rosekaufmann's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.2
- Helpful Votes:18,036
- Reviews Submitted:831
- First Review:April 2, 2012
- Most Recent Review:July 27, 2014
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Search for a town consumed by fog! Unlock forbidden doors and uncover mysterious items!
Overall rating
5
/
5
14 of 16 found this review helpful
Ghostly In a Nice Way
PostedJune 4, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Based on entire game. A challenging game in which you try to solve the murder of a beautiful woman in Silvertown the night before her wedding in 1896. In addition to her fiancee, she had an obsessive fan - did he do it? There are plenty of notes and newspaper clippings on your journey which provide clues to how she met her fate.
Visuals were great and set a ghostly atmosphere. The ghosts looked like ghosts. There is a map in the town square, but not all locations are on it. Don’t recall if the map appears in your notebook because, if it did, it took forever to turn back the pages the first time, so it was just easier to go the town square.
Plenty of HOGs – some are straight Hos, while others require using an item within the scene to complete an object (which sometimes took some thought to figure out) before it can be collected. Unfortunately, you had to sometimes click on a particular spot of an object to collect it. There were a number of challenging puzzles, which can be skipped.
Hint system could have worked better outside of the HOGs. If you needed to use something on an object and it wasn’t in your inventory and didn’t appear to be in the room, the hint would merely point to the uncompleted object. I find this type of hint is not useful when I already know that I need to do something with an object. On the plus side, it did inform you if there was nothing to do there.
I could have done without the voice over in the intro. Rather lengthy with a logical conclusion.
I recommend this game!
Who is this Woman in White and what is her secret? Explore Victorian mansions, search for clues, and discover the truth!
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Good Mystery
PostedJune 2, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Completed game. Intriguing mystery – heard it was based on an actual book. (Caveat: I just love mysteries and read at least one a week.) Nice to have a game without dilapidated houses, ghosts or portals.
Visuals were nice. Quite a few locations with some going back and forth. However you could easily figure out where you were going next and the pathways between the locations weren’t too complex. Some of the locations were only used once or not at all except as a pass-through. None of this took anything away from the game. Really liked the ending – all but one loose end was wrapped up. Game was fairly short – didn’t time it, but I’d guess 3 hours at most.
Game was more of a story than a straight HOG. There were a fair number of HOGs spread throughout, and it wasn’t particularly difficult to find the items. As far as I was concerned, there was one irritating con: sometimes the exact location had to be clicked whether it was in a HOG (ex: could collect glasses only by clicking the right but not the left lens) or using the inventory items (ex: weights had to be put at a particular point, which wasn’t always the obvious one, on a clock). You just have to click around sometimes, risking the appearance of a whirling cursor.
Voice overs were nice; you could determine what questions to ask certain characters, and you could follow the written dialogue as they spoke if you disengaged the sound. You automatically got a message that there was nothing to do in a location.
I recommend this game!
Mishap 2: An Intentional Haunting
This time it’s no Mishap! Help Milton Hobblepop and the Mishap gang stop his greatest rival from imprisoning more spirits!
Overall rating
5
/
5
38 of 38 found this review helpful
LIKE ALICE IN WONDERLAND
PostedMay 31, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Completed game and highly recommend it.
There are 8 chapters. Each chapter begins in one large panoramic room from which you then enter 3 smaller static rooms. There is a Log which tracks your progress in the chapter.
VISUALS: Each room is filled with colorful animated characters engaged in various activities, as well as lots of sound effects. It feels like you followed Alice down the rabbit hole. You will likely want to browse around the rooms, so you may want to reconsider playing the timed mode.
HOGs and GHOSTS: Each room contains well-hidden objects (some items will go into a riddle, which you must solve) and one to three unfortunate ghosts, which must be captured. As you find the hidden objects, you will be building a gadget which is used later. After you capture a ghost, you can access its biography card through the Log. Each ghost’s story is so funny that you can’t help but laugh at the ingenuity and humor of whomever wrote it. Clearly, each ghost had a tragic mishap of life or death.
MNI-GAMES: Each chapter ends with a mini-game of 3 or 5 rounds. The gadget that you built from the HOGs is used in the mini-games and you must complete one round before you can skip the rest. Many of the mini-games are unique to HOGS and are relevant to the theme of the chapter. I especially liked the bronco riding and the spa (“beautifying” characters was hilarious; beauty is really in the eyes of the beholder). There were only 3 rounds of the spa; wish there were 5. The mini-games can be replayed during or after the game.
OTHER: I found the voiceovers to be corny, at best. If you misclick too often, you will get a loud screech accompanied by the a full screen flash of a character. It was startling, even when I knew it was coming. Misclicks are accumulated. Even if you find several items after a misclick, it will still be added to the next.
A FUN GAME all around.
I recommend this game!
Shaolin Mystery: Tale of the Jade Dragon Staff
Travel across ancient China and help Yu as she searches for the mythical Jade Dragon Staff. Save your wrongly imprisoned friend!
Overall rating
5
/
5
14 of 14 found this review helpful
Saved by the Girl and Staff
PostedMay 29, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Played complete game. A delightful game with soothing oriental music. The object was to find pieces of a staff so that the rightful ruler (your longtime friend) could claim the throne before he's killed. Pieces of the staff were found in 7 chapters of colorful, beautiful and vivid graphics. Each chapter was in a different location and each had a logical conclusion.
Throughout the game, there are several amusing animations complete with sound, such as a donkey that snorts and stamps its foot and shaking haystacks. So feel free to click on any interesting animals, flowers, etc. since there isn’t any penalty for misclicks – you never know what will happen.
Lots of straight HOGs with only a few objects being on the small side. There were also a number of circles for which you find and drop pieces into the circle. Several hours of gameplay (but I do take my time when looking at such gorgeous scenery).
The only negative I found was that the dialogue between chapters which told the story was too fast and there was no time to look at the accompanying sketches. This is one game for which I would have liked to control the dialogue speed by actually having to click on the “next” button to proceed with the storyline. There is a “replay” option for the dialogue, but I still felt like I had to speed read and speed hear (is there such a thing?).
From the ending, the sequel should be rather interesting. Now on to the Shaolin Terra Cotta soldiers.
I recommend this game!
A warlock's curse has trapped you in an otherworldly cemetery! Explore Hidden Object scenes and save the warlock's victims!
Overall rating
4
/
5
8 of 12 found this review helpful
AN AFTERLIFE
PostedMay 29, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Played entire game. The Good: Storyline, including the ending. Play was straightforward. It was easy to figure out what needed to be done next since only 1 of 3 children was being saved at a time. Sometimes, it was more challenging to find the necessary tools to complete tasks. Plenty of HOGS, with objects large enough to be seen. Puzzles were not very difficult. No excessive back and forth between locations.
The Not-So-Good: Conversations are spoken and written. Since reading is much faster than listening to someone talking, it was annoying that the conversations couldn’t be sped up. There was a long time lag when entering new or revisited scenes and to enter and back out of the HOGS so it lowered my fun factor. I looked at reviews and no one mentioned it, so it may be my computer (although I don’t experience that delay with other games).
The Confusing: There was a stone puzzle in front of the house (to the left) which wanted whatever belongs to it returned. Completed the game, but never had to solve that puzzle.
I recommend this game!
Samantha Swift has stumbled upon an amazing find! It’s up to you to help her piece together the mystery of the Roses of Athena.
Overall rating
4
/
5
24 of 27 found this review helpful
Straightforward Game
PostedMay 25, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Played entire game twice. You visit 7 locations: Athens, Rome, Gautemala, London, France, Tibet and Japan. Gameplay is straightforward; satisfactory ending. Plenty of HOGs - objects easy to find. Each HOG has hidden objects to find, which are noted in blue. A problem was the names of regular objects fade to a pale blue when found, making it difficult to determine from the list whether an object was still hidden or was already found. Perhaps it's how my computer is set up. An easy game when you don't feel like being "thinky."
I recommend this game!
Join Kira Robertson as she sets out to find the Snark, an elusive creature few people have seen and no one has caught!
Overall rating
5
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
Enjoyable More Than Once
PostedMay 24, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Just finished this FROG the 2nd time and it was as enjoyable as the first time. Interesting storyline and good visuals. Challenging (especially the last 2 chapters). Memorable characters. Music was appropriate - reminded me of the Pink Panther. Limited # of rooms per chapter, with one available only through the mirror. Actions in the mirrored room affected the non-mirrored room.
I recommend this game!
Join Nicole, and her sidekick Igor, as they trek across the globe in search of her missing father! Dive into Hidden Object fun!
Overall rating
4
/
5
25 of 27 found this review helpful
WAITING FOR THE NEXT SEQUEL
PostedMay 19, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Just played the game again. We have another portal and another trip to Atlantis where you’re going to find yet another family member (your dad) and, even though the premise was nothing new, the game was still enjoyable the 2nd time around. Music calming – I left sound on, though I don’t usually do so. Visuals clear and colorful. No back and forth between numerous locations. When you finish an area, the game automatically takes you to the next location. Instead of a straight HOG, it was generally finding objects that go into a circle – some objects had to be completed before they could be put into the circle. (Don’t know what that type of puzzle is called, but I like them.) Appears there is no clicking penalty. A few puzzles, not particularly difficult. You could change the border around the scenes by finding enough red gems hidden throughout the game. Probably not too difficult for a novice. There will be a sequel, which I will also be buying.
I recommend this game!
Help Epiphany O’day sneak on board the luxurious and dangerous Imperial Majestic to stop murder and mayhem in its tracks!
Overall rating
4
/
5
19 of 22 found this review helpful
A Colorful Mystery
PostedMay 18, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Played entire game. Pleasant voice and dialogue – but sometimes it went too fast and there was no way to slow it down. Although there is a journal, not all information was recorded in it. If gameplay is interrupted, the journal provides enough information to remember where you were headed and why. Several hours long.
Object: complete a Scroll of Songs (aka Dragon Song Wheel) and fix the Dragon Wheel.
Storyline: well constructed, except at about the midway point, it was mentioned that “horrible secrets would be revealed if the wrong person completed the Wheel.” So it was somewhat confusing because Ephiphany continued to fix it with no explanation of why she thought she was the right person to complete it. A sequel is expected because – well, you have to play it to learn why.
HO scenes: not junk piles with oodles of tiny objects. But objects were very cleverly hidden or blended into the background, sometimes as mere shadows in the scene. Most HO scenes included finding a jade box which, when opened, produced a jade emblem for the Scroll of Songs.
Puzzles: interesting and varied. Some are the normal types of puzzles with a little twist. Will need to consult the notebook unless you have a super visual memory.
There are candy canes to collect throughout the game. Don’t know if you get anything for collecting all of them – I apparently missed some.
I recommend this game!
Trapped at the bottom of the sea by Davy Jones, you must discover his secrets, save your father and find a way to escape!
Overall rating
3
/
5
47 of 48 found this review helpful
Not in the running for my favorite
PostedMay 13, 2012
rosekaufmann
fromLos Angeles
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Played entire game. An OK HOG. Puzzles and artwork were okay – nothing outstanding. HOS were good – no tiny objects or looking for gray or black objects in a dark and cluttered background. Storyline flowed.
There is a book containing clues, a map, and tasks to complete, but it was slow to open (I was wondering if my cursor was working). At times, it was difficult to pick up inventory without it sliding back into the inventory tray. Found myself clicking harder than in other games in order to alleviate the issues. My hand is now annoyed with the rest of me.
The hint system wasn’t helpful the few times that I needed it. Example: I needed a handle for a trapdoor. Didn’t have one and couldn’t find it in the scene. The hint system just circled the trapdoor. Useless, because I already knew that I needed to do something with the trapdoor. And the map didn’t highlight the area where I could find the handle. Had to check the walkthrough to find out where the handle was. There is a lot of back and forth, but the map helped a lot.
I recommend this game!