Granny_Gruff's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.6
- Helpful Votes:22,850
- Reviews Submitted:883
- First Review:December 23, 2011
- Most Recent Review:November 23, 2022
- Featured reviews0
Status:
An author has vanished, and someone’s enacting the terrible events of his latest novel!
Overall rating
1
/
5
33 of 42 found this review helpful
What Did E.A.P. Ever Do to Deserve This?
PostedMay 15, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromTwo days ago, I had to cover my tiny tomatoes to save them from the frost. Today it was eighty degrees outside.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Despite the fact that this series ran out of steam YEARS ago, we are presented with another game in the Dark Tales series.
This time the Devs have embroidered E.P.A.'s poem, "The Bells" to confound more players.
You and Dupin are asked to investigate the disappearance of author Arthur by manager Jeffrey. You arrive at Arthur's house to see Jeffrey arguing with reporter Martha. You will proceed to enter the house and start the investigation.
Good stuff: The constant rain says it all. We should be crying.
Bad stuff: This game has you collecting multiple shaped keys to open multiple locks to get multiple items to get multiple shaped keys to open multiple locks to get multiple items to get multiple shaped keys to open multiple locks to get multiple items to get ..... You catch my drift. Dupin performs his usual non-supporting role and the minimal story is lost in the cascade of shaped keys.
The usual stupid actions reach their height when you see a character you are chasing climb through a deserted factory's window and you stop to find the keys to the various places in the cemetery where the three shaped keys to that window are hidden.
Bottom line: Take a hint when the usual cheerleaders don't review a new game; it means nothing good. The eternal rain means the same thing. This is all sadness and even the weather is weeping over this one!
Please try the demo. Please.
This time the Devs have embroidered E.P.A.'s poem, "The Bells" to confound more players.
You and Dupin are asked to investigate the disappearance of author Arthur by manager Jeffrey. You arrive at Arthur's house to see Jeffrey arguing with reporter Martha. You will proceed to enter the house and start the investigation.
Good stuff: The constant rain says it all. We should be crying.
Bad stuff: This game has you collecting multiple shaped keys to open multiple locks to get multiple items to get multiple shaped keys to open multiple locks to get multiple items to get multiple shaped keys to open multiple locks to get multiple items to get ..... You catch my drift. Dupin performs his usual non-supporting role and the minimal story is lost in the cascade of shaped keys.
The usual stupid actions reach their height when you see a character you are chasing climb through a deserted factory's window and you stop to find the keys to the various places in the cemetery where the three shaped keys to that window are hidden.
Bottom line: Take a hint when the usual cheerleaders don't review a new game; it means nothing good. The eternal rain means the same thing. This is all sadness and even the weather is weeping over this one!
Please try the demo. Please.
I don't recommend this game.
Investigating your sister's inexplicable vanishing you discover a plot that threatens more than one world!
Overall rating
3
/
5
45 of 71 found this review helpful
Duh!
PostedMay 9, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromI'm in the midst of a winter's day in May. How did that happen?
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
You will play as one of two sisters rooming together at a magic academy. The academy is on a planet where magic is adversely affected by the two moons in their sky when they converge. Luckily that only happens every 26 years. Bad luck for you - today's the day.
Good news: The game has a single collectible: pink moons that come and go in scenes. There are HOPs, mini-games, lovely artwork done in a bright palette, and good VO's. You have a little helper in the demo, a moonling who eats fire and then expels it to help you later. He will be eating and spitting back flames every few minutes and he is your only way to accomplish some things. There are three simple puzzles to "train" him and no repetition when he helps you.
Bad news: There are several diagrams for putting things back together. They were not as helpful as you might think. The game is CE bling light with that single collectible being literally a pink moon that you can’t miss. The story is as obscure as they could make it and much of the demo I felt like I was slogging through quicksand, moving back and forth through scenes and getting nowhere fast. There are still a few of the stock time wasters, so be ready to smoke some stinging insects. They do throw a few hints of intrigue out, but, again, keep it as obscure as possible. As the characterizations are slim to nothing, you will not care enough to want to help the inhabitants of this world.
Bottom line: This is a game I will check out in SE. I may find more tolerance for the story the second time around. I may not mind the overly involved actions that have me going one step forward for every three steps back.
Please try the demo.
Return to Rosemount to stop the Ice Queen in this updated classic!
Overall rating
3
/
5
23 of 31 found this review helpful
Been There, Do You Want To Do It Again?
PostedMay 8, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromOur flowering lilac is done for the year, but the tomatoes are coming on strong.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
If you bought the LL: Ice Rose Ce the first time around, you know what you are getting - the same game, same characters, and almost the exact same game play.
Yes they added VO's so you don't have to read dialogue on screen. And now Gerda, the first frozen inhabitant of Rosemount you meet, has the voice of an overactive teenie bopper on caffeine. Luckily the other VO's in the Demo were better.
You will see some enhancements and added mini-games. So the lock to the garden with the scarecrow now has an additional simple puzzle to expose the padlock keyhole before you can unlock it.
There are further tweaks, but none I would pay CE prices for to play a Game I already own - especially as they occasionally will set you to tearing out your hair - like the added problem of a broken wheel on a wagon that now bars your entrance to the alleyway in town. You will need to collect a solid disc of wood, a barrel stave, and some small thick squares of wood to make a new "wheel." When you go to put this solid piece of construction on the wagon, it turns into a standard wagon wheel with a center hole to position on the shaft and pretty little spokes to turn lightly as the wagon miraculously roles out of sight.
The basic game you bought years ago was ahead of its time.
The "Remastered" version will take you back in more ways than one.
The "Remastered" version will take you back in more ways than one.
If you happily purchased the game when it first came out, you might want to download and enjoy it again.
If you have only seen this version, you should definitely try the Demo. Try to ignore the silly things they put in that don't really update the game. Enjoy the blue squirrels and morphing items that they did add. if you are a HOP enthusiast, there were more in the original as you visited most HOP scenes twice then and you do so only once now.
Either way, it was a game ahead of its time.
Either way, it was a game ahead of its time.
The universe is on the verge of collapse! Help Ariadna and Seuss as they travel through space and time to save all that they love!
Overall rating
3
/
5
23 of 29 found this review helpful
Another Hiddenverse Has Landed With a Plop
PostedMay 4, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromI'm out in the garden enjoying the fragrance of our flowering lilac.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Have you played any of the thirteen earlier Hiddenverse games?
Then you know there will be an almost passable English used to tell the last chapter of the story of Ariadna. There will be a cascade of clutter HOPs with a vast field of changing elements. There will be a somewhat confused story whose details have subtly changed over the preceding chapters.
If you have never tried one of the earlier Hiddenverse games, then I urge you to try the Demo.
Basically I have found the Hiddenverse games are a nice bland diversion from other games and so I have most of them in my collection. Are they the next great thing? Will you miss anything if you don't have one? Do they fill time?
No, No, Yes.
I usually have a roster of games I cycle through and the Hiddenverse games are part of that rotation, so my free game coupon will add this one to the others.
Please try the Demo to see if this new Hiddenverse will fit in your collection too.
Then you know there will be an almost passable English used to tell the last chapter of the story of Ariadna. There will be a cascade of clutter HOPs with a vast field of changing elements. There will be a somewhat confused story whose details have subtly changed over the preceding chapters.
If you have never tried one of the earlier Hiddenverse games, then I urge you to try the Demo.
Basically I have found the Hiddenverse games are a nice bland diversion from other games and so I have most of them in my collection. Are they the next great thing? Will you miss anything if you don't have one? Do they fill time?
No, No, Yes.
I usually have a roster of games I cycle through and the Hiddenverse games are part of that rotation, so my free game coupon will add this one to the others.
Please try the Demo to see if this new Hiddenverse will fit in your collection too.
Do you have what it takes to uncover the killer? Find out in this hidden object game with evidence processing and suspects interrogation!
Overall rating
1
/
5
16 of 27 found this review helpful
This Must Be a Joke
PostedApril 30, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromTry any other demo today.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This is a very basic, unfairly dark HOP game with no redeeming qualities, so I'm guessing it was floated out there just to see if we are all still here, or there.
Good stuff: There is no spoken dialogue, the printed English is fair, and the background scenes for the HOP are gritty cityscapes - think about parts of town you avoid..
There are three basic play levels, hints, and two special things to find in the scenes: a clue and a singularity (tiny planet doodle).
There are three basic play levels, hints, and two special things to find in the scenes: a clue and a singularity (tiny planet doodle).
Bad stuff: The entire game looks like a grade school project gone bad. You know the last minute product turned out by the class clown? I found it. Someone took various dark pictures with tiny details in them and scattered some pictures cut out of various ads across it. Naturally the relative scales never match and the assortment of items is all over the map. Luckily they used pretty much the same assortment of items to scatter across each HOP, only the sizing and clarity change from scene to scene.
Bottom line: Back in the day, when HOPs were first starting out this would still be a one star game. Now it's just really sad.
Please take a walk instead!
I don't recommend this game.
Can you traverse the Underworld and make it out alive?
Overall rating
1
/
5
28 of 37 found this review helpful
Good News - This Game Let's You Decorate Uncle's Boudoir!
PostedApril 25, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromI finished the first "Phantasmat" game. Even close to nine years old, it is head and shoulders above this one..
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
And that headline makes as much sense as anything else on the screen during MT: Till Death.
This game is awarded the following medals:
Fastest Serious Logic Fail: Heather calls Uncle about her comatose fiancé. She calls the ambulance after Uncle has observed him - still lying on the ground.
New Biggest Cliché Tool Use: A set of Nail Clippers to cut guitar strings.
Stupidest Comment From the Hero: Uncle observes Craig on the ground, barely breathing and says, "He seems lethargic."
Weirdest Use of a Gas Cylinder and Handle: You turn on the gas WITHOUT lighting it and the grill strands bend backwards.
Runner-up For Biggest Cliché Tool: A fang to cut a piece of cloth.
Add to those awards the fuzzy over-colored scenes, the badly done story, and the badly over-done cat helper, and you must wonder what was going through someone's mind.
I stopped thinking they meant well when I was told to collect heart shaped coins to decorate the boudoir - maybe it's for Uncle's cat? Or to amuse a small child?
Look, people, I just finished playing the original Phantasmat. Following that game up with this one made me appreciate my list of hundreds of games I've already purchased. I have no time or money to waste on something this feeble.
I stopped thinking they meant well when I was told to collect heart shaped coins to decorate the boudoir - maybe it's for Uncle's cat? Or to amuse a small child?
Look, people, I just finished playing the original Phantasmat. Following that game up with this one made me appreciate my list of hundreds of games I've already purchased. I have no time or money to waste on something this feeble.
If you need something to keep you out of trouble, may I suggest exploring some of the older games? Find something interesting that may be a few years old, but that sounds like you may like it. Then try that free Demo.
Find a game you haven't played recently that you already own.
Find a game you haven't played recently that you already own.
Just please do not buy something that will encourage bad games to multiply. Please.
I don't recommend this game.
Follow Agent Sarah to help solve puzzles and find hidden objects to catch the murderer.
Overall rating
1
/
5
145 of 159 found this review helpful
In This Case, Awful is High Praise
PostedApril 22, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromI am finishing the first "Phantasmat" game. Even close to nine years old, it is head and shoulders above this.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
The first game in this series had plenty of reviews, most of them appalled at the game and it's lack of story, style, quality, and any other attribute that might compel you to buy it.
The second game did not aim as high as the first. Certainly the Devs felt no compulsion to improve what they apparently felt was stellar. Players were so dismayed at the result that it garnered few reviews, mostly as bad as the game deserved.
And now we have the third game in the series.
The game reflects the two previous entries in the series by not changing any part of the game play to make it enjoyable, interesting, or even tolerable.
In game three you will repeat each scene over and over until you have acquired five stars. Each time you will be looking for ten to twelve objects in varying sizes from miniscule to gigantic in proportion to reality. You will look for those items from a simple list, a jumbled word list, a silhouette list, or, for variety's sake, skip the basic list altogether and look for a dozen of a single item, like bottles, plates, whatever. The artwork will be clear, the items in a junk pile right in front of you, the story still MIA, and the music will do it's best to drive you to the edge of insanity.
If you hang on till you "earn" the five stars needed, you will have a simple puzzle to solve to move on to the next level with more of the same.
If you hang on till you "earn" the five stars needed, you will have a simple puzzle to solve to move on to the next level with more of the same.
You will start this game at level fifteen, so you are carrying on that MIA story line by continuing to look for it again.
I will not suggest you play the demo.
I am not that cruel.
I will suggest, once again, that you check out the games you have previously purchased from BFG that you have not played in a long time. You can download ones you remember or try ones you don't remember as well as you thought you did.
I have found many of my older purchases vastly superior to recent offerings. Most assuredly they will not suffer in comparison to this poor little thing!
I am not that cruel.
I will suggest, once again, that you check out the games you have previously purchased from BFG that you have not played in a long time. You can download ones you remember or try ones you don't remember as well as you thought you did.
I have found many of my older purchases vastly superior to recent offerings. Most assuredly they will not suffer in comparison to this poor little thing!
I don't recommend this game.
When Leitan Keyes, a famous inventor, finishes his latest invention a sudden visit from the future will shatter his world.
Overall rating
2
/
5
43 of 69 found this review helpful
Sci-fi Meets Grade School Cliche
PostedApril 19, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromI'm only up to games from 2012 and am finding quite a few that are better than what we are seeing now. And I have hundreds to go!!
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Look, forget the synopsis. Apparently BFG does not edit these or does not play the game. Whatever, it's not quite what happens.
Traveler from the future shows up at the private anniversary celebration of our friendly neighborhood scientist and his wife, Tina. By the time he leaves, Tina is on her way to the hospital and her husband finds himself in a police car, handcuffed, with the time traveler driving. When he refuses to cooperate, the traveler disappears and the car crashes.
It is all downhill from there.
It is all downhill from there.
Good stuff: All the usual stuff you expect, including CE bling and some very well done artwork and VO's. You are given a decent amount of info for the story in the Demo.
Bad stuff: You are lead around as you slog through time wasting tasks that will leave adults grinding their teeth and which no self-respecting grade schooler would tolerate. (But then their parents would have paid the bill so what do they care!) You will have to set the table, the champagne has a cork, and by the time you drive the stolen police car to the hospital, you will wonder what the Devs were thinking.
Not much as they have you cut wires and take fuses out of the electrical box running into a building to install inside that same building to fix the electricity. (Think about it!)
Not much as they have you cut wires and take fuses out of the electrical box running into a building to install inside that same building to fix the electricity. (Think about it!)
Bottom line: The Time Traveler is the smartest one here - he can just disappear into another time. The rest of us have to either play through the hand holding craziness or run.
I'm running.
I'm running.
Please try the demo for yourself. You may value the sci-fi story over being treated like an adult!
I don't recommend this game.
A mysterious birthday gift uncovers a sinister kidnapping plot!
Overall rating
1
/
5
57 of 68 found this review helpful
Trepidation in Triplicate
PostedApril 16, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromI am still running through the list of hundreds of games purchased from BFG and still amazed at how much better some of the oldest games play out than what we see now! And that includes some of the older Match 3's. Check your catalogue!
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Once again we are asked to go on an adventure with Anna Gray. And it is no surprise that daughter Alice is along for the ride. Since Alice was introduced in "GT: Guest From the Future" it was a given that she would resurface in another game.
This time Anna is trying to figure out why little Alice, now only six years old instead of the teenager from the last game, has been kidnapped.
This time Anna is trying to figure out why little Alice, now only six years old instead of the teenager from the last game, has been kidnapped.
During the demo you will be opening EVERYTHING with one or more amulets/ keys/signet rings/ and any other wacky thing the Devs could think of. You will perform actions that are an insult to any one over the age of ten.
I knew logic was in trouble when one of the first closeup windows zoomed in to a broken swing that had a switch on it to lock the chain across the seat! Once the delivery van zoomed through the street barrier gate set in the middle of the block and the gate came down behind it to cut off any possibility of pursuit, my first fear was confirmed.
And then Anna ran around finding a pillow to put under the security guard's head so as not to awaken him from his mid-afternoon nap. Her daughter has been kidnapped and she is worried about waking up the one person who could have seen something important but was asleep instead!
And then Anna ran around finding a pillow to put under the security guard's head so as not to awaken him from his mid-afternoon nap. Her daughter has been kidnapped and she is worried about waking up the one person who could have seen something important but was asleep instead!
There is so much more wrong, very wrong with the game play as you try to follow the trail left for you.
I think that Elephant Games could not gift me this game. There is so much wrong with it, that there is no way to describe the cascade of flaws.
Once again I will go back to those couple hundred games in my collection and find an "oldie but a goodie." Even the bad ones are better than this one!
I don't recommend this game.
Help Carol find clues to solve a dark mystery and locate her missing husband!
Overall rating
1
/
5
23 of 30 found this review helpful
Someone Should Be Embarassed!
PostedApril 9, 2020
Granny_Gruff
fromI am still running through the list of hundreds of games purchased from BFG and still amazed at how much better some of the oldest games play out than what we see now! And that includes some of the older Match 3's. Check your catalogue!
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
No, really.
Back to back games that are so similar that the developers should be hiding their heads in shame. And using the word developer to identify the people who brought us this copy of the same old/same old is very much a mistaken use of the word.
There is nothing here in game play that you have not already seen this week.
The best thing about the game was the music, which is not saying much. And somewhere the people responsible are hoping we will not notice how bad this is.
Not happening.
I can't recommend that you try this turkey for yourself as I'm not that cruel, but you can if you want.
Back to back games that are so similar that the developers should be hiding their heads in shame. And using the word developer to identify the people who brought us this copy of the same old/same old is very much a mistaken use of the word.
There is nothing here in game play that you have not already seen this week.
The best thing about the game was the music, which is not saying much. And somewhere the people responsible are hoping we will not notice how bad this is.
Not happening.
I can't recommend that you try this turkey for yourself as I'm not that cruel, but you can if you want.
I don't recommend this game.