sereneorchid's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.6
- Helpful Votes:6,145
- Reviews Submitted:156
- First Review:November 13, 2011
- Most Recent Review:March 4, 2021
- Featured reviews1
Status:
A long time ago, Scarlett farmed her land in an effort to feed her country's soldiers and ensure the return of her beloved!
Overall rating
3
/
5
52 of 69 found this review helpful
Fascinating animations, but incomplete instructions
PostedFebruary 15, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The graphics and animations in this game are amazing, and for that reason alone, I wanted to enjoy it. I might even have resigned myself to endless watering of grass, picking up chicken eggs, baking cakes, caging raging bears, and the like. But the problem is, the game expects me to either know how to play one of these Farm Frenzy games already, or to figure it out as I go.
There are very minimal instructions, basically word pictures, like reading hieroglyphics. I was able to figure out what to do, but it was slow going because actions occur in sequences: you have to pick up eggs off the grass, then make egg powder, then bake cookies, then use the cookies to bake a cake, but before baking the cake you have to send the donkey off to town to pick up a creature that looks like a groundhog to help bake the cake. And it took 45 minutes to get that far.
Recommended ONLY if you enjoy TM games or have lots of patience to teach yourself games without good instructions.
Put your Mahjong skills to the test and save Ariel's fiancé, Tarlan, from captivity by the evil wizard Cornwall!
Overall rating
3
/
5
14 of 22 found this review helpful
Mahjong tiles can be blurry
PostedFebruary 14, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I played this game several times trying to figure out what was a little off for me. The graphics are nice, and the mahjong play has a little bit of variation for interest. The graphics on the mahjong tiles are fun (but limited), and that is where I discovered the problem. As the tile graphics for the blackberries and strawberries got smaller, they also got blurrier, which is why I could literally feel my eyes straining playing this game. As you can see in the preview shots, the berries make up a significant portion of the tiles, and if they're blurry, well, it just didn't make for a great playing experience for me. And where did the ugly blue and red fairy mahjong tiles come from? They just don't fit in with the overall feel of the game. So, it's an okay game. There are a few other mahjong games that I've found more exciting.
I don't recommend this game.
Discover the secrets of an ancient relic using your Match 3 skills! Summon powerful lightning storms to help you clear the board.
Overall rating
4
/
5
22 of 24 found this review helpful
An addictive chaining-style matching
PostedFebruary 14, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Azkend has a lot going for it, with wonderful graphics and animations, and a storyline that involves earning pieces of talismans that provide powerful explosions, lighting bolts, and other animated effects during the matching games. Instead of swapping icons, you click and hold your mouse button, and form chains of matching icons, which is easy (as long as there are icons to match!), quick to play, and a lot of fun. The game play is also a little different in that instead of square tiles, they are hexagon-shaped, so the chaining goes off at angles instead of the usual horizontal and vertical directions, which requires you to think a little bit more. My only beef with the game, and the reason it lost a star, is that it has a timer that cannot be turned off. While I did well playing against the timer as the game got harder, and only had to repeat a few levels a few times, I just don't like the stress of playing against a timer. I would have bought the game if the timer were optional.
I recommend this game!
Help lonely hearts find a match and bring romance into their lives, in the exciting Hidden Object game Matchmaker: Joining Hearts!
Overall rating
4
/
5
14 of 15 found this review helpful
Lovely game; not just for females
PostedFebruary 8, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
A game with an actual story that's also interesting, and one that neatly connects the hidden object scenes and various puzzles. Enjoyed the voice-overs and the animations. Graphics are really nice, except in some places where they look cut out of an old magazine. The two different graphic styles are a little jarring, which is why the game lost a star. But the HO games are nice, as are the puzzles. And the premise of using the objects in someone's home or work environment to learn something about them, perhaps romantically, was very intriguing! It made for a good game. Guys, don't be afraid to give this a try, too.
I recommend this game!
When a casual fling turns steamy for a brilliant wedding photographer, Mackensie decides to try to capture the romance!
Overall rating
3
/
5
12 of 14 found this review helpful
The book is better than the game
PostedFebruary 8, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
This game is based on the first book of Nora Roberts' The Bride Quartet series. All good books. And the game does a surprisingly good job of picking out major parts of the storyline, since I recognized it. Graphics are good, as are the voiceovers, and there is an extensive selection of hidden object scenes. But the hidden objects can be really tiny, really hard to find or identify, and can be tone-on-tone colors like white objects on snow. My other problem is that you only get 5 hints per chapter, and there are several HO scenes in each chapter. So once you use up your hints you are stuck...unless you happen to find the letters V-O-W-S in each scene, for which you will earn 1 hint. But trying to find all four letters can also be difficult. I'm a fan of Nora Roberts, and of the book this game is based upon, but the game just had more frustrations than satisfactions in playing. In this instance, a book in the hand is far better than the mouse.
Embark on a round-the-world cruise of card matching action! Cross vast oceans, see the world and play Solitaire!
Overall rating
3
/
5
39 of 54 found this review helpful
A matching style of solitaire; great for kids
PostedFebruary 7, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
A nice, but simple game. You match pairs of upturned cards, like sixes or jacks, until all the cards have been turned over and matched. It's a very relaxing style of play, but not very challenging, even with different layouts. A good game to wind down with at the end of the day, and an excellent way to help young kids learn their numbers. Graphics are nice. The playing fields represent different countries, and the card designs reflect the various flags. I think. Social studies was a long time ago.
I recommend this game!
Journey through the mesmerizing world of Nevernear in this exciting Match 3 adventure! Match dazzling gems in Jewel Match 3!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 8 found this review helpful
Not your simple match game
PostedJanuary 26, 2012
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Sometimes you just want a simple match game. This wouldn't be it. There are a LOT of specialty things going on with the matching games. Then in between match games you plant magic seeds, water them, and keep bugs away with pesticides. You also have to restore humans to their original form. There's a lot going on. I came back to this trial after not having played it for awhile, and couldn't remember what was going on. And the Help didn't cover all the info necessary to play like the tutorial did when first starting out. Unfortunately, I wasn't captivated enough to start over.
Become the greatest Mahjong player as you enter the fantastic world of Mahjong: Legacy of the Toltecs!
Overall rating
4
/
5
22 of 25 found this review helpful
Fun theme, seems a little easy
PostedJanuary 26, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
An attractive mahjong game with crisp, clear graphics in the game and on the mahjong tiles. The "starter" tiles are unusual and based upon the Toltec theme. As you play, you unlock different tile shapes, some really cool tile graphics, and other backgrounds to play against. The computer chooses the tile layout each time, but I found them interesting, and maybe a little too easy.
Either I'm a world-class mahjong player (hmmm, unlikely) or the games might be geared to help you succeed. In an hour of play, I won every game except for one, which is not my usual statistic. The game I didn't win was because the last match was stacked on top of each other. Because it was just the second game, and I didn't have enough mana to use the reshuffle button, the game didn't tell me what to do next. If you can't reshuffle, you need to click on "menu - restart" to replay a level. I mention this because it appears that you cannot progress in the game unless you win each level, which is not always possible unless the game is designed for that.
I recommend this game!
Go on an exotic trip throughout the land of Aladdin in this adventurous icon matching game.
Overall rating
3
/
5
22 of 24 found this review helpful
Middle Eastern magic and matching
PostedJanuary 21, 2012
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
This is a nicely themed match 3 game. As you make matches, the tile backgrounds turn from a solid color to a carpet pattern, like a flying carpet. Cool idea. Matching also fills a potion jar which allows you to slide a row of your choice horizontally the equivalent of a tile or two to help you out of a tricky spot when you just can't make a match. After each level, you are taken to a shopkeeper, where you can buy upgrades, including matching levels. You can also buy pieces of carpet for places where it is difficult to make matches, but I didn't see any way to apply these during a matching level. And unfortunately, the instructions are in abbreviated English and don't explain all aspects of the game.
If you click on the Help menu, you have the option of going to a web page which has well written information, but it still didn't answer the questions I had about how to play some aspects of the game. The online help, but not the game, will tell you that you earn gold coins when you make matches that are both horizontal and vertical. Fortunately, you get the coins even when the matches are made accidentally by falling icons, because you need the coins for the upgrades. No complaints about the graphics or animations; they are much nicer than what you see in the screenshots. An entertaining game with an entertaining theme. It lost a star because of the missing instructions. Not everyone wants to tinker with a game to figure it out.
I recommend this game!
The King turns once more to you, his trusted city planner, to save the faraway land of Middleshire in Royal Envoy 2!
Overall rating
5
/
5
69 of 78 found this review helpful
Wonderful graphics and animations
PostedJanuary 19, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
An amazing game -- I might become a time management (TM) fan after all. The graphics and animations are incredible. And I loved the happy workers and their comments. When the trial ended, my workers had demolished, built, and upgraded cabins and cottages, repaired bridges, built a sawmill (the woodcutting animation was really neat), picked apples, chopped open treasure chests, chopped down pine trees, and shoveled piles of snow. I was so busy watching the animations I almost forgot to click on the gold/rent money. There is a lot to assimilate, especially for a TM newbie, but Royal Envoy 2 introduces it in manageable bites so you have a chance to start off successfully and continue that way. Having tried a few other TM games and finding them incredibly repetitious, I now know what a great TM game should look like.
I recommend this game!