LunaNik's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.8
- Helpful Votes:12,435
- Reviews Submitted:670
- First Review:November 2, 2012
- Most Recent Review:August 19, 2020
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Since his departure from Olympus, Angelo has overcome many trials and enemies. However, he is about to face his greatest challenge yet, as threats assault the kingdom of Greece from all sides.
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 8 found this review helpful
Excellent, except for one major problem...
PostedMay 1, 2017
LunaNik
fromIt is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
It's unusual for a Match-3 game to captivate me, but I liked the storyline in this one. The graphics were beautifully done, and the music was lovely. Also, I loved the fact that this game had a relaxed mode that was unlocked right from the start.
Unfortunately, I had the same issue that several other reviewers did...the target squares that need to be eliminated are distinguished only by a thin gold outline that was similar in tone to the squares' general background. Even on my 21.5" monitor, I had difficulty spotting them quickly enough.
For the first few levels, it didn't seem like it would be a problem, but once the levels became more complicated, I realized that they really were hard to see. It would have been better to have those squares fully colored in a contrasting color. Not all gamers are 20 years old with perfect eyesight. :-)
This is one of those games I recommend you try yourself, because this may not be an issue for you, and it's otherwise an excellent game.
Mr. Jenkins is back to help you uncover the mystery of the haunted armor!
Overall rating
1
/
5
23 of 26 found this review helpful
Storyline for snails. Gameplay for children. Anachronisms everywhere.
PostedApril 29, 2017
LunaNik
fromPuzzle Instructions: Just click once anywhere on the screen.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Ominous Objects: The Cursed Guards in yet another in a long line of cookie cutter HOPA games with unhidden object scenes, puzzles appropriate for kindergartners, and a storyline that moves at a snail’s pace and is filled with anachronisms. It’s not remotely a five-star game.
Most of the puzzles require no intellect, intuition, or problem-solving skills. A 12-piece jigsaw. Moving metal rods to climb a pole. Spotting the loose end of a tangled rope and clicking the sections to untangle it. Using the mouse to click/drag on the tabs of a pop-up theater, when only one tab at a time is available. Tedious, unchallenging, and not fun.
The HO scenes varied in presentation, but the objects to be found were all in plain sight. Find pieces of rope. Find capitalized words in the narrative. Find and replace in the scene. Find parts of an ornate cover to a hidden cache. A zoom box find and use in the scene. But nothing was hidden! You can play Match-3 instead, which I don’t consider an improvement.
Collect easy-to-find playing cards and blatantly obvious morphing objects. While there is a bonus chapter, you can’t replay HO scenes or puzzles, and the dev’s portfolio is pretty thin.
Still graphics were rendered well and in a beautiful palette, but animation, especially of characters, was humorously stilted and not lifelike. I disliked the constant motion of the screen; even some of the zoom boxes shook and shuddered while I interacted with them. The music randomly stopped and started, leaving vast silences where my actions provided the only sound. And I’m not sure what accent the voiceover actors were trying for…all of them?
Lastly, the anachronisms can’t be ignored. Duke and Duchess are wearing Victorian clothing. My character arrives in a horse-drawn carriage. The city has a smithy. But there’s a multi-watt electric spotlight at the city gates, and its sparking wires are coated in colored PVC. Nope.
I don't recommend this game.
Did Captain Magnus sail away with a legendary treasure, or was he carried off into the night?
Overall rating
5
/
5
64 of 73 found this review helpful
Sea of Awesomeness...challenging gameplay and an excellent storyline.
PostedApril 26, 2017
LunaNik
fromBeware the existential dread of snowmobiling.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Nancy Drew is hot on a case in the frigid cold of Skipbrot, Iceland. She’s been hired by female fortune hunter, Dagny, who believes her partner, Magnus, has betrayed her. The two had partnered to restore the famed ship, Heerlijkheid, in order to look for the treasure its original captain is fabled to have possessed. But Magnus has gone missing, and there’s a town full of suspicious suspects, including Magnus’ ex-lover, Elisabet, and his sworn enemy, Gunnar.
Gameplay is typical of this series. Arrows appear onscreen to indicate where you can move, and the magnifying glass glows when you hover over an item of interest. You can also mouse over the edges of the screen to look around.
There’s a lot of conversation, because there’s a lot of information Nancy needs to learn about the case. However, you can click through convos as fast as you can read them. You’ll also encounter a number of books and papers to read, as is usual for adventure games.
The task list keeps you on track—just check off the ones you’ve completed—and the notes remind you of important info. Also, you have a smartphone to make calls and take photos. Lastly, you have an inventory of items to use and clues to look at.
I didn’t get too far along during the demo, but I did run into a few fantastic mini-games.
• Correctly match up the Icelandic words with the given English words to earn money (which you can spend in several places).
• Correctly label the fifteen sails on the old-fashioned sailing ship with multiple masts.
• Restore the display of sailors’ knots by placing the fifteen images (which show the steps to tying the knots) in the correct places.
Excellent fun factor and level of challenge for all of them.
• Correctly match up the Icelandic words with the given English words to earn money (which you can spend in several places).
• Correctly label the fifteen sails on the old-fashioned sailing ship with multiple masts.
• Restore the display of sailors’ knots by placing the fifteen images (which show the steps to tying the knots) in the correct places.
Excellent fun factor and level of challenge for all of them.
The production was terrific, as usual, with superb voiceovers and realistic dialogue, lovely graphics and animation, and appropriate music and environmental sounds. I found the storyline intriguing and, even though I’ve only played the demo, I was left with multiple possibilities for where the story might go, as a well-written mystery should unfold.
Kudos to the devs for presenting a unique, well-developed game in what has seemed to be an unending line of simplistic and boring clones.
I recommend this game!
Enjoy hours of mosaic fun and natural spring beauty in Spring Mosaics!
Overall rating
2
/
5
17 of 18 found this review helpful
Not logic-based.
PostedApril 25, 2017
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Whoever designed this game doesn't understand the theory of nonogrids. The whole point is that the player is supposed to be able to logically deduce which squares need to be filled in by examining the numbers given for the rows and columns, in conjunction with being able to make a reasonable assumption of what the overall pattern will look like.
You can't make those deductions or assumptions in this game, as evidenced by the presence of hints and the limited number of mistakes before you "lose" the level. I've never seen nonogrids with either hints or counted errors. Usually, you just keep working at it until you figure it out.
I don't recommend this game.
What happened to the Wolfgrin family?!
Overall rating
1
/
5
23 of 27 found this review helpful
Outdated in every aspect, beyond easy gameplay.
PostedApril 23, 2017
LunaNik
fromIs this a joke?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Word
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Stranded Dreamscapes: Deadly Moonlight is another cookie cutter game with a thinly-developed storyline involving an ancient supernatural artifact, people gone missing, and an unprepared detective standing in for an incompetent police force.
All the overused, hackneyed game devices have been carefully included: multiple locks required shaped medallions, the unexpected fire that miraculously doesn’t spread, the locked up fire extinguisher and medical kit, the coin as screwdriver, the object fallen through the sewer grating, and the conveniently-placed items you find exactly when you need them.
Puzzles were ludicrously simple. Assemble a totem using the Towers of Hanoi method. “Solve” a three-piece concentric circles jigsaw. Copy a four-symbol safe combination where you have to guess one symbol, but there are only six in total. Choose the portraits in the correct order to open the box, and the answer is right in front of you. Finishing puzzles this laughably easy is about as satisfying as getting a participation award.
HO scenes offered objects in plain view and took mere seconds to complete. There was a basic interactive list and a multi-layered one that began with finding the capitalized words in the narrative, segued to a FROG, and finished with a find-and-replace.
The graphics were painterly in style, but had an outdated cut-and-paste appearance. For the most part, the palette was jarring. And the animation was not lifelike. I had to turn the music off, as it seemed to consist mostly of one short, rather atonal piano loop repeated ad nauseum. Voiceovers were stereotypical and melodramatic.
Overall, this plays like a beginner’s game from more than a decade ago, but even in that context, I maintain my rating because the storyline fails to engage, the production is terrible, and the gameplay is much, much too easy, even for a beginner.
Better games by Friendly Cactus include the Shrouded Tales series, especially The Spellbound Land (which is the first episode) and Revenge of Shadows (the second episode). I don’t recommend the third episode in that series, and I certainly don't recommend this disaster of a game.
I don't recommend this game.
Explore the dangerous landscape of Drummond Island as you hunt for a kidnapper!
Overall rating
1
/
5
96 of 126 found this review helpful
Storyline for adults. Gameplay for five-year-olds. Uninstall and empty trash.
PostedApril 20, 2017
LunaNik
fromMerely clicking on the screen to cause things to happen automatically is NOT a puzzle. Level of challenge? -1,385 Fun factor? -1742
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Word
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I lasted 22 minutes. There was a distinct lack of fear for sale, and gameplay seems to have been left out of the equation. Most of what I encountered amounted to clicking to advance the thinly-developed storyline. This isn’t remotely a five-star game. I’d rate it zero stars if I could.
It’s neither challenging nor fun to merely click images on the screen, causing them to jump to where they belong, a task I was required to do THREE TIMES in the first 10 minutes of the game, all in same game scene.
• Clean up the room by clicking on the misplaced items, clearly recognizable because the outlines of where they belong are glowing neon lime green.
• Restore the text in Linda’s diary by clicking on the images within the text to return them to the picture.
• Using a photo as a basis for comparison, click on the misplaced items on the computer screen to return them to where they belong, i.e., spot the differences.
• Clean up the room by clicking on the misplaced items, clearly recognizable because the outlines of where they belong are glowing neon lime green.
• Restore the text in Linda’s diary by clicking on the images within the text to return them to the picture.
• Using a photo as a basis for comparison, click on the misplaced items on the computer screen to return them to where they belong, i.e., spot the differences.
It’s neither challenging nor fun to “restore” a journal by placing a photo from my inventory onto one page, then completing a five-piece jigsaw on the next page. I’m not a five-year-old; I’m an adult.
It’s neither challenging nor fun to “decipher” the three-digit combination for a lock by matching up shapes and colors. What is this? Kindergarten?
It’s neither challenging nor fun to use arrow keys to steer an extremely slow boat around a few rocks in the water. Not after you’ve steered Sonic the Hedgehog around objects at 100mph, or successfully navigated down Rainbow Road in Mario Kart Wii.
Lastly, the one HO scene in my 22 minutes was a basic interactive list…and none of the objects on the list were hidden. I finished it inside of 30 seconds, so no challenge or fun there either.
I’ve said before that the HOPA genre isn’t what it used to be, but this is the absolute nadir. It would be nice if at least ONE developer would market games for dedicated gamers who like deviously difficult puzzles, objects that are actually hidden, and adventure mode that challenges. This isn’t it. This is an interactive story with minimal gameplay that’s childishly easy and mind-numbingly boring.
Honestly, I’m no longer willing to up my rating for quality production, because who cares? When the storyline fails to engage and the gameplay is tedious and simplistic, does it really matter if the graphics and animation are cutting edge? No, because those things don’t make it a better game.
I don't recommend this game.
A puzzle fantasy, inspired by the classic word search game.
Overall rating
2
/
5
18 of 19 found this review helpful
The pen could be mightier than the sword, if they stopped bothering me long enough to write with it.
PostedApril 18, 2017
LunaNik
fromWhen the little bluebird who has never said a word starts to sing...Spring!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Word
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is less a word game than an RPG combat game in which your “weapon” is making as many words as you can in a short period of time.
The first problem, from a word game fanatic’s viewpoint, is that there is no time for lengthy, elegant words. You’re stuck spewing out as many three- and four-letter words as possible. There’s no fun or challenge is finding “let, met, pet, get.” The satisfaction lies in finding “peach,” then “impeach,” and finally “impeachment.”
The second problem is that, while you’re concentrating on the letter grid, battle icons are flashing at you to click them, you’re supposed to pay attention to power meters filling up and life meters depleting, and the timer’s counting down an extremely brief round. It’s like being in the library trying to read while a dozen people are arguing, the lights are flashing on and off, and a helicopter’s landing on the roof.
Something terrible lurks in the halls of Iron Gate Asylum…
Overall rating
2
/
5
10 of 11 found this review helpful
Vapid, thin storyline. Lots of cutscenes. Gameplay far too easy.
PostedApril 17, 2017
LunaNik
fromPro Tip for Devs: Your target audience is adults. Develop your gameplay accordingly.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle, Word
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
After giving the CE version of Shadowplay: Darkness Incarnate only two stars, I overruled by better judgment to get the SE with an expiring PCC, solely because I’ve loved many of Madhead’s games. I’m sad to report that I didn’t get my money’s worth.
The storyline is never truly explained; the shadow creature remains ethereal with no personality, motivation, or logic. The conspiracy, in the end, sounds as much like tin foil hat nonsense as it did in the beginning. No reasoning is offered for the actions of the bad guys.
Gameplay almost seemed like an afterthought to the numerous cutscenes, conversations, and time stops where I was merely required to click in order to nudge the story along, which I don’t consider to be gameplay. There was no innovation except one type of HO scene that had two incomplete layers, the transparent one on top, with horizontal and vertical sliders to move the top layer. To “find” an object on the list, you had to move the sliders to match up the two halves of each object. Even that was only interesting the first time because of the novelty.
The rest of the gameplay was mostly recycled from previous games, or so ridiculously simplistic that it can’t be considered gameplay for adults. I mean, in real life, what adult plays Simon Says? Or does jigsaw puzzles of 6-12 pieces? No one I know. These “puzzles” aren’t any more fun or challenging for adults merely because they’ve been translated into computer graphics. Get real, Madhead. Stop trying to sell us something YOU wouldn’t buy.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you uncover the Logan Family's terrible secret in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
76 of 83 found this review helpful
Eipix is running its cookie cutters on overtime this month.
PostedApril 13, 2017
LunaNik
fromDear Eipix...Drag your folder of "puzzle" subroutines into the Trash and start over. Try making puzzles that require neurons to solve.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
No one has been able to capture the sheer, shuddering horror of Codeminion’s original Phantasmat, released in 2010. Its lonely, abandoned landscapes and clingy, creepy inhabitants struck a chord that no developer has been able to replicate in its sequels.
Nor have better graphics cards, more powerful computers, and high tech rendering and animation helped. Something about the original Phantasmat’s stark, static, and nearly monotone scenes painted a more terrifying picture than today’s brilliant colors and lifelike animation, much in the same way that Hitchcock movies are more frightening than modern horror movies with their blood, gore, and CG monsters.
That having been said, Eipix has put together a suitably eldritch setting—a haunted castle on the shore of a Scottish loch—with an interesting storyline and decently-developed backstory. The ghosts’ appearances were chosen well. I mean, what is a jester but a clown? And who doesn’t have coulrophobia? The jump scares aren’t overdone either; there are just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Gameplay is where Mournful Loch falls apart, both in terms of logic and challenge. Exploration involves the typical back-and-forth fixing things that are broken, unlocking things that are locked, and giving inanimate objects items they supposedly treasure. In return, you get items for your inventory so you can fix more broken things, unlock more locked things, and make more inanimate objects happy.
The four HO scenes in the demo were all presented differently, but all took less than a minute to complete. I won a performance achievement for finishing one in less than 30 seconds, so it’s obvious all the objects were in plain sight. I guess the hidden object genre is officially dead, because I’ve been complaining about this for at least a year now and NONE of the major devs will hide the objects in their HO scenes.
The 12 puzzles in the demo came in five types:
• This isn’t even a puzzle. All I have to do is copy a code or click to move the story along. (3 of this type)
• This is so ridiculously easy, my 4-year-old niece could do it. (3 of this type)
• Making me randomly guess at the solution isn’t a puzzle either! (2 of this type)
• I already know the solution, because you’ve used this puzzle in 85 other games. (2 of this type)
• This isn’t challenging; it just takes tedious time. (2 of this type)
You might find the gameplay enjoyable if you’re a rank beginner, but there’s nothing challenging or fun here for an expert. I found the gameplay predictable and boring.
• This isn’t even a puzzle. All I have to do is copy a code or click to move the story along. (3 of this type)
• This is so ridiculously easy, my 4-year-old niece could do it. (3 of this type)
• Making me randomly guess at the solution isn’t a puzzle either! (2 of this type)
• I already know the solution, because you’ve used this puzzle in 85 other games. (2 of this type)
• This isn’t challenging; it just takes tedious time. (2 of this type)
You might find the gameplay enjoyable if you’re a rank beginner, but there’s nothing challenging or fun here for an expert. I found the gameplay predictable and boring.
The production is up to Eipix’s usual high standards, but I hope you like turquoise, cyan, aqua, ultramarine, cerulean, teal, and sapphire…a LOT. Because that’s the palette in its entirety.
While I’m curious about the storyline, I’m not paying to slog through Eipix’s stupidly easy, repetitive, cookie cutter gameplay to find out what happens. Every game they release plays the same way. They NEVER innovate anymore. Perhaps this is the problem: Mournful Loch is the third game Eipix has released in the past 12 days. They should concentrate on quality instead of quantity.
I don't recommend this game.
A pearl is stolen, leading you on a worldwide chase!
Overall rating
1
/
5
37 of 45 found this review helpful
Hidden Everyday Objects: The Game of Discord
PostedApril 10, 2017
LunaNik
fromWondering if I should lock up my flashlight once its batteries run out in case a random Master Detective comes along.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
There's absolutely no logic to this game whatsoever.
—————
Waradi Tayal: "THERE'S THE THIEF! AFTER HIM!"
—————
Waradi Tayal: "THERE'S THE THIEF! AFTER HIM!"
Me: "Well, ok, but I have to coax the parrot into giving me to code for the drawer first by feeding him berries which, apparently, the thief conveniently brought with him, but which are locked up six ways from Sunday."
"After that, I have to fix your broken forklift by using a pedal from a completely different mechanism (which magically fits), plus finding the switch you hid inside a computer...for which I need an access card which is locked up plus a convoluted passcode."
"But before that, I have to restore the electricity that, in 2017, still uses fuses...one of which I have to construct from scratch."
"Oh, hey, mind if I take the time to weave a complicated fabric on your loom? Meanwhile, I'm just going to leave you lying on the ground injured because, with all the rest of this stuff to do, I really don't have time to deal with you. Walk it off."
"Wait...the thief escaped? I can't imagine why he didn't wait for me to finish this ridiculous list of insane tasks. How rude."
—————
Aside from that, the HO scenes are unHidden Object scenes, as everything is in plain sight, the puzzles are stupidly easy, and adventure mode is mostly finding everyday objects that a crazy person locked up for no apparent reason. I mean, you think when a computer is locked up with both an access card AND a password, there's going to be something exceedingly valuable, right? Nope. Just a basic analog switch...locked up like it's the Hope Diamond.
—————
Aside from that, the HO scenes are unHidden Object scenes, as everything is in plain sight, the puzzles are stupidly easy, and adventure mode is mostly finding everyday objects that a crazy person locked up for no apparent reason. I mean, you think when a computer is locked up with both an access card AND a password, there's going to be something exceedingly valuable, right? Nope. Just a basic analog switch...locked up like it's the Hope Diamond.
I don't recommend this game.