chairchick's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.2
- Helpful Votes:147
- Reviews Submitted:5
- First Review:March 27, 2012
- Most Recent Review:April 21, 2012
- Featured reviews0
chairchick's Review History
Strange figures have taken over a small town in Hallowed Legends: The Templar! Stop the Knights of the Templar!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
I loved this long, satisfying HOS game!
PostedApril 21, 2012
chairchick
fromBoise, ID
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This was my first HO game, and after moving on to a lot of other games and coming back to play Templar for the second time, it is still my favorite. One caveat: if you only want to visit each scene once and move on to the next without backtracking, this is definitely not the game for you. I personally love games that make me backtrack, the more often the better, but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. There are over 40 scenes in the main game, but with backtracking you visit at least twice the number of different places to accomplish stuff.
Assuming you're still here reading the review <g> . . . . . .
Detailed PROs:
--awesome, crisp graphics. Even though the storyline is a suspense thriller, it isn't dark and grainy like most of that genre. The few HOS that are a little darker are like that because of where they are located, and they're not dark enough to stop you from seeing things.
--numerous, interesting cut scenes, including voiceovers. They're all saved for replay in your diary.
--interesting and unique characters with well-chosen voices.
--great suspense. I jumped during several cut scenes, even the second time through the game.
--challenging but not annoying HOS, with items that are appropriate and logical for the specific settings they're in. The further into the game you get, the more items you have to interact with to collect, either by combining items or modifying them somehow. In the last chapter of the game, you sometimes need an item from your inventory to interact with an HOS item to collect it.
--Between the diary/map and the SGuide, you don't need to take notes to get by, although I love notetaking during play, so I have a detailed journal of my own.
--The game is satisfyingly long. The first time through, it took me over 10 hours to get through the main and bonus games, but the second time through, because I already had notes, it only took 8. It was definitely worth my $$ investment.
--three gameplay modes offered: Casual (sparkels and lots of help#, Advanced #no sparkles, hint/skip recharge very slowly#, and Hardcore #no sparkles or skip). I played Casual first time and Advanced second time and got through fine both times.
--awesome, crisp graphics. Even though the storyline is a suspense thriller, it isn't dark and grainy like most of that genre. The few HOS that are a little darker are like that because of where they are located, and they're not dark enough to stop you from seeing things.
--numerous, interesting cut scenes, including voiceovers. They're all saved for replay in your diary.
--interesting and unique characters with well-chosen voices.
--great suspense. I jumped during several cut scenes, even the second time through the game.
--challenging but not annoying HOS, with items that are appropriate and logical for the specific settings they're in. The further into the game you get, the more items you have to interact with to collect, either by combining items or modifying them somehow. In the last chapter of the game, you sometimes need an item from your inventory to interact with an HOS item to collect it.
--Between the diary/map and the SGuide, you don't need to take notes to get by, although I love notetaking during play, so I have a detailed journal of my own.
--The game is satisfyingly long. The first time through, it took me over 10 hours to get through the main and bonus games, but the second time through, because I already had notes, it only took 8. It was definitely worth my $$ investment.
--three gameplay modes offered: Casual (sparkels and lots of help#, Advanced #no sparkles, hint/skip recharge very slowly#, and Hardcore #no sparkles or skip). I played Casual first time and Advanced second time and got through fine both times.
CONs:
--most of the puzzles were challenging but doable, but a few were either so difficult or confusing that I ended up skipping them. And unfortunately there wasn't a reset feature available, so on the games I tried to do myself but got stuck, I couldn't go to the Guide to complete them because the instructions were no longer workable. Because of this I would rate the game 4.5 if that option was available.
--the music was really good and fit with the mood of the story, but it didn't play very often. The music would start when you entered a new scene, but within about a minute, it would fade out and you were left with only the other sound effects for about 5 minutes until the music would come back for a minute, etc. The sound effects were good when the music was playing, but annoying when it wasn't.
--most of the puzzles were challenging but doable, but a few were either so difficult or confusing that I ended up skipping them. And unfortunately there wasn't a reset feature available, so on the games I tried to do myself but got stuck, I couldn't go to the Guide to complete them because the instructions were no longer workable. Because of this I would rate the game 4.5 if that option was available.
--the music was really good and fit with the mood of the story, but it didn't play very often. The music would start when you entered a new scene, but within about a minute, it would fade out and you were left with only the other sound effects for about 5 minutes until the music would come back for a minute, etc. The sound effects were good when the music was playing, but annoying when it wasn't.
I highly recommend this game as well as the other Hallowed Legends game: Samhain.
I recommend this game!
Become the greatest inventor in the world of Akhra! Utilize ancient artifacts to find all of the hidden treasures.
Overall rating
5
/
5
47 of 49 found this review helpful
Fantastic Match 3 game
PostedApril 18, 2012
chairchick
fromBoise, ID
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Akhra is my favorite Match 3 game on BFG, and I own about 2 dozen of them.
Great features:
** There are over 100 levels to the game. I personally love games that make me work to get to the end. If I like the game experience, I want to spend hours and hours playing to the finish.
** There are over 100 levels to the game. I personally love games that make me work to get to the end. If I like the game experience, I want to spend hours and hours playing to the finish.
** There are 4 types of matching formats used in the game (drag-the-row or-column to line up the match, swap, create chains, and rotate a group of 4), and 2 types of finished forms (standard lines of 3 or more, or groups (think Tetris shapes)). The only con for the whole game, if you care about this, is that you don't get to choose which you do for each level, the game presets it. I don't like making chains, so luckily for me, it's the least commonly used format.
** You collect "resources" in the form of different types of elements, which you then use to manufacture your game power-ups. You can collect these resources by playing the main game, or by playing mini-games you unlock, or by going into a cavern and mining the elements, or by re-playing past levels.
** You earn bonuses that automatically activate during play, also using the resources you collect to construct and upgrade them.
** The music is annoying, but the visuals are stunning, and the game sound effects are awesome, which is why I'm giving that sub-category 5 stars.
** The storyline is interesting enough to read through if you care about that kind of thing, but skippable if you don't.
** You can play on relaxed mode (my preferred way to play) and puposely drag out completing a level so you can maximize resource collection (or to drag out the matching. Again, my preferred way to play). Or you can play on timed mode and speed your way through.
** There's a Statistics page that keeps a running count of the different kinds of things you've done in the game (Resources collected, power-ups used, etc).
I have been playing the current game for over 15 hours and I'm only on level 89 out of 105. Since I like the long-slow play method, a game that allows for that is my idea of heaven. But if you play for speed, I'm sure that the game would be satisfying for you, too.
Definitely a must-have for match-3 fans.
I recommend this game!
Classic Mahjong strategy and Hidden Object game play come together in this far-east mystical puzzler.
Overall rating
5
/
5
34 of 35 found this review helpful
Great Mahjongg variation, as good as the first Liong game
PostedApril 18, 2012
chairchick
fromBoise, ID
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
I love Mahjongg games and really like variations on the Mahjongg formula, and I was definitely pleased with this effort.
It's different that the first Liong game, the Dragon Dance, in that you don't just do Mahjongg variations, there are a lot of other puzzle types as well. This worked fine for me because I love all kinds of puzzle games, but you should definitely shop according to your taste: The Dragon Dance is all Mahjongg, The Lost Amulets is about half Mahjongg, half other puzzle types.
If you care about the visual look of you Mahjongg, you will probably be happy with this game. I love Oriental art, so I really liked to look of the game.
I would usually be unhappy with the limited number of tilesets available, but because the other aspects of the game take up enough of my attention, I haven't even wanted to change tilesets after several hours of play.
Unlike on The Dragon Dance, there's no way to slow down the progress of the dragon toward the gates, but there is an untimed mode, which accomplished the same thing, because I usually play puzzle games with no timer. This feature is a make-or-break for me.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this game.
I recommend this game!
The magical Liong dragons have been stolen and you must save the day. Use your matching skills to stop the thieves!
Overall rating
5
/
5
63 of 67 found this review helpful
Great variation on Mahjongg Games
PostedApril 18, 2012
chairchick
fromBoise, ID
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Mahjong
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
I love Mahjongg games and particularly like it when game developers come up with new twists on the Mahjongg formula, and in this game they did a fantastic job.
I ususally play the untimed version of games because I don't like to be rushed, so I was initially worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the moving dragon, but I found a "Slow-motion" feature on the options menu that allowed me to keep up with no problems.
I love the graphics on this game, too. If you like the color and styling of Oriental art, you will like the visual look of this game.
Definitely a winner. I also loved the sequel "Liong: The Lost Amulets" (see my review for that game for details).
I recommend this game!
Travel to Florence and treat your old friend’s mysterious illness in Borgia: Faith and Fear!
Overall rating
1
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Very disappointing HOS game
PostedMarch 27, 2012
chairchick
fromBoise, ID
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Strategy, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I love history in general, and Renaissance history in particular and was really looking forward to this game because the story of the Borgias and their rise to power is so compelling. Talk about a disappointment. The music was soft, slow and repetitive and neither reminded me of the period nor put me in the mood to solve a mystery; there was no tension in it at all. The graphics were terrible, the HOS were terrible, and the puzzles were way too easy. The instructions (which you couldn't turn off) were so step-by-step that there was nothing to actually figure out from one scene to the next. I'm usually happy with my BFG experience, but in the this case I want the 12 minutes of my life I'll never get back.
I don't recommend this game.