first. The lady vampire is the same person but that's allowed as she's a vampire and lives forever. I am looking forward to playing the third in the series - VS: Break Out.
I definitely recommend this game and also the first.
I recommend this game!
Travel back in time and experience the mysterious life of your grandfather! Explore eerie Victorian locations and find the truth!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Vampire Saga: Pandora's Box
PostedApril 19, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Great Hidden Object Adventure game. Storyline held my interest all the way through and there was a great twist.
Graphics were a bit grainy but went with the atmosphere of the game.
HO scenes were some of the most difficult I have come across in a game and I used the hint a lot more than i like to. In fact, I rarely ever do in a game but couldn't have proceeded with the help in this one. This was down to the brilliant hiding of some items and the mis-description of others.
Music went with the game. No voiceovers. Dialogue and cut scenes were too slow. There is a "faster" button which you click and hold to speed things up but I tended to miss what was being said so endured the slowness.
There is a journal but no map. A lot of back and forth. You need a good memory to remember where you need to go to get what you need.
Overall a game worth playing and I am now going on to play Vampire Saga: Welcome to HellLock.
I recommend this game!
How did the attacker escape a room locked from the inside?
Overall rating
3
/
5
166 of 184 found this review helpful
Victorian Mysteries: The Yellow Room
PostedApril 16, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This review is based on the demo which I played in casual mode. The other option is expert.
The music is upbeat. There are voiceovers for everyone except yourself. Your dialogue is the click and choose what to say type. I personally am not keen on that.
The graphics are clear but the HO's are very well hidden. There was some interactivity but not in every HO scene.
The puzzles are the norm.
Your are told when there is nothing more to do in any particular area. You can't go walking off in the wrong direction as it won't let you - it tells you not to go here or there if you try to.
There is a journal with separate tabs for story, evidence etc. There is a separate tasks book. There is a map which will tell you where you are and shows areas of interest but you cannot teleport. You can also refer to your tasks from the map.
I used the hint once and it seemed to take a long time to recharge.
I think it is on a par with the first VM (not a sequel) but in my opinion the devs have not improved much, if any, in this game. Pretty much the same game play.
RE approx length - the sample version gives you the first chapter depending on how fast you play. I completed the sample in 35 minutes. There are 5 chapters so if all chapters are of similar length then for me that would be approx 3 hours.
I recommend this game!
Solitaire Mystery: Stolen Power
The oldest deck of cards in the world has been stolen from the Museum of Ancient History. Find the magical cards and save the world!
Overall rating
3
/
5
31 of 33 found this review helpful
Solitaire/HOG
PostedApril 3, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Graphics were clear, music and sound ok. No voiceovers.
Two features to unlock on completion of game.
HOG - variation of find items by list, number of items and shadow.
Solitaire - swapped between golf solitaire and match solitaire. Neither much of a challenge as you simply have to concentrate on unlocking a few cards rather than clearing the pack. The games are lengthened a little by the fact you have to click on an inventory item to make a card playable. Brush / spray / key. This got irritating and the game would have been better if you had to uncover a card with said item on rather than keep clicking on the inventory item.
Storyline - a thief has stolen a pack of cards and you find them as you go through the game. Ranges from finding 1, 2 and 3 at a time.
At the end of the 1 hour demo I had found 45 cards. Will game be nearing the end when you've found 52? Not sure.
I recommend this game!
Help Lois Wheeler investigate The Princess Case: A Royal Scoop and find a kidnapper in this incredible Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
18 of 22 found this review helpful
OK HOG game
PostedApril 2, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Basic HOG with very little interactivity. HO scenes come in a variation of find by word list, find by number of items and find by shadow. Some items can be very small but there is a magnifying glass. Cannot comment on how long the hint takes to recharge.
Some scenes are scrolling scenes but this can be switched off and you can click and drag to move around.
There are volume controls for music (non-intrusive) and background sounds. No voiceover. Graphics are ok.
Puzzles are similar to those I've seen with some variation. Can't remember seeing any instructions for the puzzles but they're pretty logic and as I've said, we've seen them before anyway. Cannot recall if there was a skip or reset button.
Always thought my observational skills were up to par but when asked to describe a character I'd met earlier, I got all the answers wrong! Even when you got shown a picture of the person, I couldn't even remember seeing them!
Not keen on the characters sliding in and out of screenshot when they've got something to say. It gets irritating. Some characters were blacked out and I couldn't understand why. Ok so one maybe because he was an undercover agent? But not the others.
IMHO this game should have been a soft release and not a TGT.
I recommend this game!
Help Flex and Eva find Blondie in Schoolmates: The Mystery of the Magical Bracelet!
Overall rating
1
/
5
32 of 49 found this review helpful
Too slow
PostedMarch 28, 2012
JulieJay
fromWashington, Tyne & Wear, England
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I lasted 7 minutes of the demo and had to stop playing. I simply cannot abide any game where you have to wait for a character to walk somewhere - especially a one as slow as this. I just wanted to kick her up the backside.
I will recommend the game simply because, who am I to say do not try it based on my personal grievance?
I recommend this game!