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:
Warriors of darkness have just attacked your people. Now you alone can defeat them and save your fellow Healers!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
How many Stars?
PostedOctober 19, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
For me, a five star game has innovation of some sort, a great storyline, and excellent game play.
I could not recommend a game I would not buy myself.
A series of games, books, whatever carries forth a central character, place, or theme.
Echoes of the Past is a great series. I've enjoyed everyone of them.
This is a stand-alone game that carries only the name.
All that being said, this is an almost average game.
You are a Healer in a kingdom attacked by an enemy mounted on flying armored four-footed beasts. The other Healers are captured and you are left to protect and help the youngest and almost-newest Healer, whose ceremony was interrupted by the attack.
There is an over dependence on a bracelet that turns you into a wolf, which gets tired quickly, especially as you spend most of the trial recovering this bracelet, fixing this bracelet, and turning yourself back and forth between wolf and human using this bracelet. (And even as you turn back and forth from wolf to human and human to wolf, most of the time you can use those paws like hands, which takes away the urgency to turn back to human form again.)
There are the usual elements of a CE. The music is pastoral and lulls you to sleep. The story is barely OK. There is nothing that fires the imagination or makes you want to continue playing after the trial is over. The mini-games are marginal and fairly easy - the closest thing to something new is a bunny-level game where you follow rat tracks through a pile of debris.
Please try this before you buy - even with the weekend sale.
I could not recommend a game I would not buy myself.
A series of games, books, whatever carries forth a central character, place, or theme.
Echoes of the Past is a great series. I've enjoyed everyone of them.
This is a stand-alone game that carries only the name.
All that being said, this is an almost average game.
You are a Healer in a kingdom attacked by an enemy mounted on flying armored four-footed beasts. The other Healers are captured and you are left to protect and help the youngest and almost-newest Healer, whose ceremony was interrupted by the attack.
There is an over dependence on a bracelet that turns you into a wolf, which gets tired quickly, especially as you spend most of the trial recovering this bracelet, fixing this bracelet, and turning yourself back and forth between wolf and human using this bracelet. (And even as you turn back and forth from wolf to human and human to wolf, most of the time you can use those paws like hands, which takes away the urgency to turn back to human form again.)
There are the usual elements of a CE. The music is pastoral and lulls you to sleep. The story is barely OK. There is nothing that fires the imagination or makes you want to continue playing after the trial is over. The mini-games are marginal and fairly easy - the closest thing to something new is a bunny-level game where you follow rat tracks through a pile of debris.
Please try this before you buy - even with the weekend sale.
I don't recommend this game.
Death needs help from the only detective he trusts – you!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 12 found this review helpful
Another Day, Another Game
PostedOctober 16, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This is a game that invites us to like Death, just not necessarily in the way the Devs thought we would.
Death comes to you as a detective to find some souls he can not find. I think I could buy into fairies and elves in my kitchen more easily.
The first person you meet wants you to drop your case - find the missing women of Paris - to find his runaway niece and restore the pages he lost out of his book. Oh, yes, that's much more important, especially since you have never met the niece and he was standing beside her when she took off. (Seriously, folks!)
The game has what you would expect: music, map with lots of repetitive traveling, 3 play levels, fairly good cut scenes, slightly interactive HOPs, fair mini-games, and the usual CE bling, including collectible playing cards. (Surprise! There are 52 of them.)
This game needed some more time on the drawing board, with a lot more thought devoted to the storyline and the actual nuts and bolts of game play.
Please play the trial and decide for yourself. I've already done so.
Death comes to you as a detective to find some souls he can not find. I think I could buy into fairies and elves in my kitchen more easily.
The first person you meet wants you to drop your case - find the missing women of Paris - to find his runaway niece and restore the pages he lost out of his book. Oh, yes, that's much more important, especially since you have never met the niece and he was standing beside her when she took off. (Seriously, folks!)
The game has what you would expect: music, map with lots of repetitive traveling, 3 play levels, fairly good cut scenes, slightly interactive HOPs, fair mini-games, and the usual CE bling, including collectible playing cards. (Surprise! There are 52 of them.)
This game needed some more time on the drawing board, with a lot more thought devoted to the storyline and the actual nuts and bolts of game play.
Please play the trial and decide for yourself. I've already done so.
I don't recommend this game.
Every second counts in this breathtaking paranormal adventure!
Overall rating
3
/
5
10 of 19 found this review helpful
Confused!
PostedOctober 11, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game is hard to call.
Once again you are rescuing a child - but this child has paranormal gifts. And your rescue leads to the police and the bad guys chasing YOU.
So I'm hooked by the story - this is good.
You respond to an anonymous phone call, instituted by the boy's abilities, to investigate child abuse by his stepfather, a police officer. You park in front of the house. You then break into the house through a series of ridiculous tasks and mini-games, and then break out of it with the child.
The whole thing takes way too much time and energy. This is bad.
The game has three levels of lay, actually good VOs, reasonable animation, mini-games, and interactive HOPs.
This is good.
While the characters actions defy logic of any sort, the developers had one really good idea - they let you carry around some of the items you need pieces for. As there is still plenty of backtracking, this was a nice touch to cut some of it out. This is also good.
So love the story, hate the method. Rescuing a child - good.
Running around the house, opening boxes, playing in the garage, setting off the grandfather clock in the basement, all while the stepfather is in the house, is just bizarre.
So this is definitely one for you to try yourself. Love it or hate it.
Once again you are rescuing a child - but this child has paranormal gifts. And your rescue leads to the police and the bad guys chasing YOU.
So I'm hooked by the story - this is good.
You respond to an anonymous phone call, instituted by the boy's abilities, to investigate child abuse by his stepfather, a police officer. You park in front of the house. You then break into the house through a series of ridiculous tasks and mini-games, and then break out of it with the child.
The whole thing takes way too much time and energy. This is bad.
The game has three levels of lay, actually good VOs, reasonable animation, mini-games, and interactive HOPs.
This is good.
While the characters actions defy logic of any sort, the developers had one really good idea - they let you carry around some of the items you need pieces for. As there is still plenty of backtracking, this was a nice touch to cut some of it out. This is also good.
So love the story, hate the method. Rescuing a child - good.
Running around the house, opening boxes, playing in the garage, setting off the grandfather clock in the basement, all while the stepfather is in the house, is just bizarre.
So this is definitely one for you to try yourself. Love it or hate it.
Someone – or something – is stealing the children of Blake’s Mountain!
Overall rating
3
/
5
28 of 40 found this review helpful
Salmon swimming up stream
PostedOctober 9, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Everyone is seeing something I did not.
This a beautifully crafted game. Lush artwork, appropriately dark for the storyline, but not too dark. There are four levels of game play, the HOS are varied and interactive, the hint is usable outside of the HOS, the mini-games are simplistic in the demo, the map and hint will transport you to where you need to be. It has the usual CE bling, plus.
But this is the umpteenth game where we save the children.
And once again there is little logic being used.
My carriage falls through the bridge and hangs below it. I retrieve a crossbow and use it to shoot down a charm as I hang off the carriage above the river. (Presumably by my teeth.) I then open my bag, use a crow bar on the door of the carriage(still teeth), and manage to save a single picture of a missing child before plunging into the river below. When I crawl out of the water, I approach a woman and her daughter, chased out of their home by a figure. I go to help, first stopping to do all manner of things before entering the dark house. (Can we all recall the fun made of people in horror movies who do THE wrong thing?)
I almost quit at this point, but stayed against my better judgement. I won't spoil the trial for you by telling about my next dumb move as the detective. Luckily one of the other characters assures the detective that he is not as stupid as he truly is.
I finished the demo in less than an hour.
This is a decent game. It will fill your hours with some recreation. I may buy it for the extra bonus chapter - yes, it has two extra chapters.
Try it for yourself please. And please, tell me what charms and attractions I missed.
This a beautifully crafted game. Lush artwork, appropriately dark for the storyline, but not too dark. There are four levels of game play, the HOS are varied and interactive, the hint is usable outside of the HOS, the mini-games are simplistic in the demo, the map and hint will transport you to where you need to be. It has the usual CE bling, plus.
But this is the umpteenth game where we save the children.
And once again there is little logic being used.
My carriage falls through the bridge and hangs below it. I retrieve a crossbow and use it to shoot down a charm as I hang off the carriage above the river. (Presumably by my teeth.) I then open my bag, use a crow bar on the door of the carriage(still teeth), and manage to save a single picture of a missing child before plunging into the river below. When I crawl out of the water, I approach a woman and her daughter, chased out of their home by a figure. I go to help, first stopping to do all manner of things before entering the dark house. (Can we all recall the fun made of people in horror movies who do THE wrong thing?)
I almost quit at this point, but stayed against my better judgement. I won't spoil the trial for you by telling about my next dumb move as the detective. Luckily one of the other characters assures the detective that he is not as stupid as he truly is.
I finished the demo in less than an hour.
This is a decent game. It will fill your hours with some recreation. I may buy it for the extra bonus chapter - yes, it has two extra chapters.
Try it for yourself please. And please, tell me what charms and attractions I missed.
Save your kidnapped daughter Jessica by solving the secrets of the castle. Rescue the trapped souls from captivity and defeat Groth!
Overall rating
4
/
5
11 of 14 found this review helpful
CE Features at the SE Price!
PostedOctober 8, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This SE game has a familiar storyline - Your daughter is kidnapped by an evil being and you go after them to rescue little Jessica. You enter a haunted decrepit structure and travel through a mirror to find your child.
The game features are what attract - Game play has four levels, Hos are interactive and varied, characters are engaging, mini-games are sometimes quite different, and there are collectible morphing objects. (How often do you get those in a SE?)
There is no map, which is really refreshing. This means no back and forth. You move always forward through scenes that are full of things to do and find, clearly drawn, and beautifully colored.
I don't usually care about screen savers and wallpapers, so this is as close to a CE as possible without the extra chapter.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Enjoy!
The game features are what attract - Game play has four levels, Hos are interactive and varied, characters are engaging, mini-games are sometimes quite different, and there are collectible morphing objects. (How often do you get those in a SE?)
There is no map, which is really refreshing. This means no back and forth. You move always forward through scenes that are full of things to do and find, clearly drawn, and beautifully colored.
I don't usually care about screen savers and wallpapers, so this is as close to a CE as possible without the extra chapter.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Enjoy!
I recommend this game!
The sins of the long-forgotten past have returned to haunt the royal family. Help the princess protect her kingdom and the ones she love the most!
Overall rating
2
/
5
17 of 29 found this review helpful
Throwback - Please do!
PostedOctober 7, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This game was drag out of a vault somewhere, where it had been left to languish as being unremarkable when it was first developed five to seven years ago. At least that's what I'm guessing from the stilted characters, amateurish stab at voice-overs(both the voices and the lip movements), and the tired storyline of save your child. Top that off with only two play methods and the stumbling game flow.
I really can't find a reason to even recommend the trial of the game, sad to say. This game needed additional thought from the developers from end to end - even the baby would have benefited from some one looking at an actual one year-old child. (Older babies are not wrapped in swaddling or kept in a cradle after the first 3 months.)
I would like to say something good, so I'll commend the artists for an abundance of golden yellow and red instead of pink and pastels.
Beyond that, you are on your own!
I really can't find a reason to even recommend the trial of the game, sad to say. This game needed additional thought from the developers from end to end - even the baby would have benefited from some one looking at an actual one year-old child. (Older babies are not wrapped in swaddling or kept in a cradle after the first 3 months.)
I would like to say something good, so I'll commend the artists for an abundance of golden yellow and red instead of pink and pastels.
Beyond that, you are on your own!
I don't recommend this game.
Without warning, a group of mysterious figures arrives and reduces your village to flames and rubble. What do they want... and who is controlling them?
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Hurrah!
PostedOctober 4, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Just when you thought there were no more good story tellers, no more promising games, and no hope for gamers everywhere, the next great game arrives. (Am I gushing?)
(Well, yes. Yes I am!)
This is how you tell a story - enough of the characters, the setting, the background to reel your audience in. Once again some innovation, variety, and a great story have captured me.
There are four play levels, including the custom setting. There are varied HOPs and lovely graphics. VOs are really good, although it seemed once or twice a character's accent changed mid-conversation. A couple of the mini-games were unusual.
But mostly it's the story, folks. There are dragons and magic and yet not the run of the mill sort you've seen before. I have great hopes here and plan to buy ASAP!
Try it for yourself and see if you agree.
(Well, yes. Yes I am!)
This is how you tell a story - enough of the characters, the setting, the background to reel your audience in. Once again some innovation, variety, and a great story have captured me.
There are four play levels, including the custom setting. There are varied HOPs and lovely graphics. VOs are really good, although it seemed once or twice a character's accent changed mid-conversation. A couple of the mini-games were unusual.
But mostly it's the story, folks. There are dragons and magic and yet not the run of the mill sort you've seen before. I have great hopes here and plan to buy ASAP!
Try it for yourself and see if you agree.
I recommend this game!
Save your cats and investigate a series of leopard attacks.
Overall rating
2
/
5
32 of 40 found this review helpful
It is a Game
PostedOctober 4, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I really love cats. We've had as many as six in our household at a time. I get the distinct feeling the developers of this game do not.
The storyline leaves SO MUCH to be desired that I won't even go there. There is nothing in the story to make you care about the vet, animals, or even your character's own pets.
Everything else about the demo and the game is very pedestrian. The mini-games were blah, HOPs average, and the rest of it totally forgettable.
I Suggest you try this for yourself. Maybe you will find something I missed. In the meantime, I can't recommend it.
The storyline leaves SO MUCH to be desired that I won't even go there. There is nothing in the story to make you care about the vet, animals, or even your character's own pets.
Everything else about the demo and the game is very pedestrian. The mini-games were blah, HOPs average, and the rest of it totally forgettable.
I Suggest you try this for yourself. Maybe you will find something I missed. In the meantime, I can't recommend it.
I don't recommend this game.
Prove the innocence of a young queen before she is put to death for a crime she didn't commit!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Solidly Four Stars
PostedSeptember 29, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
There is finally a four star game!
So many lesser games lately had me depressed!
This game has a reasonably good storyline, interactive and varied HOPs, reasonable background sounds and music, three play levels, decent cartoon artwork, and mini-games, some better than others.
Despite the many ways it could have been great - better journal, more realistic artwork, and a custom play level - there are still enough things to like to give this Grim Legends a four star rating.
So many lesser games lately had me depressed!
This game has a reasonably good storyline, interactive and varied HOPs, reasonable background sounds and music, three play levels, decent cartoon artwork, and mini-games, some better than others.
Despite the many ways it could have been great - better journal, more realistic artwork, and a custom play level - there are still enough things to like to give this Grim Legends a four star rating.
I recommend this game!
When her children are kidnapped by a mysterious conductor, a mother jumps on an antique train and finds herself surrounded by unusual passengers.
Overall rating
2
/
5
22 of 41 found this review helpful
Please Stop
PostedSeptember 23, 2014
Granny_Gruff
fromLouisville, KY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Marble Popper
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
You are a mother who lets her two children run off at a train show. You see them in the engine of a train as it pulls out. You manage to jump on the back of the train. You eventually get inside.
And then they dropped the ball.
The train stops just after your have bought a ticket and met the first passenger. Do you run to the front of the train to get your kids? Do you alert the authorities? Has the story given you any idea of what to do next? No to all of that - you run off down a Paris alley. And you run down that alley without questioning how the train got you thousands of miles and many years back in time in minutes.
There were opportunities for the other characters to give you a heads up, but it didn't happen. And obviously if the Developers don't want to find those two little darlings, why should I?
The game has all the usual stuff, including interactive HOPs, fairly decent mini-games, expressive VOs, and inoffensive music. What it does not have, is a storyline. The potential is there, the execution was deplorable.
Maybe tomorrow's game.......
And then they dropped the ball.
The train stops just after your have bought a ticket and met the first passenger. Do you run to the front of the train to get your kids? Do you alert the authorities? Has the story given you any idea of what to do next? No to all of that - you run off down a Paris alley. And you run down that alley without questioning how the train got you thousands of miles and many years back in time in minutes.
There were opportunities for the other characters to give you a heads up, but it didn't happen. And obviously if the Developers don't want to find those two little darlings, why should I?
The game has all the usual stuff, including interactive HOPs, fairly decent mini-games, expressive VOs, and inoffensive music. What it does not have, is a storyline. The potential is there, the execution was deplorable.
Maybe tomorrow's game.......
I don't recommend this game.