Forget those long-winded stories and dive right into the HO scenes you love! 100% Hidden Objects gives you complete control over your gaming experience.
What a surprisingly fun game this is. I love 100% Hidden Objects and this is the perfect game for me for those times that I don’t want to be involved in a game with a complex storyline or even dare I say it – puzzles to solve. I love the simplicity for those times when I want to put my feet up and just search for items.
A huge surprise was that the game fit my Windows 10 computer so I had the nice widescreen effect when playing. Another thing I enjoyed is the rather upbeat sound of jazz. What a terrific game and it will get a full 5 stars from me and would have given more if I could.
Not everyone is a big fan of the modern HOPA genre and I think that even they might like this game. I like the option of choosing different themes so if my mood changes I can switch the theme to whatever I feel like playing on a particular day.
For those who love them you have achievements to earn. Since there is a timed option of sorts you can replay a scene and hope to improve your score as you play. You don’t have to play beat the clock as you can choose to play either in a timed or untimed game mode. I like that as you play you can earn gold coins. I wasn’t sure what those were until I clicked on one and it went towards purchasing hints or bonuses. In some ways the game reminds me of the Park Ranger games where if we find certain items we can accrue extra points.
There is a lot of fun to be had with this little game and starting tonight I will going off on my little HOP vacation as I play 100% Hidden Objects. Now I need to look and see if there is a version available for my I Pad so I can play when I am away from my PC. As always, I recommend that you try the demo. Be warned though that you might just get hooked like I did. Happy gaming!
“Bridge to Another World Through the Looking Glass” is the fifth game in the BTAW series and although I tried to love it, the game seemed to get off to a very slow and boring start. My favorite game in the series is Escape From Oz, a game that I have played several times since its release in June of 2017. Fortunately after sticking with the game, this one does get better and seems as terrific as the last game. This developer has given us some interesting alternative storylines for what happened in Oz and in Wonderland.
Something that I dislike about Through the Looking Glass is the load time between scenes. This is an issue I haven’t noticed in other games from this developer but for some reason this game seems very slow to load when moving between scenes.
The game has some excellent HOP scenes and one of the early scenes I found to be quite creative. HOP scenes are my favorite part, aside from a very good storyline, in a HOPA game and this game has a good variety of HOP styles and many are creative which make the game fun and entertaining. The puzzles are good as well although they are a bit easy. There did seem to be a lot of puzzles early on in the game and since they were easy I really didn’t see the point of having them at all. Perhaps the developer felt that more puzzles are the current rage and tossed them in to keep some gamers happy. I guess there are those who love puzzles and those of us who appreciate the HOPS more so it is difficult to find the balance that will appeal to everyone.
As I mentioned above, the game does get better after the demo so if you give up on the game based on the demo you will miss the development of the storyline and all the fun the lies ahead. I’m not going to go into all of the details as other reviewers have done an excellent job of providing that information for those of you who want to know. I will only let you know that I found the CE version of the game to be one that has the things I like to find such as morphing objects and collectibles. Something that I greatly appreciate is the slider on the top left of the screen that lets us know how many collectibles or morphing objects are located in each screen. Okay, I’m a bit OCD about collectibles and morphing objects so I want to make sure I locate all of them throughout the game. The slider tool helps me ensure that I have found all of the extras in each scene.
In the past I have mentioned that I think developers would benefit by including a bit faster paced forward momentum in their games. If a game is too bogged down with finding too many small items to fix other broken items before there can be any progression, gamers will become bored and will most likely not purchase a game. I have seen this scenario reflected often enough in reviews that I think it should be looked at when a game is created. Most of us like a bit more action on the front end of a game, at least enough to get us on board and interested enough to purchase the game. Even though I found myself a bit bored in the beginning of Through the Looking Glass, thankfully I purchased the game because it is much better than I thought it was going to be. I am happy to say that as I played, the game became much better and is what I consider to be very good. As always I encourage you to try the demo to see if a game is one you will enjoy. Happy gaming!
Dawn of Hope The Frozen Soul is the third game in this series. I loved the first game as it was something different with an excellent storyline. Unfortunately, at least for me, the second game Daughter of Thunder did not hold that same feeling of excitement that I experienced with the original. When the beta for The Frozen Soul was released months ago, I tried it but for some reason I found it rather boring and I wasn’t too sure that I wanted to bother with the full game. When the game was released today I decided to try the beta and within a short time I was hooked. This game is much more than I expected and it seems even better than Skyline Adventure. The storyline picks up years after Skyline Adventure ended and is more of a continuation of that first great game.
What I enjoyed the most in this game, aside from the storyline, were the HOPS. It seemed like there were far more HOP scenes than there were puzzles. I enjoyed getting back to a game where I could play a lot of HOP scenes rather than having to solve a puzzle to make any progress in the game. The HOPS did include a variety of styles but there were far more list type scenes which made me one happy gamer. I began playing HOPA games way back when because I love searching for the items. Although we do have a tech tool that requires solving a mini-puzzle before it can be used. I rather enjoyed that type of puzzle so it didn’t bother me at all.
Perhaps a year or two ago there was a huge clamoring for more puzzles in HOPA games and BFG listened so every game eventually became so puzzle heavy that we could make no forward progress in a game without solving a puzzle. It got to the point where I actually cringed because, oh yes, there was another puzzle to solve. Although I enjoy puzzles, I do like balance in a game and it got to the point where the games were becoming too predictable and no longer fun. Fortunately, I am so happy that the Mad Head team decided to move back to the roots of the HOPA genre and included wonderful HOPS in this game. Thank you Mad Head and BFG for taking a step back to what made the HOPA games wonderful and fun for many of us in the past.
I’m not going to go into more detail and will simply tell you that I loved this game. Perhaps it is we get to meet old friends from the previous two games and work with them to rectify the great damage caused by the betrayal of a trusted mentor and friend. Will you be able to stop Queen Alyssandra who is bent on revenge and destruction of the human race and all who will help them? You will find the answer to that question as you play this terrific new Dawn of Hope game. As always, please try the demo to see if Dawn of Hope The Frozen Soul is a game you will enjoy. Happy gaming!
In what I am hoping is the kickoff bid in a new series Paranormal Files, this game Fellow Traveler is excellent. If more than 5-stars were available this game would get them. Rick Rogers is on his way to nowhere in particular when he stops to pick up a woman who is wandering in the woods. Rick finds himself on Hwy 39 when he happens to meet Emily a beautiful young woman who needs a ride to a mansion that is not that far out of his way. Rick’s life has recently had more downs than ups after he loses his job and even worse, goes home to find his fiancé in bed with his best friend. So maybe helping a beautiful woman won’t be that bad after all. It is obvious that Rick’s judgment is not firing on all cylinders when he meets Emily and soon he will live (or die) to regret his lapse. It is not long before Rick begins to see just how wrong he was!
Wow, this is one great game! After feeling rather blasé about the slew of recent cookie-cutters that have come our way, Fellow Traveler has a storyline that held me from the first scene through the bonus game. Trust me this doesn’t often happen as I am generally done by the time I reach “the end”. From the minute that Rick picks up Emily on the road this game leads me down the path to an excellent game that provided hours of entertainment.
The HOPS include enough variety that I didn’t become bored. The graphics were clear and it made playing through the HOPS fun rather than tedious, without that “oh no, another HO scene” feeling. Not only do we find the traditional scenes but there were many mini-scenes thrown in as well. Recently, I have played several games where the “mini-HOP” was used frequently and it looks like this is a new trend that we will see more often. The puzzles were entertaining and some even had enough challenge that I needed to use the old grey matter to solve them. There is a good balance between puzzles and HOPS in the game but the scale tipped a bit more in favor of the puzzles.
In the end, I was left with a very positive feeling about this game and know this is a game that I will definitely play again. As I played, I had the feeling that .Paranormal Files is a new take on the long-time Haunted Hotel series and maybe that series will finally be put to rest. After playing the beta for the game, I knew this game would be a keeper, and it definitely is! Even though this game is one that I love, as always, please try the demo to see if Paranormal Files Fellow Traveler is a game you will enjoy. Happy gaming!
I have to say that I loved the last Haunted Manor game, Painted Beauties, released in 2014 and developed by the originator of the series. If you have read my reviews you have probably guessed that I am a HOPA game junkie. I currently own a library of over 1300 games, all from BFG, and around 99 percent of those games are HOPA. Yes, I own and have played every CE HOPA game release since they first came into existence. This being said, I have a fair amount of experience with the genre.
EIPIX has done a great job in being faithful to the original games but somehow The Last Reunion seems dull and plodding with most of the fun removed by all of the tedious little bits we must find in the beginning of the game with little forward momentum to show for it. IMHO, the clamoring for difficult games has not been positive because I feel that most of the fun has been removed. Although the story was well-told, it didn’t come together quickly enough.
In order to stretch the gameplay, the dullness at the beginning sabotaged the intent and, I daresay sales of the game, because many gamers fell by the wayside before the demo ended. This seems to be a pattern with this developer as of late because at one time I loved every game from EIPIX. I want a game that holds my interest, and although the game is definitely better after the demo, it isn’t enough to generate a 5-star rating from this reviewer. It seemed as if most of the HOPS were loaded onto the back of the game with the beginning being mostly hunt and seek little odds and ends to get something to open so we could proceed. It is my hope that this wonderful development team will one day go back to its roots and develop games that are interesting and fun to play.
If you are intrigued by the game and want to purchase it, I would definitely recommend the CE because I found that I was not able to solve a couple of the puzzles, that couldn’t be skipped, so that I could actually move forward. Even though the game is less than a 5-star for me, it is worth playing and some of you might even love The Last Reunion. Happy gaming!
Fright Chasers Soul Reaper is the second game in the Fright Chasers series and after playing a few hours of the game I truly hope there will not be another one unless the developer makes some huge changes to its methods.
The storyline at first seemed interesting but it seemed there was little forward momentum as there were far too many very simple puzzles that seemed to be there simply to mollify gamers who love them. I happen to enjoy puzzles in a game but I do want them to have at least some challenge. We get to a scene and there might be a gate to go through but when I approach the gate I find I need an item to enter it. As I look for the item and spy it, I must now solve a simplistic puzzle before I can pick it up. Then I get to a door and yes, there is another puzzle but this one opens up a HOP scene – and so it goes, on and on and on. I know gamers enjoy puzzles but I happen to like challenge as well. Okay, I guess you know by now that I think there are far too many gratuitous puzzles in the game.
My next dislike of the game concerns the HOP scenes. Once we solve a puzzle to open a HOP then we are confronted, more often than not, with a scene that requires that we hunt for some symbol. Yes, Mad Head has a definite love of using symbols in their games. Not only must we find symbols, they are hidden in obscure places that are dark and the symbols become invisible. I doubt that I have ever used the hint button when finding items in a HOP than I have in this game. There were a couple of list type HOPS and the others were the type described above, which made the game extremely plodding and boring.
Mad Head must return to what they do, or at least did at one time, best. This developer is very creative so I am asking myself why this game failed on such a large scale. I believe there are a couple of reasons for the failure and one is the cookie-cutter game trap, and the other is trying to jam far too many puzzles into a game while sacrificing the story.
I’m sorry but a game I was looking forward to turned out to be a bust for me. If the puzzles were more challenging perhaps I would have enjoyed them; however, the practice of substituting symbols for real items in a HOP scene has to go.
As always, I recommend that you definitely try the demo before you buy this one because you might see something I didn’t. As for me I can’t recommend the game.
Hackamore Bluff is an amazing addition to the Rite of Passage series and I love everything about it. The game has a great storyline that is well developed (for a change) and one that creates a great feeling of mystery and fright (at least for me). As you can see by the title of my review we might just be meeting some creepy townsfolk as we move through the game.
The story centers on Carlos Montez who has been searching for something, but we don’t quite know what that might be at least early in the game. During a call to his wife (our character in the game) he tells her that he has finally found what he has spent years looking for. Just when he is about to tell her what that might be, the call is disconnected. Even though you try to call him back, he can’t be reached so you leave the safety of your home go in search of your beloved. Will you find Carlos and when you do what else will you find waiting for you in Hackamore Bluff.
This is one of the first games in months that has held my attention and kept me on the edge of my chair as I played. When the demo ended I was so thoroughly involved in the game that it was a shock.
For many of us who play virtually every HOPA game that comes our way, the mechanics and basics of the game are nothing new. We have the same tools but this time there is no cute little helper to amuse us with its antics. There is an amulet that must be (yep, you guessed it) recharged each time we use the thing. It will bounce, jiggle, and sparkle in our UI until we pick it up and use it for whatever the purpose might be. There is a puzzle to complete before it is ready to use (guess the thing used too much energy trying to get our attention).
I am not going to go into the nitty-gritty details as others have done an excellent job in providing that information for those of you who like to know what to expect. For me, most of the fun in a game is discovery as I move through the game. I will only say that I enjoyed the HOPS and Puzzles. There was nothing out of the ordinary but the HOPS were well-designed and creative. The puzzles were fun and even though most seemed easy, they were still quite entertaining.
The CE value is very good and there are lots of goodies included. We find the standard fare but the extras included make this a CE value that you should consider. I find that the package includes a lot more than we have seen in recent games. Needless to say, IMHO, it is an excellent CE game.
I couldn’t wait to download the game this morning and purchased it immediately (I had beta tested the game and knew it is one that I wanted). As you can guess by the title of my review this is a great mystery game that includes all of the creepiness that most of us could hope to find. I think this is an amazing game and hope that you will find it as enjoyable and entertaining as I do. I love the game and it has been difficult to drag myself away as I kept saying “only one more scene and I will have breakfast”. When a game is this good it really is difficult to leave and take care of those real-life tasks. Even though I think this is a terrific game, please try the demo to see if it is a game that you will enjoy. Happy gaming!
League of Light: The Game is the sixth game in the series. I think that of the previous five games Wicked Harvest was my favorite since the following games simply didn’t have the same appeal for me. I tried several times to play the beta for the current game and the one major thing that put me off is the storyline that is loosely based on the Richard Connell short story - The Most Dangerous Game. In this game we find our detective (us in the game) in a cat and mouse survival story that pits her against other participants in the game in where only the strongest will survive. The one who reaches the end of the game is declared the winner and will be asked to join the Council. Our League detective stumbles into the game seemingly by accident after her carriage is attacked as she is on her way to her next case. Will she survive the twisted intent of the Council and survive? The answer will be found as you play League of Light: The Game.
When we set up the game we can choose whether we prefer a male or female character, which is a nice touch. As in previous games we have our pumpkin head scarecrow helper who will assist us in obtaining some needed items. The developer has provided an option that shows where we have collectible items available as well as areas where we have tasks. The think I didn’t care for in the map is that is shows where we have any available task and not only the current task.
The game has nothing exceptional or different in the way of HOPS or Puzzles as we have seen them all before. At least during the demo we encounter multiple mini-HOPS where we must find and repair parts of broken items before they can be used. Aside from the mini HOPS there was a variety of style but most seem to be the list type. The puzzles include the typical moving mazes where we must avoid obstacles in order to either gain an object or to reach another location. I personally dislike those puzzles and prefer the mechanical type or those that require me to think. That being said, there still are some good puzzles included in the demo but most are relatively easy.
The CE is nothing outstanding aside from owls to find in each scene and handful of collectible figurines. The game has all of the obligatory extras but not much more. Many times I have requested that developers make their full CE content available in the demo of a game. Since this developer only allows us to see that there are two chapters in the game and then skips to show the collectibles, I will not purchase it until I know what the full content might be. The only way I will purchase a “hidden” CE game package is if there is an excellent sale, and I certainly will not pay full price to purchase “a pig in a poke.” IMHO, BFG and developers shoot down their release day sales when they choose not to show the full content of a game.
In the end, the CE content wasn’t important to me since I did not care for the storyline. I find any game theme that pits people against one another in order to survive, not one that I enjoy. I much prefer a game where people will openly help each other succeed. Perhaps you will enjoy the demo far more than I did and find the game perfect for you. As for me, the game is really not one that I liked, which is rather disappointing since I do enjoy most games from this developer. As always, please try the demo. Happy Gaming!
As evidenced by the title of the game The Andersen Accounts: Chapter One is most likely the first game in a new series. I say most likely because many gamers, me included, will absolutely hate the game and the developer might decide that it doesn’t want to move forward with the series if Chapter One doesn’t generate enough interest. Even though I purchased the game based on some of the early reviews, I regret it now and will never purchase a sequel to what I consider one of the worst games to come from this developer.
There are so many things I dislike about the game and foremost is the artistic style. The user interface area takes up almost one-fourth of the screen and I find it distracting and annoying. I also found that moving between scenes was difficult since I never knew exactly where to click to make the navigational controls work properly. The story was poorly told and, although I knew it was loosely based on a fairy tale, I wasn’t exactly certain which one, even though the collectible Red Capes were a big hint. Yes, even with those Red Capes in each scene I still couldn’t figure out the tie-in to the Red Riding Hood story and tattoos made with exotic ink.
The game apparently has sixteen HOPS that, IMHO, are fifteen too many. I found nothing different or even creative in the scenes except that the developer made some of the items almost invisible and thus extremely difficult to find. I think that developers should remember that the majority of HOPA gamers are older and many may have eyes that might not be as sharp as those of the younger crowd. When a developer strives to make HOPA scenes more difficult by blending the items to be found into the background, or by making them very small it quickly becomes no longer fun to search for them. I imagine that if this trend were to continue a lot of the HOPA fan base could disappear. I personally found the HOPS to be a disaster and so tedious that I wish there had been an alternate game to play because for the first time in all my years of playing HOPA games, I eagerly would have selected that option rather than face hunting for objects in the HOPS in this game. I made my way through eight of the scenes before I decided I had enough and quit the game. The puzzles in the game were another story but equally as bad. Not only are the instructions for the puzzles confusing and incomplete but I found at least three of them did not function at all no matter where I clicked on the game.
In the end, The Andersen Accounts: Chapter One was a huge disappointment. I had high hopes for this new series but it fell flat and didn’t hold up to the promise that I looked forward to with the game. It is time for this developer to go back to its roots or maybe take a hard look at what it got wrong in this game and see where it can improve in the future.
After your harrowing escape from the Dark Army by blowing up a major dam, things went from bad to worse when you realized that somehow the Dark Warrior escaped. Now the balloon you are in is out of control and even though your uncle Colin and Farador managed to jump you couldn’t quite make it and your balloon’s basket is now hanging precariously on the side of a canyon. After losing consciousness in the crash you finally awaken and thus begin the latest adventures of Alice and her companions.
This developer is my favorite and I know that when I purchase one of their games I certainly get a lot of bang for the money. FIVE-BN Games doesn’t skimp when creating great scenes and excellent storylines for their games. I have enjoyed all of the series they have developed but my enchantment began with House of 1000 Door series. They have a couple of excellent sci-fi type games with Forbidden Secrets Alien Town being my favorite followed by Eternal Journey Lost Atlantis. Of course my other favorites are the Lost Lands and Darkness and Flame games. I always know that I will find exactly what I am looking for when I play a FIVE-BN game.
The HOPS have a great blend of varying styles but the game isn’t overloaded with them. There are some excellent puzzles and even though some might find them easy, I find enough challenge with the puzzles to keep me happy.
It goes without saying that the game was an instant buy for me since I think this developer always creates a quality product and this is a game I wanted to play. That being said, I did notice that the proof reading for the dialog left a bit to be desired and that is unusual as I’ve never noticed it previously. In the “old days” BFG handled the proof reading and the quality of that process has significantly declined in recent years. So although there were some mistakes in the dialog but it didn’t bother me too much, at least not enough to keep me from buying the game. The Dark Side does seem to get off to a slow start with all of the mundane tasks you must complete very early on but if you can stick with it the game becomes much better. There were times I found myself holding my breath as I had near encounters with the Dark Warrior. It is my hope that you will try the demo for Darkness and Flame the Dark Side and that you will enjoy is as much as me. Happy Gaming!