HCC_314's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.1
- Helpful Votes:97
- Reviews Submitted:16
- First Review:May 1, 2014
- Most Recent Review:March 15, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Explore the dungeons of Cliffmont Castle in this unique new match-3 adventure!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Couldn't wait to finish
PostedMarch 15, 2018
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Mahjong, Match 3
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I played and replayed Silver Tale for 20 months or so, waiting and hoping for the further adventures promised by the King after I saved his life so many times. That ingrate never delivered! Instead the devs gave us MatchVentures. They include a lot of new cool M3 features from the Jewel Match series, and dropped features I really enjoyed in Runefall and Silver Tale.
Instead of the snappy, funny dialog and loopy characters, all I got was the snarky Leprechaun, whose small stock of comments got very old very fast. Instead of ranging across a large and varied territory, I worked in a ruined castle..and not even one I had to map or track. I'm claustrophobic.
Even in relaxed mode, I HAD to focus on making ever larger matches, because they are essential in the fight. !Why do I have to fight in a Match 3? I avoid the HO adventure games that involve the monster fights at the end. Why do I need to send multiple flaming balls at another questor? I'd rather burn the Leprechaun to a crisp!
I played the exact number of levels needed to finish the Castle and uninstalled the game. Fortunately a new Jewel Match game was available, and I'm ripping through that one, silly back story and all.
It's a shame. The animated graphics were great, and there were no interface problems. MatchVentures took more of the CPU and graphics card memory than other M3 games, but it was still a very pretty well-built game.
I'm recommending it reluctantly. If you can stand the Leprechaun, aren't bothered by closed spaces, like a good fight, and didn't fall in love with Silver Tale, you may like this one.
I recommend this game!
The dastardly Pirate King is out for blood... and you're his next target!
Overall rating
4
/
5
6 of 9 found this review helpful
A good end to the series
PostedMay 18, 2016
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Sometimes the games in a series have similar features and flaws. I played this one hard on the heels of another Eipix game and agree with one reviewer who remarked that it was very like other recent games from that developer. I think this one was a tad better, and I liked it better than Nemesis. The story was unbelievable and familiar. I’ve enjoy the Pirates of the Caribbean series of movies, though, so spooky pirate magic and a governor’s daughter who morphs into a fighting detective/pirate didn’t put me off. The story even had a flow that made sense. The locations and objects mostly matched the supposed time period, though I wonder about some of the tools. The game wasn’t totally logical. In one of the puzzles, you rotate items to their correct placement in a picture of a beach. I really don’t see why the sword should be up in the air. I’d never have gotten that one on my own.
I played the game in on my Windows 7 PC in windowed mode in part because I can grab screenshots. But like the other Eipix game I played recently, this one just looks better when it is smaller. The titles and large graphics look jagged at full-screen. I suppose there is no point is getting crazy about making it look great on a large monitor when it will end up on a smartphone. Like the other game, animation was a little jerky. But the graphics were pretty stunning in places, with panned scenes allowing a larger canvas. The gangway up to the gondola was one of those. Thankfully this wasn’t an unremittingly dark story takes place only at night. Sunlight played into even static scenes, changing textures and colors, bringing details in and out of focus… and making those danged transparent collectibles harder to see. Characters were only fairly well-drawn with the usual unchanging facial expressions. Voices were appropriate, clear and expressive. The music (9 themes) was nicely varied, with stirring pieces and lyric melodies.
The Strategy Guide “Chapters” are a bit misleading. After our heroine is captured, there is one location on the pirate ship. Four beach/jungle locations, four in/around the tavern, and three in the Gangway before she gets to the pirate town proper. There were sixteen locations in the town, and then six on the Ship. There is some backing and forthing, but groups of locations get blocked behind you pretty quickly. Once you get to the tavern, you can’t go back to the beach/jungle locations. I was surprised to see the treasury locations blocked immediately after the action was completed in that part of the Pirate Town. The map was still helpful in getting around, and in checking your next steps. Hints were directional, occasionally pulling up map locations. The Strategy Guide was quintessential for me, for assistance with the puzzles.
There were 21 “official” puzzles in the Main Game and another 5 in the Bonus Chapter. That tally doesn’t include the unofficial puzzles: little sets of actions you have to take in sequence, correctly, without instructions. I counted at least 13 of those. There were a few fairly simple puzzles. Many were multi-level and pretty complex. I like puzzles, but I was puzzled out by the end of this game; I even skipped a couple. The15 HOS in the Main game and 3 in the Bonus section were fairly well-lit, interactive and combined list and match the shape/concept format. But the clutter factor was getting to me, and it was taking too long to see the morphing object. Maybe I need new glasses. By the end, I was taking full advantage of the frenetic match 3 option to those HOS.
The CE section is packed: Music, artwork, videos, and a souvenir hunt that I’ll save for when I replay this game. You can replay *most* of the HOS and puzzles and pick up those collectibles that you didn’t nab while you were playing. This one will be good for another couple of replays.
I recommend this game!
Beyond: Light Advent Collector's Edition
Beyond the sky lies a thrilling adventure... and a deadly threat!
Overall rating
4
/
5
7 of 9 found this review helpful
If you liked the 50's....
PostedAugust 2, 2015
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Adventure, Strategy
Current Favorite:
Lost Lands: The Four Horsemen Collector's Edition
(144)Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I was anticipating the science-fiction addition part of this game. I was a little disappointed to find that most of the game is set in the recent past: I’d guess 1950s-60s. The music of that day is the first thing you hear, with views of a drive-in diner. Somebody had fun illustrating the town views of that era. I’m not a fan of the 50s, but would have appreciated a little more consistency with that era, and more time spent in the sci-fi settings.
The 2D and animated art is really good and occasionally lush. A few scenes offered arrows to slide the view slightly to the left or right. The cut scenes are numerous, and mostly help build the story. There were very few facial expressions for the NPC, even when that would be warranted. The nicely drawn talking heads appeared in the lower third of your view, instead of taking a chunk of your view at the bottom. The music was pleasant, but had nothing to do with the setting/era. There were 10 themes: all orchestral or keyboard. Another reviewer called it “soothing”, and I’d agree (especially one that was the primary for the HOS). Environmental sounds were solid, but not outstanding. The voices were EXCELLENT: appropriate, clear and expressive. That is where the devs showed us emotions. The exception was Nix, who had the softest, most diffident voice I’ve ever encountered, and that never varied. You have to advance dialogs with a click-old style-which meant I lost a couple of lines from NPC.
I wasn’t overwhelmed with illogic or poor word usage. Creating grappling hook stand ins seemed to be a favorite, but those were “anchors” for the first few uses. There was one bit where Diana lassoed a rock to ascend to something she needed to manipulate. The zoom showed the perfectly round lasso looped around a rock (no tension), and a two-handed set of actions being performed: Maybe she levitates. For the most part, the devs kept objects appropriate. Don’t think that motorcycle was period perfect though, and as usual, I could NOT identify with the medical setting. At least the perennial glass syringe actually belonged there. The plastic IV bag did not, nor did the stethoscope. I have no idea what Diana injected into Nix’s neck: the only liquid she collected was alcohol. There were a few fiddly placement issues, mostly in the Bonus Game. The big tech issue for me was that I lost the use of my map about two-thirds of the way through the main game. This wasn’t just that I didn’t have the “charge” to “blink”. I couldn’t view the Map at all, and the alert when I clicked on it was something about moving. It reappeared for the Bonus Game, where you really don’t need a Map.
The game took place mostly in and around a strange small town: maybe 40 locations in 5 sets. Not a lot of backing and forthing once an objective had been achieved, but a few locations did get revisited. You also get three “memory” trips to Nix’s home world in the main game, and the whole bonus game was played there almost entirely. That added 20 locations. Objects were mostly collected close to the point of use. A few utility items were collected early and carried for a while.
There is a lot of action in this game, yours and other NPCs. Diana didn’t take notes: there was only a weird graphic that showed the NPCs she’d met. So the next move was often hard to intuit. Hints were directional only. Worse, the player character musings that you get when you click on something were mostly missing. Instead, you got “What would I do with this?”, which is NOT helpful. The Strategy Guide explained nothing beyond a sequence of actions. The strangely-scaled Map was my main resource, and losing it left me floundering towards the end.
There were 20 HOS in the main game and 5 in the Bonus section: Far too many for my tastes. None were repeated, and the majority were list format with some interactivity in each one. The lighting was generally good, but there was an awful lot of clutter, which slowed me down. I even had to use Hints a couple of times. There was no alternative to the HOS, which would a relief. I didn’t count the number of mini-games: There were at least double the number of HOS. None were 4-move wonders and most were mildly to moderately challenging. I had to look up the solutions to two or three. I liked some new takes on old mini-games, but there was--I thought--an over-reliance on matching. I really disliked the crummy directions: bare bones and/or nonsensical. I skipped 3 mini-games that I would have persisted in had I the faintest clue what I was supposed to do.
The CE bonuses abounded: Music, Backgrounds, an ultimate HOS, yet another set of matching games, and a Jigsaw. You could pick up the Collectibles you missed. You can’t replay the mini-games, but you can replay most of the HOS to improve find those Morphing Objects and to improve your Achievement record. I’ll replay this, but I’m obviously going to have to take notes. Bah!
I recommend this game!
Lost Lands: The Four Horsemen Collector's Edition
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
5
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Another beautiful fun fairy tale
PostedFebruary 1, 2015
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
WOW! A perfect 10! That was my initial reaction to this game. Symphonic music, excellent animation, the lushest of illustrations, HOS that even I enjoyed and puzzles galore. It took almost the entire game for me to notice/enumerate features that were not perfect. The worst of those features were …mildly annoying.
I personally love TLOTR, so I don’t care how derivative the characters and settings were. I think the number of excellent stories in the world is finite. Most games are based on or heavily influenced by some other story or movie or game. So if these designers wanted to tip their hats to JRRT, that’s fine with me. I was a bit taken aback by the mermaid; she and Tectonica were not to my taste, but I never cared for Frank Frazetta’s work either. Perhaps another tip of the hat to a fantasy great?
The best art work was the outdoor scenes; my favorites were clouds that Maxfield Parrish would have envied. I admired the sculptured rocks and water that danced with sunlight. Interiors were not neglected. The machine views were amazingly precise. Fantasy flowers drew my eye even when they were not the focus of a scene. The details of the dusty rooms and lofty halls were a little sketchier until a close-up view, but that is the way I’d see them. I did think our heroine was more than a bit wooden, until she was back in our world. Her walk to the car was a strut! Lip sync was 100%. Environmental sounds added tremendously to the game. Am I the only one who noticed that shivery super low bass note that played when Suzanne entered a new setting? The music was wonderful. Voices were fairly expressive. I was so glad not to have to press some key to have a monologue continued…until I realized that clicking more than once on a close-up detail would start the same monologue. That was the most annoying feature for me. Strange word usage and sentence structure in the speech text was less irritating.
The modern world did not intrude in this fairy tale, no small electronics, puzzle cubes, theater tickets or large scale urban trappings. I think matches are acceptable in a magic place; there were no lighters. The user interface was almost perfect. This was the most bug-free playing experience I’ve had in months.
Like other reviewers, I used the excellent tabbed map a lot! While each of the 8 chapters was focused on a discrete number of locations initially, I found myself ranging back to previous locations quite a lot. I used Hints and the Strategy Guide far less frequently than is my wont. Often a multi-location game with multiple objectives leaves me stymied, trying to figure out what to do next. That was rare in this game; Objectives were clear, and just glancing at my inventory was often enough. Many objects were found close to the point at which they needed to be used. Others did need to be carried for a while, but they weren’t complete mysteries. And THANK YOU developers!: Our heroine carried a knife and hammer until the last few scenes! YES!
The HOS were great; I like the find and use format, and I don't mind silhouettes. I counted 11 in the main game and 3 in the Bonus chapter. Five of those included major puzzles. The scenes were not cluttered at all, though some were fairly dark. All of the puzzles/mini-games were mildly challenging, most requiring persistence and attention. None were 4 move wonders, and there weren’t multi-level hour-long killers. I counted 19 in the main game and 8 in the Bonus Chapter. Directions were clear for the most part.
I liked the hunt for the machine parts, beyond objects and manuscript pages. I am sensitive to objects that are too small, so have always depended on the cursor change when I pass it over a small dark object. Having those indicators on the map took any remaining stress out of the hunting.
Most of the Bonus Chapter was supposed to be concurrent with the first part of the main story. I enjoyed the additional game play and the background. I wish more of the HOS were included in the Extras sections, but since I don’t need them to practice for my next crack at cluttered scenes, it’s not important. The game was almost pure enjoyment, and I shall certainly play it again.
I recommend this game!
Nevertales: Smoke and Mirrors Collector's Edition
You’re the only one who can save Taleworld from an evil queen.
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Another puzzle-lover's game
PostedDecember 17, 2014
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Match 3, Marble Popper, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Realm: Queen of Flames Collector's Edition
(148)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is a sequel to NT: Beauty Within. The baby, Alice, is all grown up, and working in the Real World. The story begins in her private office in a skyscraper. In order to reach the frantic little owl helper, she turns on the sprinkler system to get the wall-size window open… trashing the office and computer along the way. I wasn’t happy with that start, but it got better. A satisfyingly long game, set in a “real” and a fairytale world with generous bonus offerings. What’s not to like? 4.5 stars rounded up!
2D illustrations were outstanding. *I* like the Drawn-style explanations/back-story, though I know others are getting bored with that format. (Does the same narrator do all of those?) The cut scenes were well done. Other animation was used sparingly and was excellent, as was the lip-sync. Voices were fine: clear, unaccented, and, in general, expressive. The music was wonderful! The Smoke and Mirrors theme was my favorite, like a slow dreamy Tijuana Brass piece number. I noted few visual/sound negatives. There was often a wash of color that was supposed to be appropriate to the location, like a faint red for the Casino. That muddied the other colors, but the devs may have used this device to highlight the scenes in which they show the villain’s damage to both worlds: to drain color=life. Some characters had quite limited facial expressions. Alice’s mother, Belle, had one “looking tough” face/body posture that changes maybe twice in the whole game.
TaleWorld is set up like a mock medieval country, complete with thatched roofs and a turreted castle with a drawbridge. Given the fact that Alice flipped back and forth between worlds, object consistency was really NA. She uses a smartphone to take pictures, gather clues, make notes, and in the real world, to receive phone calls. However, I didn’t find any other objects that were glaringly out of place in TaleWorld or the HOS there. Someone pointed out that placed gears moved in ways they could not; combined with other irritating features, that might make me nuts. There was little else in this game that was irritating. UI issues almost nonexistent. There was a tiny bit of drag with the slash-your-sword tracings, and in the HOS, I had a hard time picking up a few objects and using them.
We never saw Alice’s office again (I doubt SHE did either), nor its counterpart in TaleWorld, nor the locations outside of those rooms. After those sequences, Alice spends the first part of the story trying to get into places in her home town. After that, she uses mirrors more and more frequently to segue between sets of locations in the two worlds. Not a lot of backing and forthing, which is a good thing, as the Map in the mode I chose contains indicators for “you are here” and not much more. I use Hints only when the next direction is unclear; that didn’t happen too often in this game. The Strategy Guide was not particularly detailed, which was mostly ok. I needed help with 2-3 of the mini-games. Not many tools were needed, and those that were close at hand. Alice carries few unidentified-used-far-into-the-future items.
Only 12 HOS! That doesn’t count the find-the-shapes in the backstory books, and some of those surely were hidden. There were at least 4-5 HOS formats throughout the game, all interactive, and never boring. The lighting in the HOS was good, though there were a few sneaky dark corners. The clutter was subtle, but there was enough that you really had to concentrate on finding objects.
50 mini-games, including all of the find-the-shape puzzles and a mirror reassembly! I don’t recall reassembling pictures, untangling vines, fixing plumbing or connecting the dots. There is a fair amount of shooting at targets, but those were accomplished by centering the spot on a vertical bar, which is easier for my brain somehow than the horizontal versions. Lots of quasi-cryptography that looked complicated and really wasn’t. Directions were clear, and often not needed. I don’t remember more than one or two reset buttons, but that wasn’t a problem. Most of the mini-games were in the fairly easy to moderately challenging range. I’ve played more complex, layered versions in other games…I’ve been known to skip those harder versions. There is a fine line between challenge and overwhelmed! The final mini-games/battles were loud and mock-violent, but Alice didn’t seem to get concussed when the villains got in a hit. I am personally getting tired of those half open blinking eyes. Morality choices that make no difference can also go away.
The bonus features set you up nicely to play the game again. I completed the collections this time, but I still need to finish the Treasure Hunt to get to the Casino. Is it cheating to replay the HOS and puzzles before you replay the game? Hope not because I do.
I recommend this game!
Shrouded Tales: The Spellbound Land
Your magical powers have finally awakened. Now you have the strength to free your mother from the Shadow Realm!
Overall rating
4
/
5
12 of 14 found this review helpful
Almost 5 stars
PostedOctober 15, 2014
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Realm: Queen of Flames Collector's Edition
(148)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Another great fairytale game, with lots of Pros and not very many Cons. The artwork was excellent, though not photo-realistic. I liked the animation (lesser quality), and probably liked it better because people weren’t often involved. The little town/city is under an evil shadow, so there aren’t a lot of live people around. Evil shadows make for dark environments, which often make searching unnecessarily difficult. There are dark scenes in this game; I was impressed with the developers’ care in keeping areas needing to be searched pretty brightly lit. The music wasn’t irritating per se, but it never changed. The repetition did get irritating. Voices were clear and expressive. Technical quality was good to excellent. There were a few puzzles that relied on clicking/dragging to create lines; cursor control was less than perfect in those situations.
Gameplay involves a fair amount of backing-and-forthing within sets of pretty rich scenes. Lest you become bored with the same scenes, you often go to Shadow Realm versions of key scenes, which I liked! Fortunately, the excellent Map lessens any travel difficulties, splitting scene indicators in places where you work in the Shadow. I used the Map a LOT, far more than Hints. Hints were animated indicators, rather than text-based advice. There is a walkthrough, but I needed it only to clarify a one or two of the harder puzzles.
I was surprised that the numbers of HOS and puzzles were about the same. The HOS were fun! You won’t see me writing that very often. I liked the silhouette-based, find/use HOS best, but even the list-based HOS were wildly interactive. The HOS were bright enough and uncluttered, at least until the last few, which were, I think, more difficult for a reason. Items were not always easy to find; I actually used Hints, in a couple, which I almost never do anymore. There were no oddly named items, and only a few objects that didn’t seem "period-appropriate". It’s a fairy tale; for me that means a lack of logic and a few 20th century objects is ok.
Puzzles: most of had clear directions and about half had reset buttons. It’s always difficult to say that puzzles are simple or challenging. Practice never really makes perfect. I think a lot depends on your tolerance for trial and error on any given day, and on your brain’s basic toolbox. I can clear a path to anywhere, stack/restack any number of objects, or undo the hardest tangles. Puzzles in which I rotate, fit, match or assemble are generally doable, unless they go on for too long (I can get bored). I am truly bad at hitting targets and replicating anything more than sequences of 5, especially at speed. The puzzles in this game were not overwhelmingly difficult for me. There was only one speed-based target battle, and there were a minimum of sequences to remember. I did have to check the SG for one constellation and I still don’t understand the way that last puzzle/game went down. I won. Who cares.
This was a fairly lengthy, satisfying game, and I’m a little sorry I waited for the SE. I will definitely be replaying this game, and recommend it highly.
I recommend this game!
Maestro: Dark Talent
Diva's dark talent claims another victim – can you stop her before the curtain falls?
Overall rating
3
/
5
15 of 19 found this review helpful
Great graphics, but...
PostedOctober 14, 2014
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Dark Realm: Queen of Flames Collector's Edition
(148)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Technically this is a great game. There weren't any bugs and player controls are steady; there aren't any of those fiddly click/drag problems. ERS has done its usual fantastic job with the artwork: drawings and actual animation are tops. Static/textbox "dialogue", so no out-of-sync lip movements to disturb that impression. The downside: The important characters each have one face, no matter what is happening; only Kate has 2. Sound: The environmental sounds change abruptly and were often grating. The music is repetitive and doesn’t really match anything. The voices are only ok. The male helper is almost whispering. Kate, in particular, sounds half asleep, definitely not frightened/excited.
Maybe that’s just as well, because Kate spends about 1/4 of the game play standing on the opera house staircase (Face 2) being threatened by boggles while you, the detective, stumble around the same 5-6 scenes trying to get stuff to complete pictures, locks, etc. When you finally find enough jewels to deal with the boggles, Kate has apparently gone quietly to her seat inside the theater (Face 1). The whole game is like that.
There are 5-6 sets of scenes, each with a multitude of broken/ blocked/ locked/incomplete things. You search/collect/fix/complete/open and then move on (mostly with an empty inventory). So while there is a lot of backing and forthing, it is within a set of scenes, with rare backtracking to an earlier set. And you don’t carry stuff around for long, a plus. Downside: that means you throw utility items away…HOW many boxes of matches?
I was playing full screen, and map indicators were VERY hard to see. When I clicked on a major “place” and squinted really hard, I could see task completion or task action indicators. Clicking on the Map often just triggered Hints. Hints simply point the way to the next place where action was needed. None of this was really an issue. After I figured out the game play, I was rarely stymied. I had the Walk-through, but used it only for 3 puzzles.
A plus for me: The puzzles were numerous and some were moderately challenging. There were a couple of puzzle variations I have not encountered. One let me select Casual or Hard. A few of the puzzles had Reset, and Directions, but many did not. One I found impossible, because after I finally figured out the unusual way the pieces moved, I already had the wrong sequence of movements going. There was no way of reaching the solution without Reset so I Skipped it. HOS sparkles were almost hysterical in their intensity! The often-repeated HOS were less numerous than the puzzles (fine by me), were bright and not particularly cluttered. I appreciated the HOS interactivity and other-than-list variations, but those seemed to peter out by the end of the game. There weren’t any of those off-the-wall item names, and items mostly fit the time period, though there were some slips towards the end. The Match-2 was an easy HOS alternative when my tired eyes could not find the last couple of items.
Glad I waited for the SE. This was too short a game for CE prices. I’ll keep this for another more play-through… with no hysterical sparkles or near-invisible map indicators.
I recommend this game!
Dark Realm: Queen of Flames Collector's Edition
Without warning, a group of mysterious figures arrives and reduces your village to flames and rubble. What do they want... and who is controlling them?
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Fantabulous Game! Thank you Mad Head Games!
PostedOctober 8, 2014
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game was Highly Recommended by a reviewer on another site, who always picks up features that are key with me. It had been released only the day before I discovered it, and there were already 35+ BF reviews, most really positive. My rule this year has been to wait 2-3 weeks until the bugs are fixed. But there were few if any bugs reported! So I closed my eyes and hit the Buy button.
Thank you developers! There were NO bugs..no puzzles that couldn’t be finished! The characters were compelling. Some were exactly as you saw them from the start and others were allowed to emerge into complexity. There were a few odd accents, but I stopped noticing that pretty quickly. The story and the gameplay developed logically, which is not generally the case with fairytale games. The map and the Hints were good, but I used them far less frequently than I have been in recent months. Your next steps were logical and clear, and required very little stumbling around. Our heroine still didn’t have that toolbelt I think everyone should have, but she carried a few utility items for several uses. Other items that had to be collected were used fairly quickly.
Thank you developers! There were NO bugs..no puzzles that couldn’t be finished! The characters were compelling. Some were exactly as you saw them from the start and others were allowed to emerge into complexity. There were a few odd accents, but I stopped noticing that pretty quickly. The story and the gameplay developed logically, which is not generally the case with fairytale games. The map and the Hints were good, but I used them far less frequently than I have been in recent months. Your next steps were logical and clear, and required very little stumbling around. Our heroine still didn’t have that toolbelt I think everyone should have, but she carried a few utility items for several uses. Other items that had to be collected were used fairly quickly.
I was blown away by the fabulous animation, and artwork. The battle scenes were exciting: *almost* too intense. There were 2-D scenes that were so carefully and lovingly illustrated that I stopped playing just to stare. This is the first time I’ve actually downloaded wallpapers. The music was almost as outstanding as the graphics. The guitar (?harp) pieces played during the HOS almost made me eager for the next HOS. I never thought that would happen.
I am not a fan of HOS: think I’ve written that in most of my reviews. Numerous badly done HOS have doomed huge numbers of games to their places in my “NEVER Again” folder. That was NOT the case in this game. No dark cluttered scenes of totally out of place items that you find based on a list. There were list type HOS: more of those towards the end of the game. But those were uncluttered, interactive and bright. As often, there were other types of HOS. I located/clicked on shapes as the heroine heard a story (or a song!). I located multiple instances of [X]. I turned up twinkling pieces of an illustration. I solved a mini-puzzle that led to a HOS that ended in a mini-puzzle. And that wonderful music just kept me engaged and clicking.
The puzzles were plenteous and the directions clear. There was something for everyone: they ranged from kindergarten level to a few that forced me to go to the Strategy Guide. Nothing completely novel, but there were some interesting variations. Like other reviewers, I liked that card game! The puzzles and sword fights that required you to trace a path or track did not work as smoothly as they could have. My computer is new, with lots of RAM, and top-notch GPU & CPU. I should have been able to trace the sword’s path more quickly. It was almost as if the cursor response was delayed to slow down the fight.
I do try to get the morphing objects and the other collectables when I’ve paid extra for a CE, but sometimes I get caught up in a battle and overlook things. Worth every penny? You betcha! I could finish the regular gameplay and the bonus game, and then go back and pick up those overlooked flames or play the HOS until I was quick and accurate and had collected all the morphing items. When these options are available, I like to leave those second chances as a nice reintroductions to the game before I play it again. And I shall definitely be playing this game again!
I recommend this game!
Dreampath: The Two Kingdoms Collector's Edition
Your sister, the Queen, has fallen deathly ill. Now you must travel to a faraway kingdom to find the cure.
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 6 found this review helpful
Precious and tedious...a bad combination
PostedSeptember 28, 2014
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The story wasn’t much: a black and white morality tale. The cat was very un-catlike…more Antonio Banderas than Isis, and without Banderas’ charm and chutzpah.
The HOS were almost too precious: you were assembling a lot of jeweled pretties. (Sorry, I am not a fan of jeweled assemblies). Even with the variations and the nice bright lighting, there were far too many HOS and way too many were repeated. There weren't enough puzzles, and almost all popped up with no instructions. That's acceptable if the outcome and logic of the puzzle solving are even semi-clear. That was not always the case. A couple were so tedious I Skipped. Too too many objects were collected far ahead of any logical foreseeable purpose: another source of tedium for me. I used lots of Hints and the Map that transports.
I've better things to do with my time.
I don't recommend this game.
Queen's Tales: The Beast and the Nightingale
To save your father from a hideous monster, you've decided to sacrifice your own freedom. Now you must journey through a strange and magical land before time runs out!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Worth playing and replaying
PostedSeptember 28, 2014
HCC_314
fromMilwaukee, WI
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
A ripoff of Beauty and the Beast, a la Walt, with a very handy plant-growing nightingale instead of a rose. There is also a wicked witch and a boy who is a friend getting caught up in your quest to get to the Beast. Add some truly delightful little helper characters (Weepy??!), and you have the coolest fairy tale quest game *I’ve* played in months. To top it off, there were no technical glitches or fidgety controls. A 4.5, but I round up when I've enjoyed a game!
It’s clearly a fairy tale, so any lack of logic wasn’t really an issue for me. That said, I noticed only two anachronistic (non-fairytale) items in one HOS: that’s outstanding consistency and attention to detail. All of the HOS were interactive, most with minipuzzles embedded. They were bright and uncluttered and there was an alternate: a fabulous match three that involved rotating sets of four tiles to get the match.
I have to admit to being stymied a lot. My next direction/action wasn’t always apparent. Action takes place over a large area, and there was a fair amount of possible backtracking within locales. I used Hints and the Map a LOT, fortunately they were good to excellent.
The puzzles were fun, numerous and not that hard. There was only one that was so poorly explained/executed that I had to Skip it. Mostly I just tore through the gameplay, finished far too soon, and was sad that I didn’t get the CE.
This goes on my Play it Again list!
I recommend this game!