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:
Can you save your friend and escape from Acorn Hospital in time?
Overall rating
3
/
5
20 of 35 found this review helpful
I'd like to join the cheering masses but...
PostedNovember 8, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromSomewhere between the two sides of the fence.
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
Your friend, Cathy, has asked for your help. She has taken a new job at Acorn Hospital that has taken a sinister turn. You rush to the rescue and awaken to find yourself handcuffed to a bed with a journalist, Laura, trying to open the handcuffs with a hairpin. Disembodied arms drag Laura from your room and you will need to rescue yourself, Cathy, and Laura, as well as solving the mystery of Acorn Hospital.
I'm on board with the kudos for improved artwork, good selection of collectibles, the two extra chapters, and the innovative ability to affect the game's outcome. But...I felt like I was playing another round of the Mystery of the Ancients: No Escape.
That being said, I do want to purchase and play the game through. That is as much a reflection of the sad assortment of games put out this year as it is an endorsement of the innovations in Whispered Secrets: Dreadful Beauty.
And once again: Please play the demo. You need to support the developers that are giving us quality, not just quantity.
I recommend this game!
A family reunion at the Sweet 18 hotel turns into a night of terror!
Overall rating
2
/
5
45 of 64 found this review helpful
Clueless in a Haunted Hotel
PostedOctober 31, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromMaking the artwork and the detectives dim soesn't make for a better story.
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
1
/
5
There's going to be a family reunion. John and James Blackthorne arrive, by invitation, at Sweet 18 Hotel by motor boat. Despite the falling tree, excessive cobwebs, the ancient desk receptionist, flickering lights, and absence of any other of their relatives, nothing seems out of place or odd to either of them. (They've obviously spent WAY too much time in haunted hotels.) They are assigned to Room 13, but the ominous sounds cracking the ceiling over their room prompts them to head up to the next floor and Room 18. John has already repaired the hotel's generator - although that makes no difference to the flickering lights - and after running in and out and up and down, the repaired elevator is able to take them up to Room 18. They soon learn just how bad an idea that was!
Good stuff: There are all the usual game elements along with an assortment of CE bling and collectibles.
Bad stuff: You will once again have to work to enter a building. You will unlock everything while running from the basement to the second floor. There will be lots of dimly lit rooms, HOPs, and corridors.
James will urge you to leave as you two are the only living beings in the building, despite the presence of that desk clerk - what does he know that you don't? More importantly, you both totally ignore the heavy cobwebs that cover most everything and even instantly cover a hallway James just walked through. The looming presence of a strange black mist does not alarm either of the brothers. John sees nothing unusual about a roaring blaze in a large fireplace just across the room from a ladder FROZEN against a refrigerator in he basement.
After all the previous adventures James Blackthorne has been on, surely alarm bells should have gone off for him.
James will urge you to leave as you two are the only living beings in the building, despite the presence of that desk clerk - what does he know that you don't? More importantly, you both totally ignore the heavy cobwebs that cover most everything and even instantly cover a hallway James just walked through. The looming presence of a strange black mist does not alarm either of the brothers. John sees nothing unusual about a roaring blaze in a large fireplace just across the room from a ladder FROZEN against a refrigerator in he basement.
After all the previous adventures James Blackthorne has been on, surely alarm bells should have gone off for him.
Bottom line: Look, they tried. The broken zipper is cut open instead of finding a pin or paper clip for it. The flashlight you need in the basement is missing a trigger and a gear instead of several batteries. The lock on the usual safe has a set of rings instead of a numeric combination. There's more, but you get my drift. There are the same things to do, just sometimes in a slightly different way.
So ask yourself: Is a cookie cutter not a cookie cutter if the shape is different from some of the ones you have?
So ask yourself: Is a cookie cutter not a cookie cutter if the shape is different from some of the ones you have?
I pass, but I urge you to try the Demo for yourself.
I don't recommend this game.
Help Emma dig through the poisonous pieces of this family mystery and solve the case! Play Family Mysteries: Poisonous Promises Collector’s Edition!
Overall rating
2
/
5
26 of 42 found this review helpful
Holes.... So..Many..Holes. . . . .
PostedOctober 27, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromThis is supposed to be a mystery, but the biggest mystery is why they didn't work on their story more.
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
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
You play as a detective who, with your partner, Duke, is investigating what maybe two cases. Or is it only one? You have a body of a young woman who has been poisoned and a yacht that has exploded while at sea. There are two women, Veronica and Ellena; their father, Stan; their boyfriend, Mark; and lots of clues for you to work on. Good luck, detective.
There will be the usual cascades of items to open/unlock with the usual plethora of keys, combinations, and lockpicks, along with sets of evidence you must sort into catagories to make your deductions. The game has an alternative Pairs puzzle to the HOPs, collectible cards and morphing gift boxes, cartoon artwork, and a baragge of anomalies that should have set off alarm bells while this game was in development.
Unfortunately no one heard them.
I can tell you that you will not have to fight aliens, magic, or cart around an animal helper. No demon is out to take over/destroy the world.
It would have been so nice to be able to tell you what a great mystery story this game had, intriguing puzzles and mini-games, and charismatic characters.
Oh, well, better luck next time.
Please try the demo for yourself.
A trio of masks could bring about an era of nightmares!
Overall rating
2
/
5
28 of 42 found this review helpful
Stop Me If You've Played This One!
PostedOctober 26, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromMom, Dad, and Uncle are now the villains - why does that not seem more interesting?
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
You receive a call from a relative/friend/boss.
You rush to their place and, as you two are talking, they are dragged into the building and you are locked out.
After puzzles and a HOP or two, you get inside, only to see them vanish into another room with the door locking behind them.
More puzzles and another HOP or two and you get into the next room in time to see them leave without you, with the threat of further calamity in the air.
You follow, but just close enough to miss them as dire consequences now seem imminent.
More puzzles, another HOP or two, and you find yourself up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
End of Demo.
You rush to their place and, as you two are talking, they are dragged into the building and you are locked out.
After puzzles and a HOP or two, you get inside, only to see them vanish into another room with the door locking behind them.
More puzzles and another HOP or two and you get into the next room in time to see them leave without you, with the threat of further calamity in the air.
You follow, but just close enough to miss them as dire consequences now seem imminent.
More puzzles, another HOP or two, and you find yourself up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
End of Demo.
Now all you need to do is to dress the scenes up in Halloween paraphernalia and darkness with a good scattering of pumpkins, carved or not, and you have this game.
I'm sorry to say that the beginning is so much like several other games from the last week, month, year.
I'm sorry that the game elements and story progression were so predictable.
I’m sorry the artwork is color saturated and slightly fuzzy and the VOs lackluster.
Mostly I'm sorry this game was not at least a little bit inventive and entertaining.
I'm sorry that the game elements and story progression were so predictable.
I’m sorry the artwork is color saturated and slightly fuzzy and the VOs lackluster.
Mostly I'm sorry this game was not at least a little bit inventive and entertaining.
Of course, I'm attending all my Halloween parties as a curmudgeon, so perhaps you'd best try the Demo for yourself.
I don't recommend this game.
A family hike through the woods takes a terrifying turn!
Overall rating
3
/
5
31 of 43 found this review helpful
How About That?
PostedOctober 20, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromPour me another cup of tea, please
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
So Jill and Josh are taking their daughter, Emma, hiking in the forest. Emma wants some photos for a school project. Undeterred by the obviously abandoned ranger station, weathered trail map kiosk, or lack of knowledge of the area, they set out using a copy of a moderate trail map that Jill made at the old ranger hut. When they stop for food and rest, Emma disappears while only feet away from her parents, without a sound. When Mom goes to look for her in the bushes, she comes upon Emma's backpack and camera and evidence that Emma was struggling against/with something/someone. As Dad Josh has headed for a nearby town for aid, Jill plunges into the forest armed with nail polish remover, a staple puller, and adhesive tape. (Would I kid you?) Through binoculars, Jill sees an ominous stranger down below the fire tower she climbs to look for Emma. Soon she is heading up some steps carved in the hillside to get to the cable car station where she saw the man/woman wearing Emma's scarf. Good luck, Jill.
The puzzles were fairly good but the HOPs had items so tiny on my giant monitor, I was frustrated. This is one time when the game really needed an alternative to the HOPs. The artwork and the VO's were well done, the music appropriately ominous. The collectible acorns made sense, the collectible magnetic tapes, not so much. The morphing objects were challenging to find. The story had enough clues to help you put together some idea of what was going on with a desire to find out more.
All that being said, this game is not my cup of tea. I just could not get into the story and the struggle to find those miniscule items in the HOPs was off-putting.
Please try the demo. You may be more into this game than I was, so give it a try.
Can you save your friends from the Painted World in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
23 of 43 found this review helpful
Been There, Done That Better the Last Few Times!
PostedOctober 18, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromLiving in a state of suspense, waiting for the next great game.
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Hayley Davis has called you, Detective, because her husband is missing, and you had saved her on a previous adventure. Once inside her husband Richard’s Gallery, you see Hayley in a picture and learn that the former gallery owner, Lazetto, is trapping people in art works with a magic paint brush. On this adventure you will lose your psychic phone early in your journey but pick up a cute talking cat helper to assist you as you try to free the people trapped by Lazetto.
Good stuff: There all the usual game elements and a Match 3 alternative to the HOPs. There are collectible postcards and morphing portraits among the CE bling. Your cat helper, Morty, is not egregiously cute and is used sparingly.
Bad stuff: The art work is still excessively over colored, although not as blinding as the last MT game. There seems to be a disconnect in the story set up. The former gallery owner and his daughter are wearing clothes that seem to be from the early 1900’s, yet the posters out side the gallery imply that the gallery was Lazetto’s until recently. The living artworks are neither attractive nor scary. The game elements are OK, but nothing to get excited about.
Bottom line: We have a middle of the road game with too much color, pedestrian elements, and a story that limps along. As the whole concept of paintings in a game’s story has been done before, this game needed something to boost it above the ordinary.
It didn’t happen.
It didn’t happen.
Please try the demo for yourself.
I don't recommend this game.
A visit to a childhood home uncovers unreal memories!
Overall rating
1
/
5
17 of 24 found this review helpful
Uhm, No.
PostedOctober 13, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromI've got the Road Map, let's fold it, shred it, and follow it to our destination!
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Marble Popper, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Joanne is headed back to the burned out remains of her childhood home with her BFF, Danielle. She wants to recover her memories and solve the riddle of her Mom's diary before the house is torn down.
Let's start with the story. The game tells you this is THIRTY Years after the fire and deaths of her parents, yet this is the first time Joanne wants to look in the house. She's had her Mom's diary for all that time and has never evinced any curiosity?
Then you find a wrecking ball parked out front of the house and no one around. Yet, minutes after you and Joanne enter the building, the wrecking ball crashes through the second and third floors to hang in the foyer, just missing Joanne. The workman had no idea that anyone was around, even though the front gate and front door were both left open with tape or boards pulled off them!
As soon as you, playing as Danielle, put the first date in the diary, you find yourself in an altered reality. To say that everything is over-the-top odd, is an understatement. As a story device, taking us into the madness, is an interesting way to go. We have stepped into a reality powered by Mommy's diary, yet steered by daughter Danielle. This is confusing. And the family's appearance, surroundings, and interactions are disturbing.
And the intro cut scene is either delusional or grossly misleading.
At that point I am reconsidering my commitment to the Demo.
I forged ahead.
And then it is over.
And five minutes later I can remember the teapot pouring water in the light sections of the kitchen chandelier better than the "cliffhanger" at the end of the Demo. Cute light concept, unimpressive ending!
And five minutes later I can remember the teapot pouring water in the light sections of the kitchen chandelier better than the "cliffhanger" at the end of the Demo. Cute light concept, unimpressive ending!
I was uninterested in any more of this story, but you really need to try the demo for yourself.
Please do.
I don't recommend this game.
Four friends are pulled inside a movie where the special effects are all too real!
Overall rating
3
/
5
15 of 20 found this review helpful
If You Buy the B-Movie Idea, That's the Game
PostedOctober 13, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromIn fact, as a B-Movie, this game is better than as a game!
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
Three old B-movies are at the heart of this game. You remember the old cliche-ridden eye-rolling movies that they still make fun of, even in TV commercials? This game recreates the atmosphere and gritty look; it just doesn't make it pop, in spite of the jump scares it throws in your face.
You play as Ellie, hostess to three of her friends for scary movie night. The story is as bare bones as possible to hide the shaky plotting. This means that you leave the room and they all disappear. Two years later you find the rental tape they were watching - in a cobweb covered video player. Surprise! You are sucked into the first of the three movies to join the first of your three friends, Liam. (Just stop and imagine any home with a TV that hasn't been touched in two years in the play room/den! And it's still plugged in and working! )
So you have a basic game, find a shape or key for everything that can possibly have a locked hiding place, find two,three, or more items to restore something to get one of those pieces to get a key to get a piece.... Oh, you know the drill. Unfortunately, you do several things over, as though the first time may not have been the best way. To get rid of rust, for instance, you will do it one way and again, differently, in a few minutes.
It is all OK, just not great, or even entertaining after awhile. Maybe because a B-movie is, after all, not the over-the-top movie you were hoping for.
Please play the Demo.
Please.
Please.
Can you stop history from repeating itself before it’s too late?
Overall rating
1
/
5
29 of 43 found this review helpful
How Many Demigods Can Dance on the Head of a Pin?
PostedOctober 7, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromThe three times you popped up in the face of the Bad Guy so he could order you killed, should have been two times too many!
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
2
/
5
Right from the start the Devs had a problem as they claimed unlimited power for their antagonists, who would not have had that power as "demigods."
"Demigod
n. A male being, often the offspring of a god and a mortal, who has some but not all of the powers of a god.
n. An inferior deity; a minor god."
"Demigod
n. A male being, often the offspring of a god and a mortal, who has some but not all of the powers of a god.
n. An inferior deity; a minor god."
So let's move on to our story of the Enchanted Kingdom - Oh, wait, our premise has changed. No Medico Imperium Order here. You are not the Healer. Now you are the Explorer.
So no potions at every turn and animal helper; just occasional potions and a translation amulet that lets you talk to the animals each time you finish the puzzle for the amulet.
So no potions at every turn and animal helper; just occasional potions and a translation amulet that lets you talk to the animals each time you finish the puzzle for the amulet.
Don't worry though - all that extremely over-colored artwork is still present, just in very dark tones. And the story is both complicated and not worth the effort, but you must slog through multiple "books/HOPs" to get the jist of it. And there will be puzzles, some with woefully inadequate directions; others insultingly simple.
Somewhere in there, you may find yourself wondering how many times you've already played this game. Don't panic - the Demo is soon over!
I suspect that the previous development team was replaced and the new group did not feel they needed to stick to the basic script. We are left with a sad little game that is just that: sad.
If I suggest that you play the Demo, do not hold it against me.
I am not willfully cruel. I just feel you need to see these things for yourself sometimes.
I am not willfully cruel. I just feel you need to see these things for yourself sometimes.
I don't recommend this game.
When the game worlds collapse, help can only come from one place. The real world!
Overall rating
2
/
5
23 of 39 found this review helpful
Can You Stand Another Review?
PostedOctober 6, 2019
Granny_Gruff
fromGood News: You don't need to count passed three!
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
By this time you know that this is a mash up of several other series.
I wish I could tell you it was made of the very best of those series.
I can't.
Short synopsis: You join Dupin to try to save three other game characters from being killed by going back in time to save them.
Another evildoer/bad guy wants to take over the game world in order to destroy reality. (So he'd die too, right? With nowhere to go, so would his henchman, right? Did anyone think this through? Why take over just to destroy everything so you have nothing left?)
I wish I could tell you it was made of the very best of those series.
I can't.
Short synopsis: You join Dupin to try to save three other game characters from being killed by going back in time to save them.
Another evildoer/bad guy wants to take over the game world in order to destroy reality. (So he'd die too, right? With nowhere to go, so would his henchman, right? Did anyone think this through? Why take over just to destroy everything so you have nothing left?)
Good stuff: If you like them, you will be in hog heaven with the many mini-games/puzzles. The artwork is clear, the morphing objects well hidden, the HOPs often surprisingly interesting.
Bad stuff: All those puzzles were not helped by the dark artwork that left many scenes in deep shadow. There was a black screen between scenes. There were two and three of everything to collect. There were even two cats to placate!
The story wasn't bad, just not good. I had the distinct impression that the Devs were going somewhere and were interrupted before all the details were in place. So the Cardinal runs into a building to escape the assassins and Germain is standing outside the door shooting arrows up to the second floor balcony window where the Cardinal is apparently standing in full view, waiting to be shot. The game pans away and the next view of the building shows it on fire! Then Germaine runs inside. And the Cardinal is still waiting inside by the window for Germaine to come and kill him!
Bottom line: There is a story, game elements, and CE bling.
Just not a great story, balanced game elements, and the CE bling does not bring enough to balance the scales.
Just not a great story, balanced game elements, and the CE bling does not bring enough to balance the scales.
Please try the Demo and see what you think - especially if you enjoy puzzles..