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:
The oracle’s strange vision portends cataclysmic destruction!
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Interesting Sequel
PostedJune 14, 2021
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
Those expecting this to be a straight sequel to the previous entry may be surprised to see Lucia and Ulf nowhere in sight until mid-game and then only briefly. Who we have instead (and play as) is a bit of a mystery, a woman in purple who appears to be a witch and claims to be an agent, but of whom? Clearly she is sympathetic to The Resistance - it isn't mutual - but are they even really the good guys? Full marks for an interesting premise.
Pros: truly beautiful graphics, which is what previous games by this Dev have come to make us expect. Smooth motion, atmospheric music, and...mini-games. Yes, if you like them (I do), this is your game. If you don't, their frequency is enough to appear to slow the game down. Very good to outstanding voice acting - The Ancient's patient, soothing baritone supplies a contrast to the mayhem of the game and Ulf is his usual loquacious self (his sole line, "Rrrrrrgh", is at least sincere). Lots and lots of play in this one. Underneath it's really a pretty straightforward quest theme but the multiplicity of interests keeps the plot from going flat.
Cons: only some minor complaints. The difficulty level of the mini-games is all over the charts and might have benefited from the Easy and Hard level choices that are becoming common these days.
Bonus Game: a prequel with a very unusual POV, we play as the Arch-witch's long-suffering warrior who has to get her, despite herself, through a series of obstacles in search of ancient artifacts. She's a great character, well-drawn enough to tempt you to strangle her through the screen, annoying at first and then tremendously amusing, so awful you're tempted to root for her.
Overall, just a great game. The real issue of The Resistance vs The Witches is left unresolved, which leaves us hoping for a sequel. As it should be.
I recommend this game!
Can you stop Taleville’s newest criminal from destroying the city?
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
A Good Start At Least
PostedMay 27, 2021
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Definitely an acquired taste, this series requires the player to suspend disbelief - well, actually to shoot it into orbit - and recast Cinderella's Fairy Godmother (hereinafter FGM) as a Raymond Chandler detective and her fairyland environment into Taleville, a gritty film noir dystopia. That's not too much, is it?
Pros: the premise, for one - you either love it or hate it. FGM must navigate the all-too-familiar bureaucracy of the Ministry of Discipline in the beginning to replace a magic wand stolen by a purse snatcher. Puss In Boots is, of course, a cat burglar. Taleville possesses seedy gambling dens populated by unsavory characters. So far a great setup...but...
Cons: the plot settled into a relatively mundane chase 'em down format with characters interchangeable with half of the crime genre, the magic wand turned into a gadget similarly replaceable, and Puss in Boots is just another unimpressive minor bad guy with a weird, inexplicable name, who shuffles off scene when his plot function is done. And just like that the magic is gone.
Bonus game: the Little Mermaid's wedding is spoiled by evil-doers and FGM must run them down. A good bit of play with a plot more interesting than the main game.
Overall, the game showed a very amusing tongue-in-cheek beginning that faded rapidly as the mystery (such as it was) began to take itself too seriously. It's a playable, entertaining game for the most part but loses the charm when FGM ends up riding motorcycles and acting more like Indiana Jones than a Mum with a wand. Three stars, a qualified recommendation, and a sigh.
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a dangerous order from abusing time for their nefarious plans?
Overall rating
2
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
Grim Tale
PostedMarch 31, 2021
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
It baffles me how a developer can have a golden egg and toss it away. Anyone who read 20 games worth of reviews would realize that Anna is a colorless, "Gray" figure in the absence of her Dad Richard, who provides humor, sanity, and every bit of uniqueness that the series possesses. Turning him into a cardboard villain wasn't a good decision.
Pros: The graphics - they're gorgeous. Some excellent mini-games. The writing up to a point - this is Richard's back story and the origin of his struggle with his daughter Anna. He loves her, of course, he bequeathed his heart to her, after all. Here she opposes him to rescue a victim of his reckless ambition. This is good stuff - her travel in time reveals that yes, there are risks, one of which ends her up in an entertaining disguise, opposing her allies and allied to the opposition. It's a beautiful twist. And then...
Cons: And then it simply ends. All of this setup squandered, and we are left with only half of Richard's story and no closure on anything. If the Devs intended this to be a cliff-hanger, it isn't, it's only frustrating. So much potential...
Bonus Game: Here we play as Aubrey, one of Richard's intended victims, who finds herself reversing her role and sallying forth to rescue Anna from villains who - wait a minute, if the events detailed in the main story prevailed, that organization wouldn't even exist. That's what Anna was trying to fix, isn't it?
Overall, a disappointment, mostly because of half realized, hence half wasted, potential. The game is rich, beautiful in graphics, but simply incomplete.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save your hometown from the Headless Horseman?
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Below Par For The Series
PostedMarch 25, 2021
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Not really the best of a series I've come to enjoy. This one had a mechanical feel to it, from the by now customary search for items unaccountably hidden in weird places to some that made no sense at all. Historical period was all over the place - our male POV Kane is supposed to be an agent for a bureau that won't exist for a couple hundred years, female POV Katrin is dressed like a refugee from the Victorian era. It works in fantasy gameland, I suppose, but it's jarringly unconvincing.
Pros: Nice graphics, atmospheric interiors. A straightforward plot, HO scenes were better than the mini-games but both were nicely playable.
Cons: Lifeless characters, both the principal characters and the supporting cast. With a well-written POV-swapping game the characters are developed such that you know who you're playing as without reminder; not so here, and we never really do come to care much whether the dearly beloved do get back together. No character development at all on the most potentially interesting one, the Horseman himself; instead of the literary Hessian soldier we have a random victim of a witch's spell. Dull.
Bonus Game: To agree with another reviewer, it was better than the main game. Here we play as Katrin, with Kane taking the role of damsel in distress. Plenty of play, and a villain who at least knew what she was about. Over the top voice acting but I loved it. Whatever spirit was missing in the main game was fully present here.
Overall, three stars is the best I can do on this one. It wasn't bad, it was just sort of bland.
A routine flight becomes a perilous adventure as you struggle to survive the dangerous way of life inside the Bermuda Triangle!
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Collins Saves The Day! This One's For Gamers
PostedFebruary 25, 2021
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
The secret is that it's really two games - there, I've said it. I had the good fortune to beta test this one and I can attest that the demo doesn't even give the player a clue where the thing is really going. Our POV heroine endures a by-now customary plane crash in the Bermuda triangle and is off to save her friend from...wait, what's that, a ship floating in the air?
Pros: Nearly too many to mention. The atmosphere is exotic, especially the vertiginous cloud city our heroine begins in (and leaves too soon). We have a zip-line paradise, an aircraft carrier turned into a bazaar all floating among the clouds, and a weird island that is the source of overpowering magnetic effects that have entrapped an entire population. It's a fairly conventional adventure game from this point on, with a nicely-developed cast and some excellent voice acting. Puzzles are a high point. Music is really good on this one. The writing is fairly ordinary so far, but pretty soon it won't be.
Cons: Some tedious sequences that don't really work very well - our heroine finds herself dangling in the air and must talk her friend into building a trampoline contraption in a sequence that makes no sense at all, in a rolling-viewpoint environment that is clumsy at best. I'm guessing this might be the source of the bad reviews. Some other small things - why, for example, everyone at the bazaar speaks a subtitled native language but on the island everyone is speaking fluent English. Language lessons from the interlopers, perhaps? Mid-game scenery is elaborate and colorful but shamelessly junkpile. And one item that isn't really much of a Con, but it's true - don't bother with the SE version, you'll miss out on the fun.
More: So there we are, approaching the climax of a short, colorful game that is getting all too common these days. Then the valiant explorer - he wouldn't fib about that, would he? - Andrew Collins shows up and the game kicks into overdrive. So many games of late with so little humor, but it's here in abundance. The interplay is excellent - our heroine uncorks a few tart remarks she's probably been suppressing out of politeness all game long, and what was borderline ordinary turns into a hilarious romp. The A writing team has taken over and the rest of the game is a love letter to gamers from the Devs. The Fourth Wall is not only broken but shattered. I won't give away a single joke but they're plenty and they're good.
Bonus Game: After some really wild riffs the game ends very satisfactorily, some leaving the island, some staying...including one Andrew Collins. He's after his love Julie and it's been a three-year wait, and he won't be denied. We have a return to the floating city and its less reputable inhabitants, and Collins proves somewhat difficult to kill - when he swims out of disaster and started poking buttons for the player I will admit to laughing long and loud. Now that's a hero!
Overall, a weird, beautiful, and quirky adventure game. This one's for experienced gamers who will get the in jokes. There are flat spots, but it doesn't matter, it's really good.
I recommend this game!
A detective meets a mysterious stranger in her first case!
Overall rating
5
/
5
48 of 50 found this review helpful
Strange Case - Awesome First Entry
PostedFebruary 2, 2021
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
Best-written mystery game I've enjoyed in a long time, although it has a disturbing beginning and a brilliant but somewhat ambiguous end. This one is definetely not for the kids - the premise of this story is very, very dark indeed. Our heroine is a grieving, wounded young woman who questions her own sanity, and with reason. What is she seeing? Is it real? No magic here, no amulets, just a gritty cinema noir treatment of a stubborn detective and her cinema noir case.
Pros: Mystery readers will love this one. Plenty of play, plot twists, red herrings, false trails, and a narrator who questions her own reliability. Great graphics, nice mix of puzzles and various flavor HO scenes, but the story's the thing.
Cons: The time sequence is a little difficult to track at the beginning of the game. Dana is attempting to recall her original tragedy, what she thought was a resolution, and her subsequent history up to the present, all at once. It does make sense but leaves the player a little uncertain where he or she is entering the sequence. No spoiler, but it's 1966 and Dana has a lot of pain behind her, and some challenges ahead.
Bonus game: Some bittersweet back story here along with the play. Mr. Freeman's grocery store seems to have attracted a haunt, and he asks for Dana's help. Dana has a fan. It's rather sweet, really, but there are echoes of darkness that won't go away. Great atmosphere throughout. Mini-game difficulty kicks up a level here, beware!
Overall, a terrific and very adult game, and a very strong entry into what I hope is a new series. Can the Devs keep this level of excellence up? We shall see. If I could give this one six stars, I would, but I certainly will give it a whole-hearted recommendation.
I recommend this game!
Can you uncover a murder victim's past and find her killer?
Overall rating
3
/
5
9 of 10 found this review helpful
Liked the Characters, Game Was Only OK
PostedJanuary 16, 2021
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
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
A new spin on the multiple POV approach, with fresh characters and a nicely twisty plot. Eleanor's is a much more finely drawn character but they show enough difference to be credible, and you don't really need the ID indicator the Devs provide in order to know who you're playing as.
Pros: Intricate plot with a fairly distributed set of reveals. Decent voice acting, puzzle difficulty level is all over the place but offers the option of an Easy mode that helps make up for it.
Cons: Graphics are nicely drawn but a bit glaring and the main game is quite short. Some of the object searches seemed overly specific - why, for example, Eleanor tells Randall to find something that will handle the villain when her brother has a three-foot crowbar in his hand is a bit of a mystery. Yes, I know, no violence, but still...
Bonus game: Here we play as Eleanor only, Randall being off on an undercover mission of some sort. Very generous game play unlike the main game, with plenty to do and places to go. I was disappointed to encounter a fatal glitch on the last scene, the confrontation between our heroine and the villain, one of those things that are always irritating but come on now, on the very last scene? Can't comment on the Extras because I couldn't finish - sooo close. Grr.
Overall, I think that the main game should have been expanded to fit a better than average plot that would have supported much more play. Enjoyed the characters and I hope to see them again in the future. Three stars and a conditional recommendation for the fun.
I recommend this game!
Master Detective must face the greatest challenge – time itself!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 9 found this review helpful
Not Quite There But Worth A Look
PostedNovember 28, 2020
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
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
As some others have noted, this game has a very strange feel to it. The opening scene is of the Banshee from the previous Harbinger episode informing us as the Master Detective that all is not well in the timelines we thought we had settled out in the denouements of Black Veil, Revenant, and the justifiably revered RTR and Madame Fate (the Banshee was herself a throwback to the equally revered Dire Grove). It's an odd formula through which we get to see old friends and enemies once again, somewhat unfortunately because it also forces us to recall just how great the now 13-year-old RTR and Madame Fate really were in comparison to today's fare. This is not the first such comparison, either - we have already seen such offerings as Rewind, Madame Fate's Carnival (probably the best of the three but that isn't saying much) and the unfortunate Dire Grove, Sacred Grove, which managed to borrow not only the plot but the very scenes of its illustrious predecessor.
Nevertheless, here we go again, saving the world from the mysterious green force that ended Harbinger at the behest of...well, now who is this fellow, exactly? The Archivist, or Dalimar, or... This meta-mystery is one of the best features of the game and the resolution one of its few surprises. Best be paying attention at the close of the main game.
Pros: lots of good things to say. The production values are stellar, with none of those annoying technical glitches that seem to be surfacing with dismaying regularity of late. Voice acting adequate to excellent, graphics colorful and smoothly rendered, and the interiors detailed enough to make finding the bonus objects a challenge. Music is atmospheric and not overly repetitive. Mini-game heavy if you like that sort of thing (I do) but we're not really shorted on HO scenes either.
Cons: some big, some small. These mini-games, although resembling the sequential puzzles of the whole MCF series, are not the same level of difficulty by at least one order of magnitude. One at least, the matching of icons with characters of Madame Fate, is completely unplayable if you haven't played MF, and as mentioned above, that was a long time ago. There doesn't seem to be a logical connection between the timelines which were shattered and in need of repair - why those and no others? Was it random? The grab bag is a little too obvious here.
Bonus game: we play as Madame Fate herself, pursued through time and space by Alister Dalimar for at least the fourth time (Madame Fate, Fate's Carnival, and the main game here are the other three). Persistent fellow.
Overall, somewhat chaotic writing, multiple villains, and the rather dark objective of what is, in essence, simply sending these characters back to their graves, give the game a very weird atmosphere. One gets the feeling that it is not only they, but their attendant games, that have been dug up, dusted off, and replanted. The ending of the main game strongly implies a sequel, which will, I hope, find a different formula and more original approach. Newer players may find it a bit opaque, but a conditional Recommendation for old-school MCF players. Some good stuff here. Not a five-star masterpiece like the games it alludes to, but let's face it, the MCF bar is set very high.
I recommend this game!
A paranormal festival is held hostage by a mystery man demanding the truth!
Overall rating
3
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
Rushed To Market?
PostedNovember 17, 2020
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Another in what has become a favorite series, but this one needed a good amount more QA before release. This time our hero and POV Rick Rogers is lecturing at a paranormal convention inexplicably held in carnival tents - one might think this would detract a little from the seriousness of the presentation, but in come cases a lack of gravity turns out to be justified. Some of Rick's fellow presenters aren't, you see, what they appear to be. And the lies, large and small, related to their presence will be outed by the God Of Truth, and their purveyors punished - certain of these untruths are on the order of cosmic parking tickets, others, not so much. (Were the God Of Truth to extend his efforts to politicians the game would never have ended). The beautiful Rachel is back and appears to have uttered a fib or two of her own in past games, and so becomes a target of the GOT's wrath as well, and although I seem to recall Rick himself being a little dodgy with the truth on occasion it was apparently not enough to earn his own timeout. Rick's task becomes prying his friends from theirs.
Pros: nice art with some spectacular cut scenes. Rick's voice actor captures his character perfectly although this time around he's more serious than wise-cracking. HO scenes in several different formats, a straightforward episodic plot with few complications.
Cons: game length is short, with a miserly few scenes devoted to the shorter chapters. I too found coding flaws in the mini-games that made them either untowardly difficult or outright unresponsive. The writing on the shorter chapters was sketchy in the exact meaning of the word: we really don't understand how a reluctance to believe in ghosts on the part of an investigator devoted to debunking them even qualifies as a lie at all.
Bonus game: Rick delves into his own past at last, but unfortunately not for long - one beautiful looking plug game simply didn't respond to anything and had to be skipped, and I too encountered a full stop at the puppet show and with no way to skip it and no way to return to the scene, had to quit the game completely. It isn't even a CE at that point because you can't finish the collections. That one cost them a star; the brevity and the writing cost them another one.
Overall, this is a might-have-been-great game in a terrific series that was spoiled by lack of QA at the Dev. If it works for you it's a solid four stars, but it didn't for me and so I can't recommend it.
I don't recommend this game.
Budapest is under attack as vampires stalk the streets!
Overall rating
5
/
5
11 of 11 found this review helpful
Fangs A Lot
PostedNovember 14, 2020
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
As others have noted this is a perfect Halloween game. I love this series and where else would one expect a plague of vampirism more than Budapest? Aspiring investigator Agatha has called in The Detective to assist her in solving a sanguinary crime involving, in part, her brother (note: never be the relative of a budding detective. Only bad things happen.)
Pros: excellent graphics. As always with the Dark City games I was left wanting more exterior shots of a beautiful city. The ones on hand are very, very nice. Spooky atmosphere enhanced by some wonderful music. Engaging plot - is this real vampirism, or fake, or both? And if so, why? Agatha's complaint that women aren't allowed to be detectives is met by the fact that they can, and they can also be damsels in distress, and...and villains. Which will it be? Some nice references to vampiric lore - Inspector Helsing, indeed. Add Agatha's brother's cat Lester to the mix, a not-quite-assistant who turns up at opportune times.
Cons: some minor annoyances. The sound is a little unbalanced as The Detective's voice comes booming out of speakers at a stentorian volume. Agatha's accent is from that part of Budapest that is closest to the American midwest, apparently. No one attempted a Hungarian accent, probably fortunately as Bela Lugosi has that one wrapped up for all time. Puzzles are a little on the easy side.
Bonus game: here we play as Agatha, now fully occupied in her own detecting. It's a very good coda involving two of the other characters in the main game.
Overall, a top-notch entry in a great series. I played it twice and can't get the music out of my head.
I recommend this game!