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:
Can you clear her name before it’s too late?
Overall rating
4
/
5
24 of 32 found this review helpful
Much better as an SE game...
PostedDecember 2, 2016
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! As usual, I review on the game play and not the story line, as others do a much better job of that than I. The following is a synopsis of my review for the CE version..."The graphics in this game weren't too bad. They were mostly very clear, except for a little blur in the cut scenes, otherwise quite nice. Colors are very bright and true for a change, no pinks or blues. Game play was very good, no problems during the demo at all. Voice overs are well done, but the mouth movement did not quite match up with the speaking. We have a helper in Captain Louie, who at times is quite amusing. Sound FX are very well done and are throughout the game, so you have no dead air.
HOPs are interactive lists and/or find multiple items in the scenes. They are clean and clear and items are not difficult to find. I did not see that you can switch to another game if you do not care for the HOPs. These are nothing new, but nicely done. Puzzles were fairly simple and took no time or thought to complete. Took me a minute to find the extremely small icon for the strategy guide, which is quite easy to follow. Either there wasn't one, or I hadn't found what I needed to open a jump map. Hint system is quite helpful and it does transport to longer locations. You do return to the same scenes multiple times before moving on to a new location. This got old real fast."
I did not feel this was CE worthy, but it does make a nice SE game. The game was not challenging, but like I said, I found Captain Louie's dialog amusing. The story is somewhat different, but moved a little slow at times, I think because you were in the same two locations too many times before moving on. Personally I think this game is geared more toward a beginner, or someone who just wants a nice simple game. I have many like this for those lazy days, and I have added this one to my SE collection.
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.
I recommend this game!
Help your little sister get a second chance this Christmas after she gets on the naughty list.
Overall rating
4
/
5
8 of 14 found this review helpful
Wonderful Christmas game...
PostedDecember 1, 2016
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! Well, we have #5 in this Holiday series. As always, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story to others who do a much better job than I. Yes, I have the other 4 in this series and I have loved them all, some more than others, but still all nice games. As usual, the graphics are exceptional, very clear and clean. Game play was excellent, no problems at all during the demo and the scenes fit my large screen quite well. Colors for the most part are well done. There are a couple of areas that had a bit more blue than was necessary, but otherwise the colors are very nice and true. Voices are age and character appropriate, although there isn't much in the way of character interaction, except in spurts. You can click through dialog if you read faster than they speak, without missing any of the story line. Sound FX are very nice. Music, even though it is a Christmas scene, is not really Christmas. There is some, but not constant. This works for me, as I think I would get very tired of hearing if very quickly. Mostly, it is very soothing. I thought the custom cursor was fun...it is a mitten. There is a creepy trouble making elf and then there is Goody, our friend and helper elf. He's pretty quiet when not being used and occasionally eats a candy cane.
HOPs are a combination of interactive lists, straight lists and finding pairs of objects and there are a couple of little new things tossed in for fun, e.g. throwing snowballs at the creepy elf. They are fairly clean and items are not difficult to find. I did not see that you could switch to another game if you do not care for the HOPs. Puzzles are simple and nothing new, but they were actually fun. Maybe it's the Christmas theme. Help system is very helpful and we do have the transport feature, which saves a lot of travel time. You do a lot of back tracking in this one as well.
Collectibles are not bad at all. We need to find 36 puzzle pieces to complete 3 jigsaw puzzles. These pieces are fairly large, but easy to miss. We also have 14 morphing items, which seem to all be gnomes. They morph in and out quickly and morph into an item that can easily be overlooked. Watch for them.
It looks like we have 3 sections to complete, being 3 good deeds, to make someone's Christmas a happy one. Made me curious to see what happens when we have accomplished this. There are others in this series that had a much better story line, but I think this one gets better as you go along and I find the need to play it out and see what happens. The bonus chapter in this series has yet to disappoint, so looking forward to that as well. I think all levels of players will find this one enjoyable. Yep, adding this one 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!
Investigate a virtual reality program that’s turning some players comatose.
Overall rating
4
/
5
22 of 27 found this review helpful
Is it real!
PostedNovember 26, 2016
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
5
/
5
Hello friends! Well, we have #10 in this series. As always, I mostly review on the game play and leave the story to others to review. Colors aren't too bad, although a bit faced looking. Graphics are very well done for the most part, but close ups seemed blurry. Game play is excellent, with no problems during the very short demo. Animation is a little choppy, but not too bad. Music is the same as all the others in this series. Voices are age and character appropriate and fairly well done. Sounds FX were not bad. It seemed that this game was a little quieter than others in this series. Be aware that there are bright lights now and then, when traveling to other worlds...very bright lights.
HOPs are a combination of silhouettes, interactive lists and straight lists. Areas are very clear and items are not difficult to find. I did not see that there was another game you could switch to if you did not care for the HOPs. Puzzles were interesting and some were a bit challenging as well. They weren't especially difficult, just took a little more time to complete. Nicely done. Hint system is quite helpful and it does transport to longer locations. This is very helpful, as you do return to the same locations multiple times. Yes, you can use the jump map, but this way is much faster.
Collectibles are 27 flowers. All of the games in this series have flowers, but these are quite different from the others. They look more like buds than a flower. Some blend very well into the background and are a little difficult to find. We also have 12 figurines of the characters. These can also be disguised very well, so be on the lookout for them.
On the whole, this is a nice game, with a little different story line. To me it moved a little slowly, but I found that I really need to play out the story and see what happens. I really like the virtual reality angle. I think most all levels of players will find this one fun and entertaining. Yes, I am going to add 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.
I recommend this game!
Uncover the mystery of Huxley’s Boarding House before time runs out!
Overall rating
4
/
5
10 of 18 found this review helpful
Fun, challenging, different...
PostedNovember 22, 2016
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! Well, we have...not sure how many of this one, more than 10. As much as I love this series, I don't have them all, but most. I mostly review on the game play and not the story line, as others do a much better job of that than I. I do try to give just the highlights and not list everything in a game, as it's more fun to explore and find things out for yourself. That said, this game has excellent graphics, with a lot of detail. The colors in some scenes are a bit faded, but still very clear and nice. Game play was excellent, with no problems during the demo and the scene fit my large screen quite nicely. Voices are wonderful. I love accents and they just seem to fit this story line. The voices are age and character appropriate and have fear, excitement, anger, etc. You can skip through dialog if you read faster than they speak, but I found that the "continue" button did not always work. There is very little music, but it shows up in just the right places. During game play, there is not a moment when you don't have either music, a character speaking or really nice sound FX. Animation is superb, with very nice mouth and eye movements...we even had the eyebrows moving when they were speaking, making movements and speech much more realistic.
HOPs are nicely done as well and are a combination of straight lists and interactive silhouettes. I did not see that you can switch to another game. You do need to find ladybugs in the HOPs. These bugs are large enough to see and not difficult to find at all. Puzzles were surprisingly challenging in this game. Something we have not seen in quite some time. I loved how you could skip all or part of a puzzle. Yep, I used it too. Hint system is very helpful and it does transport to longer locations. This is very helpful, as you do a lot of back-tracking and the jump map leaves a lot to be desired. It is very bland and only gives a location name, but not an identifying picture.
Collectibles really aren't much, 42 morphing items. These items morph in and out at about 6 seconds, which makes it easy to miss them. I didn't mind the lack of collectibles, which is unusual for me, because the game was so good. The SG says that we also have tokens to find and use to open an additional game in the extras. Not sure what that is all about, but I haven't seen any yet.
The story is a little different than what we are used to and it seemed to draw me in from the very beginning and just kept on going. I was so engrossed in this one that I didn't realize that I had spent an hour on the demo, but was disappointed when it ended. I think this game is interesting, fun and challenging enough for any level of player. I rarely give a game 5 stars, and this one is no exception, only because of the few things I mentioned above. Even so, I still think it's worth a 4.5. Yes, I am adding this one to my collection.
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 solve the mystery behind a local woman's death?
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Not a bad game, but getting very old...
PostedNovember 19, 2016
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
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hi all! Well, we have #10 in this series. As always, I review mostly on the game play and not the story like, as others do a much better job on that than I can. This game is the same as all as all of the others. As with the last one in this series, the graphics are extremely well done. Animation is exceptional, with really nice facial movements. Colors are bright and clear and this game does not have the "fuzzy" overlay that most of the other in this series had. Game play was excellent. The story line is the same as all the others, puppets running amok. Voice overs are very well done, age and character appropriate. We also have emotion and more realism, fear, urgency, etc. The "bad guys" are wearing masks, and their voices actually have that muffled sinister sound you get when you wear a mask. Music is nice, and moves with whatever is happening at the time. Not a lot of sound FX, but enough for more realism. We have a helper in the way of a puppet girl who takes pictures of areas we cannot get into. She is very quiet and unobtrusive. The sound that plays when you find an item is quite annoying.
HOPs are nicely done. Again, lot during the demo, and all I found so far are straight lists. The scenes are clear and items are not difficult to find. I didn't see that we could switch to something else if you get bored with the HOPs. Puzzles were extremely simple and took no time or thought to complete. Nowhere near as good as the last game in the series. Hint system was helpful, but I do not recall the transport being used in this game. There is a tremendous amount of back-tracking in this one as well.
The only collectibles I found are roses that you use to upgrade your character...boring. As I've said many times before, if I'm going to pay the CE price, I want more collectibles. Extremely disappointing.
I like this series, and have all of the others, but I'm just not too sure about this one. It is an okay game, but maybe I'm just tired of the same old same old. Maybe it's time to retire this series, or at least give it a major upgrade. This one is not challenging at all, but the story wasn't too bad. When I beta tested this one, I wasn't all that kicked out about it, giving it only a 3.0, but I'll upgrade to a 3.5 only because of the story. I think at this time, this game will appeal more toward beginners than the seasoned gamer. There will be those who just want a very simple, familiar game, and that's okay...I have many like that. I do not feel that this one is CE worthy, but I will put it in my puddle and give the SE a try. I often will get the SE if I do not care for or feel that the CE is worth the price.
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!
Travel beyond our galaxy to bring your lost son back home.
Overall rating
4
/
5
15 of 21 found this review helpful
To the stars and back...
PostedNovember 19, 2016
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
Hello, friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and not the story line, as others do a much better job on that than I. I believe this is #2 in this series. The graphics are exceptional, very clear and crisp. Colors are quite bright and true. Game play was excellent, with no problems during the demo and it fit my large screen quite well. Voices were age and character appropriate and there was much more character interaction than what we have had in the last few games. Sound FX are really nice. I actually liked the music in this one. It had that "edge of your seat" rise and fall in all the right places and at the right time to give you a feel that something not so good was about to happen. Animation was very well done, but a few times, the character jumped from point A to C without a step in between. Be aware that because you are traveling to other worlds, you will see bright lights twirling around. It is not frequent, but they are there.
HOPs are nothing new or exciting and seem to be straight lists. Some scenes are a little cluttered, but not to the point where it is difficult to find what you are looking for. I did not see that you could switch to something else if you didn't care for the HOPs. You do have to find a morphing object in each HOP, which isn't as easy as you may think. So far, I have accidentally found each one. Puzzles are new in some respect and the same in others, but I found them to be fun and occasionally challenging, but not difficult. The hint system is helpful, but it does not transport to longer locations. Yes, you do quite a lot of back-tracking, but you do have a jump map to save some time.
The only collectibles I found are 31 rocket ships. They are silhouettes and can be any size, but all seem to be the same shape. This was very disappointing. Definitely needed more collectibles.
I beta tested this one way back in April. Can't believe it took this long to come out. I really liked the 3D affect in this game, e.g., your arm reaches into the scene to pick something up, use a key, etc. It made the game seem more realistic and made you part of it. The story was a bit different and I found it interesting enough to make me really want to play on and see what happens. When I beta tested this one, I gave it a 4.5, only because of the lack of collectibles. Everything about the rest of this game is very well done and I think most all level of players will find it interesting. Yes, I am going to add 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.
I recommend this game!
Enjoy Pinecreek Hills at its best! Have a sensational summer vacation helping the Rangers run the park in its centennial year.
Overall rating
4
/
5
9 of 10 found this review helpful
Excellent HOP!
PostedNovember 15, 2016
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Arcade & Action, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Hello friends! Well, we have #5 in this series and I have them all. Yep, just purchased this one as well. I really like this series, along with the Vacation Adventures: Cruise Director games, this one makes 8. If you like straight HOPs, then you will like this series. The dev definitely cleaned up the scenes in this addition. They are still somewhat cluttered, but items seem a little easier to spot. You still have to find wildlife and garbage for extra points. The garbage can be a carton, pizza box, coffee cup, empty bottle, etc. This is where the challenge is in these games. I have the need to find them all. The best part is, if you don't find everything the first time, you can replay the scene and find it. You don't lose the money you already earned and you don't have to start all over finding all the collectibles, just the one (s) you missed.
The faces used to creep me out...the eyes were very weird. That has been fixed and is much better. The people still look like mannequins, but not creepy. I do wish they would upgrade the music, which is quite annoying...I either turn it off or way down.
I like how you play a scene and then a puzzle each time. The puzzles are varied between a replace pieces on a map, turn pieces, compare pictures, etc. Each scene and each puzzle that is completed earns you money to purchase souvenir items from your vacation. The more stars you earn, the more money you earn, the more items you can buy.
Yes, it may be a silly little game, but it is quite relaxing to me and a very nice change from the dark, dreary, bloody type games we seem to get a lot of lately. The only draw back to me was the seemingly long lag between scenes. You should be able to hit enter or the space bar to speed things up a bit, but not a deal breaker. I think most players will find this one a nice game for a lazy quiet day. As I said, I already bought this one.
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 stop the malevolent Siren in time?
Overall rating
4
/
5
18 of 25 found this review helpful
Nice simple game...
PostedNovember 12, 2016
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
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello friends! As usual, I review mostly on the game play and leave the story line to those who do a much better job than I. We have #6 in this series, yes I have the other 5 and enjoyed them all, but not necessarily as CE's. This game has much better, brighter and more true colors than the last game in the series. Graphics and animation are very well done, with eye movements and the like, making it more realistic. At times, the colors are a little muted, which makes the scene look a little blurred, but only for a few seconds. Otherwise, very nice. Again, the voices, music and sound FX in this series are very quiet. What we do have is well done, e.g., music a bit eerie at times, voices show emotion and are age and character appropriate, and nice sound FX that sound quite realistic. There wasn't a lot of character interaction during the demo, but hopefully that changes as the game progresses.
HOPs are nothing new, but are clean and clear, and items are not difficult to find. All I found are lists during the demo. If you want something different, there is a match 3 to switch to as well. Puzzles aren't too bad. Some did take a bit of time, but none were very difficult. I was surprised at how quickly I got through some. You have an amulet that helps you along the way, but each time you need to use it, you have a puzzle to complete first. One such puzzle is the line draw, which is sometimes very frustrating to me...if you move a hair, you have to start all over again. There is no transport in this game, unless it shows up later. Yes, there is a lot of back tracking, but for some reason, it didn't cause me to get bored with the game. The hint system is very helpful and you do have a nice jump map to use if needed. The areas on the map are well identified by name and picture, so you know exactly where you are going.
I was somewhat disappointed in the collectibles. All I've found are 36 gems of various color and shape, but none are hard to spot. Even the addition of morphing items would have made this one more CE worthy.
The demo was extremely short, making it difficult to really get a feel for the game. However, I liked the story in this one and the fact that we had almost constant action makes it a much nicer game than you think. This makes up a bit for the lack of collectibles. I think most all levels of players will find this one fun and interesting for one reason or another. Yes, I will add this one 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!
I recommend this game!
Your new dream home has become a deadly nightmare!
Overall rating
4
/
5
10 of 14 found this review helpful
That pesky Chimera is back...
PostedNovember 11, 2016
dancemom1
fromYakima, WA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hello friends! Well, we now have #4 in this series and I do have the other three. I review on the game and not much on the story, as others do a much better job than I on that part of it all. This addition is set up exactly the same as all the others in this series, as far as game play and such. Nice animation in this one, with mouth movements and all. Voice overs are well done, but not much of them, and are age, character and setting appropriate. Graphics are well done, very clean and clear. Colors are nice and bright without being over powering, although we did have a little more blue than usual. Game play was very good, with no problems at all during the demo. There isn't much in the way of sound FX or music. This game was fairly quiet throughout the demo.
Hops were nothing new, but scenes were clean and clear and items were not hard to find. So far, all I've seen is a combo of interactive lists and silhouettes. I don't notice that we can switch to something else if we don't care for the HOPs. Needed a bit more in this department, but okay. Puzzles were not difficult, but a couple did take me a little time to complete. Hint system is quite helpful and it does transport to longer locations. There is a lot of back tracking, but it didn't seem to be quite as much as in previous games in the series. There is a jump map, but it is still very bland and boring, so the transport is handy and faster. SG is the standard.
Collectibles are nicely done. We need to find 36 jigsaw pieces, which are fairly large for the most part and easy to see. We collect 12 pieces each for 3 puzzles, but not sure what happens when we get them all. We also have 29 morphing objects, which all seem to be the same item in each scene, just different colors. They are quite large, but be on the lookout for them, as these objects morph quickly. We also have 12 tarot cards. Still not sure why, but it's another collectible to find. These are quite large, but easily missed, as you don't think about them when picking up something else within the scene. Yep, had to make myself a note to remember to look for them.
This game was by far better than the last one. When I beta tested it, I gave it a 4.5 on my beta scale. Again, we don't have much in the way of character interaction or dialog, which often makes a game a bit boring, and is the reason I didn't give this one a higher rating. A game has to be exceptional in all aspects to get 5 stars from me. That being said, I really got into the story in this one fairly quickly and as usual, the demo left us with a cliffhanger. The game did have enough action and constant movement to keep me interested and I find that I have the need to play this one out and see what is happening and why. I think most all levels of players will find this one interesting, a bit challenging at times and somewhat fun. Yes, I am adding this one 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.
I recommend this game!
Can you clear her name before it’s too late?
Overall rating
4
/
5
18 of 28 found this review helpful
Interesting, simple...
PostedNovember 3, 2016
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
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Hello friends! Well, a game that isn't a sequel! As usual, I review on the game play and not the story line, as others do a much better job of that than I. The graphics in this game weren't too bad. They were mostly very clear, except for a little blur in the cut scenes, otherwise quite nice. Colors are very bright and true for a change, no pinks or blues. Game play was very good, no problems during the demo at all. Voice overs are well done, but the mouth movement did not quite match up with the speaking. We have a helper in Captain Louie, who at times is quite amusing. Sound FX are very well done and are throughout the game, so you have no dead air.
HOPs are interactive lists and/or find multiple items in the scenes. They are clean and clear and items are not difficult to find. I did not see that you can switch to another game if you do not care for the HOPs. These are nothing new, but nicely done. Puzzles were fairly simple and took no time or thought to complete. Took me a minute to find the extremely small icon for the strategy guide, which is quite easy to follow. Either there wasn't one, or I hadn't found what I needed to open a jump map. Hint system is quite helpful and it does transport to longer locations. You do return to the same scenes multiple times before moving on to a new location. This got old real fast.
Collectibles are few. We have 24 coins that are extremely easy to find. These only allow you to change the background or design of the game. I found this quite boring. We also have to find 39 morphing items, according to the SG. However, at one point, I was told during the game that I had to find 34 items, then 38 and the last items I found said it was 39. Someone lost count. The items morph quite slowly, 10 seconds going in and 10 going out. Even at that, they were very easy to spot.
I like games with more extras, e.g., souvenir room; ability to replay areas to find missed collectibles or morphing items, etc. This game does not have any of these things. The game was not challenging, but like I said, I found Captain Louie's dialog amusing. The story is somewhat different, but moved a little slow at times, I think because you were in the same two locations too many times before moving on. On the whole, this is not a bad game, I liked it, but I am not sure it is CE worthy. Personally I think this game is geared more toward a beginner, or someone who just wants a nice simple game. I have many like this for those lazy days. I will put this in my puddle and either get the SE or the CE if a really good sale comes along.
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.
I recommend this game!