Tikatoy's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:1,359
- Reviews Submitted:111
- First Review:November 15, 2011
- Most Recent Review:April 30, 2017
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Original, engaging story
PostedApril 30, 2017
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Many hidden object games have fairly predictable stories and unoriginal settings. This one begins with the story of a man (you) whose wife disappeared one day, and continues with his quest to find her.
The way the story unfolds strays from the standard tropes, though. You are invited to to play a game by a mysterious stranger who gives you the impression that winning will enable you to find your wife. From the very beginning, when you and the other players select your cards from the "deck of fate", you feel like you're actually participating in the story, and not just riding on rails.
The game plays out in several "rounds" (story acts) where you select a different card each time that gives you a special power. (There's a clever twist related to the cards that you find out about later in the game.) This adds a sense of urgency, as you get close to winning the game, only for the round to end and you have to start again with a different card.
The graphics, sound and voice overs are well done, and while the puzzles are fairly easy, they are just slightly different enough from standard puzzles to be interesting and enjoyable.
This game is worth playing just on the basis of the fresh storytelling.
I recommend this game!
A simple job protecting a bumbling professor becomes a nightmare when a masked figure threatens to kill him!
Overall rating
5
/
5
10 of 11 found this review helpful
Engaging storytelling, easy puzzles
PostedJanuary 18, 2016
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The best part of this game was the effective use of cut scenes to tell a compelling story. While the actual story itself was not unusual, the pace, visuals and voice acting kept me wanting to know more.
The graphics are really beautiful and spooky and create an eerie atmosphere. There is a good mix of hidden object scenes and silhouetted object scenes. The puzzles are incredibly easy and mostly forgettable, but the storytelling made up for this deficiency.
I recommend this game!
Solve the mystery of a seaside town as you uncover your lost memories!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Great end game puzzle!
PostedSeptember 25, 2014
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I loved the first game in this series (Fierce Tales: The Dog's Heart). The graphics were beautiful, reminding me of some of the Dark Parables games and the story was original.
I love undersea settings, but the locations in this game didn't wow me, although they were quite pretty. The dolphin is your little helper, but was underused, I think.
The strongest part of the game was probably the puzzles, which were original and challenging, but never too difficult. The end puzzle in particular, where you have to think a few steps ahead, was great; I had to repeat it a few times and it was satisfying to beat it.
The weakest part was the story. It seemed to be a mish mash of three different stories that I've seen before in other games, and at some points just didn't make sense. E.g. there are newspaper clippings all over town about attacks by "mysterious sea people" and then right in the middle of town is a statue of a sea person that has clearly been built a while ago!
Overall, the game was still fun to play, with a map that shows active locations so you never get stuck, and beautiful HO scenes and enjoyable puzzles.
I recommend this game!
Escape a cursed island of lost souls by helping three of the trapped spirits in Redemption Cemetery: Grave Testimony!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Easy puzzles, good story
PostedSeptember 21, 2014
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I was not a fan of the first Redemption Cemetery because the stories seemed disjointed, and the graphics were ugly. In this game, the three different stories (set in different times and places, each with a quest to help free a trapped soul) were not disjointed, linked by a common theme of saving people who are guilty, but still worthy of redemption. The graphics are beautiful and showcase the variety of locations in the game.
There is a mix of HO scenes and silhouetted object scenes that keep things fresh. The puzzles are too easy, although not annoying. The music is good, although if you've played a lot of ERS Studios games, it starts to feel repetitive.
The bonus content is a satisfying epilogue to the game, giving you one more soul to save.
Overall, this may be the strongest story and theme in this series.
I recommend this game!
After a long journey, Queen Sophia faces her enemy for the last time - but will she succeed in saving her parents?
Overall rating
5
/
5
16 of 18 found this review helpful
A satisfying conclusion to an epic story
PostedSeptember 15, 2014
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is the final game in a six part series, so I would suggest starting from the beginning so you get the full effect of the story.
The art is beautiful, and Sophia continues to meet interesting characters like the centaurs and dwarves. They are not as unique as the djinns of The Sunhook Spire, but still well-drawn and with interesting personalities and back stories.
The hint functionality is very good, telling you where and what to do next; some other games give no feedback at all until you're in the correct location, forcing you to wander around randomly clicking the hint button until you get a response.
The puzzles are on the easier side, much like the rest of this series, making this game suitable for younger children to play.
I recommend this game!
Scale the heights of Sunhook Spire, rescue the Enchantress and uncover the tower's mysteries as Queen Sophia's journey continues!
Overall rating
5
/
5
Creative creatures and puzzles
PostedAugust 29, 2014
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
While the art has always been top notch in this series, it is the most original and creative in this game. There are several characters known as djinns (genies) of different types that are not your standard fantasy creatures. They seem to be original creations that are breathtakingly beautiful.
The puzzles, which have always been very simple in this series, are more challenging and while fitting into the standard categories of the genre, they have an added element of challenge/originality that make things more interesting. E.g. the standard "match pairs" puzzle has the objects in 3D space, rotating at different speeds around an axis, making the puzzle non-trivial to solve.
A delightful game, just like all of the others in the series.
I recommend this game!
Discover the fate of your exiled kingdom, save your people, and end the ancient evil that started it all!
Overall rating
5
/
5
Another gorgeous title in the series
PostedAugust 29, 2014
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
It feels like the art gets better with every title in this series. The adventure continues to magical locations like castles and islands in the sky. You get to meet and help several characters, which is satisfying.
The puzzles are on the easy side for the HOG genre, but this can be a positive as this makes it a great game to play with little girls
I recommend this game!
Your family is missing and the town is in chaos in Small Town Terrors: Livingston!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Atmospheric thriller
PostedMarch 28, 2014
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is the first HOG I've played with a zombie* theme and I was pleasantly surprised.
First, let's get the two negatives out of the way. The graphics are ugly. I would have given this game a lower visual score except that the grungy art style did fit in with the grim and menacing story and feeling of isolation. The zombies, while scoring some scares along the way, never directly confront you; this was a missed opportunity for making the game even more tense.
The beginning of the game is clearly inspired by "The Walking Dead"; you wake up in a hospital bed after coming out of a coma. Your first thought is to find your husband and daughter. As you find items throughout the game that indicate they have passed through an area, there are brief cut scenes that show you what happened there. This really evokes a feeling of being on the right trail and getting closer to finding them. At different stages of the game, a graphic is displayed showing the current time; this is a movie/TV technique used to great effect here to indicate impending doom.
The setting of being an ordinary, small town is, ironically, refreshing and unique in a genre crowded with abandoned houses, carnivals, asylums, medieval and Victorian-era towns/cities. The items that you need to find and use generally make sense. The appearance of the zombies is used sparingly at the beginning of the game, making them even creepier. Making progress to open up access to new locations feels like you're exploring and overcoming obstacles in a realistic manner.
The puzzles, while not original, are at that sweet spot of difficulty where they challenge you, but not too much as to feel frustration.
Overall, the story and puzzles are more than good enough to outweigh the bad graphics and make this a game well worth playing.
* Yes, these are not true zombies because they're not dead, but if it looks like a zombie and walks like a zombie...
I recommend this game!
Hop aboard to cross the border between life and death!
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Imaginative, gorgeous theme
PostedSeptember 7, 2013
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game reminded me immediately of Grim Fandango, the classic adventure game inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead. All of the characters (and even the animals) resemble skeletons, but in a stylized, rather than grotesque, way. A nice added touch are painted or etched patterns on the bones of the people/animals that give them more character. There is a bit of a steampunk element as well; the world is populated with robots with skeletal features, yet another nice touch.
The gameplay is very enjoyable. It is generally pretty clear what to do next, and you can always refer to the map to highlight and jump to locations that have items/puzzles/hidden object scenes if you're stumped. The hint system is an animated book who has his own personality and very clearly indicates how to proceed. The journal is pretty good too, but at the end of the game a few of the pages get added in the wrong order.
The puzzles were refreshing; about half of them were action-oriented (but of the timing-based rather than reaction-based variety). I enjoy logic puzzles, but they tend to get repetitive in these types of games; action puzzles are a nice change of pace.
The art is gorgeous. There is a wonderful use of 3D objects seamlessly integrated with painted backgrounds. The game is set in Pecados, a sort of limbo/purgatory town, but the game is far from grim; it's infused with humour and whimsy. The elevator has giant robot arms that climb up and down a rope to move between floors and town inhabitants enjoy sports like undead rooster fights and mechanized cockroach racing.
Overall, this is a fresh and welcome addition to the genre.
I recommend this game!
Set a course for fast-paced fun in Shop-n-Spree: Shopping Paradise! Build and run a series of amazing internationally-themed malls in this exciting time-management game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
"Fast-paced fun" is accurate
PostedAugust 27, 2013
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Picked this up as a DD after having demoed it a long time ago and deciding it wasn't worth full price (but still seemed fun).
Gameplay is straightforward: customers request items they want and you click on them to deliver. Sometimes they want things gift-wrapped or assembled (e.g. putting boots on a snowboard). Then you click to pick up the components and click to deliver them to a station where shop employees put everything together, and you deliver the finished product.
Every level is like this and they get progressively tougher as customers ask for more products that require assembly. Some customers also only show you the silhouette of the item you want, making it a bit tougher to hunt for the item.
There are some simple mini-games (like you'd find in a typical HOG) to break up the standard gameplay, but the bulk of the time you'll be delivering items to customers.
It's simple and fun, although not easy if you're trying to get those master (gold) scores. This requires delivering items quickly to customers to build combos. If you take too long to deliver the next item, the combo is broken. Really long combos earn you lots of points.
If you want to take a relaxed approach to the game this is also fine. It just means you will earn fewer stars and upgrade hearts so you will need to play more levels in order to unlock the next department store. There is a minimum goal to reach in each store for the region before you can proceed to the next region, but it's really easy to obtain so there's no pressure.
Overall a light, fun, addictive game!
I recommend this game!