timothya's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:1,143
- Reviews Submitted:199
- First Review:June 24, 2012
- Most Recent Review:September 3, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
When the clock strikes, London shall burn!
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Another 4Friends Winner
PostedDecember 7, 2017
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
4
/
5
Fast becoming one of my favorite Devs, 4Friends has come up with another entertaining mystery game. This time we're a Detective in Victorian London, hot on the trail of the, er, Headless Clockmaker of Big Ben. Work with me here...
Pros: very nice graphics, excellent voice acting. The Detective has a sort of amulet-like icon (cringing) which actually turns into his thought process, a rather nice innovation. The journal is useful for a change, in fact, serves to keep the player in the story by reminding that individual how he or she got to this point. Certain of the street scenes are nice enough to just sit there and enjoy. It's winter in London and it looks it.
Cons: a couple of egregious English errors that should have been caught in testing: the player at one point is bidden to look for a "chair" when it's actually a chain to be found. Some shaky labels in the HO scenes. One of the endings is painfully contrived but sweet. None of these is worth taking off a star.
Bonus game is good enough to recover from its absurd premise and is a very nice little Christmas present from the Devs. This one's a solid four-and-a-half, not perfect but so good it fills that fifth star.
I recommend this game!
Can you stop the Revenant before it's too late?
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 17 found this review helpful
Lovely Puzzles
PostedNovember 25, 2017
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
4
/
5
Superb production values in this entry, the best I've ever seen. Graphics spectacular, voice acting excellent, and the sly humor so necessary to this franchise is definitely there. And the puzzles, oh, yes, the glorious puzzles...
The writing is the only thing keeping it from a firm five stars; I'd give it a strong four and a half, though. We are impressed with the Queen of England's intelligence, since it led her to deposit The Detective in a small, unexpectedly deserted Vermont town from mid-air while the first body is still warm. Her interest in the Revenant likely stems from the fact that England is composed exclusively of spooky abandoned mansions on grim moors populated by ghosts out for blood revenge, so, an institutional interest. Never mind.
Good mystery, nice reveals. The premise is no shakier than most of the MCF series and frankly, we don't care. The "museum" is no more unlikely than the basement of Ravenhearst Manor, after all. HO scenes are sufficient and the puzzles are wonderful, just Rube Goldberg-ian enough to capture the spirit of the series. Game is a little short for all that but delicious. Good and spooky value on the Bonus chapter as well.
The MCF games are very much up-and-down in quality; sometimes they attempt too much, sometimes too little. I'd place this one in the top 5, easily.
I recommend this game!
Save your cousin and his new bride from a horrible beast!
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Best In The Series So Far
PostedNovember 19, 2017
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
4
/
5
I was fortunate enough to Beta this one and I ended my review with "Hope you can keep this up", and they didn't - it actually got better! For one thing, it isn't Beauty and The Beast at all, really, although it certainly looked like it at first. It turned out to be a pretty tight little mystery as well with an ending that was both logical and surprising.
Pros: the graphics, as we have come to expect from this Dev, were gorgeous. Smooth game play, puzzles that could get a little challenging now and then even for experienced players. Excellent writing, excellent voice acting, characters that were not the cookie-cutter caricatures we've been seeing too much of lately.
Cons: mandatory female POV that was probably unnecessary but only a little cloying. Why couldn't the player simply be The Cousin? The mystery solution felt a bit grafted on but as I mentioned, perfectly logical.
Overall, a very solid entry in the best month we've had at Big Fish in quite a while. A game that keeps getting better as it goes along instead of stalling is an indicator of quality development. More of this, please!
I recommend this game!
Can you solve an old murder case and save your sister?
Overall rating
5
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
NIce Mystery
PostedNovember 7, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Full marks for the best mystery game of the year. All of the usual disclaimers - this one will be too easy for some, too difficult for others, and for me it found the just-right zone.
Pros: the writing, mentioned separately below. Great graphics, great voice acting, atmospheric music, and a jump-scare or two. The puzzles are plentiful, some quite challenging. I regret inadvertently playing the last one on Casual because it deserved better. Male POV for a welcome change. Nice bonus game with an interesting ending.
Cons: the plot is very dark, not suitable for children.
Writing: yes, a real mystery! The plot is properly convoluted and the player may wish to keep notes on relationships, because it's one slow reveal after another as the overall plot becomes apparent. Only at the last is the player character's real involvement in the story revealed. Very, very well done.
Some may find the game too easy, some too hard, but for me it was the best mystery game of the year so far.
I recommend this game!
Can you find out what's targeting young men in Paris?
Overall rating
5
/
5
17 of 18 found this review helpful
Full Value On This One
PostedOctober 27, 2017
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
4
/
5
Best entry in the series so far. This one was puzzle packed, coherent, and with a long, wonderful bonus game. Definitely CE-worthy!
Pros: Gorgeous graphics, excellent voice acting, straightforward plot, and plenty of puzzles, some quite original and some original twists on old standbys. Certain were quite challenging, none of them impossible.
Cons: Minor, really. The villains were sketchily drawn, and the music, although quite beautiful, needed a little more variety.
Overall, a really top-notch entry with plenty of challenge for an intermediate or advanced player. Lots of game play, generous bonus. And great puzzles.
I recommend this game!
Can you break free from your nightmares in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
10 of 13 found this review helpful
Disastrous
PostedSeptember 12, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Will somebody please tell me what in the world I just played? Come on now, I don't mind a little mystery but this was absolutely incomprehensible. It was actually a very solid game until just before the end, where it fell apart, and all of a sudden we were through, but with what?
Pros: Beautiful graphics, adequate voice acting, rare male POV, smooth play and with one exception great puzzles. Music was the customarily excellent job done by Clean Cuts.
Cons: What happened? We were going along well and apparently the Devs ran out of interest or time. We were left with total confusion over who died, who attended the graduation. and what any of it had to do with the mysterious villains. The game just stopped. It fell apart with the gravestone slider puzzle which was utterly opaque, and once skipped - I hate skipping puzzles - once skipped led us to the denouement if you can call it that. Infuriating.
Huge potential with this game, and the player feels as if he had the rug pulled out from under his feet with the story line. I love this series, I love this developer, but this one's a loser.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you uncover the truth behind a string of strange thefts?
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 11 found this review helpful
We're Not In Kansas Anymore
PostedAugust 11, 2017
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
The third in the Vermillion Watch series and I'm hoping not the last.
Pros: gorgeous graphics, wonderful game design incorporating a multi-pathed solution set, smooth game play, plenty of puzzles some of which were nicely challenging, adequate to very good voice acting, writing good enough to justify a separate mention below, and a surprise ending (or is it?) that ties the three games together. This is one of those games where you linger from scene to scene to soak up the atmosphere.
Cons: not much. Certain puzzles suffered from twitchy controls, the second elephant puzzle resetting way too easily. I quit it in frustration with the solution in hand because I couldn't control the mouse finely enough to stay in the path.
Writing: very appealing steampunk setting with nods to period literature that ranged from awful puns to hilarious contrasts with the original characters. Order Zero is Oz, of course, and our Dorothy is now a bounty-hunting action heroine and Toto a sleuth hound, all in addition to the previous cast of characters such as Edgar Allen Poe and Phileas Fogg. Captain Ahab makes an appearance, as does the daughter of Captain Nemo. None of these is remotely like the original, which is part of the fun. Loved the plot, the development, the denouement.
Game Design: also merits special mention. As the previous two games, this is multi-pathed. At several points the player is left with a choice, some of which do not affect the game, some of which do, or at least the solution path. The logic flow was very complex, the zoo in particular being a work of art puzzle-wise. Some of it stretched the limits of logic, for example, how were we supposed to know how to make that collander? The trusty map was the player's only clue unless he or she wanted hit the very useful Hint button.
I just loved the game. Beside the plot, characters, and puzzles there is a sly humor that keeps it from getting overly pretentious. A secret compartment in a peg leg? Come on now, well, OK, it was pretty funny. And lots and lots of lovely puzzles. This one's a five for me. More of this, please!
I recommend this game!
Become the hero of your own chapter in Tiny Tales: Heart of the Forest.
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Not Dark At All
PostedJuly 29, 2017
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
A bright, beautiful, often silly and very different game. I was fortunate enough to beta it and aside from a title change there were significant improvements, notably in the player character. Original notes begin, "Cartoony, saccharine, Disneyesque, I hate these games," and end about a page later, "Must buy!"
What changed my mind were the gorgeous graphics and a sense that the writers had kept a light touch on it. Don't expect subtle plot twists. No scary moments, no excess violence; this would be a very good game for a young person. For experienced gamers the puzzles are on the easy side, but the HO scenes are plenty and varied.
No demons, no cutesy assistants to distract, no phony supernatural drama, just a nice, light, colorful, straightforward adventure. Well done, devs!
I recommend this game!
Can you win the battle between Darkness and Flame?
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Visual Feast
PostedJune 10, 2017
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
4
/
5
The bar has been raised with respect to graphics. I was delighted to be able to beta this one and was blown away by the post-apocalyptic scenery, the smoothness of motion, and the general beauty of the art.
Pros: well, yes, the graphics. The game is beautiful, imaginative, slick, and spectacular. It bears a certain resemblance in that regard (and in the dialogue) with a couple of old favorites, the Invasion series. Not, apparently, the same Dev but the same feel, and I wouldn't be too surprised to find some of the same people behind it. Voice acting adequate to good, given the awkward quality of the script (see below). Plenty of game play, interesting bonus game. Puzzles excellent, HO scenes of several different types, some even timed (there's a blast to the past). Player characters incorporate both male and female POV, as they did in the Invasion series, and it actually worked. Oh, and did I mention the graphics?
Cons: the dialogue could use a lot of work. Too often it was cringe-worthy although the actors did the best they could with the material at hand. Plot got a little thin toward the watery denouement and if you hadn't played the predecessor it seemed a little short on detail.
Overall, though, a truly remarkable visual experience. That blew me away enough for that fifth star. Well done!
I recommend this game!
He can’t be stopped. And he’s digging your grave!
Overall rating
5
/
5
24 of 25 found this review helpful
Great Writing
PostedMay 27, 2017
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Drawn®: Dark Flight ™ Collector's Edition
(48)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I had the luck to beta this one and I knew it was going to be great. In fact, it got even better. It took a while to make it to market and the quality of the finished product shows why.
Pros: Great graphics, which we have come to expect from this developer, a really creepy atmosphere, genuine surprises, excellent voice acting. Smooth, snappy game play, certain of the puzzles quite challenging but not impossible. And solid writing with a few twists and a genuinely surprising ending. It would have been a four-star game anyway, but the writing takes it to five and a half.
Cons: one simply awful technical problem with a maze that was corrected by an update. Great maze, incidentally.
Bonus game: oh, yes, it was good! A true extra chapter, not a prequel.
Overall: it was the writing that boosted this one out of the pack and into some really elite company. Can't say enough about the ending; actually, I can't say anything because it would be a terrible spoiler, but it was good, good, good! Even the ending to the bonus game was good. More of this, please!
I recommend this game!