roaming's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.1
- Helpful Votes:4,416
- Reviews Submitted:473
- First Review:April 23, 2013
- Most Recent Review:April 24, 2022
- Featured reviews0
Status:
A mysterious Owl Man is terrorizing citizens!
Overall rating
1
/
5
19 of 25 found this review helpful
Simply Awful
PostedApril 24, 2015
I couldn't finish the demo due to extreme boredom and lack of interest. There are more gimmicks to contend with in this game than HOS, mini-games, or adventure. I didn't like the arrows and scrolling screen either. It was just one more gimmick to spoil the game.
I don't recommend this game.
You've returned from school to visit your father at his famous Jazz Pepper Club during Mardi Gras, but everyone is hypnotized. Have they heard the wrong note?
Overall rating
1
/
5
8 of 12 found this review helpful
Should have been titled "Confusion"
PostedApril 22, 2015
True, it's an innovative game, and I loved the ambiance, but I never could figure out where to go or what to do once I got there and literally needed a hint at every turn, whether a new scene or returning to a previous one.
The best thing about this game up to the end of the demo was the Chagallesque painting that was an HOS.
Since just sitting here clicking the hint button isn't my idea of a fun time, I won't be buying this one.
Unlock the mysteries shrouding the creatures of Oxbridge University!
Overall rating
2
/
5
25 of 31 found this review helpful
High Hopes Dashed
PostedApril 22, 2015
I was initially very intrigued by the opening sequences of this game, but my hopes were dashed when it became clear there was no way to escape a seemingly endless progression of silent (that's right -- no voiceover) conversations between characters, including your hapless professor and the girl who has set his heart apitty-patting.
The game defaults to a moderate level of difficulty. If you want to change to an easier or harder level, you can do so in the options menu. NOTE: You will not be able to return to the menus until the above-mentioned conversations, or any subsequent extended conversations, have run their course or else you have clicked through them as quickly as possible.
There are minimal hints available by clicking on the Objectives button in the lower right corner.
The mini-games were almost immediately skippable, but I was playing on the easiest level and can't say if that would be the case for all levels of difficulty.
The graphics are reasonably well done, bright and colorful with no emphasis on one palette.
As I said, I initially hoped for a better experience. Lately we seem to be getting a lot soft releases that are real duds, and the better games are released as CEs so fishies like myself who never buy CEs are forced to wait for the SE to come out.
I don't recommend this game.
Mystery of Neuschwanstein
Accompany Sarah and Professor Adler through the stunning rooms, halls and cellars of the historical castle of Neuschwanstein!
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Story had good possibilities, but the execution was awful.
PostedApril 21, 2015
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Playing on the easiest level, puzzles were skippable. That's a positive in my book, but there also were way too many helpful glints and arrows on that level. Other positives were the inventory bar defaults to always open, the music can be turned down without affecting voice volume, and inventory objects are generally used right away.
Others have mentioned the small, dark objects in the HOS, but I found the difficulty about average in spite of that.
There is an excessive amount of dialogue.
Artwork is comic book style. There is virtually NO animation. As others have said, the character's positions are wooden and unchanged from scene to scene.
In spite of the interactive jump map and your tablet with a journal, camera and notes, the overall effect is of a much older game. I suspect the map and tablet may have been added in an effort to update the game.
I don't recommend this game.
A meteorite devastates a town, yanking Emily from her normal life.
Overall rating
1
/
5
22 of 26 found this review helpful
Unbelievably Disappointing
PostedApril 18, 2015
I was very, very disappointed in the newest addition to my favorite game series. It is as if they had already developed this game, and as an afterthought, inserted a few scenes to be able to pass it off as another House of 1,000 Doors. Gabriel and the others don't even look like themselves. Then they create a phony premise to explain why you suddenly have a Hand of Light that you never knew you had. And like pcpat923, I too got sick of waving that silly hand around.
Even if this had been a standalone game unconnected to House of a Thousand Doors, I probably would not have liked it. Game play was tedious, boring, and nothing made it stand apart from other games that have you diving through portals and interacting with bad magick.
Even if this had been a standalone game unconnected to House of a Thousand Doors, I probably would not have liked it. Game play was tedious, boring, and nothing made it stand apart from other games that have you diving through portals and interacting with bad magick.
I don't recommend this game.
Shadows-kidnappers have arrived! Unravel the mystery of the Shadows and free the town from their dreadful fears!
Overall rating
1
/
5
9 of 17 found this review helpful
Pretty is not as pretty does.
PostedMarch 13, 2015
I loved the artwork and the sound effects and nothing else about this game. The lack of character vocalization was a huge, huge drawback.
I don't recommend this game.
A mysterious plague is sweeping through towns along the coast, and you're the only one who knows the truth!
Overall rating
3
/
5
19 of 20 found this review helpful
Unsure About This One
PostedFebruary 28, 2015
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
After finishing the demo (in 58 minutes), everything in this game seems to be up to the usual EIPIX quality -- exceptional graphic art, voiceovers that don't make you cringe, and music that can be turned up or down. I didn't notice the music, so I guess it was okay.
THE GOOD:
*Locking inventory bar
*Custom difficulty settings
*Ability to reduce wait time for hint and skip buttons to 10 seconds
*There is a click penalty in the HOGs but it can be adjusted for difficulty or turned off completely.
*There is a transporting map. I didn't find a journal.
*HOGs are list, silhouette and progressive, and objects are easy to find
*A match 3 game may be played in lieu of HOGs
*Custom difficulty settings
*Ability to reduce wait time for hint and skip buttons to 10 seconds
*There is a click penalty in the HOGs but it can be adjusted for difficulty or turned off completely.
*There is a transporting map. I didn't find a journal.
*HOGs are list, silhouette and progressive, and objects are easy to find
*A match 3 game may be played in lieu of HOGs
THE NOT-SO-GOOD:
The story didn't immediately grab me and draw me in, but I can't exactly say why. I'll put it in my maybe list and wait to read some other reviews of the full game before I make up my mind about whether to purchase or not.
The Lost Lands are in danger again... There's only one brave soul who can face the four evil horsemen to save it – you!
Overall rating
2
/
5
19 of 27 found this review helpful
Standard Fantasy
PostedFebruary 20, 2015
Really? I played 45 minutes of the demo and didn't find one single thing that was unique about this game or that would entice me to buy it.
Yes, there is a mermaid and a wizard and a fiery demon horseman riding a fiery demon horse and magic spheres and magic potions, but those are all pretty standard fantasy fare. The graphics are okay, but no better than we've seen in many other other games.
The best thing about this story is the character you're playing as -- Jimmy's mother -- looks like Tina Fey/Sarah Palin. Funneee!! Strangely, she doesn't seem to be the least bit astonished or frightened when she's whisked off to the-time-zone-that-never-was. She doesn't want to know if her Jimmy is okay. She doesn't even remark, "Oh, here we go again."
In the 45 minutes of the demo that I played, there were no helpful dragons or gnomes, nor (thankfully) were there any inanimate objects that spoke. The HOS were all silhouettes and progressive. I was hoping for a straight list just to break the monotony.
There are manuscripts that tell the back story, and every time you find one, a popup appears informing you of that fact. I don't know what happens after you've come across all 20 of them. They certainly aren't hard to find. You practically trip over them.
The transporter map is just a transporter map. It works fine. The hints and skip buttons also work fine. There is no customization, just the three usual levels of difficulty.
I don't get all the swooning and exclaiming "best game of the year" stuff. To me, this game is rather ordinary. But everyone has different likes, so try it.
I recommend this game!
Help Goldilocks's son protect his village from invading bears!
Overall rating
3
/
5
59 of 80 found this review helpful
Interesting and Weird at the Same Time
PostedFebruary 20, 2015
If you like puzzles, you will definitely want to preview this game! I do not like puzzles, and therefore, I will neither finish the demo nor purchase. However, it seems to be an interesting game with lots to do and decent artwork. (Interesting to others, that is, not to me.)
Unfortunately, the fable this game is based on is stretched way out of shape and time, and that was a huge turn-off for me. I winced every time our hero referred to his mother as "mom." Really? In the middle ages? He is voiced as a modern American teenager, which for a beast slayer is downright weird.
I appreciated that there are custom settings, which is good. The bad is that the hint refill can only be shortened to 35 seconds. The hint refill can be shortened to ten.
An abundance of magic and heroic deeds will likely please the fishies who enjoy that kind of thing.
I recommend this game!
Welcome to Holy Mountain Hotel, where all criminals are punished.
Overall rating
4
/
5
12 of 12 found this review helpful
Twisted Tale of Suspense
PostedFebruary 13, 2015
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I thoroughly enjoyed this entire game, although it was a little bit on the short side. That might actually be a good thing, because I tend to get bored if the game goes on too long. This one keeps moving along with each task flowing logically into the next. I also get annoyed when the ending is given away in the first chapter, or a surprise ending that doesn't mesh with the rest of the story. There's a plot twist to the ending of this game that, although tragic, makes sense.
Transporting map: check
Transporting hints: check
Custom settings: check
Locking inventory: check
Good voiceovers: check
Appropriate music: check
Interesting story: check
Transporting hints: check
Custom settings: check
Locking inventory: check
Good voiceovers: check
Appropriate music: check
Interesting story: check
I'm a hard grader and not all that easy to please when it comes to these games, but IMO, this one's a winner.
I recommend this game!