dancemom1's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:13,287
- Reviews Submitted:871
- First Review:April 15, 2012
- Most Recent Review:November 26, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Head on back to beautiful Pinecreek Hills and use your outdoor experience to help the rangers in this hidden object adventure!
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Fresh mountain air!
PostedSeptember 25, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hello friends! Here we are with #8 in this series. If you love HOP games, you will love this series. These are not long drawn out stories, just fun and exploration in the mountains with the family. I have them all! Yes, we still have to find the extras, e.g. wildlife animals and garbage. The scenes are a bit busy with lots of things stuffed into them, so finding the extras can be a challenge. It seems that we don't have to find as many in this addition as we have with past games in the series. My goal is to find all of the garbage, which often is not easy. Items are not as small as they use to be, but you still need to look for them.
The music is the same and the characters are the same, creepy eyes and all. Graphics are quite good, very clear. Colors are bright but not over powering. Of course, there is no verbal dialog, only written. I usually click through this, because I'm playing for the HOPs, not the story. Puzzles are the same and we still get to buy souvenirs.
This series is one of those that gives you a nice change of pace from the "run back and forth umpteen times, spooky, kidnapping, missing" type games we see all too often. These are just fun and relaxing. I rarely give 5 stars to any game. It has to be exceptional throughout for that number, but I love this series and feel it is worth a 5.
Give it a try and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this type at all. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Solve the puzzle of the red mist and save a missing camper before they meet a terrifying end.
Overall rating
3
/
5
12 of 29 found this review helpful
Slow, very slow...
PostedSeptember 20, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to other who do a much better job than I. This addition has excellent graphics, very clear. Animation is quite well done, very smooth and no choppy body movements. Game play was excellent with no problems during the demo and the scene fit my large screen quite well. Voices are very well done, but frequently we have rather silly dialog, e.g. Tom finds Margaret with her leg stuck in a trap and says, " your leg must hurt pretty bad." Duh, really? There really wasn't much dialog during the demo, so hopefully it picks up as the game progresses. There isn't a lot of music in this game, even for background noise. Sound FX were nice when we had them, but there was a lot of dead air. The story was a little different, but not much. Be aware that there is some swearing in this game, but not much, since there isn't much dialog.
HOPs are not many, and nothing really new or exciting. We mostly had "find this many of that." The scenes are fairly clear and items are not that difficult to spot. I did not see that you could switch to anything else, which was too bad, it needed something extra. Puzzles were simple, and took no time or brain power to complete. I was surprised at how few HOPs and puzzles there were in the demo. The hint system sometimes tells you to move on, but otherwise, it is helpful. Got almost to the end of the demo before the transport feature showed up. You do a tremendous amount of back tracking to the same couple of areas in this one. The strategy guide is the same as usual. The jump map is rather boring and plain, but it does show if you have missed a collectible.
Collectibles were disappointing. We have to find 22 heart shapes to find. Some do blend into the scenery and can be of any texture, e.g. leaf, silhouette, etc. We also have to find 12 character statuettes. These are fairly well hidden and easy to miss. None of the collectibles are easy to find. This is the only challenge to this game.
We spend way to much time in one or two areas, finding one item here and another there, before finally moving on to one or two more areas. It got boring very quickly. The progress was very slow, and the game is very quiet, with not much character interaction. This would be a nice game for a beginner, or someone who just wants a no brainer game. I have a number of those rainy day games. As I said, this would be a nice beginner game, and I will recommend it only for this reason. I just couldn't get into the slow story and game play, so it's a no buy for me.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may find this one to be exactly what you are looking for. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you rid the city of a malevolent monster in time?
Overall rating
4
/
5
15 of 31 found this review helpful
Dogs, dogs, and more dogs!
PostedSeptember 15, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello, friends! As usual, I mostly review on the game play and leave the story line to others who do a much better job than I. Looks like this one is #5 in this series. I miscounted on the one we had last time. Again, game has excellent graphics, very clear, with very nice colors. It's always nice to have a game that does not have blurry graphics. This one had none during the demo, even in close up scenes. Game play was excellent, I found no glitches or lag time between scenes. Animation was excellent, with realistic eye movements with every character in the scene at the time. Excellent voice overs, very well done and dialog can be clicked through if you read faster than they speak. They are age and character appropriate, and showed emotion, not just reading through a script. We don't seem to have quite as much character interaction, but hopefully that picks up as the game progresses. The music was well done, when we had it. Sound FX are very well done, as usual, and pretty much throughout.
HOPs are a combination of interactive lists and silhouettes. The scenes are clear and items are not difficult to find. I did not see that you could switch to something else if you didn't care for the HOPs. There are morphing items in the HOPs. These are not that easy to spot as you may think. I was pleasantly surprised at how challenging most of the puzzles were. I found that I couldn't just walk through them and had to use some brain power to complete them. Very well done. Hint system is helpful and it does transport to longer locations. Yes, we have a jump map, but it is quite boring and not really needed since we have the transport feature.
The collectibles were somewhat disappointing. All I found were 34 very large "dog" paws. These practically jumped off the page at you. Definitely can't miss them. Give us morphing items in the HOPs just wasn't enough. Would have been nice to have them in the regular scenes as well.
We start off with a brief overview of the previous game in the series each time, which gives you an insight into what is happening and why. It is that time of year again, so we will be seeing more werewolves, vampires, mummies and the like in our games. This story is nothing new, but it is full of action. Pulled me in from the very beginning and left me wanting more when the demo ended. I really like this series, and this addition is no exception. Naturally, I have them all. This game had enough challenge to keep me interested. The only reason I did not give this one 5 stars, is because I felt the collectibles needed something more. Everything else about this game makes it worth a 4.75. I think all levels of players will find this one interesting, fun and challenging, especially if you are into werewolves. Yes, I am going to add it to my collection.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Face the fears in Sebastian's Cinema of Horrors!
Overall rating
4
/
5
13 of 20 found this review helpful
I finally get a Smartphone!
PostedSeptember 8, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story line to others. We have another addition to this very long series. As usual, the graphics are excellent, even though we still have the slight blur when going in and out of close ups. Colors started out really nice, but quickly turned to this developer's usual blues and purples. Very over powering and tiring on the eyes. Voices were age and character appropriate, but I noticed we are using British currency, so why don't any of our characters have an accent? We don't have a lot of interaction with the characters in the demo, so hopefully that picks up as the game progresses. You can click through some of the dialog, if you read faster than they speak and not really miss any clues or helpful items that the character may pass on to you. Animation is well done and smooth. I was disappointed in that we don't have much in the way of sound FX, other than a quiet wind and some music as background noise. We finally got rid of those ugly glasses that we needed to use to see past events. We have been upgraded to a smartphone! This time, we get to converse with ghosts through the phone. Sure, why not, they can do everything else, right? Some ghost voices are a bit hard to understand, e.g. too deep, run words together, etc., but for the most part, they are well done.
HOPs were nothing new or exciting. We had interactive lists, finding pieces of an item and highlighted words. If you don't care for the HOPs, you can switch to the match 3 game. Puzzles were very simple and took no time or brain power to complete. You can switch between easy and hard, but still no real challenge, and nothing new. Yes, we still have the perfect map, with areas easily identified and it also shows which areas have a collectible that was missed. Hint system is very helpful and opens up to the map to show you where you need to go next.
Collectibles are well done and not as easy to find as you may think. We have to find 56 theater tickets that are easy to see, but also easy to overlook. We also have 12 posters that are quite large. Then there are the 15 cinema related collectible items. These can be anything and some are a little small.
Even with the awful colors and the blur, I like this series. This story is a little creepy, mostly because of the "bad guy," but I didn't have anything jumping out at me during the demo. It is really nothing new and at times moves rather slowly and becomes a little boring because of it. Hopefully it picks up...usually this series does. The phone tossing out messages now and then was quite annoying and not at all necessary to the story or game play. This addition is not at all challenging or difficult, but I like the collectibles and for some reason, I have the need to play it out and see what this guy is up to and why, as long as I can get past the colors. I think most players will find something entertaining about this game and I believe it is worth the CE price. Yes, I am adding this to my collection.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you recover an ancient underwater artifact in time?
Overall rating
4
/
5
11 of 22 found this review helpful
New story, fun, challenging and an interesting story!
PostedSeptember 7, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello friends! As always, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story line to others who do a much better job than I. I don't know where we are with what number this addition is, I just know we have a lot and I have them all. Again, we have excellent graphics in this game, very clear and no blurring when going in and out of closeups. Colors are bright and true, but not over powering at all. Animation is extremely well done, very smooth. I love how it isn't just the characters that move, but the scenery as well, and it's constant, e.g. clouds, water, plants, etc. Of course, the character animation is also quite well done. Voices are different, with accents, and actually show emotion and not just someone reading a script. We don't have a lot of character interaction during the demo, but hopefully that picks up as the game progresses. Game play is excellent, no problems during the demo and it fit my large screen quite nicely. Music is soothing and unobtrusive, just quietly in the background. Sound FX are well done, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of them. Of course, we haven't done a lot yet either. Naturally we still have our helper, Elf.
HOPs are nice combination of interactive lists, silhouettes, and misplaced items. Scenes are fairly clear and items were not difficult to find. I did not see where you could switch to something else if you did not care for the HOPs. Puzzles are challenging and we even have a few new ones. You won't just rush through these. Hint system is very helpful and it does transport to longer locations. You do a lot of back tracking, so this comes in handy. We have a jump map, but it is rather boring and not needed with the transport feature. SG is the standard set up and does show you where collectibles can be found, in case you missed one. This is the only reason I even look at it.
Nice varied collectibles. We have to find various morphing items, that sometimes are a bit small and not easy to spot. We also have 32 puzzle pieces that are used to complete a large jigsaw puzzle. These are fairly large, but still easy to over look. This time, in keeping with the theme of the game, we also need to find 12 various sea creatures, e.g. fish, crab, lobster, etc. I found that they can be in the oddest places and not easy to find.
The lead into this story was quite well done and pulled me in very quickly. It is a different story. Haven't had much interaction with the "bad guys," so not quite sure where the story is going, but I will find out. This addition is challenging and fun and has an interesting story line. There isn't a lot of action yet, but the game keeps you moving so you don't get bored. The only thing I didn't care for was how they used bubbles instead of sparkles, or whatever, to show you where to go next when using the hint. The bubbles were almost to light and often hard to see or follow. As I have said before, I do not give five stars easily, as a game must be exceptional throughout to get them. This one is not perfect, but I think all levels of players will find it well worth the price of the CE. Even at that, I gave it a 4.75. This is one of my favorite series, so yes, I am adding it to my collection.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I recommend this game!
A chilling tale of death, deception, and the supernatural!
Overall rating
4
/
5
37 of 47 found this review helpful
Better than the last few...
PostedAugust 30, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello friends! If these demos get any shorter, we will only see the title. As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story line to others. However, I do sometimes comment on the story as well. The graphics are very nice and clear and I did not notice any blurring when going in and out of close up scenes, for a change. Colors are often faded, but still there, and nicely done. Game play was very good, no problems during the demo and it fit my large screen. We seemed to have a bit more character interaction in this addition, which really makes for a much better game. Dupin definitely needs an accent, but all the voices show emotion and not just reading a script. Animation wasn't bad, but a little choppy in places. Music was okay, but the "chime" we get when finding something is quite annoying. It's the same one as in every other game in this series. Not much in the way of sound FX either, needed more background sounds.
HOGs are few and far between. They were fairly clear and uncluttered and items were not difficult to find. Mostly interactive lists, but we did have one silhouette. This is a HOG, but we had an awful lot more puzzles than HOGs. The puzzles were quite simple and took no time or thought to complete. Hint system is very helpful, but we did not have the transport feature. There is a lot of back tracking, but so far, not very long distances. There is a jump map, but very bland.
Collectibles - aren't bad. There are 13 figurines that are somewhat small and easy to overlook. We also have 26 morphing items that are a challenge to find, as some are blended quite well into the background and in dark places.
I love Poe, have read them all, I thought, and seen every Vincent Price Poe movie ever made. Either I missed one, or this isn't a Poe story. That said, none of these were really Poe stories, they just used the title and kind of sort of looked a bit like Poe. Dupin looks more like his old self, and as I said, he still doesn't have an accent...he needs one. The demo was extremely short, so it was not easy to give it a fair evaluation, but what I saw I liked. The game is not challenging, and the story is all too familiar, but it had action, interaction, emotion and fairly nice collectibles, and it was better than the last few in this series. I find that I have the need to play this one out and see what the deal is. I think most levels of players will find this one interesting in one way or another. Yes, I am going to add it to my collection.
As always, give this one a try and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Your brother’s invention has made contact with aliens. Help him defeat an intergalactic invasion before the Earth is destroyed.
Overall rating
4
/
5
9 of 15 found this review helpful
Aliens!
PostedAugust 26, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
ello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story line to others who do a much better job than I. Graphics are extremely well done, with no noticeable blurring when going in and out of closeups...what a great change. Colors were very nice, true and clear. Game play was very good, absolutely no problems during the demo. Voices fit the characters, being age and character appropriate. Even the aliens sound as you would think an alien would sound. I found that some dialog can be clicked through, but mostly your own, without missing any hints or clues as to what is happening next or why. Facial animation is very well done, but body movements seem a little stiff and often choppy. I didn't really notice any music during the game play. Sound FX are fairly well done, but we do have quite a lot of quiet during the game and not as much character interaction as hoped for.
HOPs are nice and clean, but nothing new. We have silhouettes, interactive lists, highlighted words and place items in scene. Item are not difficult to find. Again, we have morphing objects in the HOPs and there is an icon above your hint button that indicates if you have found it or not. Puzzles were quiet simple and took no time to complete. Hint system works very well and is quite helpful, but I didn't notice a transport feature. The back tracking in this game is very short distances so far, so a transport isn't needed.
Collectibles are symbols that look like a solar system. These are fairly large and easy to spot. We have an icon in the bottom right corner that lets us know if we missed it or not. We also have morphing items in each scene. These are not as easy to spot as you think, so be on the lookout for them.
I like this series, but I found this story to move rather slowly. Hopefully it picks up as the game progresses. Definitely can use more background sounds or some music. It had too much dead air. I did have to question how Amelia knew Nico's name before she took him to his room, especially when he passed out before he could tell her. This is a familiar story, but it looks like it could get interesting. I think this game will appeal to most players for one reason or another. Yes, I will probably buy this one, if a good special comes along.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you help stop an ancient evil in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
6 of 9 found this review helpful
Slow, boring, lifeless...
PostedAugust 17, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on game play and leave the story line to others. However, I do reserve the right to comment on the story as well, now and then. As usual with this series, graphics are blurry in all scenes, but worse in close ups. This dev puts out some very nice games with excellent graphics. Why can't they fix this one? Game play was very good and I had no problems during the demo. Colors were nice, brighter in some areas than others. Voices were not bad, when we had them. There was very little interaction with any of the characters in the game, so this one was just way too quiet in that respect. Sound FX are very well done and pretty much throughout the demo. That's the only saving grace in this one. Music was okay.
HOPs were somewhat varied, with lists, silhouettes and highlighted words. They were clean and items were not difficult to find, with nothing new. I didn't see that we could switch to something else. The puzzles were painfully simple, nothing that took any thought or brain power. Hint system was mostly helpful, but I did run across that "I better get moving," instead of getting a hint as to what to do next. We do have the transport feature for longer locations. Yep, a lot of back tracking.
Collectibles are few, 30 signs in the shape sea items. We also have 20 various morphing objects. Nothing was really difficult to find, but because of their small size, you did need to look a little harder. Very disappointing.
The story line in this addition was slow and boring, and it just didn't flow well. For some reason, I just couldn't get into it. There wasn't much in the way of action and animation was pretty choppy. This series has become very stale. I am sure there will be those who will find this one to their liking, but I'm not one of them. This game might appeal to a beginner, but not for a seasoned gamer. I rarely do not recommend a game and try to find something positive to say about it, so I can recommend it to others. There were just too many minuses and not enough pluses in this one. No buy for me, no recommendation.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may find this one to be exactly what you are looking for. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I don't recommend this game.
Three legendary detectives join forces to solve a horrible crime!
Overall rating
4
/
5
11 of 34 found this review helpful
A new and exciting series!
PostedAugust 9, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to others. The graphics are very nice, with no blurring when going in and out of close ups. The colors began with a lot of blue and pinks, but seemed to clear up some, then back to the blue and pink. They seemed to be mostly in outside scenes, so not too bad on the eyes. Game play was excellent, with no problems during the demo and the game fit my large screen quite well. We have excellent animation, right down to the furrowing eyebrows and surprised expressions. I liked how the cat in the first scene opened one eye to peer at me when I clicked on it. Voices are very well done, except I did note that we have a different voice for our ghost Dad. Still, it wasn't bad. Sound FX are very well done and used with almost every move. Music fades in and out as needed, so you don't get tired of hearing it. This is an entirely new series, with a new story line.
HOPs are varied and extremely well done. We have a combination of pairs, silhouettes, interactive lists, fragments and place parts in the picture. I didn't see that we had anything to switch to, but who would want to with so many different HOPs to play? Puzzles are challenging, but not difficult. They do take some time and thought to complete. Hint system is very helpful and we do have the transport feature for long distance travel. This is very helpful, as we do a lot of back tracking. The only real disappointment in this game was the map. Too much clicking to get what you want.
Collectibles are well done as well. We have to find 14 morphing character figurines, that morph fairly quickly; 29 various morphing objects within a scene, and 20 puzzles pieces to complete 4 jigsaw puzzles. The puzzles pieces are very easy to overlook, so watch for them. Fortunately, the strategy guide shows you where the collectibles are if you miss one.
This game drew me in from the beginning. We have two detectives (Brown and Blackthorn) and one PI (Anna Gray & Dad), all from different and wonderful games, who have come together to catch a bad guy known as "the collector." We get to switch between these three during the game, and play as each one of them during the game. The story is interesting and flows very well. We have the right amount of action and intrigue, as well as challenge in this new game. I knew when I beta tested it in April, that I was going to add it to my collection. If the first in this series is this good, I can't wait to see what the next one has for us. I think all levels of players will find this one fun and well worth the CE price. Had it not been for the blue and pink colors, I'd have given this one a 5 (something I rarely do)...it does get a 4.75 on my scale.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you may not care for this one at all. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a malevolent force from stealing souls in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
6 of 14 found this review helpful
Very diappointing...
PostedAugust 4, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and not the story line. This addition has very nice graphics, clear and no blurring in close ups. Animation isn't bad, but they do need to blink now and then. The voices are very well done, with the bad guy having a very sinister voice. Others do show emotion and fear, etc. Colors were very bright and true, but not over powering at all. The sound FX were appropriate for what was happening at the time. The demo was so short, I didn't even notice the music.
HOPs are nothing new, and items were not difficult to find. The highlighted word HOP was way too long and boring. I did not see that we could switch to something else when we got bored. Again, the puzzles were painfully simple and took no time or brain power to complete. Help system was no help at all. When I ask for a hint, I expect to see more than "done everything I can here," backed up to another area and got "I should look elsewhere," backed up again and got the same stuff. Okay, so where do I go now? I've clicked everywhere and tried using everything I have in my inventory...frustrating!
Collectibles were very disappointing. Various collectible items. These are not difficult to find and vary in size and shape. Definitely needed something extra here.
The story was slow and boring, nothing new. There is nothing more maddening than to have to choose dialog, and this one has it. Makes a game feel more like a comic book, rather than an action game. I've played many other games with the "day of the dead" storyline. They had great sound FX and music to tie it all together. This one didn't. There is no challenge to this game at all and the lack of nice collectibles makes it not CE worthy. The only positives I found are listed in the first paragraph. This game might appeal to a beginner, but probably not a seasoned gamer. I'm sure there will be those who really like this one. I will recommend this game for people who don't mind clicking on dialog or looking at the strategy guide to see where they need to go next. Nope, no buy for me.
As always, try it for yourself and see what you think. We all have different tastes in games and you might find this one to be exactly what you are looking for. Thanks for the reviews. Play on!
I recommend this game!