timothya's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:1,143
- Reviews Submitted:196
- First Review:June 24, 2012
- Most Recent Review:May 18, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Can you stop a mad mayor and his destructive robots?
Overall rating
2
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
Unrealized Potential
PostedApril 26, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
What happened? This one started great and then went nowhere. I was psyched - flying automata in an old mine, engaging characters, and then...what?
Pros: great graphics as usual. Some nice plot twists, some excellent puzzles. Our heroine has her usual habit of talking to herself too much, but is, at least, in character. Decent music, a colorful and more or less believable environment.
Cons: wait, what? We had a decent mystery going (nice twist on the Mayor) and all of a sudden it's a mad scientist drama involving an apparently random victim for apparently random reasons. Is this the same game? What happened? I'm sorry, this is not the Mystery Trackers I used to love. Anyone waiting for a slam-bang action finish was faced with a painfully static classic puzzle whose usual options had been oddly restricted, quite as if the Devs had run out of wrinkles. It was an abrupt ending with an oddly truncated feeling to it.
Overall, I'm afraid this one wasn't up to its lineage, whose ghostlike presence was represented by the increasingly irrelevant Elf, now festooned in a miner's hat and there, apparently, for old time's sake alone. The little fellow doesn't save the game by his presence, he merely reminds us of what used to be. For nostalgia fans only.
I don't recommend this game.
Dark secrets loom in the hidden corners of the human mind, will you dare to find them?
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 7 found this review helpful
Very Surreal
PostedApril 21, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
A lot of games reach for the surreal and this one actually reaches it. I missed this one the first time through and am very grateful to have stumbled across it.
Pros: excellent graphics, credible but not overly weird dream environments. Spooky and original music. Decent voice acting. And a plot that actually hung together through a few interesting twists. Some nice if conventional puzzles.
Cons: not much. Player character has a bit too much internal monologue, perhaps a bit too much back and forth.
Overall, a wonderful entry, as good as any CE out there. This Dev surprises me every time I run across their work. And a very nice finish - that "monster" - not evil but it has its own interests and it will be back. Or at least I sure hope so!
I recommend this game!
Your friend was taken. Are you brave enough to find him?
Overall rating
2
/
5
7 of 12 found this review helpful
Endless Foibles
PostedApril 16, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
One of the stranger games I've run into in a long time. It is, at points, a detective mystery, an alternate nightmare world, and a children's fantasy with all the charm of the nastier Grimm's fairy tales. That's going to appeal to an awfully niche market.
Pros: you get a lot of play for the money. Not always for a good reason - at times this comes of unnecessary fragmentation and excessive back-and-forth - but you do get a lot of play, and a lot of puzzles, so many that they occasionally serve to stretch the already thin plot into incoherence, the puzzles mostly easy and unoriginal but very playable. Colorful graphics, nicely detailed scenes. Voice acting adequate with generally bad lines and random characters with weird fake Germanic accents.
Cons: I never did encounter a single sympathetic character including the player character. A decent plot might have smoothed that deficiency but this one was absurd - at one point our heroine has seen a monster in a mirror, which broke, leaving a man unconscious in a sea of broken glass, and her first priority is to assemble a cat toy? Florence Nightingale is rolling in her grave. And it won't be the last cat we have to placate, either. The major plot theme is children's dreams, but despite the saccharine cuteness of The Fluffs you'd best steer the little ones away from this one because they're not nice dreams and the people in them are not nice people.
Bonus Game: have your insulin pen ready. Now it's Fluffs and kidnapped Flufflings and an ovine cloud with tennis rackets stuck in it. I'm not making that up.
Overall, a miss. It is slow, tedious, artificially convoluted, and can't make up its mind whether it's a horror fantasy or a children's story and so succeeds at neither. If you love puzzles and can ignore the plot and the characters, maybe. Otherwise, I'd give it a pass.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you stop a dangerous game from taking more lives?
Overall rating
2
/
5
10 of 13 found this review helpful
A Miss This Time
PostedApril 11, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I'm sorry to have to say this, because I like the Dev and the game was great to a point, but it simply fell apart about halfway through. Meandering, cliched plot, colorful scenery, colorless characters.
Pros: sharp, colorful graphics, plenty of game play for the buck. Some interesting puzzles and some that needed clearer instructions to be interesting, with selectable difficulties (I love that) that usually were best set to Hard. HOs were varied and some of them quite good. Voice acting was as good as the lines allowed.
Cons: the writing, bad enough for a separate mention below. A couple of spots toward the end showed slip-ups in QA (clicking on a hot zone revealed a debug message for one, a game whose correct answer didn't work but the incorrect one did for another, and a third when we revisited a scene to find the lock we'd just opened was re-locked as if we'd never been there, only this time we no longer had the key. Fortunately the last one wasn't critical to the game). Production values alone cost them a star.
Writing: the plot was simply awful, veering between the overused and the outlandish. Ridiculous villain(s) whose aim was to conquer the world with...no, I can't say it. For one, it's a spoiler, for another, it's too silly. One classic scene where the villain calmly explains all his plans to the detective and then scoots, probably out of embarrassment. (Actually two such scenes including the Bonus Game). A cruise ship deliberately run aground with the passengers in lifeboats and nobody cares? William Gladstone? British players are probably rolling their eyes. There may have been a great game there waiting to get out but the writers wouldn't let it.
I was fortunate to be able to beta test this one and it looked terrific as far as it went, and from there a real disappointment. This one felt like a shiny new car with no engine, with good game mechanics and very good static art, but no horsepower at all.
I don't recommend this game.
A series of museum robberies leads to a shocking discovery!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Not So Grim Tale - Short And Sweet
PostedApril 5, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The latest entry in a favorite series. Anna Gray's troublesome family has managed to spin into a gang of delinquent artifact thieves and it's up to her to sort things out. As always, she does not fight alone, although you might suspect that carrying around the skull of her dead father has to limit her travel options somewhat. And her father Richard, one of my favorite characters in any genre, is his usual wonderful, snarky, irritating, occasionally helpful when he feels like it, Dad-like self.
Pros: excellent graphics, high production values. The interiors are lush and colorful, the music atmospheric without being cloying. Voice acting adequate except for Anna's father, who is outstanding. HO scenes are a nice mixture, puzzles are on the easy side but still with a couple of intriguing wrinkles.
Cons: The plot is all discovery and the resolution feels a bit rushed. Well, really rushed, it's a short game. We must travel into the past of certain characters to prevent a critical event, a sort of one-scene Redemption Cemetery that could have been extended just a bit in each case to make a better balanced game. A bit more of an explanation of the Gray family relationships earlier in the game might have prevented a lot of confusion for players who aren't familiar with the series.
Overall, a lot of fun in this one. When Anna's father turned up in a cheesy helmet demanding a superhero name I almost fell off my chair. We aren't out to save the world from some hideous cosmic fate this time, and the game is oh so much better for that. It is actually the Bonus Game that puts closure on the thing, for the remaining relative has some skeletons in his closet as well, ahich Anna's father, his grandfather, helps him to erase. It's a Gray family affair, after all.
I recommend this game!
Can you find the truth hidden behind the castle walls?
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Whispered Secrets, Shouted Praise
PostedApril 2, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Ah, for a really great detective mystery! No magical princesses in this one, just a gritty detective hanging in there and a nice, tightly-plotted whodunnit with a wonderful outcome...oh, but they make you work for that even after you think you've solved the thing!
Pros: spectacular graphics, color-saturated and detailed. You can almost feel the rooms as you traverse them, which is a good thing because you'll be traversing them a lot. Atmospheric music, convincing voice acting, and writing good enough to have its own mention below. Some of the puzzles were pretty challenging at times.
Cons: the map does not, unfortunately, indicate available actions (unless perhaps I turned the difficulty level up beyond it). That meant I used the Hint button more than I like to. It's a deliciously convoluted plot but sometimes that made it difficult to tell where one might find the next piece.
Writing: yes, a mystery! Each character is fleshed out enough to be a genuine suspect as well as something more than wallpaper. The Bonus Chapter isn't quite as good as the main game but wait, there is a third, but they make you scramble back through the various scenes (I plodded, they're beautiful) to find the Sin Cards before you get to one more glorious HO scene and a very sweet resolution to the plot. Don't blow it off, it really completes the game.
Overall, a sense of satisfaction upon completion that I haven't had for some time. For mystery lovers an unreserved recommendation.
I recommend this game!
Enter an immersive world in the clouds and restore balance to your civilization!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Fantasy Steampunk Near-Miss
PostedMarch 28, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Airships and steam pipes and valves, oh my! This one is a sort of fantasy steampunk treatment with enough lacunae in the plot to make the player suspect it's the continuation of a series he or she hasn't seen before. It isn't, it's just not a very filled-out narrative. But plot aside, there's enough scenery to keep a steam plant engineer happy and puzzles galore.
Pros: Colorful steampunk atmosphere, lots of gears and gadgets to figure out. Good number of fairly easy puzzles, game logic straightforward.
Cons: Repetitive junkpile HO scenes, although some nice art in there. Major plot holes, principally those of the villain when that individual becomes apparent. The bonus game only makes it worse. Writing is very much a patchwork and occasionally seems an afterthought. Small cast, female POV, female heroine sidekick, the only males in the game either villains or dupes, which is frankly a little irritating. Voice acting a bit over the top a good part of the time. Quite a bit of back and forth.
My general impression is that of an older game, hinted at by the dates on the development tools in the credits, none of which was newer than three years old and some going back a decade. It isn't well written but it is fun to play. The level of challenge seems to be aimed at a beginning or intermediate player, with game mechanics that will not hold them back. I enjoyed it but with a little better writing it could have been so much better.
I recommend this game!
When a young man is apparently abducted by spirits at an abandoned movie theater, you rush to investigate. You arrive to find truth to the tales as you encounter specters from the very movies shown in the theater! Can you navigate dangerous films to save the living in time?
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
Starts Slow, Nice Plot Twist
PostedMarch 22, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
A nice bit of writing on this one. We begin through a fairly conventional save-the-boyfriend scenario, which we do, and then we enter the real game just about the time we suspect it's over and that we've been subjected to another short cheat. But no, the real game involves redeeming an actress from her own roles on behalf of her lover who has placed her there in an infinite time loop, episodic plot elements somewhat reminiscent of the Redemption Cemetery series.
Pros: Lots to like, graphics, music, and a generous supply of puzzles. Good amount of game play for the buck, and a rather sweet ending.
Cons: Voice acting is often unconvincing. Certain of the puzzles suffer from a lack of direction that leaves the player wondering what in the world the Help text meant. And one tiny one: the bonus object in the scenes is not the traditional Mad Head swirl. Give me my swirl!
Overall, a very enjoyable game that finishes much stronger than it begins. I'd play it again, in fact, I probably will.
I recommend this game!
Get lost in a haunted house that keeps changing!
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
This One Delivers
PostedMarch 14, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I was set not to like this game and it completely won me over. Come on now, yet another game with a cutesy assistant, an evil sorceress, and a spooky house to escape? It better be good to avoid the remainder table...and it was.
Pros: beautiful graphics, plenty of puzzles, engaging and not too outlandish plot. Plenty of game play, most tasks made sense, and some lovely puzzles reminiscent of MCF at its sadly lost greatness. Creepy worlds, immersive music. An assistant that is actually a necessary part of the game for a change.
Cons: the player characters (female in the main game, male in the bonus game) talk to themselves far too much. Quite a lot of back and forth and thank heaven for the jump map. Some of the dialogue is strained at best. Magic and technology in the plot make a very uneasy truce.
Overall, a long, beautiful, occasionally challenging game that gives full value for the money. A game doesn't have to be perfect to get five stars in my book, it just has to deliver, and this one does. And just one complaint that isn't one, really - in the Extras there is a puzzle that results in an absolutely gorgeous graphic ("to be continued") that I'd love to have for a wallpaper...and can't. Come on, purty puh-lease?
I recommend this game!
Can you save the city from a dangerous magic-wielding criminal?
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 8 found this review helpful
Great Atmosphere But Short
PostedFebruary 16, 2019
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
You'll have to like dystopian urban scenes to like this one, but I found the atmosphere intriguing. It is Pinocchio reworked in a modern, cyber-punk setting with enough humanity in it to save it from being too dark.
Pros: the settings are convincing, nothing too artificial, just gritty enough to be credible. This is not a nice place and nice people do not control it, but the equally gritty good guys get their licks in nonetheless. Main game POV is male, bonus game is female, which is a nice touch.
Cons: it's a short game, with a very straightforward objective, (on the good side, it doesn't concern saving the entire world from something for a change). Dialogue is good, delivery isn't, always. Graphics are a little soft but imaginative.
Overall, a solid four stars in my book, and a bit of a sleeper. I'd purchase the SE in a heartbeat.
I recommend this game!