FamilyDad1's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.8
- Helpful Votes:389
- Reviews Submitted:68
- First Review:April 14, 2012
- Most Recent Review:June 12, 2024
- Featured reviews1
Status:
Overall rating
5
/
5
Easily Top 10!
PostedDecember 2, 2012
FamilyDad1
fromNew England
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
There was a great mix of elements, HOS, Puzzles, Scenes & Dialogue; Some old, some new, but always really fun. There were people, & ghosts, with whom to interact. You always knew where to go & what to do next. There were several cozy locations set up in Chapters. Story & characters were pretty good too. The action never stopped, nor did the fun. Plays just like a good novel book. EXCELLENT CUDDLY "SOUP & COFFEE" DAY GAME!!!
I recommend this game!
Be careful what you wish for... A deadly bargain has been made, and it's up to you to set things right before your nephew pays the terrible price!
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
***PERFECT! Huge Long Fun!!!
PostedNovember 17, 2012
FamilyDad1
fromNew England
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
OMG What can I say about this game. EVERYTHING about it is Absolutely ***PERFECT!!!***
It's Gargantuan! I don't understand how anyone can finish it in hours, it took me about a week!
The graphics are clean and clear. There are a zillion locations. All objects, including those in the "interactive" HOGs, are easily found, there is no clutter & the "smart" HINT button is very helpful & recharges quickly. A live interactive Map with Task icons make it a pure pleasure to navigate & a breeze to "warp" around.
The Storyline is Excellent & very easy to follow because it actually makes sense. There are speaking characters to keep you company. Plus you get a sidekick, in the form of a friendly puppet to help you out.
There are many well-placed puzzles of various types and skill levels, some old, some new & some unique, & all FUN!
Lastly, the game is totally immersive, meaning once you get into it, you're totally drawn into its world. This is mainly because the layout of the locations make sense. They are interesting & believable, for example: The Eskimo's hut has a fire nearby & a covered pile of wood. The Shaman's (hermits) hut has deamcatchers & a cozy fireplace. These little touches add semblance, continuity & tremendous value to the game.
The Bottom Line: This game is a total no-brainer. Try it, Buy it, Enjoy it! You will LOVE it.
I recommend this game!
The Crown of Thorns, the most precious and revered relic in the Notre Dame Cathedral, has disappeared! Track down the artifact!
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Yawn
PostedNovember 11, 2012
FamilyDad1
fromNew England
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Current Favorite:
Hidden Mysteries®: Gates of Graceland®
(119)Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Around every other turn *BOOM* the game hits you with yet another Hidden Object Scene! This was great back in 2005, but it doesn't work today. Gamers expect more substance.
You don't really get to go inside some of the locations, instead when you finally do unlock them, they become just another hidden object scene. Lazy on the developer's part if you ask me.
There were at least 8 in the first 20 minutes, that's 1 every 2 minutes, way too many! Worse the scenes repeated.
The lack of people and still graphics were enough to put you to sleep. It seemed there were a couple of clever puzzles, such as the mystery note containing the combination to get inside the rectory. And being in Paris, they had some cool iconic references, but the entire city felt dead and abandoned with no signs of life anywhere.
The journal, map and task system were all great ideas to include, but it was the heart of the game itself that wasn't beating, again due to so many HOS thrown at you literally around every single corner. Enough already!
But most confusing of all is how they allowed the HIDDEN MYSTERIES name to be tarnished like this, when I just finished another HM title: GATES OF GRACELAND and absolutely LOVED IT!!! Maybe these developers should take notes from that team next time.
I don't recommend this game.
Overall rating
5
/
5
16 of 17 found this review helpful
Perfect, Balanced, Fun
PostedNovember 10, 2012
FamilyDad1
fromNew England
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This was one of the longest games in recent memory and that's a very good thing because it kept me wanting more. There's always so much to do at all times, you will find yourself saving and taking a break before you dare finish this incredible game.
You always knew what to do next, no backtracking, the perfect amount of HOS, puzzles were at the right places and just challenging enough, there were characters who spoke to you, many rich interesting locations, each varied and different and a spooky mansion with doors leading to various realms holding it altogether in a neat hub so you never got lost.
For example, one location led to a cobblestone street reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, another to a cozy old cottage, seaside lighthouse and graveyard garden. Always fun and interesting to explore.
There were many extras such as Find the Gold coin to Win a warp Map of that location, match 3 puzzles which were fun, not aggravating, find a specific object puzzles and assemble the object from the pieces around the scene. Now normally I hate these, but in this game they worked because they were few and easy.
Everything about this game was a pure pleasure to play. It kept all of your objectives neatly in check, literally spelled it out for you if you got stuck and needed to reference it at the click of a tab and everything unfolded from the fireplace mantle in the great room of the mansion.
You also have a pretty good Hint system which only failed a few times when there was something very specific to do. This is my only light complaint. But overall, this is definitely in the Top 10 Big Fish Games. Can't wait to play more from this developer.
I recommend this game!
Help Ashley escape with her life in The Book of Desires!
Overall rating
2
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Where to Go, What to Do?
PostedNovember 8, 2012
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
confused, greyed out scenes, one after another lead you to obscurity with no logic or reason, for example "put the worm in the cauldron", "put the music box in the circle to trap the witch in the pyramid". Ok fine, but Why? HOW was I supposed to Know to do that?? Then searching back through every scene in the entire game on a "soul hunt" clearly just thrown in as an excuse to lengthen a lame game. I want some logic in my game, or else I would just play alice in wonderland. Thankfully the game was very short, which turns out to be a bright point, since I couldn't wait for it to end.
I don't recommend this game.
How did the attacker escape a room locked from the inside?
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Good story with too much backtracking
PostedNovember 3, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Loved that there were many characters. They went out of their way to make an intricate Sherlock Holmes style story. HOGs weren't bad as objects are fairly easy to find, there are just the right amount of them & you're not penalized for missed clicks.
The game starts out on a train & progresses to a village but that's where it ends! The scenes only have a couple of things to do in each area, the rest is just window dressing.
Back in the 90's, there was an Incredibly entertaining game called Toonstruck. Originally it had over 100 scenes so they had to cut the game in HALF, and it was still one of the best & biggest games ever - just HUGE! Comparatively, Yellow Room only has around a half a dozen scenes, maybe a couple of rooms off that. And it gets the death knell for major & severe BACKTRACKING!!!
It's endless! And once you've exhausted all possibilities, the game is kind enough to tell you, "There is nothing left to do here". Okay, fine, until a few minutes later when you've triggered an "event" in the game, when suddenly that area has something to do in it again! And they missed opportunities, as once you've opened new areas, again there was only a couple of tasks to complete. It's as if they've run out of time to complete the game and thew together a task or two just as an excuse to use those scenes. So confusing. Why not just make more areas in which to explore?! And put more tasks in existing scenes from the get-go. The result is so linear & confounding.
Instead, the game suddenly throws cheesy side hunts at us, like "find the note pieces", which could be cozy, but the way it's just thrown at you, you have no clue where to go next to find them! Dealbreaker! Oh and do we Really need to click on things 3 to 5 times to get the game to acknowledge it? It happened with the Fur on the Vial. Again with the Ladder on the Window. And even with a couple of Keys. Cmon these are game basics!
The game has NO Hint system, and while I really wish it had one a few times, it wasn't as missed as you might think thanks to a Task system complete with a Map with informative icons.
Overall, this game could have been much better if there wasn't so much backtracking, many, many times having no clue whatsoever what to do next. Nice storyline, pretty good puzzles and nice setting. Just too boring, and it could have been so much more.
I don't recommend this game.
Hidden Mysteries®: Gates of Graceland®
Explore the home of the King of Rock and Roll while searching for clues about a lost song!
Overall rating
5
/
5
The KING of Games
PostedOctober 28, 2012
FamilyDad1
fromNew England
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Current Favorite:
Hidden Mysteries®: Gates of Graceland®
(119)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Everything about this game was a pleasure to play. It even allowed for the player's natural instinct. For example, if I try this paint scraper on the poster, could there be something hidden behind it? Well what do you know, it worked. Also, everything about this was fun... Really, Really FUN! There were plenty of scenes, all of them interesting and easily navigable. The way they worked in Elvis was so natural and seamless too. For example, find the BLUE SUEDE SHOES. The storyline was excellent and it was incredibly interesting getting to Tour Graceland. HOS and Puzzles were well balanced, fun and just challenging enough, but never punishing. Lastly, I really enjoyed the way you got to find pieces of the final puzzle and it became a real thing within the game itself. Once you've played through, you'll know what I mean. Simply Brilliant. Perfect game!
I recommend this game!
Help the secret organization of Mystery Trackers find 3 missing celebrities in the mysterious Void family mansion!
Overall rating
1
/
5
6 of 8 found this review helpful
Horrendous
PostedOctober 27, 2012
FamilyDad1
fromNew England
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Played the demo for about 20 minutes and ALL I encountered was one Hidden Object scene after another after another after another. There were at least 5 in the first 15 minutes. They were cluttered and hard to find. I'm patient but this was rediculous.
I don't recommend this game.
After leaving something in your car, a hitchhiker vanishes! Track her down and return her things in Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
EXCELLENT!
PostedOctober 9, 2012
FamilyDad1
fromNew England
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The opening roped me right in like a good novel. Your character picks up a hitchhiker, who forgets her bag in your car, so you turn around to return it to her, but she vanishes into the town, so you visit the houses and try to find her.
Pretty creepy town, the atmosphere was sufficiently eerie and the things that happened along the way were right out of a good horror movie, but nothing too bad or gory.
Good amount of locations, Puzzles are plenty, varied & challenging, but not diabolical which I like, the solution is always just nearby or in your journal, you always know what to do next. You usually know where to go next, but when you don't, the HINT system helps you right along.
There are tons of things to do throughout the game, it's always fun and there are many mini cut scenes, plus a flashlight & "magical" camera, which reveals things not available to the human eye.
The scenes and sounds are very good, the HOG objects are big & clear enough, and you get penalized for random clicking, but not too bad. The HINT button recharges quickly.
The 2 downsides are: It would have been nice to be able to talk with more than just ONE villager, and there were a few too many HOGs.
Regardless, I literally couldn't wait to find out what happened to that girl. Like a good book, I just couldn't bring myself to "put it down", or in this case, stop playing.
I recommend this game!
An evil dwarf collects the souls of those who enter the neglected park! Will you be able to rid the world of his presence?
Overall rating
1
/
5
10 of 11 found this review helpful
Dreamland is more like a Nightmare
PostedSeptember 23, 2012
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I really hate to give a negative review because the title & theme seemed so promising. I especially like carnival, themepark, halloween type games, but definitely not this one.
The sounds were good, the locations plenty and it set up to be a good game by having a diary, task list, interactive map and spooky themed elements, but that's where the positives end.
Here's the problem: almost every time you click, there is another HOG scene. Worse, the graphics within each scene are horrible, muted, blurred and severely cluttered. In addition, you get punished for missed clicks and the Hint button takes a very long time to recharge.
Every scene in the game is so horribly rendered, you need the Sparkles to find the interactive items. Inexcusable. Either this is a very old game or it's been sitting around a while & got a late release because I've literally seen better graphics back in the late 90's and I'm not exaggerating.
INEXCUSABLE!
I don't recommend this game.