Rhysdux's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.1
- Helpful Votes:620
- Reviews Submitted:16
- First Review:February 1, 2012
- Most Recent Review:June 20, 2014
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Overall rating
2
/
5
60 of 67 found this review helpful
The Name of the Game Should Be "Frustration"
PostedJune 20, 2014
Rhysdux
fromWest Hartford, CT
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Mahjong
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The formulas that you have to buy were the worst; they're expensive. You pretty much have to buy gems so that you can afford multiple "boosts" that allow you to cut minutes or even hours off of the time it takes to forge a formula. You can't go anywhere else while the formula is being created, either. You just have to sit there and do nothing. Boring and frustrating.
Also, the game doesn't like it when you try to go around the blocks it sets up. Instead of letting you accumulate gold, gems or items, it starts pointing arrows at you and dropping hints mid-mission that you absolutely have to go to Place X or Locale Y. This can be absolutely maddening if you're trying to gather enough money to purchase a formula.
Don't waste your time with this. The premise isn't bad, but the execution needs a lot more work.
I don't recommend this game.
After inheriting an old antique shop, Emily discovers an odd diary that seems to contain a number of clues as to the book's origin. As she delves deeper into the mystery, what she uncovers will change her forever.
Overall rating
1
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Unplayable
PostedMarch 28, 2014
Rhysdux
fromWest Hartford, CT
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Mahjong
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I couldn't get past the main menu. The music was so loud that it hurt my ears, and it wouldn't turn off no matter how often I tried to change the game options. The cursor was also sluggish and hard to control, while the backstory was small black script against a yellowish brown background, making it very hard to read. I wanted to play this--it sounded reminiscient of a TV show I used to watch about an antique shop that sold cursed artifacts--but the sluggish and uncontrollable cursor, as well as the painful music, made this game unwelcome.
I don't recommend this game.
The King of the Dwarves is relying on you to lead a building expedition! An exciting adventure awaits you in Fable of Dwarfs!
Overall rating
2
/
5
7 of 18 found this review helpful
Pretty Much Like Every TM Game
PostedFebruary 26, 2014
Rhysdux
fromWest Hartford, CT
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Mahjong
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
That's the problem. It's like every other time management game where you have to rebuild the kingdom. I'm tired of that story by now.
Also, I'd say that the lack of an exit button is a flaw in the design. You can get out of the game--but the exit button should be there.
I don't recommend this game.
Spend the night in an abandoned mansion. Can you survive to uncover the terrible secret about your ancestor?
Overall rating
2
/
5
31 of 46 found this review helpful
More of the same
PostedFebruary 27, 2013
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Dull-to-average hidden object and puzzle game. As usual, the search is focused on an old, dark, falling-to-pieces house that the player character has a connection with but knows very little about; as usual, you have to explore this falling-to-pieces house at night. The storyline is thin and rather rushed, as if the designers were in a hurry to get to the game portion. As happens all too often in such games, the art is cursed with a muddy palette and too much shadowing; the music and voices are all right but, again, are nothing special.
As for gameplay, the hints counter isn't very fast; it's not the most sluggish I've ever seen, but it is on the slow side. The hidden objects can be VERY small if you have to pick up them up and place them in or on a specific object. And there's no way to magnify the objects or to increase brightness in HO scenes.
It's not a horrible game. it just isn't especially good.
Bottom line--if you really, really love this sort of game, it might be for you. But if you're looking for something special to spend your money on, save it for something that IS special. Believe me, this isn't it.
I don't recommend this game.
Help Islabelle the Mermaid save an orphanage as you seek and find your way across beautiful underwater locations!
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Gloriously Light-Hearted
PostedJuly 30, 2012
Rhysdux
fromWest Hartford, CT
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Strategy
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Sometimes a game comes along that is just pure fun, and such is the case with Tales of Lagoona. Its plot is as frothy and light as an ice cream float. The story--that of a dilapidated undersea orphanage in dire need of renovations before the local gangsters, Bill Barracuda and his disconcertingly honest henchman, can tear it down and put up something more profitable--doesn't take itself one bit seriously. Both the orphans and the local community pitch in to sell enough items (or to find special items that someone will pay dearly for) in order to collect enough money for the renovations.
In addition to the hidden objects scenes, there are ten different kinds of mini-games and you can play through ten levels of each one. (You might finish the game before that, around level 97 or 98,) There are also hidden coins in each HOG; these become "found money" that's added toward your renovation fund. And, despite being a Standard Edition, it comes with loads of extras--wallpapers, mini-games that you can play independently of the main story, and so many achievements that trying to get them all is a game in itself.
This game leaves me feeling happy and optimistic, as if any problem can be met and dealt with. Not much makes me feel that way. I'm so glad that this game does.
Solve a murder in the world famous Eastville Opera House! The Queen of Drama, Dolores Molinero has been killed and the suspect is still at large.
Overall rating
1
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Not for the Visually Challenged
PostedJune 10, 2012
Rhysdux
fromWest Hartford, CT
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Strategy
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Sorry, developers. I can't play this game. The objects are too small for me to see, much less distinguish, which means that the only way for me to find objects in the hidden object scenes is by random clicking. Unfortunately, the game penalizes you for doing so, making the cursor swirl around randomly after you hit two or three objects incorrectly.
In addition, the print is impossibly small, to the point where I had trouble even seeing the letters I was typing for my screenname. The small print in the backstory and in the gameplay instructions? Eye-strainingly small. There's also no way to enlarge the screen and therefore expand the font. Nor are there any voiceovers, so you can't gather the information needed in that fashion.
All told, this game is terrible for anyone who is visually challenged or visually disabled. For shame, devs. It's 2012! You should know better than this! X(
I don't recommend this game.
Whispers
While doing some fieldwork Charlotte Davis has her soul captured by an evil sorcerer! Help her escape his clutches!
Overall rating
1
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
An Invitation to Eyestrain
PostedMay 30, 2012
Rhysdux
fromWest Hartford, CT
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The color palette is very limited--various shades of blue in one scene, various shades of brown or grey in the next. The heavy use of shadows makes it impossible to see the hidden objects unless you position your head or body a certain way. Fortunately, if you just randomly click on objects in the hidden object games, you'll get most of the objects--and the hint button will find the objects that, more likely than not, you've already clicked on to no avail.
The art is...odd. The objects are drawn in a kind of shadowy photo-realism; the people, however, are portrayed as rough pencil sketches. The two styles don't mesh well.
There are no voiceovers, sounds or music. There IS a lot of reading, which you have to do in order to discover what you need to do next. Unfortunately, the designers put the portions that you have to read in:
a) light words on a dark background;
b) tiny font;
c) italicized font.
b) tiny font;
c) italicized font.
It is virtually unreadable. I found the words blurring before my eyes. A game should not force me to squint and contort myself to read and see what's on the screen.
The basic premise of the game is not bad--a spirit of a girl gets evicted from her body and has to find a way to return. Regrettably, the premise is not executed well. The game doesn't seem to know how to treat a disembodied spirit, so for most of the game, she is effectively corporeal, physically driving boats and cars. If she's a ghost, gameplay should treat her like a ghost, manipulating tools by telekinesis, teleporting to various locations and so on.
If this had been done by a company that knows how to use beautiful, colorful, well-lit graphics with adjustable shading, as well as good voice acting, sound and music, and that understood how to treat supernatural creatures in a story, it could have been a gorgeous and impressive game. This, unfortunately, looks as if it was dashed off over the weekend. Games should be better than this. Most are.
I don't recommend this game.
Welcome to Top Secret Finders. Your first mission is to save a small town, uncover the truth about a government conspiracy and stop the villain in his tracks!
Overall rating
2
/
5
17 of 24 found this review helpful
Another Dark and Dreary Game
PostedMay 19, 2012
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Same old, same old--a dark, dreary town in which everyone is missing, grey and shadowed graphics that render half of the game impossible to see--yet another game that provokes eyestrain on a sunny day in a lit-up living room!--and junkpile HOGs.
It's a shame, too, because the storyline is fantastic--time travel, a government cover-up and science gone horribly wrong. The problem is that the graphics are so dark that I literally cannot see many of the hidden objects or many of the puzzles. The jigsaw puzzles are grey, and you put them together against a brownish-black background. The cards are grey. It's frustrating. There's no joy in struggling to see a puzzle.
Is there some reason that game designers find using a full color palette impossible? I really would like to see the game that I'm playing!
The rest of the game is so-so. The voiceovers are pretty good, but they don't match the subtitles very well (generally the subtitles are three speeches ahead of the voiceovers). And the hint/skip meter is a bit slow to fill. Also, this is yet another game where you must be mechanically minded in order to solve key puzzles. *yawn*
I would advise against buying this game; there are five billion other games on the market with similar content, better sound and better graphics. You don't need this.
I don't recommend this game.
Who knew a single butterfly not flapping its wings would cause a chain reaction through time? Can you help Helen correct history?
Overall rating
1
/
5
27 of 36 found this review helpful
Not for Those Poor at Making Gadgets
PostedMay 14, 2012
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is a good game for someone who loves puzzles requiring him or her to assemble inventions from small parts and who isn't interested in a hint system that spells out what you need to do. There are such players, and they would probably like this game.
But I'm not mechanically minded. I could not see anything in the laboratory that obviously didn't belong there; I could not find the handsaw that I needed to solve a puzzle; I could not find the bits and pieces that I needed to assemble the fire-making gadget. The hints button gave no clue as what I was supposed to do and only the most general notion of where to search. The game made me feel like an idiot.
I don't recommend this game.
Help the world rediscover all the beauty of past generations. Rebuild famous historical buildings while having fun with classic Match 3 gameplay!
Overall rating
1
/
5
93 of 120 found this review helpful
Don't Waste Your Time
PostedMay 9, 2012
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Typical Match 3 game in which you have to amass resources to rebuild certain historical buildings. This could have been an okay concept for a game, but unfortunately the game has several problems:
* No "relaxed mode" option. You HAVE to get a certain number of resources and you HAVE to get them within the time allotted. There's no in-story reason for the rush; according to the storyline, you're the only person who's interested in rebuilding these old monuments, so it doesn't matter if you get them done in a hurry or not.
* The game doesn't show you the re-constructed buildings. Instead, it subtracts the resources needed to re-construct Building A and then tells you that it's time to re-construct Building B. The game does tell you that you can see the buildings on a certain page--but there's no button to take you to that page. This is a point at which large, lush visuals would have been extremely useful. I cannot think why the designers didn't employ them.
* The Match 3 board does not fill the entire screen of a standard monitor. This means that the items on the board are rather small and a bit harder to see than they had to be.
* The background of the Match 3 board is a medium shade of grainy grey. This isn't bad when the item in question is a red apple or a stack of gold coins, but it doesn't contrast well with nails (light greyish-white) and stones (dark grey).
* The music is grating and repetitious. It's ten notes in a rhythm something like this:
"Dah dah DAH dah dah DAH, dah dah dah DAH." Once the notes end, the "song," for lack of a better word, loops around to the beginning again.
"Dah dah DAH dah dah DAH, dah dah dah DAH." Once the notes end, the "song," for lack of a better word, loops around to the beginning again.
* The introduction is poorly spelled ("payed" instead of "paid," for example) and suffers from occasionally missing punctuation (such as missing periods/full stops).
* The written narration is done in a font that is supposed to simulate writing without being in cursive. It would be more suitable for a game set in Victorian or Edwardian times. In addition, thin, hard-to-see letters of greyish-black don't contrast well with the yellowish-grey of old parchment. And, as with the game board, the instructions were written on a small area that did not fit the entire screen. This made a good portion of the instructions absolutely unreadable for me.
* The storyline is thin to the point of non-existence. You want to rebuild a ton of old buildings. That's it. There is no antagonist; nothing bad will happen if you do not, and nothing good will happen if you do.
Rating: D-.
I don't recommend this game.