saeva's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.8
- Helpful Votes:114
- Reviews Submitted:14
- First Review:October 31, 2012
- Most Recent Review:March 20, 2013
- Featured reviews0
Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome
Help Sam rescue his love Anna in Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome, an incredible Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!
Overall rating
2
/
5
18 of 26 found this review helpful
Beginner Game; Also, More Puzzles Than HO
PostedNovember 3, 2012
saeva
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen
(138)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I was honestly surprised by the high rating this game has. The visuals, sound, etc. are all fantastic, no question, but the actual gameplay can be summed up in three words: unnecessarily time consuming.
(1) Voiceovers you can't click past. I, like many, prefer to read them and even if you have the voice option muted you can't do. Also, whenever the villain appears for cut scenes there's no 'skip' option.
(2) Puzzles which are very simple but take ~100 steps. I'm, sadly, not exaggerating as in the case of one it took me over 200 clicks before I skipped and I knew what to do as soon as I saw the puzzle.
(3) A ton of going back and forth. You will routinely have to move locations that are 8-12 clicks apart as often times the object you received goes to a puzzle 10 locations apart and then the object you get from that puzzle goes to something back in the room you started! Additionally, the map is next to useless as it gives no real indicator of where the next step might be.
(2) Puzzles which are very simple but take ~100 steps. I'm, sadly, not exaggerating as in the case of one it took me over 200 clicks before I skipped and I knew what to do as soon as I saw the puzzle.
(3) A ton of going back and forth. You will routinely have to move locations that are 8-12 clicks apart as often times the object you received goes to a puzzle 10 locations apart and then the object you get from that puzzle goes to something back in the room you started! Additionally, the map is next to useless as it gives no real indicator of where the next step might be.
For all of this the game is very, very simple and easy to play. I only played the demo which, according to BFG's blog walkthrough, goes through to the beginning of Chapter 3 out of a total 7 chapters. In effect, a third of the game. It took me about 40 minutes despite the slow downs caused by the things I've already mentioned. That's a total of 2 hours gameplay, most of it spent in listening to voiceovers or moving between locations.
If you're newer to puzzle-heavy 'hidden object' games (and this has twice the number of puzzles as it does HO) then this might be a fun game to get started with. For anyone experienced in the genre this game isn't likely to be very challenging.
I don't recommend this game.
Red Crow Mysteries: Legion
You have been chosen to defend all of mankind in Red Crow Mysteries: Legion! Stand up to a terrible evil and save humanity!
Overall rating
1
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Are They Trying to Confuse Us?
PostedNovember 2, 2012
saeva
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen
(138)Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This game is, quite frankly, awful.
On the technical level: The graphics look like 3-D simulations from the early 2000s rather than artful or sharp. The settings menu is a pain in the bum as you can't switch between full and windowed screens OR turn off the audio without restarting the game. I looked up the game's release date thinking that it must be an older game but it was released in November of 2011, long after these sort of technical issues should no longer be present in any game.
On the gameplay level: Amazingly, things are even worse! The storyline is cliche. The tasks are random; why is there a dissembled car in the drive? The tools don't work in places they logically would; pliers can't unscrew bolts (even though they can in real life). Or, they're time triggered so that you can't put it down in the right place until you have another component; i.e. a note about the combination for a lock can't be set next to the lock until after you find the (very oddly) shaped key. That's not that unusual for HOGs/FROGs, except that the game doesn't tell you you need another component. When you find new information you better memorise it as you won't be able to pull it back up; for example, a photo showing how a part of the room is meant to look is only clickable once.
Finally, the hint button is completely useless as it will only highlight an area you need to explore/manipulate and not give you any idea of how to do that or what else you might need first. In the end this is a very challenging game -- for all the wrong reasons.
I honestly can't think of a single good thing to say about this game. Save your money, even on a Daily Deal, and save your time. Go find a better game, there's literally over a hundred right here.
I don't recommend this game.
Winemaker Extraordinaire
Live the dream of owning and operating your own successful winemaking empire!
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Enjoyable But A Bit Too Easy
PostedOctober 31, 2012
saeva
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Chocolatier 3: Decadence by Design
(37)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Winemaker Extraordinaire is a business strategy game in the vein of the Chocolatier series where, instead of focusing on time management tasks (like the ‘Dash’ series), players must balance buying ingredients, producing and selling products, and filling orders as they advance through a quest to obtain the ultimate wine recipe.
To start with the basics: the game’s fun, the art’s well-crafted, and the setting is well-established. For someone looking for a game like Chocolatier this fits the bill. However, Winemaker Extraordinaire proves to be far easier than any of the Chocolatier series and game play is far shorter; I completed the game in a little under four hours including the trial time. The mini-games in particular were much easier for me as they required basic match-3 actions like linking like objects together and swapping objects to create a pattern. It’s also much easier to gain money quickly and therefore overstock your ingredients to simplify game play -- they never expire so you can keep them throughout the game if needed.
The major drawback of the game for me was that it proved difficult to navigate to the correct location at times. When you want to produce a wine you can’t look up which winery you configured to make the wine in and therefore either need to write it down or hope between cities to find it. It also had the annoying habit of resets, i.e., when you sold a wine the ‘shelf’ of wine selections would automatically go back to the beginning even if you wanted to sell another wine next to the first one, therefore making you scroll through the selections over and over again each time you sold (or bought) multiple products.
However, overall the game was very enjoyable if you’re looking for something that requires you to do some planning ahead and juggling multiple ventures without the high pressure of more time oriented games like the Tycoon series. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this game!
Botanica: Into the Unknown Collector's Edition
Use your botany skills to survive the strange new planet of Botanica. Can you find your way back to Earth in this thrilling Hidden Object adventure?
Overall rating
2
/
5
10 of 13 found this review helpful
Confusing Tasks and Mini-games
PostedOctober 31, 2012
saeva
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen
(138)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
As an avid fan of hidden object and puzzle games alike I thought Botanica: Into the Unknown looked rather fun, similar in structure to the ‘Drawn’ series. I was right about the similar structure; rather than go through hidden object scenes you collect objects (or parts of objects) as you go along in order to complete various tasks on your quest to subvert the wicked queen and find your way back home. [Also, for example, similar to the Puppetshow series if you took out the hidden object scenes.] I was wrong, however, about it being fun.
Thirty-nine minutes into the free trial I closed the game in disgust and frustration due to confusing mini-games and even more confusing tasks. Rather than being intuitive or even remotely logical Botanica somehow expects the player to put together 4 or 5 step tasks that are very unusual. For example, gaining a hammer to open a crate to gain berries and a lighter which is then taken to the cooking hut, cut up, boiled (after obtaining a pitcher of water), all so a white cloth can be dyed red and the red cloth used to attract a bull-like creature to ram a tree to knock down a necessary ingredient in moving on to the next location. This is, of course, spread over eight or nine different location scenes forcing the player to move back and forth hoping to find something that might be useful somehow. Just for kicks, there’s also no map. The idea that the average player would understand they needed to do this (or, really, that they needed a red cloth at all) is unrealistic.
I play a lot of hidden object games, I love games like Drawn, Puppetshow, Dark Parables, and Azada (which is all puzzles and putting objects together to achieve tasks) but games like these rely on having a logical and/or intuitive structure to them -- collecting glass shards to repair a broken window to create a reflection, for example -- rather than a series of incomprehensible steps. Botanica, in contrast, proves to be confusing and counterintuitive, if anything. Additionally, there are few hidden object scenes but the ones that are present are extremely easy to complete once you understand most of the objects require two steps (putting a skewer with a fish to create a skewered fish, for example).
I can honestly say that, IMO, Botanica has nothing to recommend it but if you do buy it make certain to get the CE or otherwise gain access to a strategy guide -- you’re going to need it.
I don't recommend this game.