Dr_Q's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3
- Helpful Votes:149
- Reviews Submitted:60
- First Review:May 5, 2013
- Most Recent Review:August 5, 2013
- Featured reviews0
Overall rating
3
/
5
For the casual, relaxed gamer
PostedJune 16, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
One definite point in its favor is that it only has a handful of HOS. The puzzles are almost too easy; a fair number are jigsaw puzzles with only a dozen pieces or so.
Graphics are nice and clear. The settings are well-thought out and well-designed. They fit the theme of the story very well and create the right type of atmosphere. Nothing frightening or violent.
The cursor is very touchy. You have to get it in the precise spot, which can be frustrating.
The storyline leaves something to be desired. For a romance novelist, the narrator seems quite unfamiliar with one of the standard plots. There really isn't much mystery or tension.
But it is a nice, relaxing game for a hot Sunday afternoon.
I recommend this game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Fun for beginning and intermediate gamers
PostedJune 16, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
It starts out with a good mixture of HOS and searching for items in the scene, but about 3/4s of the way through, turns into one HOS after another. I nearly quit out of frustration. In a few cases, items were identified by the wrong name -- a "wine glass" turns out to be a metal goblet; "Cancer" is a lobster -- and in others, there are at least two different items in the scene that the name could apply to -- a "horse" could be a knight chess piece or a stick horse; a "feather" could be a feather or a quill pen. I learned to click on anything that could remotely be right.
Puzzles are pretty simple, but sometimes that's what you're looking for. A bit of a challenge, but nothing so difficult that I gave up.
The cursor can be finicky. In most cases, the area you need to click on is relatively wide, but in others, you have to get it exactly right, which can be both confusing and frustrating.
The ending is predictable, and somewhat silly.
Still, it was fun for several hours.
I recommend this game!
When the ghost of the beautiful Diane de Poitiers appears in front of you, you are transported back in time in Amulet of Time: Shadow of la Rochelle!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Wanted to like it, but
PostedJune 15, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
it quickly becomes routine -- one HOS after another. The puzzles are extremely easy; very little challenge. The only challenge is figuring out what to do next, as it also quickly loses any logic. Go back to the seamstress' shop and give water to a mechanical bird in order to open a drawer to find a document needed in the jeweler's? Oh, yeah, that makes perfect sense.
The storyline could have made it at least interesting, but the main characters never appear. You only read about them rather than interact with them. If you're like me, you quickly forget who is who.
It's historically all over the place, which didn't bother me, because it is, after all, a game, but that added to the difficulties with the storyline. If one of the features is that it's a historical mystery, then the historical details need to be correct.
The sudden appearance of ghosts and other supernatural creatures is quite effective, but hardly the psychological trauma that a few reviewers have claimed. It's a game.
Recommending with reservations.
I recommend this game!
Set off on an adventure and help your professor with a mysterious discovery in Tearstone, a fun Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
2
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Needlessly complicated
PostedJune 12, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
It feels as if, in their search to make a game that is different from the others, the developers added additional levels of complexity that do nothing but slow it down. The "magic mixer" in particular was annoying. Plenty of games require you to put things together -- none of them make you wait while the "magic mixer" runs its course, over and over.
The items you are to find are not necessarily in the scene you are in, so you spend a lot of time going back and forth trying to figure out if you've missed an object -- or running through your hints to make sure.
The few puzzles that I played were elementary. The hints were next-to-useless. It wasn't hard to figure out what to do -- I just kept dropping things until something worked -- but the actions were not necessarily logical and so I felt no satisfaction, just relief.
One real frustration was finding exactly where to drop something. I must have hit that wall three or four times before I accidentally got it right --- and yes, the gears were running every time.
The story might pick up, but what I saw was not enough to convince me to continue.
I don't recommend this game.
Help Nelly and Tom free the unlucky ghosts being trapped by the evil alchemist in Treasure Seekers: Follow the Ghosts!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Tedious and repetitive
PostedJune 12, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Rather dated and seems aimed at young teens. As others noted, most of the game is finding various objects and/or pieces as indicated.
Although the characters are a boy and a girl, the boy takes the lead and gets most of the action while his sister . . . not sure what his sister does, other than hang around him.
It would be a good game for the right audience.
I don't recommend this game.
An evil storm is threatening your village, and it`s up to you to find the pieces of the ancient Imperial Staff! Save your people!
Overall rating
2
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Shows its age
PostedJune 11, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I'm assuming that this is an older game, based on the graphics and the structure. There are no options for level of play, so you're forced to walk through a tutorial scene. It's definitely geared to younger teens -- the narrator keeps calling the player names such as "clever cat" and gives specific directions about what to do next. It features two types of hidden objects -- fragmented type, where you find the pieces of items, and the other where you find specific numbers of given items (10 mushrooms, etc.) However, it only shows the completed object, not the fragments, which can be mildly frustrating.
Might be good for a younger and/or inexperienced player.
I don't recommend this game.
Flora Dale is in a deep coma and you must help her solve complex puzzles to regain her memory and discover her attacker.
Overall rating
1
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
More like a second-rate Facebook game
PostedJune 11, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I quit after about 10 minutes. The graphics are static two-dimensional drawings. The one puzzle that I tried was extremely easy. I did two out of the four levels, and quit because I was bored. There was absolutely no challenge at all. Don't waste your money or your time.
This might have been considered a great game five years ago. It also might be a good first game for a beginner.
I don't recommend this game.
Enter the world of Drawn. Explore the Painted Tower and unravel its mysteries on your quest to save the hope of the kingdom. Can you reach the top of the tower?
Overall rating
2
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
I wish I could recommend it, but I can't
PostedJune 10, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I like the concept, but the execution is really lacking. The graphics are cartoonish; the dialog is particularly trite and awkward; there is very little logic to the action. Frankly, I got bored and quit.
This might be good for a teen or older child or a beginning player.
I don't recommend this game.
Discover the Red Riding Hood Sisters and defeat the nefarious Wolf Queen!
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Interesting premise that fizzles out
PostedJune 9, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The good : it's clear that the developers spent a lot of time on the graphics. The quality is great. The premise of the story -- that Red Riding Hood founded a Sisterhood of female forest protectors -- is unusual and has promise. The HOS are all Fragmented objects, which I happen to enjoy, so that was good.
However, now we get to the bad : The Red Riding Hood sisters are all out of some teenage boy's fantasy. They dress pretty much like hookers. Way too much cleavage and thigh. And, ultimately, they are still under the direction and protection of a man.
The HOS become progressively more difficult, which could be a good thing, except that they do it by changing the color of the object to be found, the orientation, and sometimes the shape. I had to use the hint button more and more often as the game progressed, and even then, sometimes just clicked randomly in the area indicated.
Lots and lots and lots of HOS. Some backtracking, which would be less tedious if the map were interactive.
Storyline stops making any sense after a while. I resorted to the walkthrough just to avoid wandering around, randomly clicking on things in order to figure out what to do. It also goes on too long and is needlessly complicated by introducing characters from other Dark Parables games and other fairy tales. They don't actually do anything to advance the plot except in one instance, when she's a deus ex machina.
The ending is pathetic; horribly cliched and sexist. It's a warning against women getting any kind of power of their own. And how can you elect someone to be "elder?" Isn't that sort of, well, determined by age?
I recommend only if you have a subscription to the unlimited streaming games.
I recommend this game!
Investigate the disappearance of the chancellor's daughter and uncover the long lost kingdom of the exiled Frog Prince!
Overall rating
3
/
5
A good idea gone bad
PostedJune 8, 2013
Dr_Q
fromBaton Rouge, LA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I am a fan of fragmented hidden object scenes -- I like feeling that the objects that I am finding have a purpose other than just as filler. However, far too many of the fragments in this game were impossible to find without a hint because they were a different color than what was shown, and on occasion, a different shape.
And there were too many of them. Half of the objects could have been found rather than being constructed. Other than a few useful items, the only things that were found were "hints," which were nothing more than additional maps or letters that did nothing.
The map was not interactive and in a game that covers this much virtual territory, that matters. There are, in fact, four different maps, which should give you an idea of how big it is. In the final two chapters, you have to go back to the beginning area -- and I could not remember how to get there. The map was no help, as it did not show the connections between areas.
Collecting the various items to open puzzles was a nice change from the eternal hunt for keys, but the puzzles themselves were pretty standard. Most were almost insultingly easy.
The storyline is pretty sexist, even for these games. The Frog Prince has apparently been married five times, and outlived each bride. At the end, he is reunited with his first wife, his "true love." So what were the others? Second best? The only reason they were brought into it was to expand the search for items and the number of locations -- each wife has her own residence.
So, why do I recommend it? The graphics are quite stunning and its certainly not the worst game I've played.
I recommend this game!