goregoregirl's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:817
- Reviews Submitted:28
- First Review:November 10, 2011
- Most Recent Review:November 29, 2014
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Bring an end to Mr. Dudley's reign of terror!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 7 found this review helpful
Good, not great, game in this series- on the easy side.
PostedNovember 29, 2014
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Based on the demo only:
This is pretty much what you'd expect if you've played the other games in this series: creepy weirdness in a fun game. The strong point is the inventive, colorful, eerie graphics and strange characters. Most of the graphics are unusual, but some are unfortunately what we see a lot of in games. If I see one more floating island in a game, I'll scream. The gameplay only gets three stars, but the graphics add another one for me.
Basic points:
= Game modes are either Expert or Casual, with no customization available.
= The map is very helpful.
= The inventory doesn't seem to lock, which drove me bonkers because it seemed to bounce open and closed, making it hard to grab items.
= The gameplay is not linear- i.e., you have several options of where to go and what to do next.
= HOS are both normal (mostly static, with some small interactivity) and collecting bits to assemble an object.
= The CE extras don't seem very enticing to me- a shame.
= Game modes are either Expert or Casual, with no customization available.
= The map is very helpful.
= The inventory doesn't seem to lock, which drove me bonkers because it seemed to bounce open and closed, making it hard to grab items.
= The gameplay is not linear- i.e., you have several options of where to go and what to do next.
= HOS are both normal (mostly static, with some small interactivity) and collecting bits to assemble an object.
= The CE extras don't seem very enticing to me- a shame.
Here's what I found disappointing- the candy cane collectibles are very very easy to find. When you do collect them, you are allowed to buy "upgrades" to the look of your journal, the design next to the inventory, and the animal that appears (randomly, as far as I can tell) above the hint button. None are better than any other. I don't care if my journal is blue instead of brown. Why do I want a rabbit instead of an owl? And why is there an animal there anyway?
The achievements seem to be mostly participation prizes. "You got to chapter two!" sort of things. These seem pointless to me. It's not a big achievement to get halfway through a game, and I feel silly being congratulated for it.
The HOS and puzzles were painfully easy to me. Surely a little bit of challenge would make it more fun?
I'll probably wait for the SE, and even then it's not a sure buy for me. But the graphics are certainly fun!
I recommend this game!
Find out who framed your fiancé for murder and clear his name
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Classy, complex Art Deco fun
PostedNovember 29, 2014
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I love the Final Cut series. This seems to be on par with previous games.
I've only played the demo, but I'll put in my two cents. Like the earlier games in the series, this has great graphics. Everything is Art Deco and beautifully designed. This is probably the strongest asset for these games. The designers have made skipping dialog easy, but this is a dialog-heavy, story-strong adventure game. Those who want HOS and nothing but HOS may not enjoy this game. For myself, I love a good story! The puzzles I played were lovely but pretty easy. I prefer a little more challenge. They may get more challenging later in the game, I don't know.
If you love great graphics and a solid storyline, you'll love this.
I recommend this game!
The Jim and Frank Mysteries: The Blood River Files
Join two best pals, Jim and Frank as they set out to uncover the mystery of the Blood River!
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
No frills (at all), but Puzzler's Dream!
PostedAugust 18, 2014
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I very much wish Big Fish had a discount bin. All the old-timey games that they resurrect or the "homemade" games could go in there, this included. Not bad games, just not "premium" games. Bonus: people looking for old school games would know where to go. (Hint, hint!!)
I got this app for my iPhone years ago. It is the just about the only game I've ever seen that is actually best on a phone. Simple (and I mean simple) graphics, no distractions, no whiz-bang. They've added some more background and back story to try to flesh out the game for the big screen. Not a bad effort, but this bare-bones game is what it is.
What it is, is a puzzler's dream. I seem to recall there being actually several hundred puzzles (from playing it on my phone). The story is sort of cute, but besides the point. This is all about puzzles. All kinds of puzzles. Every kind of puzzle. Math puzzles, logic puzzles, spatial puzzles, word puzzles, picture puzzles... While you're doing this, you're also collecting cards so you can play bonus anagram puzzles. And bits of a photograph so you can do a jigsaw. Which, it seems to me, gets you more puzzles. Your brain will be stretched six ways from Sunday! Also, I love the puzzle hint system and the scribble pad for figuring out puzzles.
I recommend this game!
Follow the kidnapper's clues, rediscover Sarah's past and bring her brother back to safety in this action packed Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
A solid B-. Very good graphics, great live action, good play.
PostedOctober 24, 2013
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Like several other reviewers, I'm a bit baffled by the low reviews. This is a good, solid game with some stellar qualities and some faults.
I've played the demo through, and it's entertaining and attractive. It's not a blockbuster, but nor it is shoddy. It's well crafted, from the acting and graphic direction to the puzzles. Are there things I would change? Yes.
Most annoying to me: the game splits rather suddenly between live action scenes starring a very attractive young lady and animation scenes featuring a character who has only a passing resemblance to said actress. I find this annoys me a lot. Their eyes are different colors, one wears jeans and one khakis, and one is more- um- endowed than the other. The animated heroine also seems to me to be inappropriately sexualized. Both live action and animation are pretty well done, but they don't jibe very well. It seems that perhaps they started with the animation bits, and then tried to find an actress who kinda sorta looked like her.
The direction of the actions scenes is inventive and interesting, and that makes a game more pleasurable to me. But the story is a little spotty. Intriguing and suspenseful, but a bit thin. It may be clear in the developer's head, but I'm given no idea whether the heroine is scared, is angry, knows what's going on, or is as lost as I am. Let me into the character and the story!
Good HOS with few of what I call "cheats"= items "hidden" by simply making them teeny tiny or black against black.
I recommend this game!
There is a wonderful tale within you. 7 Grand Steps builds a story of your ancestors and how you came to be.
Overall rating
4
/
5
24 of 25 found this review helpful
Feels like a Euro board game- strategic, attractive, replayable.
PostedOctober 2, 2013
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This feels very like a Euro board game. Think Puerto Rico, Carcassone, Settlers of Catan. Like many of those games, the mechanics are pretty simple: do steps 1-4 (helpfully prompted at first), go to the next round. The computer format makes this a solitaire game, but I can see how playing on a board with others would work.
This is a strategy game. The point is not to get to the end (imho), but to plan a prosperous trip (with a little luck). As with many strategic games (Puerto Rico occurs to me), I sense that every time I play, I'll learn and figure out a little bit more. Opportunities are rife for trying out different strategies to see how they'd pan out.
The good: with the computerized format, helpful prompts speed learning time. With many board games of a strategic sort, it can take an hour or more to read and understand the rules. This is a jump-right-in approach. Nice! There's still a learning curve, though. With this kind of game, the game generally gets more enjoyable every time you play it. It's not an instant gratification situation. But if you're willing to spend the time and mental energy, I think it could be endlessly replayable.
The downside: being a solitaire game, I don't get to see how the interactions between my moves and opponents' moves would pan out. These pawns are "shadow pawns" in this game. On the other hand, I don't have to spend hours cooped up with gamers of questionable social skills!
In short: the game takes place (or should) more in your head than on the "board". Board gamers would enjoy. Others might welcome the change of pace. Not a mindless time-waster! But I can foresee many days of learning strategies and replay.
I recommend this game!
When a medical consultation goes terribly wrong, it's up to you to realize the full potential of your ability and save the day!
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 8 found this review helpful
Very good, gorgeous, atmospheric spooky game with flaws.
PostedJune 21, 2013
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
There is so much they get right here. Great sound and music. Wonderful visuals. A sense of urgency and threat. An intense storyline (although a bit baffling in places). This could have been a really great game.
Overall, I really enjoyed it. The puzzles were good, although sometimes poorly explained. It was diverting and fun. BUT...
Misidentified objects make me feel cheated. When it happens over and over, it seems like every HOS is a random waste of time. Sometimes I wonder if young game developers hold meetings where they all gather to look at stock images for use in their hidden object scenes. I imagine it goes something like this: "I don't know. What do YOU think that is?" "I dunno. It looks a little like a... tea kettle." "A tea kettle? I was gonna say a gas can. Who votes for 'gas can'?"
Some of the wildly erroneous object identifications:
+ "loupe" is not a loupe. It's actually a magnifying glass. I've used loupes often. I know what they look like.
+ "scales" is an old-fashioned coffee grinder.
+ "tissue holder" is a napkin holder. It sounds like they should be similar looking items, but they're really not.
+ "arrow" is a throwing spear, with rope and everything.
+ "battery" is a cigarette butt- no kidding- with charred end and everything.
And there are many more. Also, HOS are repeated several times. In one there are two lanterns. Given the clue "lantern", EITHER should be acceptable. If it says "lantern", and I've found a "lantern"- guess what? I should win. Choosing one lantern in one go around, and then the other in another is NOT KOSHER! SO annoying.
+ "loupe" is not a loupe. It's actually a magnifying glass. I've used loupes often. I know what they look like.
+ "scales" is an old-fashioned coffee grinder.
+ "tissue holder" is a napkin holder. It sounds like they should be similar looking items, but they're really not.
+ "arrow" is a throwing spear, with rope and everything.
+ "battery" is a cigarette butt- no kidding- with charred end and everything.
And there are many more. Also, HOS are repeated several times. In one there are two lanterns. Given the clue "lantern", EITHER should be acceptable. If it says "lantern", and I've found a "lantern"- guess what? I should win. Choosing one lantern in one go around, and then the other in another is NOT KOSHER! SO annoying.
Which would be bad enough, but there is also some crazy illogic. Finding chemicals to "develop" a Polaroid picture makes as much sense as sharpening a ballpoint pen. Really. Go ask your parents. A solid block of ice filling an entire door cannot be "defrosted" with a crow bar. Freezing a metal cabinet door with liquid nitrogen may make it brittle and easier to break, but not with your fist. Unless you're the Hulk.
What else? There is no map, and the back and forth becomes very very tedious. So- with a bit more work and thought, it would have been great. But the flaws are pretty outstanding.
Can you uncover the truth before you become the next page in the killer’s diary?
Overall rating
2
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Started out great, got more and more disappointing.
PostedJune 12, 2013
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
It's an attractive game with some interesting puzzles. But the frustrations and annoyances mounted as I played. Now, we all expect some goofy logic from HOGs. You may spend five minutes opening a complex safe to retrieve a... paperclip? I pretty much take that sort of thing in stride. But the illogic and flaws present in this game smack of carelessness, and a disrespect for any cohesive story.
There is no useful hint system. The developers did try to change it up some by switching out "there is nothing to do here" with "try somewhere else" and a few other phrases. But the bottom line: this is something I've come to expect from lesser games that come in a Collector's Edition. By giving no useful gameplay hints, they can seemingly justify the added expense of buying a Collector's Edition with a Strategy Guide. Pretty lame, in my view.
There are the (unfortunately, usual) errors, misspellings and misidentifications. Does the term "clippers" really encompass sugar tongs, fire tongs, ice tongs and pliers? "Look this is snake" could really use some proofreading, don't you think?
But the worst is the errors in logic and story. At one point we sterilize a wound AFTER having bandaged it. Our hero, a detective, thinks nothing of using murder weapons to, say, slice fruit. Really?! In a fully equipped kitchen?! But our hero also seems obtusely stymied by the concept of toilet paper. Oil paints are NOT, as the developer seems to think, made of pigments mixed with blackened motor oil. Embroidery cannot be "unembroidered". When trying to put out a fire, do you start looking for oranges to juice? Our hero does. Even though there is a working sink in the next room. Murder victims are left where they are found, without even a cursory inspection by our detective.
The worst was the ending. The ending was so abrupt and nonsensical that I'm still wondering if there was a malfunction. At the end of this murder mystery, I am informed of the murderer's identity. Nothing in the story up till then gives even a slight indication- there has certainly been no detection on the hero's part leading to the result. At the end of the story, I have NO IDEA who the murdered women were, and I have NO IDEA why they were killed. Breaking every cardinal rule of murder mysteries, and of decent stories in general.
It seems such a shame that artists and developers worked obviously very hard to produce this game, and no one in charge thought that actually WRITING THE STORY mattered at all.
I don't recommend this game.
Escape from Thunder Island
Join the more-brave-than-brilliant aviatrix Rita James on a quest to rescue her kidnapped father in Escape from Thunder Island!
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Flawed, spunky game has its attractions
PostedOctober 25, 2012
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is not a great game. It's a "buy it on sale" or "buy it when you've played everything else" game. Having said that, it has its points. The pros are about the approach to the story and characters. The cons are, unfortunately, about game play.
The characters and story are interesting and engaging. There is a sense of humor here which is rare. Chapters are separated by old Flash Gordon-style cliffhangers, complete with "tune in next time" title cards, and the adventure is fairly rollicking. Characters are drawn in somewhat crude, but lively, comic book style and include a daring pied-faced monkey with an eyepatch. And for those (like my husband) who hate that in most HOGs tools disappear after one use- what a treat! You get to keep using your tools throughout the game. Why throw away a perfectly good crowbar? You just know it will come in handy again. There are also bonus objects to find, which I enjoy.
The game is, unfortunately, inconsistent in most respects. The "luck" theme in the story is heavily played in the beginning, and then dropped suddenly. The graphics are cartoony in cut-scenes and not in game play scenes. There are a few annoying bits of illogic- a puzzle piece "embedded in stone" comes free not with a crowbar but with a shovel, for instance. Items are sometimes misclued, but generally not too badly. And the worst offense for most players, I think- HOS are often murky, dark, and rather fuzzy. This will be a breaking point for many, but I found that if I just accepted that I would use a hint or two for just about every HOS, it wasn't too bad. The story and style compensated for these drawbacks fairly well.
In short: I recommend it, but not highly.
I recommend this game!
Judge Dee is the newly appointed magistrate of Yiwang prefect. Help him uncover the truth behind a town's dark secret, its corrupt officials and the true cause of a mysterious illness!
Overall rating
5
/
5
25 of 48 found this review helpful
Standout, unusual puzzle/HO game- lovely and elegant.
PostedSeptember 17, 2012
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is a refreshingly different game. The Chinese character of this game runs deep, from the beautiful illustrations, the wonderful architecture and costumes, the less-direct nature of the game, the sorts of mini-games (Go, tangrams), the unusual approach to sound and music. It's really a different experience, and one that is a bit perplexing at times. But in a good way!
Highly recommended, especially for those who dislike dark, morbid games (I love them, myself, but to each his own).
I recommend this game!
Escape the Emerald Star
You awake to find your cruise ship abandoned and in disarray. Can you track down all the fragments of a map and escape the ship?
Overall rating
2
/
5
47 of 59 found this review helpful
Bare-bones HOG, no characters or story. Good if you like that.
PostedApril 25, 2012
goregoregirl
fromSanta Rosa, CA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This may be a bit skewed, because I don't care for bare-bones HOGs. There aren't cutscenes, no characters, no storyline to speak of. Just hidden object scenes. There are achievements you can be awarded, which give slightly more interest to the game. For me, though, this kind of game seems like drudgery.
On the plus side, the graphics and sound are decent.
I don't recommend this game.