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:
Mr. Stink stole all the toys. Help Santa's SuperFriends make enough toys for all the good girls and boys!
Overall rating
3
/
5
29 of 31 found this review helpful
Is there more to the game?
PostedDecember 9, 2011
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
I only finished about half of the trial. It was an endless series of piecing together teddy bears and then monkeys. The graphics are cute and colorful. But it got tedious level after level. Kids would probably enjoy this, but I don't know for how long, since the game didn't change much within the first 10 levels.
Embark on a wild Match 3 adventure and revive a once majestic island while uncovering the secrets of a lost civilization!
Overall rating
4
/
5
57 of 59 found this review helpful
Beautiful game, with a twist
PostedDecember 8, 2011
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Like going on a fabulous trip through the rainforest, with tropical-themed matching games, mini-puzzles, and an intriguing exploration of real wildlife in its lush habitat.
But...there was a twist to the game I just couldn't adjust to. The game board moves as you make matches. As you make a match on the right side, the game board will shift that direction so that you lose sight of the far left side of the board. A match towards the bottom of the board, and it shifts down, so you lose the top of the playing area. There is no way to shift the playing board except to make a match in the opposite direction you want the playing field to go.
I really tried to get used to this, but I couldn't. I like to see the whole playing field at the same time, and it became an issue in my game play. Someone else might find a moving game board a lot of fun. Otherwise, this is a wonderful game.
I recommend this game!
Diego`s Safari Adventure
Join Diego and Baby Jaguar on safari as they set out to break the spell on the elephants, helping other animals along the way!
Overall rating
4
/
5
73 of 109 found this review helpful
Wonderful preschooler game, but short
PostedDecember 8, 2011
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Young kids will have fun participating in this Diego-style cartoon adventure. Graphics and animations are well done, with Diego offering step-by-step instructions on how to play. But to play without an adult, the child would need to be able to use a mouse to click and to drag, and to be able to hear and understand verbal instructions. There are no written ones for the hearing impaired, or even to develop written language skills.
The help button simply repeats the same instructions, with no additional information or hints. And there is no option to skip an activity if the child gets stuck. So an adult may come in handy here, too.
A heads-up that at the end of the game, Diego suggests printing out pictures of the safari animals to color. But this option can be skipped.
I got through the game in about 15 minutes; there's no way to skip through the narration just to try out the activities. Even with two difficulty levels, I'm not sure whether the game is long enough, or has enough variety, for kids to enjoy replaying it over and over. But Diego fans will have fun following him on a SHORT but delightful visit to the Serengeti.
I recommend this game!
Travel to Hodgepodge Hollow and learn the time-honored profession of magical potion creation in this fun Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
91 of 95 found this review helpful
The way I pictured the Hobbit world
PostedDecember 4, 2011
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
I was really young when the Hobbit books by Tolkien became cult classics, and this beautifully drawn world is how I pictured it. Unlike the brutal movies, this game is whimsical, with hidden objects of a fantasy land often shaded to match the background, yet hiding in plain sight. If you're a hard-core HO gamer who likes tough challenges, this may be too tame from that perspective. And yet you could fall under the enchantment of this world.
My favorite parts of the game are the magical journeys and special tasks in search of ingredients to be used in making potions in a gnome workshop. But be careful, or the potion will explode. (Yep, you've got to follow instructions.) And that part makes it fun for those of us with a secret wish to be wizards-in-training at Hogwart's School of Magic, no matter our current age.
Good game for kids because of the beautiful artwork, storyline, and various cognitive skills used, including reading and following directions in mixing the potions. But this is a low intensity game, not high intensity. As always, try it first. Kids and their interests vary. (Just like adults.)
I recommend this game!
Restore the img villages in this magical puzzle adventure by matching items and using spells.
Overall rating
4
/
5
56 of 56 found this review helpful
Lots to like in this fantasy game except the timer
PostedDecember 1, 2011
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
There's lots to love in this match 3 game: great animations, beautiful graphics, a fantasy storyline, and entertaining special effects. Even the matching icons are nicely done, which strangely isn't always true of matching games. And at the time I tried the game, it was even on sale. The only thing holding me back was the timer.
During the matching part of the game, not only do you have to make the usual matches while breaking frozen and boarded-up tiles, but each level requires you to collect a certain number of each icon in order to create your potions. While you're making matches, you also need to collect green and blue tiles underneath the icons to power up your spells. There's a lot going on and a lot to do. And there's nothing wrong with that...except for the timer.
You'll have to see for yourself whether the timer is reasonable for you. It seemed a little short to me for everything that you need to accomplish in a level. I played the one-hour trial and only had to repeat a level a couple of times, but I play games to relax, not to get tight neck muscles. If the game had offered a relaxed mode with no timer, I would have quickly bought it.
I recommend this game!
Carry on your family tradition and become a master at making sushi! Follow your grandfather’s recipes to succeed!
Overall rating
5
/
5
36 of 40 found this review helpful
Don't like sushi, but loved this game
PostedDecember 1, 2011
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
I've never eaten sushi, and don't even know what it looks like. But I had a lot of fun playing this combination of a match 3–time management game. The matches are various sushi delicacies. The time management part involves making matches to fill orders of your customers.
Customers leave sacks of money, which you spend in a store to purchase pretty restaurant decor. This makes your customers happy so they leave more money. Now and again are surprises on the matching board and clever mini-games such as learning how to make sushi.
Most match games have some sort of bombs or lighting bolts that will clear out a row or column. This game has Chinese dragons that swoop across the board to clear out sushi (which can help you fill orders quickly - a tip). Very entertaining to watch!
This is a well-done, entertaining game for all ages. Graphics and animations are gorgeous, with excellent attention to detail. A suggestion: the custom cursor in this game is cute, but it did slow down the game on my Vista system. Switching back to my system cursor speeded up the game significantly.
I recommend this game!
Help Athena defeat the other gods and take over the Throne of Olympus in this incredible Match 3 game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
30 of 42 found this review helpful
A little heavy on throwing fire bolts for me
PostedNovember 30, 2011
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
I appreciate the designers wanting to create a match 3 game with novelty and excitement. Here, you have the Greek gods battling for power via match 3 games. The different matching gems correlate with different spells, and as you make matches, you are increasing the strength of various spells, such as a fire bolt, freezing spell, or a bronzing spell, which you then use throughout the matching game to try to eliminate your opponent, who has similar fire power.
After playing a few levels, and figuring out the value of the new spells, it became apparent that there was some strategy to be learned in being victorious in these contests of power. However, the game, curiously, provides no help section or advice on how to play the game. I will tell you that as you are offered different power upgrades between levels to take them, because they are cumulative; you won't lose the ones you had in the previous level.
I think some people will find this game fascinating and enjoy the strategy of which gems to match first and which spells to power up first, and then figuring out, quickly, the most effective order in which to use the spells. This was just a little too much work for me.
Visually, the graphics and animations are pretty good, but not outstanding, and in places the animations repeated over and over.
Help Santa find the items he needs on Christmas Eve! Let Holly: A Christmas Tale fill you with the spirit of the season!
Overall rating
3
/
5
70 of 82 found this review helpful
Pretty and pretty tricky
PostedNovember 29, 2011
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
The artwork in this HO game is really pretty, but...it's more stylized than realistic, making it tricky to identify the objects you are searching for, such as in the grocery shop. In other scenes, like the toy store, the toys are really hidden among each other, and you have to be able to see just a bit of something and recognize it. This game will either be an enjoyable challenge or a frustration, depending upon your point of view.
Help Anna find her way to the mystical floating cloud city, seek out the Children of Light and save them from the Evil Empress!
Overall rating
4
/
5
38 of 50 found this review helpful
A HO–strategy game that's fun, not frustrating
PostedNovember 29, 2011
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
An interesting game, set in a fantasy world of sea and sky, that is far more strategy than hidden object.
The HO part is more looking for things as you journey through the fantasy world, but it's not too difficult. The traditional HO game of finding multiple objects in a single scene happens infrequently.
If you are inexperienced with strategy games, or have a low frustration level like me, the storyline does a good job of helping you identify your next move, as do the large arrows that show you which direction to travel. Also nice is the large magnifying glass that appears on its own to beckon you over to look at something. And my favorite: when you've completed your tasks, a bubble appears on screen that says "area clear" so you don't have to waste any more time looking around.
I recommend this game!
Keep your customers smiling with special holiday treats and shopping fun in your very own Gift Shop.
Overall rating
2
/
5
30 of 35 found this review helpful
Angry "smiley face" isn't part of holiday spirit
PostedNovember 28, 2011
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
The game premise is somewhat of a stretch: you match up rows and columns of ornament bulbs by sliding them, and in doing so, earn money to buy merchandise to sell in a store. Your customer is a smiley face on the left side of the screen that begins to grow impatient, and then angry, if you aren’t playing fast enough to buy that merchandise.
Sliding the rows and columns of bulbs to get matches wasn’t bad, but for me it got very repetitious. The tie-in to stocking a store just really didn’t seem to work. And it was definitely not in the holiday spirit to have a smiley face frowning at me because I wasn’t playing fast enough. This wasn’t for me.
I don't recommend this game.