MSBAM100's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.7
- Helpful Votes:8,578
- Reviews Submitted:240
- First Review:January 11, 2013
- Most Recent Review:January 27, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Nightmares from the Deep: Davy Jones Collector's Edition
Escape the cold incarceration of Davy Jones' brig and discover the otherworldly origins of his galleon in this thrilling Hidden Object adventure.
Overall rating
5
/
5
10 of 14 found this review helpful
Davy Jones is back again!
PostedMarch 27, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is the third and maybe the best game in the series! You don't have to have played the previous ones, but you will want to. You are once again Sarah Black, curator of the Caribbean Museum, who must now save your daughter Cory from Davy Jones, who is quite perturbed you were about to reveal his secrets from your previous adventures. So he kidnaps you both. The cut scenes showing Davy and his ship are gorgeous. Cory signs a pact with DJ to save you from walking the plank, but you have to walk it anyway. Luckily, the lifeboat from the ship is right beside where you land in the water, so you fix an oar and row to DJ's island.
You meet one of the 12 guardians of DJ's memories, who says there is a condition that ends all pacts, if only they could remember what it is. A clever telescope game shows you Cory being imprisoned and gains you a map of the island. Whew! So much happens in the demo -- you have to get the game to save Cory, end the pacts, and get yourself home!
Artifex Mundi doesn't miss a trick. There are three types of HOS, so you won't get bored -- FROGs, Interactive ones with silhouettes, and lists. Everything has a nautical theme. The mini-games are full of pirates and not too hard -- I didn't even skip any so far. Nor did I need to use a hint -- not even for a HOS. The graphics are so crisp and clean and clear, that you can spot what you need -- helped by sparkles in casual mode. One scene involves a dog so real you want to pet him and adopt him!
The achievements are all objects on parts of a ship -- the deck, the captain's cabin, and below deck. There are several collectibles -- 10 pirate cards, 12 seahorses, and 24 puzzle pieces -- although I didn't find any until I arrived at the island. There is no icon telling me I missed one, unfortunately. The other CE blind includes wallpaper, soundtracks, art, cut scenes, and the HOS.
This is a wonderful, fun game, just perfect for the weekend! Have got to have it!
I recommend this game!
Will you heed the director’s final casting call?
Overall rating
5
/
5
25 of 34 found this review helpful
Morton Wolf's legacy lives/dies on!
PostedMarch 22, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is the third in the Final Cut series, and each one seems to get harder! The cut scene in the beginning kind of sums up the first two adventures, with daddy dying and crazy half-sister trying to kill your brother Frederick. Your dad's invention, a projector that switches between reality and "movie mode", is almost a character in its own right.
You play the normal daughter of Morton Wolf, who receives a package while meeting with a reporter who tells you about a serial murderer called "the Director". Golly gee, guess who your package is from? The Director plans to kill your friends and family if you don't go back home and be in his movie, using your father's projector, of course. So you figure out how to get the car to drive you home, and the nosy reporter comes along as well.
When you arrive, your gardener is wrapped up in a scene from one of your father's movies - he thinks he's a pirate. One you repair the projector, you flip back and forth between the movie set and your foyer, trying to figure out how to save the gardener. You must concentrate here, or you'll get yourself confused! The pirate movie, I am sure, is only one of many where you'll have to save someone.
There is so much to do here! You have a map -- the one poor feature of the game. You also have your hint button, and four modes to choose from, including custom. The HOS are interactive lists, or silhouette lists that require you to interact with almost every item to get the next item. And they are not easy -- I had to use the hint button a few times to figure out what I needed to find in order to get the silhouetted item. The mini-games are clever and fun. You have to move a rabblit through a maze that turns upside down and sideways until you get to the carrot. Another one makes you guide a phonograph needle through a maze on the record.
Plus, there are 49 clapperboards well-hidden in each scene, but I love the fact that an icon shows if you've found the one in that scene yet or not. It helps me remember to look! There are also 15 morphing items that also have an icon that shows up -- I found one in a HOS. There is a souvenir room, that shows up after you finish the game and the bonus game. In previous games, there was one additional item to be collected in each room, that gave you a final picture of what you'd accomplished -- fun and easy to do.
Additionally, there is the bonus game, the strategy guide -- useful for finding clapperboards and morphing objects, I suspect. There is also the "making of" feature which in previous EIPIX games was about 50 pictures of the developers at work - and play. All the other CE bling is present as well.
I played the previous two adventures as SEs, but this one is so special I will have to purchase the CE.
I recommend this game!
Can you and Detective Dupin uncover the dark secrets of this mysterious estate?
Overall rating
5
/
5
69 of 88 found this review helpful
Can you save the Usher twins?
PostedMarch 20, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Every one of these Poe tales by ERS has a fantastic storyline and intriguing gameplay, and this one is no different. The demo barely gets you started on the story and leaves many things unexplained.
You are Detective Dupin's assistant once again, summoned by Dr. Morris who cares for the Usher twins Madeleine and Roderick. The twins are "attached" both mentally and physically, One twin's condition affects the other. And unfortunately, Madeleine has disappeared and the twins' condition is deteriorating. Plus, they are the last remaining heirs to the House of Usher.
There are many unique tools in this game. Of course you have a very nice map of the house and the grounds, plus your hint button, but you also discover photos that match up to areas within a scene that provide additional clues. And you eventually unlock the "Reborn One" that has the power to bring stone items to life -- ravens, a flower, a dog, and who knows what else. You also discover that others have disappeared as well. And then there is Estelle, who seems to be the nanny to the twins, but is not very helpful.
The first HOS has clues that are riddles. Another is an interactive list. You can switch to puzzle mode and play a unique game that requires you to match three but the items are not linear, but in a triangle. The mini-puzzles vary from easy matching of tiles, to a more difficult train your mouse to travel through a maze collecting keys. Plus, doll houses full of coins keep appearing. The coins are used to purchase scientific collectibles, but for what purpose is not explained in the demo.
There are four modes of play, including custom. You can take photographs using your camera that are stored in an achievement photo album. Extras include the normal movies, wallpaper, art, screensavers, music, mini-games, HOS, the story, a bonus game, and the strategy guide. The opening cut scene with someone - perhaps it is Roderick - being buried alive is suitably creepy for a Poe tale.
There is so much to do, so many locks to unlock by finding items, so many unexplained story items - the lake turns into a mysterious swamp. I cannot wait to buy this and get answers to all my questions!
I recommend this game!
Make your American Dream come true in California, where the only thing hotter than the sun is the gold fever!
Overall rating
5
/
5
28 of 33 found this review helpful
Join the California Gold rush!
PostedMarch 18, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Nice little time management game -- not too hard, with a little bit of variety. You get to be a male or female player, who joins forces with a developer to mine for gold and build the town. The best part is, you can play in timed or untimed mode. I LOVE untimed mode! You can win three stars every time, it seems. You use the stars to construct buildings in town -- a hotel, the saloon, housing -- after each level. The levels consist of the regular TM tasks -- get food, chop trees, collect gold, chase away the wolves, build bridges, build a gold mine, etc. Great fun!
I recommend this game!
A dragon has awoken after a hundred years - and it's after your son.
Overall rating
5
/
5
27 of 32 found this review helpful
Dragons and Dark Elves and Elven Kings, oh my!
PostedMarch 15, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
A fascinating game from top-notch developers! The mood of the game - music, voiceovers, graphics - reminds me of Lord of the Rings, complete with a Dark Elf that looks and sounds like Legolas. When the elf Eridan said "Dragon's Bane", I actually laughed out loud!
Right after you fix his toy dragon, your son Tevin is taken away by Grimtooth the dragon, and dragons haven't been seen in 100 years or so. He even sets your home on fire. So off you go to rescue your son. You quickly meet Eridan, who takes you to Silverleaf, the home of the Dark Elves. He tells you to speak to the spirit of King Horith, who will tell you what Grimtooth wants with your son. Turns out your son is an "Emberwing", who has the gift of being able to speak in dragon tongue, and to find your son you must locate Grimtooth's lair. Great story so far?
Everything about this game is atmospheric. There are three modes of play, a teleporting map, and a hint button that is actually Tevin's toy dragon and points you to an object or a place to jump to,
The HOS are lists, with clever touches such as rotating shelves, drawers to open, and cupboard doors. The mini-games are everywhere, even to unlock the map. You must put together a diorama of the dragon/elven battle, then move the pieces to find 8 gems, plus put together a flag puzzle in the middle of it. Another one fills in the backstory of why the dragon/elf alliance turned sour -- the dragons stole the elves' treasure. But as part of the story, you must find items hidden within pictures hanging on the wall -- kind of a HOS within a mini-game.
The achievements are kind of fun -- pet the goat 5 times, chase the cat 6 times, find the Boomzap developer's logo -- in addition the the normal ones for speed and not using hints. You have 50 round collectible items -- looks like a crest -- and fairly easy to find. I wish there was an icon that showed you if you found the collectible in that scene or not, because I always forget to look. The other CE bling is a Bonus Game, the Strategy Guide, sound, art, wallpaper, and cut scenes. I even played the game with the sound on, because it adds to the atmosphere. You've got to try it!
I recommend this game!
Dark Dimensions: Somber Song Collector's Edition
Townspeople flee as the black smoke covers their town. Can you close the dark dimension, before it’s too late?
Overall rating
5
/
5
38 of 60 found this review helpful
What happened at the music school?
PostedMarch 13, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is the fourth game in the series, and I haven't played any of the others, so I feel at a slight disadvantage, because you are evidently a "Dark Dimension" hunter, but I don't know why or how. A short preview would have been good.
Nevertheless, this is still quite an interesting game. You are at Seven Oaks Inn when a girl - Lydia? - knocks at your door and asks you to save her. Unfortunately, she is enveloped by smoke and carried off. It seems she is the survivor of a recent fire at the Music School that killed 7 students. You meet the ghost of a boy who says he saved Lydia from the fire, but not himself, and "it was not her fault."
The HOS are all lists, but very interactive -- most objects require you to find another object and then act upon them. They are hard, but inventive. The mini-games are rather easy, but all are unique and follow the story line. You also keep finding fragments of music that supposedly will help you once you find them all, but it is not clear how many there are, or how you access them.
There are three modes of play, and a nice teleporting map with activity areas marked. I used the hint button quite often in the HOS -- it does refill quickly in Casual Mode.
The Bonus items include a bonus scenario, a Match-3 game, wallpaper, music, and a 50+ picure developers' diary. Make sure you scroll through the developers' diary. It is quite cool to see pictures of the developers working at their desks, eating Russian#?# snacks. Plus seeing the girl model for Lydia - wearing the same outfit as in the game - and the boy model also dressed as in the game is pretty interesting!
I plan to buy this game, but I will have to go back and play the previous ones as well!
I recommend this game!
Supervise the construction of the iconic Great Wall of China, and protect your villages against plundering!
Overall rating
5
/
5
21 of 26 found this review helpful
Learn about the Great Wall!
PostedMarch 10, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I love these Monument Builder games. Since I have been to the Great Wall in China, I was particularly excited to play this game and learn more historical facts! I just wish these games had a relaxed mode, as I am not as fast as I used to be with thinking and clicking!
Play is about the same as in the previous Monument Builder games. You are hired by Qiu Jin to help build the Great Wall, working through rice paddies, mountains, desert, fields and the coast. Instead of a bank, you build a print factory that prints money for you. You still have the quarry for cut stones, and the farm for food, and the trees for logs. You add workers, fix potholes, fight monks to get stones, fight Manchus, and deliver scaffolding and other parts as required by Qiu Jin. He still asks you questions about the facts you've read, and gives you a small bonus for getting them correct.
One improvement in the game is, you now get to "spend" your earned stars on either Specialized Workers, Faster Production, or Automatic Transport. I particularly like the automatic transport part, as I would always forget to click to transport the stuff wherever it needed to go. If you enjoyed the other Monument Builders, you've probably already bought this! If not, try it out!
I recommend this game!
Explore the Mystery Unicorn Castle and save Sophie from the Beastmaster in this exciting HOPA game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
61 of 77 found this review helpful
Path of Evil or Path of Good?
PostedMarch 8, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
What an interesting game! Lots of fog and black smoke and giant rats in a truly creepy atmosphere. You are a detective whose been summoned to find the 5-year old orphan Sophie Smith, whose been abducted by a large creature with red eyes. While rushing to the site on your motorcycle, you crash into the beast and end up in a cemetery. As you solve your way out of the cemetery, you see the beast take Sophie into the Unicorn Castle. So of course, you follow them.
What makes this game so different is, you are required to make decisions throughout the game, that affect your Karmic Path. If you look in the Trophy Room, you see achievements for following the Path of Good, or the Path of Evil. For example, I decided to help the ghost of the Blacksmith find out who sentenced him to die in his Smithy -- that put me on the path to Good. However, I decided to kill a poisonous scorpion instead of safely removing it -- that's part of the path to Evil. It will be fun to replay this and see if changing my choices changes the way the game is played.
Anyway, you have a beautiful teleporting map with both activities and HOPs marked - another nice touch. The hint button shows you what object from your inventory to use where, plus if you click on the "wisps", it refills immediately. The HOS are all lists, but the mini-games have some unique twists and are "just right" in difficulty. One of them has you match spinning pointers with the objects they go with - after you find the missing arrow/pointer. Another one has you connect bulbs with varying numbers of wires in order to turn on the fan to clear the smoke from the kitchen. Plus, when putting out the fire, it will restart if you don't do it correctly.
Besides the trophies, you have 45 pumpkins to find -- I am terrible at this, because I get too involved in the game and forget to look for the collectibles! There are four levels of difficulty, plus a strategy guide - not used - and a bonus scenario, along with a Gallery, the Music, the Puzzles to replay and the HOPs.
The only complaint I have is, at times the scenes are too dark. An option for "brighten" would be most helpful.
This is a great game, and just when you're about to save Sophie, the warlock appears with his black smoke, grabs her, and takes her through a portal. And the demo ends! Followed by a scenic tour of what comes next, you almost have to say "buy" to this game!
I recommend this game!
Plunge into new adventures of the Viking king and his friends.
Overall rating
5
/
5
62 of 70 found this review helpful
The Vikings are Back!
PostedMarch 6, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Why didn't somebody say there was a relaxed mode to this game! I loved Vikings 1 but I am just not fast enough to finish a level unless it is not timed. Relaxed mode still gets you 3 stars so you will also get the bonus levels in each section. In this game your village has grown and prospered, but there is a disease and you must - of course - travel to the ends of the earth to get the medicine to help your villagers, especially your son who is also ill.
You still have to build sawmills, farms, huts, log cabins, and keep the campfires lit. However, now you must also contend with snowdrifts, which grow larger the longer you ignore clearing them. And they come back! You have snow and mountains and fire and clouds and forests -- great fun for all!
Bought this game without even trying it! You too will be hooked - even if you are slow, like me!
I recommend this game!
The seven deadly sins have plunged peaceful Riddlestone into chaos! Rescue the royal family and save their people from destruction.
Overall rating
5
/
5
73 of 102 found this review helpful
Brush up on your seven deadly sins!
PostedMarch 6, 2014
MSBAM100
fromTampa, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Elephant Games brings us another fun and interesting challenge. The town of Riddlestone has been overtaken by the seven deadly sins -- greed, gluttony, envy, wrath, sloth, pride, and jealousy -- in case you've forgotten. You are again a detective, summoned by Queen Olivia, to find her daughter Ann. You discover she has been overtaken by Greed, and converted into an evil being who loves gold. You find a banishing crystal that, when charged, can defeat each sin. You use it on gluttony to save the artist's daughter. After recharging, you are about to use it on greed..........when the demo ends! Bummer!
The storyline is unique, as with most of the Elephant games. You have a teleporting map and a hint button that helps you decide where to teleport to. The HOS are lists, but they are clear and clean -- uncluttered and easy to see. The mini-games are repeats of ones we have seen before. You recharge your crystal with magic from each sin's sign.
You collect figurines that give a summary of the main characters' hobbies, personality, etc. The king is depicted on his deathbed, due to the ruination of his town. You can view the figurines via a "stage" icon on the game screen. There are also 24 crowns to collect, achievements, wallpaper, art, music, a bonus game and a strategy guide. You can choose from three modes of play.
While not the best of the developer's games, this is still a worthy effort with an interesting story line. The two games offered with this one are excellent. Try it yourself and see!
I recommend this game!