underwriter's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.2
- Helpful Votes:206
- Reviews Submitted:19
- First Review:March 1, 2012
- Most Recent Review:February 28, 2018
- Featured reviews0
The border between life and death is fragile. Restore the course of nature, solve puzzles and search for clues in Frankenstein: Master of Death!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Someone has listened
PostedJanuary 28, 2015
underwriter
fromColorado Springs, CO
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
If only I had a nickel for every time I have said playing a game, "Well, dummy, if you had only kept the (knife, screwdriver, wrench, crowbar, glove, lighter, duster, etc.) you used three (five, seven, eleven, etc.) scenes ago, you wouldn't have to go looking for it now, would you?" I really loved it that in this game you never had to go looking for any tool more than once. And that did not make it too easy, in case anyone is wondering, because you had things that might conceivably been used multiple ways, and there were situations that might have been resolved with multiple tools, so you still had to scramble for the correct one, not to mention remembering you still had it.
I did like the take on the story line, and would have uprated the story if I were sure whether the final scene represents closure or a path to a sequel. I'd be OK with either, but I'd like to know.
I recommend this game!
Search a magnificent garden on a huge property to uncover the secret to your inheritance!
Overall rating
3
/
5
27 of 29 found this review helpful
Pretty much hidden objects
PostedDecember 20, 2014
underwriter
fromColorado Springs, CO
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
This review is based just on the trial. You have inherited this property, which you remember as a little girl, but of course it has changed. Your basic page ("The Garden"# is your map, from which you go to various areas and structures. In eacj scene you have a two-part HOP: first you find 10 of one thing, and then another ten different named things, one of which will go into inventory. The story is told through pages of your late grandmother's diary, and I can't evaluate it yet, having only found one page. But presented that way, you can't forget where you are #as I sometimes do when I leave a game and don't come back for days or weeks# - the story to the point you are at is always there in the diary pages, and probably doesn't affect your choice of what to do next.
The objects are small, but there is a magnifier feature which really helps, unless the object is somewhere really dark. I was not getting frustrated looking. The hint button is a cartoon-y dog who will bother many, especially since the recharge sound is "Woof, woof, woo-f" with a speech balloon.
As I said, I am not far enough in the story line to comment on it, but I am curious enough to come back, although it may be a while.
I could not recommend it to adventure gamers, especially hard-core ones, but for a straight hidden object game it is quite good.
I recommend this game!
The power of Poseidon's lost treasures beckons. Collect all of the powerful artifacts and save Atlantis!
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
Like a Late CE?
PostedMarch 5, 2014
underwriter
fromColorado Springs, CO
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
So yes, Call of Atlantis is one of my favorite games too, and I would have welcomed a sequel that had the charm and creativity if the original (I am not a big fan of this developer's sequels, hence the qualifications). But this is not it. This is merely the original game with an added "Challenge Mode" which adds new levels. So it's not really a game, it's only a partial game. Moreover, the size of the original game is shrunken - reduced to maybe 2/3 of the screen, so everything is smaller. If the original game were presented full size, I might actually get it as a replacement. But, because of the small size, if I got this I wouldn't be able to replace the original game, I would have to keep it. I don't like that. I grant that the dozen or so levels I played in Chalenge Mode were fresh and attractive, but it is still a no buy for me.
If you do not already have "Call of Atlantis,," and if the small size doesn't bother you, I would say this is a bargain. If you do have "Call of Atlantis," I would say don't bother.
And BFG, on "Recommend This Game?" Yes or No doesn't do it for me on this one. How about putting in a "Maybe" radio button in the future?
I don't recommend this game.
Help Princess Arianna save her kingdom and defeat the Dark Witch in this clever hidden-object adventure and match-3 game.
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Not for me either
PostedNovember 19, 2013
underwriter
fromColorado Springs, CO
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I have a couple of games that combine match 3 with hidden objects which I truly enjoy and return to when time is short. I was hoping this might be another, particularly because the brightness is adjustable. But no. Although the options appear to allow the music to be shut off, when you close the options box it's Ba-a-a-ack! Some people will not buy a game which has no walkthrough; I won't buy one where the music cannot be shut off. Many if not most reviewers liked the music, but I can testify that if it is playing at the same time as Isaac Albeniz on the radio, the combination is horrendous. I barely lasted ten minutes. Too bad because I might have liked it.
I don't recommend this game.
Should anyone ever check in to a place called the Final Journey Hotel?
Overall rating
4
/
5
11 of 11 found this review helpful
Probably not a series game
PostedNovember 9, 2013
underwriter
fromColorado Springs, CO
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The first three "Haunted Hotel" games were a series, and together make a connected story. The ending of the third game pretty well put the lid on that story sequence, though. The fourth was an independent game based on a story by H. P. Lovecraft. This Haunted Hotel is completely different. It's been pointed out that different developers have been on board. I am not actually convinced that the fourth and fifth are supposed to have anything to do with the first three - titles are not subject to copyright, so they could have been independent ideas without violating anyone's rights, although of course confusing fishies.
My review of Haunted Hotel: Eclipse is based on the demo. I will buy it but haven't yet. I like the developer of the current game, and this has all the trademarks - very realistic looking characters and sets, HOS with large and clearly drawn items but still not always easy, some running around but an interactive map to make it easier, and of course pretty much everyone now has by now enabled the hint function outside of HOS. Gamma is adjustable so if you are finding scenes too dark #or too bright#, try adjusting it. As advertised, the guests are monsters, and are battling it out. If anyone cares, the date of the "November full moon" this year is Sunday the 17th; that is presumably when the action is timed to. I may be reading too much into this, but "James" seems to me to have a kind of family resemblance to Dupin, but since everyone loves Dupin that's likely not a problem. No original plot twists in the demo, but I wouldn't expect them to come that soon, and if it turns out there aren't any I am fine with that. I get through games as a rule slower than most people; I like to stop and "smell the flowers" so I am sure most fishies will get farther than I did during the one hour demo.
I recommend this game!
One night the ghost of President Lincoln appears, asking for your help. Can you find the hidden Confederate treasure?
Overall rating
5
/
5
18 of 18 found this review helpful
Unexpectedly spooky
PostedOctober 28, 2013
underwriter
fromColorado Springs, CO
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I have every game in this series, most in the standard version, and am pleased with them all. This one seems to me a little different in that the spookiness does not come from the witchcraft element nor from the rats and bats in your face but from the way the game premises reflect what is happening in the contemporary headlines. For that reason I think a lot of people, not quite sure how to say this, but a lot of people whose world view is different from mine are not going to like this game. I see at least one person called it short and I guess it didn't really take me all that long, but it didn't have a short "feel" to it; I found it satisfying.
The ravens are back for additional hints, and I found some in many scenes, but not in HOPs or minigames (except the tutorial HOP). The ten or eleven I found were more than enough to get me through the game, and there are probably more - I never seem to find them all
I recommend this game!
Enter Ravenwood Park and discover the secrets hidden in the mists...
Overall rating
5
/
5
14 of 19 found this review helpful
Worthy sequel
PostedSeptember 26, 2013
underwriter
fromColorado Springs, CO
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
My review is based on the beta test. I loved the first Enigmatis which I played in the standard edition, so jumped at the chance to beta test. The protagonist is pretty sure, and with good reason, that she has found the missing villain, but since there are two mysterious figures associated with the Park, she's not at all sure who it is. To progress she has to trust at least one of them, but in games that is not a guarantee of trustworthiness. I suspect the uncertainty will be kept up until the last possible moment.
But no character is exactly as he or she seems. Be on your guard.
But no character is exactly as he or she seems. Be on your guard.
I recommend this game!
Solve this maritime mystery to reunite a pirate with his lost love.
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Telegraphs the end
PostedJuly 11, 2013
underwriter
fromColorado Springs, CO
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This is a different story line. I see many reviewers are saying it is not as dark as many new games, although I am not sure what is "not dark" about plague. I agree plague is not occult.
The characters are cartoon-y, but not unbearably so. The settings and HO scenes are nicely realistic #except the characters' portraits#. I personally had a problem with the story which I can only describe with a spoiler; I will try to put it far enough down that readers will have to click "show more" to see it.
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SPOILER ALERT
SPOILER ALERT
It seemed to me the dullest player would have picked up by the end of the first quarter of the game that Isabelle was a pirate, and once that is established, there is no more story to discover, only details. I much prefer suspense and even distraction #shifting evidence back and forth# before the resolution at the end.
Black Isle was supposedly abandoned after an earthquake but the truth is much more sinister! Join the Mystery Trackers and learn the truth!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 8 found this review helpful
New Installment in great series
PostedMarch 1, 2012
underwriter
fromColorado Springs, CO
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I was lucky enough to beta test, and I still have the beta on my desktop to go back to between other games. Having played and loved the first two, yes, I believe I can see roughly where it is going, but it is done so well. The graphics are so lovingly done I almost don't notice there are live actors, where to go next is challenging but within my reach, and I am engaged enough to care about what is happening/will happen.
I recommend this game!