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:
Save the town of Blackhill from an army of shadows!
Overall rating
4
/
5
21 of 31 found this review helpful
Time traveler?
PostedApril 21, 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
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. Is this really #14 in this series? Excellent graphics, very clear, with no blurring when going in and out of close ups. I did note that the inventory items look a bit like cartoon graphics, but okay. Colors are very nice, even with a few blues and pinks now and then. Animation is very well done, with very smooth movements and appropriate facial movements, depending on what is happening at the time. Game play is excellent, no problems during the demo and it fit my large screen quite nicely. The voice overs are well done, being age and character appropriate, and show emotion, not just someone reading a script. There seems to be a little more character interaction in this addition to the series. Music is mostly very quiet unless something is about to happen, then increases in intensity. Sound FX are well done when used, even though they are very quiet. Could have been a little more background sounds. It's nice that we can choose to use our friend "Elf" or not during the game. I did, simply because I like him and he isn't a nuisance. He just helps us get into places we can't quite reach.
HOPs are quite varied, with straight lists, riddles, silhouettes, and highlighted words. Scenes are fairly clean and items are not difficult to find. It almost seemed like some of the items were darker in color so they would stand out more. I did not see where you could switch to something else if you did not care for the HOPs. Puzzles were fairly challenging and took some time and thought to complete. I actually had to skip one, as I couldn't figure it out. Hint system is very helpful and it does transport to longer locations. You do a lot of back tracking in this game, so get your tennis shoes ready. You have a jump map, but it is very boring and not necessary with the transport feature.
Collectibles aren't bad. We have a combination of varied morphing items, which morph fairly quickly, but are not difficult to find. We also have puzzle pieces, which are fairly large, but easy to miss, as what I ran across was in black and white. We need to find 8 pieces each to complete 4 different pictures in our album. We also have to find 12 Elf poster/pictures. These are pretty easy to miss, as they can be anywhere and are not all out in the open or hanging on a tree. Nice to have a variety.
The story in this one was a little different and interesting. The action was fairly constant, but the story seemed to move a bit slowly. There was enough challenge in the game and puzzles to keep me wanting more and not get bored. I think all levels of players will find this one fun and challenging. When I beta tested this one, I gave it a 4.75. Because of the quiet SFX, I have reduced it to a 4.5. That said, yes, I am adding this one to my ever growing collection of CE games.
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!
Survive a dangerous game of luck to uncover your past!
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 18 found this review helpful
How lucky are you?
PostedApril 20, 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 line to others who do a much better job than I. We have #3 in this series. Graphics are very well done, very clear and I did not notice any blurring when going in and out of close ups. Colors are very nice and true, even with a bit of blue here and there. Game play was quite good, with no glitches during the demo. Animation is well done, with realistic mouth and eye movement and smooth body movements as well. Voices were well done and were age and character appropriate. We have a lot of character interaction in this addition, which makes a game seem more realistic and not just a walk through. You can click through dialog if you read faster than they speak, without missing a clue or a needed item. We have a poker chip that we use to find hidden symbols. Not one of my favorite type of games, but at least it isn't a lot. Music is not bad at all and moves with whatever is happening at the time. Sound FX are very well done and realistic. I did not notice any quiet or "dead air" during the demo.
HOPs are nothing but interactive lists, at least during the demo. Scenes were fairly clean and clear and items were not difficult to find. I did not see that you could switch to something else if you got bored with the same thing all the time. Puzzles were quite challenging and mostly different than what we are used to having. Didn't really breeze through any of them! Extremely well done. The map shows where a collectible was missed. Hint system is helpful, but did not transport to longer locations during the demo.
For some reason, we just don't get much in the way of good collectibles in this series. We only had joker scepters, which were large enough to see, even though they were almost see-through. There was no real challenge to finding them at all. A bar off to the left tells you how many you need to find in each scene, most of the time, it is two. Would have been nice to see some morphing objects here and there.
We do collect 6 card with various powers that help us throughout the game, e.g., strength.
We do collect 6 card with various powers that help us throughout the game, e.g., strength.
This series just seems to get better with each addition. It's not a continuation of a previous game, it is an entirely different story...how refreshing. The story was interesting and you were constantly on the move doing something throughout the demo. It flowed very nicely and I was disappointed when it ended. The only thing I did not care for was the scrolling scene, but not every scene does it. I think most levels of players would find this one challenging and interesting. Yes, I will definitely add this one to my collection. When I beta tested this one, I gave it a 4.75...staying with that. Very nice game!
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!
Delve into the Morante family’s past to stop a murderer!
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 16 found this review helpful
Ghosts again!
PostedApril 15, 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
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to others. Graphics aren't bad in this addition, and I didn't notice much in the way of blurring when going in and out of close up scenes. Game play was very good. Voices were age and character appropriate and we seemed to have a fair amount of character interaction. The one thing I do not care for it the need to choose dialog. Why, just say it and get on with the game! We can click through dialog if we read faster than they speak, and not miss any of the story or clues. Colors aren't too bad, even though we are in a dark and dreary place. The sound FX we quite nice and the storm was realistic. Wonder why the crows were scared off by a gunshot, but not the thunder and lightening. Animation was well done and movements were smooth.
HOPs are nothing new and items are not difficult to find. I did not see that we could switch to something else if we get bored with the same old HOPs. Puzzles were fairly simple, and took no time or thought to complete. Map was helpful and did indicate if a collectible was missed. Hint often did not give one, but said "nothing more..." Frustrating.
Collectibles were disappointing. We coins to collect and then use to update a yacht. These yacht coins are quite large and not easy to overlook. We also have 27 morphing items, which again, are not difficult to pass up. No challenge here at all.
Maybe I'm just tired of this series. The story is the same, the sounds are the same and it just doesn't have the excitement that the first few had years ago. There wasn't anything that made me want to buy it. I'm sure a beginner would find this one entertaining, but I don't see that it's all that for a seasoned gamer. I will recommend it for beginners only.
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 review. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you save Dupin from a malevolent murderer in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
44 of 57 found this review helpful
Dupin...no!
PostedApril 5, 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
2
/
5
Hello friends! As always, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to those who do a much better job than I. I've lost count for this series, mostly because I don't have them all. The graphics are not bad, but a bit of a blur in close up scenes. Colors are a little muted, but for the most part, are well done. Game play was very good, no problems during the demo and it fit my large screen. Voices are okay, but we, as the detective, do not speak. Instead, we have to click on the dialog. Definitely takes away from the game play, and not one of my favorite features. Not a lot of animation in the extremely short demo, but what we had was fairly nice and smooth. Music was okay, and seldom used. Not much in the way of sound FX, which is very disappointing. We do still have the annoying loud bell, or whatever it is, every time we find an object.
As usual, HOPs are very few and far between. Items were not difficult to find. We had a variety of silhouettes, interactive lists and highlighted words. I did not see that you could switch to something else. Puzzles were simple and took no time or thought to complete. Again, we had that annoying "follow the line" puzzle. Hint system is very helpful, but there was no transport feature during the demo. There is a lot of back tracking, so this feature would have been nice. The game was quite easy to follow. The map is very bland, but it was okay and nice for a quick jump to another location, since we didn't have a transport.
Collectibles were a little disappointing. Unless I missed something, all we have are 26 morphing objects. What I've found so far, is quite large and easy to spot, except that they morph in for about 8 seconds and out for only 2 seconds, making it easy to miss one if you are in a hurry to move on. We also have 9 collectible cards that tell you about each character. Plenty large enough to see. No challenge here.
I love Poe, but having his name on these games is very misleading, since none of them have actually been the true story, or even close to it. Personally I think the game would be far more entertaining if the devs actually stuck to the story. I think this one is the most disappointing of them all, but the demo was so incredibly short, that it was difficult to really get into the game and get a feel for it. What little we had, did not grab me or make me want to get it. I definitely do not feel this is CE worthy at all. Usually, if I don't care for a CE version, I will wait and give the SE a try. I've found that the CE often makes a much better SE. Because the only part of this game that has anything to do with Poe is the title, I will not be purchasing this one. Maybe a beginner would find this one entertaining, but not challenging. Rarely do I not find some reason to recommend a game, even if I don't care for it myself, but not this time.
As always, give this one a try 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.
Nobody comes back from the Dark Side unchanged, but it’s the only way to re-light the fading flame.
Overall rating
4
/
5
22 of 40 found this review helpful
Keep up with Alice!
PostedMarch 31, 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 review mostly on the game play and leave the story line to others who can do a much better job than I. I believe this is #3 in this series. I really like how this game picks up where the other left off, giving you a little explanation of what and why things are happening. The graphics are quite good in this addition, even thought some are a little cartoony, e.g., unusually large and clunky looking inventory items. Colors are very nice and true. Voices are fairly nice, except that "Alice" has such a high pitch to her voice, it gets somewhat annoying very quickly. Music is quite soothing and not overpowering at all. Game play was very good, with no problems during the demo and the scene fit my large screen without gaps or black lines around it. We have really great sound FX in this one, being realistic and appropriately placed in the game. There is no dead air time in this game. Animation is very smooth and quite well done. It actually reminds me of the old Lara Croft games, same type of movements (yep, I had all those too). The one thing I had to laugh at was how Alice stood when talking to someone. Her hand is in such an odd position, she almost looks like she's having an "ah-ha" moment. Silly, but not a deal breaker. You'll know what I mean when you play the game.
HOPs are varied, with interactive lists and silhouettes so far. Items are not difficult to find and the scenes are clear...no junk piles in this game. Puzzles were pretty simple and took no time or brain power to complete, but I did run across one that was somewhat challenging. Hint system is very helpful and actually gives you a hint when you ask for it. The jump map is set up quite nicely. Areas are identified and also show if you have missed a collectible or morphing item. I only use the strategy guide if I just can't find the collectible.
Collectibles are varied as well and well done. We have to find 30 morphing items, all are different, and not too small to see. We also have various bugs to collect. Not sure if this changes as we progress, because it showed only 8 needing to be found. This are also fairly large, but still not as easy to spot as you may think.
Other than the "cartoony" inventory items and Alice's annoying voice, I really like this game. You are constantly on the move and we have a lot more character interaction that what we usually see in these games. The challenge is finding all the collectibles, which I really do like, the more the better for me. The story is a continuation of sorts and pretty easy to follow. When I beta tested this one, I gave it a 4.5 on my beta scale...I'm sticking to that rating. I believe this game will appeal to gamers of any level. Yes, I am adding this one to my CE pile.
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 review. Play on!
I recommend this game!
Can you defend the townspeople from the dangerous black lotus?
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 10 found this review helpful
Ah, youth!
PostedMarch 25, 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
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Hello friends! As always, I review mostly on the game play and let others review on the story. Looks like we have #4 in this series. The graphics in this one are quite nice, clear, with very little blurring now and then. Game play was excellent, with no problems during the demo at all and it fit my large screen. Colors are very bright and true, but not over powering. Animation was well done and movements were very smooth, except for the occasional odd mouth movements. Voices are very well done and showed emotion, fear, etc., and were age and character appropriate, and occasionally silly dialog. You can click through dialog, if you read faster than they speak. We had very few sound FX, which was disappointing, and there seemed to be a little more character interaction, but not a lot. Music was monotonous, even when turned down low.
HOPs were all interactive during the demo, so hopefully, they switch to something else as the game progresses. Items are not difficult to find and scenes are pretty clean. Puzzles were painfully simple, and took no real brain power to complete. This was a disappointment. Hint system is very helpful, but I did not see that it transports to longer locations. You don't really do that much long distance back tracking, but you do a lot of running around. The jump map is easy to follow and areas are well marked. It also shows if you missed one of the collectibles in that area.
The only collectibles I found are 68 Phoenix, which are not as easy to spot as you may think. The are fairly large, but very pale in color until you click on them. I did note that if you see one before speaking to a character, you cannot pick it up..weird. There is a tab on the far left that will tell you how many are in each scene. Of course, if you can't find one, you can always look at the strategy guide. Even at that, I found a few very difficult to see.
This addition wasn't as much fun as others in this series. The lack of more collectibles was quite disappointing. The story was nothing new and moved very slowly. I got a bit bored toward the end of the demo. Also got frustrated with the scrolling scenes. They were too touchy and moved too easily, so it was often difficult to look at something without moving away from it. Personally, I don't feel this one is CE worthy. Normally, I will put a game aside and give the SE version a try. I often find the SE to be a better game, but I'm not sure about this one. It is a wait and see for me. I will recommend this one to beginners, who haven't played any of the others in this series.
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 today. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
Spend a summer helping rangers run the Pinecreek Hills National Park and go on an adventure packed with great HOGS and puzzles.
Overall rating
4
/
5
14 of 14 found this review helpful
Don't feed the bears!
PostedMarch 21, 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 usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave any story line to others. This addition doesn't really have a story, as such, just fun in the park. This makes #7 in this series and I have them all. If you like pretty much straight HOPs, then you will like this series. Graphics are pretty nice, even though the faces make me think of "Chucky," still a little creepy. The scenes seem to have been cleaned up a bit and aren't as cluttered. A lot of items are still quite small and you can get eye strain trying to find them. We still have the extras, e.g., finding wildlife and garbage for extra points. The garbage can be a carton, crumpled paper, pizza box, coffee cup, empty bottle, paper sack. I spent 15 minutes looking for another piece of garbage in the first scene, before I remembered they don't close the can lid in this series! Yep, I need to find them all. This is the challenge is in these games, and their placement can blend well into the background. You can still replay the scene if you don't find everything the first time. No, there still aren't any voices, just dialog from our characters, and other than the monotonous music, we have the crashing of the garbage as we toss it into the can for sound FX.
What I like about this series, is that you know exactly what you are getting, because they never change anything. Same puzzles, same collectibles, same souvenirs. I play for the HOPs, not for the story. Even at that, the puzzles are varied and not one right after the other. Each scene and each puzzle that is completed earns you money to purchase souvenir items from your vacation. Buying them doesn't give you extra point or game play, it's just a way to spend the money you make accomplishing each goal.
HOP games are my favorite and I have piles of them, all with story lines. Sometimes, you just want to play without really thinking about anything. That's why I love the Vacation Adventure games...all of them. I gave this one a 4.75. Yes, I have already added this one to my pile. I think most players will find this one a nice game for a lazy quiet day.
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.
I recommend this game!
These free TVs may be too good to be true...
Overall rating
4
/
5
37 of 45 found this review helpful
Turn of the TV!
PostedMarch 17, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story line to others. Is my count off, or is this really #9 in this series? We have excellent graphics, even with the slight blur when going in and out of close ups. Lovely, clear and true colors, not too bright or over done. Very nice voices, but not a lot of character interaction. Our "bad guy" has a very sinister sound, and our characters have emotion in their dialog, very well done. You can click through most dialog if you read faster than they speak and not really miss any clues. Animation is quite realistic in facial and body movements, except the puppy is a bit stiff. Sound FX are very well done and pretty much throughout the entire game. Music isn't bad, but I always turn it down. I much prefer hearing the sfx and voices when we have them. We have glasses that we must use to see past events, in order to learn what is happening and why, as well as collect needed items to progress in the game. There is an odd little whiny sound when there is an area to look at...sort of weird, but not a deal breaker.
HOPs were somewhat different, fun and varied. We had interactive lists, "swatch" match (for lack of a better description) and finding parts. Very nice combination. If you don't care for the HOPs, you can switch to the match 3 game. Puzzles were fun and often challenging, and some were a little different than what we are use to. We can choose between easy and hard. Even on easy, I found a couple quite challenging and thought provoking. We have our perfect map that indicates which area has a collectible that was missed. Areas are well identified and of course we do use it as a jump map. Hint system is very helpful and actually gives you a hint rather than telling you to move on, or nothing more here.
Collectibles are well done and not as easy to find as you may think. Yes, this is where we have a lot of challenge. We have to find 108 coins in order to put our college back together, and it is quite the mess. These aren't hard to find, you just have to remember to look for them. We also have 12 various and creepy artifacts to find. These morph quickly and are easy to miss. We also have demonic pages from a book. These can be a bit small and easy to overlook.
I really like this series and I have them all. The story in this addition is a bit different, but moves a little slowly. Even at that, the story flows quite well and we are constantly on the move, so I didn't really get bored. This game has enough to keep you interested and moving. I think all levels of players will find this entertaining and worth the CE price. I gave it a 4.25 this time. 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 it at all. Thanks for the reviews.
I recommend this game!
Can you stop the townspeople from paying for a dark past?
Overall rating
4
/
5
8 of 9 found this review helpful
I need a fire extinguisher!
PostedMarch 17, 2018
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the rest to others, although I do reserve the right to comment on the story as well. Well, we have #7 in this series. Yep, got them all, liked them all. Graphics in this game are extremely well done, and very clear when moving in and out of close ups. Animation is exceptional, with smooth body movements, and have realistic facial movements. Game play was very good, with no problems during the demo and the scenes fit my large screen quite nicely. Voices were very nice and were age and character appropriate, although we did not have much in the way of character interaction. It's easier to get into a story if the characters speak more, or if you have really great sfx. You can click through dialog if you read faster than they speak, and not miss any of the story line or clues. We had very little music, but the sfx were pretty nice, when we had them. I was surprised to see that the dev had cleaned up the colors, which were very nice and clear and we didn't have the usual blues or pinks in this addition.
HOPs are really well done, varied and different. We have silhouettes, puzzles within a HOP, IHOPs and match. Items are not difficult to find and the scenes are mostly fairly clear. I did not see that you could switch to something other than the HOP. Puzzles were fairly simple, but some did take a bit of time to complete. I do like the ability to reduce skip time down to one second, rather than 15. The hint system is very helpful and it does transport to longer locations. You do a lot of backtracking in this game, and you are constantly on the move. I did not care for the map, but we have the transport, so I didn't need to use it. It does show if you have missed a collectible in one of the areas.
Collectibles were not many, but challenging to find. We have 8 character statuettes that are large and easy to spot. We also have 23 crowns that are well blended into background colors and features. They are not as easy to see as you may think.
This story line isn't anything new, but it flowed well and had a lot of action to keep you interested and moving. I did downgrade this one because it is so quiet, and not much character interaction, but I found it entertaining and feel that it will pick up as we progress. That said, I found the game to be well put together and have given it a 4.5. I think all levels of players will find this one worth the CE price. Yes, I am going to add it to my CE 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.
I recommend this game!
Can you and your father escape a mystical and dangerous realm?
Overall rating
4
/
5
37 of 52 found this review helpful
Bright lights, bright lights!
PostedMarch 10, 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 review mostly on the game play and leave the story to others. I believe this is #7 in this series. The graphics are extremely well done and quite clear. We do have bright colors, but they are not over powering. However, there are bright lights occasionally, only when traveling to other worlds. Game play was very good, no problems and filled my large screen. Animation is quite well done and movements are not stiff or choppy. Voices are well done and are age and character appropriate. Music was nice and I didn't find it annoying or monotonous. Loved the sound FX, very realistic.
HOPs are varied, with interactive lists, highlighted words, etc. We also need to find morphing items in the HOPs, which is not as easy as you think. Scenes are clear and items are not difficult to find. Puzzles are not difficult either, nothing new or too challenging. Hint system is helpful and we do have a jump map, which I found to be somewhat bland and boring. However, I found that the hint will point you in the right direction, but not give a hint as to what you do when you get there. A little frustrating, but okay. I like that you have many different levels of difficulty to choose from before starting the game.
The only collectibles I found were the usual symbol that this dev uses in all their games, and story mementos, 31 of each. Not sure what the mementos are for yet. The collectible items are quite large and easy to find. This was a little disappointing.
This story is well done, and is somewhat different with each addition to this series. It is not extremely challenging, but enough to keep you interested and it has enough action to keep you moving. I really like this series and this addition is no exception. Because of the "non-challenging" collectibles, I gave this one a 4.25. I think this will appeal to all levels of players and yes, I am going to get it for 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.
I recommend this game!