Kantata's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.6
- Helpful Votes:70
- Reviews Submitted:5
- First Review:February 8, 2014
- Most Recent Review:December 27, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Kantata's Review History
Mother Goose has gone missing, and Christmas is in danger!
Overall rating
2
/
5
16 of 20 found this review helpful
A red and green mess.
PostedDecember 27, 2018
Kantata
fromToronto, ON
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Time Management
Current Favorite:
Beyond: Light Advent Collector's Edition
(158)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I'm baffled by the number of 5-star reviews for this one.
When the start menu graphics make your teeth hurt, you know you're in for it. The artwork for this game might have been done using a box of crayons. Not a good box of crayons, just your basic box of eight colours. There was no thought given to shading, hues or subtlety. It was just straight-up eye-watering pigment smeared on the screen.
I played with the minigame difficulty set to 'hard' but I'm not sure what the difference from 'easy' could be. They were all extremely basic and presented no challenge for an adult. I didn't even feel guilty about skipping a couple of them.
There didn't seem to be as many hidden object scenes as other games in the genre, which was fine because they weren't much of a challenge and they weren't much to look at.
I thought that the voice acting was very well done across the board, and I have to give the game bonus points for giving us the option of a female or a male player. It's nice to have the variety.
As for the plot, well... I'm still not sure about King Cole's motives. There wasn't much of a resolution or an explanation at the end of the story.
Shout-out to the lady who stood very patiently for ten minutes, her dress on fire, while I diddled about with minigames trying to find a hose to put her out.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you stop the townspeople from paying for a dark past?
Overall rating
5
/
5
43 of 49 found this review helpful
Refreshingly excellent!
PostedFebruary 17, 2018
Kantata
fromToronto, ON
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Hidden object adventures can get a little ho-hum sometimes. They also tend toward storylines or premises that feel a bit... goofy. But Black Dagger surprised me all the way through from start to finish.
This was a very high quality game in terms of story, characters, voice acting, animation and artwork. Mariaglorum has put together something where all of the parts work, and work well. For a change, I even really enjoyed the bonus chapter. Sometimes the bonus game feels obviously tacked on; this one not only made sense as a "next step" in the larger story, but it was just as well crafted as the main game. I love a good redemption story, and Black Dagger's was handled well.
My only complaint (which didn't detract TOO much from the experience) is that some of the tasks got pretty repetitive. How many times can you reasonably be expected to have to melt a bit of wax with a match? Also, I'd really love it if we could stop throwing away knives and pairs of scissors after the first use. We KNOW we're going to need them again in two minutes.
Still, based on the overall experience that stuff wasn't worth knocking off even one star.
Duncan was a great sidekick to have around. Reliable, level-headed, and didn't have that irritating tendency to run off in the middle of the action. We could use more helpful humans like him, and fewer squeaky-voiced cutesy animal helpers. Probably didn't hurt that he was super easy on the eyes. :)
Black Dagger was a great way to spend a Saturday and I'm pretty bummed that I finished it. Can't recommend it enough!
I recommend this game!
Uncover a secret from the past to save your dying father!
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 11 found this review helpful
Not Madhead's best.
PostedNovember 10, 2016
Kantata
fromToronto, ON
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Time Management
Current Favorite:
Beyond: Light Advent Collector's Edition
(158)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I bought the game without trying the demo because Madhead is my absolute favourite studio. Between Nevertales and Beyond, they've crafted some of the most unique and enthralling hidden object adventures I've played in my life.
But this one just... fell kinda flat. It didn't quite feel like the same people made this game, to be honest. The story didn't make a lot of sense to me; it just seemed kind of piecemeal, like someone let their kid come up with the story idea.
The music was nice but seemed to borrow heavily from their other games. I love the music Madhead uses, don't get me wrong, but each game usually has its own kind of theme, and this one didn't.
Was a little put off by the sudden romantic development. I'm all for romance in games but this one just made me squirmy. It was kind of awkward.
Maybe it was because I wasn't enjoying it as much as I expected, but Dawn of Hope seemed shorter than other Madhead titles. I played through the entire main game and bonus game in one evening, finding all of the morphing objects and bonus items.
I guess my overall impression is that they just threw this game out there while focussing their real attention on a bigger/better project. I could be wrong; that's just how it felt to me. It didn't seem crafted with their usual meticulous care and passion.
I actually do recommend this game, but I'd wait til it goes on sale.
I recommend this game!
Contract with the Devil
Solve logic puzzles and search for important artifacts to challenge the evil force that occupies the mansion grounds.
Overall rating
1
/
5
Don't bother with this one.
PostedJune 29, 2016
Kantata
fromToronto, ON
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I used a game coupon for this one; really glad I didn't spend actual money on it. It feels like I've been playing it for two weeks; I just can't stand it for more than twenty minutes at a time but I'm determined to get to the end.
The English translations are awful and many of the hidden objects are misnamed. While I like that the objects are actually difficult to find, and the "logical pairs" puzzles are a pretty good idea, that's about the sum total of the fun in this game. It's just torture to play.
Solving a puzzle means you have to wait through what seems like a solid minute of celebratory sparkles when you just want to get on with it. The story is very basic, yet the details are difficult to follow. The game presents you with notes to read but they disappear so quickly you have to finish reading them by going into your journal. Or at least I assume they go into your journal; I haven't tried to find them again.
Honestly, I'm really tired of playing this thing and I need it to be over. It is UNBELIEVABLY long, which is normally a great thing for a standard edition but is just plain sadism for this one.
I don't recommend this game.
My Kingdom for the Princess IV
Princesses have a tendency to be kidnapped, and a service for lost royals is in high demand. Start your own Lost Princesses Agency and find your one and only!
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Not like the first three: a real letdown!
PostedFebruary 8, 2014
Kantata
fromNSW, Australia
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I was so excited to see that MKFTP 4 had come out that I bought it immediately without playing the demo. I kind of regret doing that. I'm about halfway through the game and am seriously considering whether it's worth finishing. I absolutely loved the first three games in the series and for me they have a lot of replay value.
Unfortunately this installment in the series comes nowhere close to the quality of its predecessors. As others have said, the repetitive clicking on the same pile of resources over and over is extremely annoying, and feels like it was just put in there as a time-filler. A level can be quite small area-wise but it takes you forever to get through because you have to hit the same pile three times to clear it.
There isn't a lot of variation in the levels either. Their layout is basically the same throughout the game. The goals (usually picking up fruit or mechanical parts) become boring very quickly. I'm in the middle of Level 3 and have yet to see a warehouse be available, so you're stuck with a maximum of 20 units of each resource. This makes it quite frustrating when trying to manage your resources; you end up wasting a lot of them when you have no choice but to pick them up to clear the road to the next goal.
Instead of the between-chapters minigames of the previous games, they've added "dragonets" that flood the skies in many levels, scaring your workers so they won't leave camp. Somehow this always seems to happen right when I've used an extra resource bonus... Clicking on them quickly becomes tedious.
For the record I immediately turned off the screen "slide" that makes the level move around when you move your mouse (I assume it's supposed to add a kind of 3D effect). When half the game is about clicking accurately and quickly, the last thing I want is the screen swooping all over the place every time I move the mouse! Glad they added the option to disable it.
The story itself is fairly bland. I question why they used the name Arthur for the hero, and why the second princess is named Helen, when those are the names of the original heroes in the series. The cutscenes/comics are quite short and don't add much to the game. There's none of the humour and charm of the earlier games, either.
I honestly don't know why Nevosoft changed so much in this game. They had a formula that worked and that people absolutely loved. MKFTP is a huge favourite among BigFishies and altering the gameplay this drastically was a huge risk. It did not pay off. I'll be lucky to even finish this game and that would quite literally be a first for me. It's just not much fun.
I don't recommend this game.