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:
Guide Kate Reed as she searches for the artifacts that can break the power of a cursed gem in House of 1,000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster!
Overall rating
5
/
5
8 of 12 found this review helpful
Superb
PostedJune 13, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I give a lot of games 5 stars, mainly because I check out games before I buy and play them. After playing this game, I am going to have to rethink my ratings and games that I might have given 5 stars to in the past are now only going to get 4.
This game is truly superb. I didn’t play any of the other games in this series, but I think the story goes something like this. There is a magical house that appears and disappears in various places around the world. A deadly fire ball is terrorizing the inhabitants of this house. You must track down four crystal skulls to repair the pipe organ, then find the fireball and destroy it.
To find the skulls you need to travel to four interesting parts of the world and help the souls trapped there. You must also explore some of the rooms in the House of 1000 Doors.
I played in the harder mode, which was perfect for me. No sparkles. There are lots of interesting things to do and items to find. The HOS are mainly scattered junk piles. They are fun and challenging, but doable, with many interactive parts. Some are simple (look in a basket) others require some problem solving (light a lantern). You will need to search each HOS twice.
There are many puzzles. I didn’t think any were particularly difficult, but they were fun.
The graphics are great. There are voice over’s that you can click through, but, for the first time in my life, I thought the voice over’s were so well done I didn’t want to click through. Hard to believe, but true!
Music and ambient sounds are good. I took me at least six hours (maybe longer) to finish.
The best thing about this game is the interactive map. It shows where actions are required and you can jump from one location to another. By having this feature, the designers solved almost all of my general complaints about this type of game. No need for a walk through, since you can check the map and find out where you need to be. If you fail to notice an item or area of interest, the ‘!’ sign on the map will direct you to the right area. Therefore, you can play in the hardest mode and still get help if you need it. Or ignore the map and go it alone. Also, the hints recharge fairly quickly and are very useful.
This is a wonderful game. I highly recommend it!
I recommend this game!
The tree`s life runs short. The shadows whisper of something sinister. Set forth now to save your people!
Overall rating
5
/
5
31 of 33 found this review helpful
Beautiful and Great Game
PostedJune 2, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
You play a fairy, living with your kind in the Great Tree. The Swee (insect like creatures) collect special pollen that the Tree needs to survive. Right before the Great Tree is about to Descend (roots growing deep into the earth), when it will no longer be dependent on the pollen, the evil Ixies start attacking. They enchant the Swee so your people must collect the pollen yourselves and free the Swee. There are other very dangerous things lurking out there as well.
The graphics are the best they could be. They are beautiful, colorful and just amazing. You need to fly around the screen collecting the pollen (floating bright dots), while avoiding dangerous insects, frogs, slumbering fungi and the most unnerving spider people ever. Gave me chills.
The story is compelling and told in messages from your mother. (You are out collecting pollen.) One downside, you see the messages as text, but there is also a voice over that can't be turned off or hurried. You can skip the story, but then you don't know what is going on. I am a fast reader, so this was very annoying.
As you progress, the levels (100, I think) get very hard, but you gain agility, magic, strength, etc. as you progress. Also, you can earn different sets of wings and then switch out your wings. Each set confers certain advantages.
You do need good hand-eye coordination and patience to play this game.
IMHO, this game is worth the price just for the graphics. Game play starts out easy and gets quite challenging. I am already playing through for the second time. Not sure if I will play through a third time, but overall, I am delighted with this game.
I recommend this game!
Save your sister from the grave! After receiving a troubling phone call from your brother-in-law, you’re off on an adventure!
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Wow! Amazing Game
PostedJune 1, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is it for me, a wonderful HO/Adventure. Great graphics, if a bit dark. Good sound track. Good story, although the ending was a bit confusing in the last second. Lots of cool places to explore and lots of puzzles. Not too difficult. Many just requiring patience, not brain power.
The story is typical for these types of games and well suited to the format. Your sister, who recently married the bizzilionaire Raincliff has died. But, in a dream she tells you she isn’t dead. You go to Raincliff mansion to poke around, while the bereaved widower is away. You discover that he has buried quite a number of brides, all shortly after he married them. Apparently, he is using their life energy to stay young. You must search the mansion and surrounding area to restore each dead-wife’s statue to free her spirit. After you do that, you get all five wedding rings and break the spell for good.
Spooky atmosphere and he needs to hire a cleaning lady.
I played in the Advanced Mode and did have to use a few hints to figure out what to do next, but I did not have to refer to the walk-through.
For me, the game has the right mix of HO scenes. Not too many, but enough. Some scenes were dark and a few items were microscopic, but in general, doable. I had to use a few hints to find things. Everything was properly labeled and some minimal interaction was required. As someone else pointed out, this is probably not for beginner HO players.
The game took me several hours to play.
Overall, it was very well done. There were only one or two places where I thought the developers failed. When nasty eels are guarding something in the swamp, I don’t think strawberries are going to distract them. And, there was a thing involving a magnet.
Probably not for beginners, but for seasoned players, this was great!
I recommend this game!
Help Epiphany O’day sneak on board the luxurious and dangerous Imperial Majestic to stop murder and mayhem in its tracks!
Overall rating
4
/
5
8 of 9 found this review helpful
Fun Game
PostedMay 9, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I enjoyed this game!
Kind of surprised by some of the reviews. I thought the graphics were great. Very visually appealing. I thought the voice-overs were well done, although some of the accents were pretty awful. Unfortunately, you can't click through the dialogue. And, I didn't think it was that short! If I had paided full price, I might have been disappointed, but as a DD it was a great buy.
You play Epiphany O'Day, expert in the legendary Dragon Wheel. After your mentor gets killed, you must sneak onto the Emperor’s train and finish assembling the Dragon Wheel. It is a train, so there aren't many places to get lost.
The HO scenes vary. Some are dark and some are very cluttered and some items are not to scale. But, most are filled with delightful objects and scenery.
The mini-games/puzzles are good and the Hint button recharges quickly. Overall, the story is interesting. There are a number of 'special items' that you can find throughout the game. I didn't find them all and that didn't seem to impact the game play at all. They all look like canes-- the kind with the rounded top.
In parallel with the main story, you have a magical scroll and must find various seals that go on it. With each seal, you can unroll a bit more of the scroll and learn more of the story of the Dragon Wheel.
Also, stop the evil people from using the Dragon Wheel to take over the world.
The game is fun and enjoyable. It isn't a hard game to complete, although I did need to use several hints on the HO scenes. What you need to do next is usually obvious and in certain places in the game, it tells you exactly where to go next.
It was fun. I recommend it as a DD.
I recommend this game!
As the entrepreneur, it is up to you to build a thriving potion empire and climb the ranks of the Fairy Godmothers operation.
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Highly Addictive, Challenging and Really Fun
PostedMay 9, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
After looking at the images and reading the description of this game, I wasn't sure I would like it. Boy, was I wrong. A friend recommended it, so I gave it a try. Wonderful game. I've played through several times, already.
Choose your avatar and let your Fairy Godmother send you to various towns to run her chain of potion shops. Read the 'weather' forcast--50% chance of Giant Heads today. Set prices, buy supplies, force your competition out of business!
This is NOT a children's game. It can be quite challenging! Had to seek out advice in the Forum, but then really got the hang of it. Decide how much to spend on research each day. Amp up the marketing budget. Upgrade the storefront, potion maker, spells, in-store entertainment, spying devices.
In each town, locals come to you with their problems: Miss Muffet is having trouble with the local biker gang, Rapunzel is locked in a tower. Mary stole Little Bo Peep's lamb. If you do the right thing, you get rewarded with money or an increase in reputation. You can also choose to ignore the problem, if you don't feel like helping.
You can also hire local 'talent,' if they are available, to do certain things, like swell peoples heads so there is more business or make it look like your competitor's store is closed that day. Hire with care: things don't always turn out as planned.
There is also a Loan Shark--actual shark in a suit--that will loan you money. And, a Corporate Mole--actual mole in a trenchcoat--that will spy on the competition.
Get everything set up and Start the Day. Watch the townsfolk wander around and, hopefully, line up in your shop.
Very fun and entertaining. I would recommend this game to anyone. Even if you don't like TM games, give this a try. You might love it.
I recommend this game!
After a group of young students go missing, the Mystery Trackers are called in to search the city of Raincliff!
Overall rating
5
/
5
10 of 11 found this review helpful
Fantastic Hidden Object/Adventure Game
PostedMay 8, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Well, this is pretty much everything you could want in a HO/Adventure game. Visuals and sounds are great. Long game play. A truck load of locations to explore. Lots of mini-games and actions required.
The story gets a bit weak at the end, but what do you expect from a computer game. You go to the abandoned town of Raincliff to find out what happened to a group of college students. They went there to find out what happened to the town's inhabitants, who all disappeared. It involves roses and something else, but I won't tell.
You will wear out several pairs of shoes walking around in this game. Some areas become off limits after you've completed everything there, but many stay active until the end. LOTS of walking around.
I played in the hardest mode (no sparkles) and I wish I hadn't. I had to refer to the walk-through several times because I missed something. In a number of places, one 'area of interest' is very close to another 'area of interest.' It is very easy to miss the second one. Trust me I know.
If you are up for a real challenge, you will love this game. I still suggest an easier mode. It will be more enjoyable.
I recommend this game!
Jane and Dr. Herzle have made a breakthrough in reincarnation studies but their hard work is compromised when Jane is kidnapped!
Overall rating
4
/
5
18 of 21 found this review helpful
Enjoyable but lots of HO scenes
PostedApril 7, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is a good game, but not one of the best, IMHO.
Graphics are great. Music and ambient sounds good. Music is ok. The storyline is this: You are a women with the ability to travel back into your past lives. You get taken to a run-down asylum for the metally ill by an evil doctor. In order to escape, you must go back to two previous lives and resolve some things, in order to escape from the asylum in your present life. Not really sure how the past and present lives all fit together.
I found it to be a long game. The HO scenes are pretty easy and require some interaction. Mostly not challenging or original. There are A LOT of HO scenes, especially in the last (current) life. All junk piles, but not too dark or too cluttered.
On the plus side, there were many areas to explore in the past two lives and they were very interesting and well done. Most of the actions required to complete those lives are pretty simple. The mini-games, for the most part are simple and not very original. I've seen most of them before.
I thought I chose the hardest play mode, but there were still sparkles indicating every point of interest. The hint seemed to recharge quickly. (I rarely used it.)
This wasn't the most challenging or interesting game I've played, but for a HO/Adventure game it was pretty good.
I recommend it.
I recommend this game!
Discover your grandfather`s hidden scores and unlock their musical mysteries in this entrancing Adventure game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Now, for something completely different
PostedApril 1, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
If you like writing or playing music, you will love this game. Even if you don't, you very well might love this game, anyway. It is completely different from any game I've played.
Search around the house for pieces of various musical scores. Once you have all the pieces of a score, you need to solve a puzzle that is simultaneously geometric and musical.
I have no musical talent, what so ever, but I still thought this game was pretty fun. The HO part, searching the house, was a bit tiring for me, but the game supplies sparkles, after a period of time. (Thanks developers!)
The graphics for the HO scences are great. Lots of instruments hanging around and when you click on them you hear the sound they make. Just fun.
Once you finish the game, you can be creative and rearrange the scores.
This game is genius in its originality. I would recommend this to everyone with an interest in music. I didn't love it, but I bet most players will.
I recommend this game!
Journalist Journey: The Eye of Odin
Strange, glowing symbols are appearing all over the world and one reporter is determined to get to the bottom of it!
Overall rating
4
/
5
8 of 10 found this review helpful
Pleasant Fun--Not too Challenging
PostedApril 1, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is a nice, pleasant Hidden Object game with some interaction and Adventure. Good length.
You play a journalist following the story of the century. You are, basically, searching for Odin's Eye. Strange, hooded men show up, etc.
There are LOTs of well done HO scenes. All but two are well-lit. The scenes are scattered junk piles, but not too cluttered. They are on the easy side and require minor interaction (look in the bird's nest#.
The graphics of the HO scenes are very well done. The cuts scenes are good. There is a good bit of dialogue--text only, no voice overs. You can skip the cut scenes but you can't click through the text. I am a fast reader and it seemed to take forever to get through it all. If you skip button, the game skips all of that scene's dialogue and you don't know what happened.
Music and sounds ok.
There are some 'mini games,' and I use that term loosely. Take certain pictures, remember and dial certain numbers on the cell phone, trace symbols. All easy.
On each level, after you've completed the HO, there are certain tasks to perform. There are lots of locations on the map and sometimes you have to go back to an old one, #which one is indicated# to get something to solve a problem in the current level. This is very basic problem solving with lots of hand holding and sparkles.
Overall, I really enjoyed this game. It was well done --obviously and older game-- and didn't require any heavy lifting. While there was a murder or two and hooded cult members, it wasn't scary or depressing. I found it to be relaxing. You might want to give it a try.
I recommend this game!
Soak up the sun while building your very own paradise empire in Coconut Queen! The island of Lui Lui beckons you!
Overall rating
5
/
5
36 of 36 found this review helpful
So Funny My Sides Hurt
PostedMarch 25, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
You know, from a game playing perspective, I would give this a Four--Very Good. As for overall enjoyment, this is definitely a Five.
Graphics are ok. Music is good and voice overs (Zane) are fantastic. "As you wish, your Majesty."
Sort of a city building game. Maybe more time management without the timer? Hard to decide. Plenty of replay potential.
The story is irrelevent, but here it is. You work for Cococo (Coconut Company) and are sent to the island to build resorts. There are several beaches that need to be developed.
Upon arriving, a big, muscular, dreamy man shows up and tells you that you are now the Queen.
Zane provides constant, hysterical, commentary. "Do you like my buns? I baked them myself." "As you command, your Majesty. I can sleep later."
So, you clear land, buy supplies, hire brawny workers to build things for you. No pressure, just fun. Each area has its challenges (earthquakes, dangerous butterflies, angry spirits--monkies). When you complete certain goals, you are rewared with gems that you can trade for different things: additional decorative items, faster delivery times, paths to other beaches, etc.
As you build cabanas, hotels, etc., tourists show up and wander around. They are funny, too.
Remember, butterflies can be dangerous, but sharks just need to be 'shooed' away.
Once you adequately develop each area, you can go back in free play mode and try again. Complete enough work in free play mode and additional buildings become available.
Can't wait for the sequel. Maybe we will find out how we became Queen.
This is just a wonderful game. Play it and see.
I recommend this game!