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:
A pearl is stolen, leading you on a worldwide chase!
Overall rating
5
/
5
14 of 17 found this review helpful
Out Of Breath
PostedApril 12, 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'm exhausted - this one was one long chase scene, Fiji to Tokyo to Italy, and if the plot touched on the outlandish occasionally it was all in fun.
Pros: the usual excellent graphics, nearly a travelogue game as these are prone to be. Driving music added to the urgency. Competent to good voice acting, (well, there was the guy from Fiji who sounded like he was straight from Mumbai), a good mix of puzzles, some of which were actually challenging.
Cons: ending a bit abrupt but consistent with the plot. Ah, the plot - high-tech artifact makes its way into a pearl and is stolen by ninjas at the behest of a mysterious Italian lady working on a seven-century vendetta based on a waterlogged house that Marco Polo sank to save the city. It was just goofy enough to be fun, but seriously?
Well, never mind. No one expects War And Peace, and it gave us a chance to rappel in Tokyo and ride a really cool jet seaplane to Venice. I'll take it!
I recommend this game!
Can you stop the townspeople from mysteriously aging?
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 9 found this review helpful
Glorious Puzzles, High Plot Weirdness
PostedMarch 29, 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
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This is a must-play game, but the bar for the MCF series was set very high a long time ago and this one doesn't quite attain it. What typified the best of the MCF games was superb game play, high-quality graphics, terrific atmosphere, and fatally for this entry, a coherent plot that was deftly revealed clue by clue. It was only that last item that was found wanting, but it kept this one from attaining the quirky heights of, say, Madame Fate or Dire Grove, much less the genre-creating brilliance of Return to Ravenhearst.
Pros: the graphics are of the very highest quality and the cut scenes are detailed and dynamic. Sensational opening. Plenty of play and oh, the glorious multi-stage puzzles that have become the hallmark of the MCF greats! Unlike so many current games you don't watch this one, you participate, and there's a new challenge around every corner.
Cons: but the graphics are also unrelentingly dark, and if someone were to take the color purple out of the developers' palette there wouldn't be any graphics at all. The music, although making the obligatory bow to the MCF themes, was flat and uninspiring. Voice acting was adequate to strange, and a relief from Allison's adenoidal stridency would have been welcome. They replaced the old clicky clue typewriter with a silent modern keyboard and lost the amusing feedback when a clue is found, alas. And then there's the writing.
The Writing: Let's be candid here: it was awful. The plot was utterly incoherent: Ankou, escort to the Land Of The Dead (one was supposed to know this) has been inexplicably trapped in the living world by a combination of a filched quill and grotesque statuary. We are never told why this suddenly causes aging in the village or why Henry is exempt, nor why an incommunicative boy seems to know just what is to be done to speed the Detective on his/her way. Terrible waste of a wonderful character potential there, no development at all but a rather sweet coda. I had hoped for something in the bonus game in his regard but no luck there either. This was not really even a plot, it was a flimsy framework for the rich puzzle environment mentioned above.
Overall: I'm still recommending the game, it's a visual feast (if you can see it) and the puzzles are glorious. Slog through them and don't hope for anything much in the way of a story and it's still worth the money.
I recommend this game!
The citizens of Bordeaux are outraged after eight monks are murdered.
Overall rating
2
/
5
20 of 29 found this review helpful
A Miss In A Hit-and-Miss Series
PostedMarch 15, 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
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
The series, which I generally enjoy, has gone a bit stale in this offering. The best parts are only average and I got the sense that it was cobbled together from bits of other games; it had an odd, shambling, disorganized feel to it, and certain of the puzzles were infuriatingly incomplete. How, for example, is one to imagine that the clutch of flowers one is carrying must be singed before being capable of sweeping away a spider web? The answer given for one of the crystals in the guide is incorrect, and the hints simply stop working in that room for no apparent reason. The two movement puzzles are barely playable - overall the impression is one of sloppy construction and lack of thorough testing.
Pros: PLENTY of game play for a change! Excellent and very useful map, which is good because the game is dizzily back-and-forth. Adequate-to-very good art, which we have come to expect from this dev.
Cons: The writing is chaotic, the plot veers wildly from one direction to the other, there are unexplained age shifts, major players suddenly appear and then just as suddenly depart, there isn't really a single character in the thing that is sympathetic, and at the ending the antagonist suddenly has a weird change of heart and the thing halts so quickly you bump your nose on the monitor. Most of the plot is uncovered in a single, somewhat tedious revelation scene that leaves the player less informed than before. If a single thing wrecked this effort, it was the writing. Our old nemesis St Germaine is apparently there for window dressing only and his graphics are very strangely rendered. The music is carried over from other games, and the voice acting is marginal. At no point did I feel submerged in this game environment, and at some point I stopped wanting to be.
Overall, the good news is that with a thorough rewrite this one has the makings of a wonderful game. For me, though, it lapsed into tedium and never emerged.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you beat the clock and get your life back?
Overall rating
5
/
5
14 of 19 found this review helpful
Absurd and Awesome!
PostedMarch 7, 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
Yet another rock-star body-swapping murder mystery...wait, what? Full marks to the devs for originality. Haven't had this much pure fun in playing for quite a while. The milieu is a sort of surreal faux 50's a little reminiscent of Streets Of Fire. The characters are amusing caricatures, the voice acting is excellent, the graphics of superb quality. The plot is tongue-in-cheek over-the-top, and it really doesn't matter that the resolution makes no real sense because the player is having too much fun. Oh, yes, and Big Jim is AWESOME! Wonderful lines, wonderful voice acting. The music is equally original and there's actually some pretty nice guitar work in there that catches the tongue-in-cheek intention perfectly. You'll either love this game or hate it, and I loved it. Bonus game is a treat. It's a bit of a risk for a developer to depart from the usual cliched games and this gamble paid off in full. Highly recommended.
I recommend this game!
A dark fog is taking over Bremen!
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Delightful In Every Way
PostedFebruary 22, 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
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I was fortunate enough to beta this one and knew it was a winner from the beginning. Quite simply the best game I've played in a very long time. Yes, it's a sister-to-the-rescue game but the female POV isn't overly distracting for the guys this time.
Pros: Gorgeous graphics, luscious scenery. Cut scenes to the point and not too long. Great voice acting, immersive music, smooth game play. Puzzles on the easy side, HO scenes varied and kept interest up. The writing is outstanding, plot twisting and engaging, characters developed, resolution sweet and satisfying. Sufficient game play although I didn't want it to end. A beautiful job, full credits to the developers.
Cons: not a single thing. I've never said that in a review before.
I've played so many stinkers and almost-there's that I think I'm justified in gushing a little now and then when a truly five-star game comes along. This is one. Happy gaming!
I recommend this game!
Uncover the mystery of Huxley’s Boarding House before time runs out!
Overall rating
5
/
5
0 of 1 found this review helpful
Finally A Worthy Successor
PostedDecember 28, 2016
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
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
At last, after a long drought, a MCF that actually captures the magic of games gone by. From the theme to the clattering typewriter, this is the first in a while that is actually likely to satisfy our client, the Queen. There are rough edges, to be sure: a plot that seems a little overwrought, a cast of characters on which it might be wise to take notes just to keep them straight, but all of the ambiance and the wonderful puzzles are back. Hurrah!
I recommend this game!
Can you solve the mystery behind a local woman's death?
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Spider Boy Couldn't Save This One
PostedDecember 5, 2016
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Drawn®: Dark Flight ™ Collector's Edition
(48)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Strange, incomplete effort, better than its awful predecessor but not, by quite a bit, up to the standard set by the earlier games in the series.
Pros: 19th-century steampunk atmosphere, and Spider Boy is back! Nasty little fellow, the place just wasn't the same without him.
Cons: quite a few, I'm afraid. Characters were depthless and without any convincing motivation, the Doctor was ubiquitous and uniquely helpless for all that, depending on the detective for the slightest medical procedure that was, alas, formulaic (literally) and cliched. The plot plodded in a completely linear fashion, each step successively explained to the player by one character or another as if the player were an idiot. There was no explanation whatever for the puppets in this thing, the daughter's death was treated not as a tragedy but as a plot convenience, the entire narrative soulless and mechanical. Music was the same Puppetshow mix we've had for the entire series. General subjective impression: stale, boring, repetitive.
I don't recommend this game.
Your new dream home has become a deadly nightmare!
Overall rating
5
/
5
17 of 17 found this review helpful
Chimeras Will Gitcha If Ya Don't Watch Out
PostedNovember 22, 2016
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
A lovely take in an unusual series. Quite a bit of to and fro in this one but the game mechanics were flawless and the map was very useful. What stuck out were the vivid colorations and the interior scenes.
Pros: the art, which we have come to expect from this developer. One wants to sit down in one of the chairs next to a cozy fire and read one of the books that abound. It's my kind of place. Immersive music that was in places quite beautiful. Certain of the puzzles were just tough enough to be entertaining without overwhelming new players. Very nice balance there. Hybrid HO scenes that were a delight. And yes, the plot was a real mystery if not a terribly difficult one. Well done!
Extra Pros: the bonus game was nearly a game in itself in length and plot. This one earned its CE status!
Cons: not much. Voice acting adequate, little girl in the bonus game was a frequency-pushed woman - wish they'd stop doing that. Male protagonist was quite convincing if a little too calm for a fellow who'd just killed someone near to him. No more spoilers, I promise.
Overall: A four-and-a-half star game kicked up to five star status by excellent value in the bonus game.
I recommend this game!
Phantasmat: Reign of Shadows Collector's Edition
There's more to this resort than meets the eye.
Overall rating
5
/
5
12 of 12 found this review helpful
Great Halloween Game!
PostedOctober 18, 2016
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
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Phantasmat recovers after a weak previous entry. This one is dark, spooky, and it's a game the player's character survives more than prevails in. Some themes so old they'd be cliche if they weren't so well done. LOTS of game play for a change, even the Bonus game.
Pros: Madness and mayhem and a monster. Very atmospheric, both music and art, which some might find a little dark but it's appropriate here. Not much in the way of gaiety and lightness in this one. Plot a bit weak when it comes to an interesting villain but solid overall. Puzzles a mix of old and new - loved the magnet puzzle! Useful map.
Cons: Had to use that useful map because the task sequence was sometimes not only not obvious, but impossible to guess. No matter, it worked. Quite a bit of back-and-forth, but never too far. Music got a little repetitive at the end. Maybe a few too many sudden cut scenes that broke up the rhythm of the game. Not much negative to say, really.
Notes: A terrific Halloween game, Asylums, ruined mansions, decrepit graveyards, ghosts, monsters, and mad doctors, oh, my!
I recommend this game!
Can you save a woman’s fiancé before it’s too late?
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
No Spiderboy?
PostedOctober 11, 2016
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Drawn®: Dark Flight ™ Collector's Edition
(48)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
A rather dismal entry in a once-superior series. The storyline was rambling, chaotic, and absolutely awful.
Pros: usual great graphics, enjoyable steampunk atmosphere.
Cons: Same old music, same old everything except this one didn't have much of a plot. Come on, vengeful gypsy lady who was nice and evil by turns, magic powder, talismans, human souls moving around, what? In Puppetshow? The assistant was marginally clever but useless. Nothing really original here at all. Puzzles way too easy. Voice acting painfully melodramatic and a saccharine ending that was cringe-worthy.
If the series is to continue, the writers are going to have to return to its successful roots - mechanical cleverness, no mysticism, no cutesy assistant, no morphing objects that have nothing to do with the game, concentrate on the basics or just mercifully end the series, please.
I don't recommend this game.