EnvirEng's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:444
- Reviews Submitted:50
- First Review:December 14, 2011
- Most Recent Review:June 29, 2022
- Featured reviews0
Status:
May the fairies be with you as your quest for the Fairy Treasure begins in this exciting brick buster!
Overall rating
5
/
5
13 of 13 found this review helpful
As Breakout Games Go, This is a Great One
PostedAugust 13, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Look, we all need a little mindless entertainment, once in a while. This is it. A very well done breakout-style game. Witches and goblins populate the forest and you need to destroy them with little balls.
What makes this different from most of these kinds of games is the great graphics and the interesting power ups. Sure, you have your strong ball and multiball, etc. But, there are a few that are interesting. Explosive ball and crazy ball come to mind. (I do not like crazy ball.)
There are lots of different types of blocks to break. Witches that launch little light thingys that can make your ball 'weak' or replace destoryed blocks. You can collect falling scrolls and, when you collect enough, play a bonus level for more points/ lives. You can catch medalions and when you get enough you get an explosive charge on a chain you can use several times.
One of the best features is the fairies that appear as you get close to finishing a level. They will help by destroying some of the last few blocks. Nice!
The graphics are great. The music is fine. Lots of levels. Three modes of play #easy, normal, hard#. Replayability is high.
It is a great game. If you don't have your fill of breakout games, you should get this one.
I recommend this game!
Lead Saturn's son to the top of the Pantheon and help him become a mighty god in All My Gods! Use divine powers to change the life of Romans!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Wonderful Game, Highly Addictive
PostedJuly 31, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
LOVED THIS GAME. It is a resource management game. Most tasks are untimed. You need to clear land, build buildings, accomplish goals, etc. The graphics are cute cartoons. I liked the sound effects. It took me more than five hours to play through the first time. Replay-ability isn’t that great, since you know what is coming next and how best to accomplish it.
You play a young male god, who just might make it to Olympus, if you prove yourself by building a city and meeting goals. You can’t choose between male or female characters.
Zeus gives you an old pair of Omnipotent Gloves, which gives you some god-like powers. Manna, which you get slowly (or more quickly if you build shrines), powers the gloves. The game starts slowly and I’ve seen a number of complaints about that, but give it some time and build some temples. The glove will charge much more quickly if you have a lot of subjects worshiping you. If you build mre temples, the total amount of manna you can store increases.
There isn’t much instruction, so you have to figure out things as you go. It took me quite a while to learn that the gloves can also put out fires, complete buildings, make workers work much faster, and quell worker protests. Also, that gold mine is pretty useless. Start selling stuff at the market a.s.a.p. That is the fastest way to get gold.
During the game play, the goddess Venus stops by to flirt and ask you to do things for her (like build fountains and arbors). You need to fulfill her wishes, but then her husband (Mars, the god of war) shows up and sets your buildings on fire. In the end, it all works out.
Tasks are lined up on the left of the screen and disappear when completed. As you progress, more land becomes available; each area has special features (volcano, desert, island for monuments). Each also has a special task that needs to be completed (find Mercury’s sandal, rescue prince from giant spiders, explore UFO).
All My Gods is more complex than many in this genre. Besides keeping your subjects fed and housed, you also need to collect education points and learn new skills, so you can build grain mills, open trade ports, navigate, build monuments, etc. I really enjoyed the challenge of figuring out what to do. For me, the second play-through wasn’t as much fun, but it sure was easier. Younger children might find this game frustrating.
Overall, this is a great game. You need some patience, initially, while you figure out how to maximize your abilities. I strongly recommend it, but keep one thing in mind. There is one, over reaching mission and there are no chapters or divisions built into the game that act as natural break points. As a result, I played for two or three hours straight, when I began. Don’t start unless you have a lot of free time on your hands.
I recommend this game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
23 of 28 found this review helpful
Some levels were way to difficult
PostedJuly 27, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Normally, I love time management (TM) games, but I didn't like this one. Finished it, though.
Graphics are fun and good. Music isn't annoying. The story is a throw away, but what do you expect.
Basically, you travel around the world running fish farms, making products and sending items to market. You can buy and upgrade houses to make other products and if you click on the houses, they produce items faster. You also have to protect your fish from predators (pelicans, sharks#.
There are five locations #I think) and each as about 10 levels. So, there is a lot of game play. You can take as long as you need to finish each level, but, if you finish quickly enough, you get a gold medal. Apparently, there is a second, shorter, goal. You can win trophies for your accomplishments. In short, this game should be wonderful.
Things I didn't like. Normally, levels get more difficult as you progress, but that did not seem to be the case. I hit two levels early in Japan that I had to replay more than 20 times to get gold. The final level is pretty easy, although there are plenty of predators.
As I said, I found some of the levels to be very hard. Too hard, for me.
A few items, like the fish burgers, take many, many steps to create. You need to collect the fillets and send them to a building to be processed. That goes to another building to become fish patties. You also need to collect hay and send that to a mill to get flour. Then the patties and flour go to a building and you get a fish burger. While the transfer of materials from the warehouse happens automatically, it is still a lot of steps.
This game requires a LOT of clicking. If you have the money, you can buy a dolphin to pick up items. But, there is still a lot of clicking. You need to click on houses to start them. You can click repeatedly on houses to make them work faster. You need to click repeatedly on predators that make it into the pond and you can click on flying pelicans to get money.
If you are like me and love TM games, give this one a try. You might like it, but I can't recommend it.
I don't recommend this game.
Celtic folklore seems to be more truth than lore when the Samhain festival goers disappear! Find the missing people and save the day!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Good Game, Visual Quality is Excellent
PostedJuly 20, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Not my favorite, but overall a good game. I play in bursts, but IMHO this is a pretty good, long HO/Adventure game.
The story is predictable; evil demon kidnaps someone you love. You must rescue them and also save the universe. Yadda, yadda, yadda. This time you are up against a Celtic god.
WHAT I LIKED. The game is looong. The areas are varied. You can be in an ancient temple one minute, then a modern weather station, then a swamp and then on to a parallel world. The locations make sense within the story. Great idea from a design perspective since locations and therefore actions can include ancient and modern items.
The graphics are awesome! Mostly photographic quality. LOVED that.
The mini games are good. Some old classics. Some new twists on older puzzles. Mostly on the easy side, but one or two real challenges. I had to use the walk through once (animal button slider thingy).
The actions required are reasonable and make sense.
Sound effects are good and, since I don’t remember the music, it wasn’t annoying at all. No voice-overs, all text and you can click through it.
There are a number of awards you can get, like no wrong clicks on a HOS. At the end of each major part of the game, you also get an award. I didn’t play the tutorial or spend more than 10 minutes on a HOS, therefore I didn’t get the award for getting all the awards. But, I like the award/ trophy idea very much.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE SO MUCH. My interest in HOS has waned and this game has a few too many, IMHO. The HOS are not interactive, but the first one had an interesting twist and I was looking forward to more of the same. It never materialized. The HOS are junk piles with clear graphics and mostly well lit. But, a number are very cluttered. It got tedious fast.
The story gets a bit sketchy in places. For example, you have to rescue a scuba diver from drowning. Once you do, he thanks you and… that is it. You walk away and leave him.
There is no map, which isn’t much of a problem because each area is self contained and has only four or five locations (most with sub-locations). I didn’t get lost, but there is a lot of walking back and forth.
Overall this is a good game and if you like HOS more than I do, you will probably love this game. At best, I liked it.
I recommend this game!
Backyards across Lindencroft are under attack by pests! Help the Smiths repel and defeat the enemy one garden at a time!
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Wonderful Game: Replay-ability Is At An All Time High!
PostedJuly 13, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I've had this game for quite a while now and I still replay it! If you don’t own it, you should.
While Garden Defense is an older game, nothing about it will seem outdated. It best fits in the category of ‘Tower Defense,’ but it is your flower beds you are defending--from hordes of hungry bugs.
There is a wide assortment of insects heading your way and they get nastier the further into the game you get. I personally hate the big orange centipedes.
To defend your flowers, you can buy devices (garden gnomes with rocket launchers, pink flamingos to slow down flying insects and the cupid fountains to slow down crawling bugs# and plant flowers #cacti to attack flyers, bells to gas the crawlers and sunflowers, which attacks both#. You can also enlist the help of friendly insects #fireflies, stink bugs, lady bugs and the wonderful black widow#.
As you play the game, you need to defend gardens around the city. There are five locations each with three areas, for a total of 15 ‘levels.’ Each level is refreshingly different. And, there are five modes of play: very easy, easy, normal, hard, and very hard.
On each level, the insects come in waves #varying from 5 to 30 waves). You have to click a button to start the each wave, so you can take a break and assess your defenses between waves. You can also choose from three speeds and slow down the assault, if you want.
On each level you earn Experience Points. Between levels you can buy new items and upgrades. Don’t worry if you can’t stop all the bugs on some of the earlier levels. Once you get a few upgrades, you won’t have much of a problem.
The graphics are cute. The sound effects and music are good. Not annoying, IMHO. The story is pretty straight forward. Cut scenes are minimal—just enough to explain the story.
There are a few extras built into the game. There is a book with information on the bad insects and one on your defense options. There are about 15 Challenge levels as well. They are really challenging.
From my experience, Garden Defense is delightful and very, very replay-able. I highly recommend it.
I recommend this game!
Guide Ethan Black as he attempts to rescue his bride-to-be from a terrifying menace known as the Faceless Ones!
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Good Game, with a Few Weaknesses
PostedJuly 5, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is a good HO/Adventure game. If you like this type of game, you will probably like this one.
This review is based on a complete play-through. There are two game modes and I played the harder one. No sparkles, except to indicate HOS, and a longer hint recharge, which wasn’t a problem for me.
You play Ethan, about to be married and called home by your father for an unknown reason. In route, on the train, you are attacked by a ‘faceless one’ who steals your fiancé. In town, you discover that the city is under curfew because the faceless ones have been kidnapping people. You need to explore the city, solve the mystery to save your future wife and later your father.
While someone is in league with the devil, I would not say this game has occult overtones. It does have rats. Dialogue is mainly delivered in text form and you can click through it.
What is good? The graphics, the story and sounds. Lots of places to explore and things to do. Some, but not too much, walking around. The mini-games are good—not too hard, some very simple. The actions required are fairly good and mostly expected in this type of game. Some actions were not as obvious as you might expect. Let’s just say, you are going to need that squirrel for something. Cut scenes are very good. IMHO, it is a long game with a good ending.
One thing I really liked with was the little boat you find during the game. It has places for several (eight, I think) figurines. As you pla, you will find various figurines. The game then automatically brings up the boat. Put the figurines on the boat, one by one, and get more of the back story—where the face-less ones came from and why. That story is revealed in a wonderful ‘artistic’ manner. Very nice!
What I didn’t like so much? This game has too many HOS for me. One after another. Yikes. The earlier ones require some minor interaction, but that stopped mid-game. I guess the designers abandoned the idea. The HOS are cluttered junk piles and usually dark. All the items were correctly labeled, but some were very hard to find and I just gave up and used a hint.
The other thing that drove me crazy was the ‘map’ and I use that term very loosely. There IS a map. It shows where you are, but not where actions are required and it is not interactive (you can’t jump from one location to another.) It is totally useless.
I am getting spoiled and expect a good map with my HO/Adventure games, now.
This wasn’t my favorite HO/Adventure game, but it is pretty good and I recommend it.
I recommend this game!
Two young ladies have gone missing and it’s up to you to find them in Grim Façade: Mystery of Venice, a fun Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
13 of 13 found this review helpful
I didn't care for the game, but you might like it.
PostedJune 29, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I bought the CE on sale and was really looking forward to playing it. I did not like it at all, but forced myself to finish. There are some really good parts to the game, so let’s start there.
You play a detective in 18th (?) century Venice, during a plague. A man’s wife and daughter have been kidnapped and you need to find and rescue them. The story is good and the setting is great. There are lots of interesting places to explore: in the buildings, underground and along the canals. As you proceed, you find out that a secret society sacrifices sinners, when there is an outbreak of plague. Along the way, you will need to find seven masks representing the seven deadly sins, as well as the mother and grown daughter.
Despite being set during a plague, there are no really gruesome scenes in the game (lots of rats and one wrapped dead body). There are a number of skeletons in the bonus part of the game.
Besides finding the normal items scattered around, you also need to find fans in the HOS, which provide you with additional hints, and gold coins that allow you to buy things at the small shop. I liked the idea of buying things at the shop. Nice twist.
The things I didn’t like heavily outweighed the good, IMHO. First, there are A LOT of HOS--far too many for me. Expect to visit each twice. There is very minor interaction required for one or two items in each scene. There was a good variety of HOS, but most were dark, junk-piles. One or two had so many items in them that I cringed when I saw them. I found three items that I don’t think were properly labeled. A ‘purse,’ a ‘paperweight,’ and a ‘crowbar.’
Almost all of the mini-games were ridiculously easy. I could not figure out how to finish the painting one and when I clicked on the Hint, it just gave me the reward item. So, during mini-games, the Hint must be the Skip. There are one or two really challenging mini-games, so watch for them. Also, you will find items before you need them and wonder, why am I picking THIS up?
The voice-overs were well done and you could sort-of click through them. You can skip them. The cut scenes were good and the graphics were pretty good. Think well done graphic novel. But, the music got annoying after a while.
Quite a few of the actions you need to take weren’t very intuitive, IMHO. There was a good bit of walking back and forth, but it wasn’t excessive. NO MAP! Maybe, I am spoiled, but I now want a map (preferably interactive) with my HOS/Adventure games now.
The bonus chapter involved some already-seen locations, but mostly new sites. It had a few new HOS and pretty linear problem solving. It didn’t take that long to play and I am not sure it would be worth the extra money. I didn’t look at the other Bonus Material.
In summary, this game has a great concept and a great location (Venice), but no map and far too many HOS for me.
I don't recommend this game.
Guide Kate Reed as she solves four mind-bending mysteries that take her to worlds she's never imagined!
Overall rating
5
/
5
Superb! The new paradigm in HO/A games
PostedJune 21, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I played the House of 1000 Doors: Palm of Zoraster first and loved it, so I tried this one and was just as happy.
This game really has everything I am looking for in a perfect HO/Adventure game. It is very long, by my standards. The HO scenes are interactive and well done. There is a nice mix of mini-games, HOS and problems to solve. All HO items are properly labeled. The graphics are great. The cut scenes are very well done, like mini-movies. The sound effects are great. The voice-overs are good and can, for the most part, be clicked through. The story line is interesting and makes sense (in a mystical way).
I played in the advanced mode, so no sparkles except to indicate a HOS. As an added bonus, there are morphing items hidden throughout the game. They are fun to find, but don’t affect the game play.
The thing I love most about ‘The 1000 Doors’ games is the interactive map. It indicates where you are and where actions are still required. And, you can click on another location and be transported there.
For me, this is the ultimate enhancement for a couple of reasons. First, I really do not like having to exit a game to check the walk-through to figure out what I need to do next. I don’t mind games being challenging, but in many HO/A games, if you miss one small thing you have to resort to the walk-through. In this game, if I get stuck, a quick look at the map puts me back on track. If I don’t want any help, I don’t look at the map!
Also, being able to transport to another location really cuts down on backtracking.
The spatial layout of this game is great. The house is a crossing point between the physical and spiritual realms. There are a few main rooms in the House of 1000 Doors and then portals to other places. Once you help the trapped soul in a particular place, the portal seals itself and you are back in the center of the map—the House of 1000 Doors.
This design makes it much easier to find your way around. There are no loooong walks from one end of the map to another. Great idea designers! Also, because the House of 1000 doors travels (materializes) in different places and times, you might help a soul trapped in a train in the 1800 and then help a soul trapped in Venice in a different time period. The potential for interesting locations and times is endless.
A few, minor downsides: The whole game is based on mysticism, spirits, ghosts, etc. So, if that isn’t for you, don’t get this game. In order to free a few of the souls, you need to collect a LOT of items. Making the last potion requires around ten things. That can get a bit tiring. And, like most HO/A games, there are a few places where you can do something (like cut off a bit of cheese) long before you have any reason to do so. These are minor trifles. The game was wonderful!
After a devastating earthquake rocks the city, David must reach the museum before nightfall and save his wife and daughter!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Older game and not that good by today's standards
PostedJune 21, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I got about half way through, but just wasn't interested enough to finish the game.
When this came out, it was probably the state of the art for HOG/Adventure games, but there are so many better games now. I don't recommend it.
It shows you how much things have changed. I played and loved Escape from the Museum 1, when it came out and this one is similar. In this installment, you play the husband, who wakes from a nap to discover that a major earthquake has hit the city and you need to get to the museum to find your wife and daughter.
You make your way through the city, solving problems (getting over a crevasse in the street, over roof tops, past downed power lines, etc.) to reach the museum. Each point has a HO scene that isn't interactive or particularly fun. Some of the actions required to get past the impediment are not intuitive. Along the way, you need to find pieces of machinery that you will need to get into the museum at the end. (Didn't pay to the end, so I am not sure why you need all those parts.)
There are also a number of side jobs (you find a lost puppy and then have to find the owner).
The non-interactive map is useful because it shows where you are and if you haven't completed everything at each locations, like find a part.
The graphics were ok at best. Hints are provided by an eccentric homeless guy, which was a pretty original way to handle that. (If you can't find something in the HOS, he will throw a bottle at the item.) The story is good and so are the sounds effects.
Keeping your heart rate down is part of the game. Not sure how that fits into the overall game play, although, before your wife left for the day, she reminded you to take your medication.
There are some original ideas here and the fact that you can play this game in short bursts is a plus, but overall I thought it was outdated and not much fun. If you are looking for an easy, linear HO/A game, this might be for you, though.
I don't recommend this game.
The harvest is ripe with fun as you grow, collect and sell food, pointing and clicking in a race against time!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Not the best, but enjoyable
PostedJune 13, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is an older time-management game. While it doesn't have all the bells and whistles a more recent game might have, it is still enjoyable to play.
Everything on the island has been destroyed. Buy seeds and livestock, water plants, collect the harvest. Use what you collect to make more complicated items. Load products into the truck to go to market. Pretty typical and so are the bonus items you can buy (like a bigger watering can).
When you complete each level, a new building is constructed on the island. Complete the whole game and the island is rebuilt.
Basic game play. Give it a try, you might like it.
I recommend this game!