andibeard's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.2
- Helpful Votes:311
- Reviews Submitted:68
- First Review:February 20, 2012
- Most Recent Review:January 3, 2020
- Featured reviews0
Status:
These nursery rhymes are cursed, and your sister’s been taken by the Crooked Man!
Overall rating
5
/
5
Deceptively Complicated
PostedSeptember 14, 2015
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Many of this game's best features have already been described, but I'll add my voice to those who love the visuals, the dark concept, and the nursery-rhyme themes. But what I really love is the level of difficulty, which required me to go beyond the usual "do the obvious thing" mode of many HOPA games. The mini-games are challenging but not impossible, and the HOS are also more difficult than average for the object-assembly type. I found that the navigation at first was confusing, so the map really is necessary, particularly toward the end of the game (when you have to return to unsolved puzzles from the very beginning). But surprisingly, the storyline actually ties things together pretty well, and turns out to be less cliched than most.
A few warnings, if you're expecting the usual treatment: First off, I said the map is necessary, but there are also times when it doesn't work (due to the Crooked Man's powers), so you shouldn't depend too much on it for navigating locally. There's also at least one instance of something you need to write down, since this game doesn't include a journal. But I enjoyed the challenge of a game where things were not necessarily easy or obvious, but still in the end made sense. I hope they will make more Cursery games like this one!
I recommend this game!
The Smithsonian Castle’s secrets lie in a Civil War past.
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
Favorite Hidden Expedition so far
PostedSeptember 5, 2015
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I like all the Hidden Expedition games, but this one is my favorite thus far. The graphics are top-notch, the mini-games are interesting (though some of them could be more challenging), and the HOPs are varied enough to be interesting (and there aren't too many of them). The storyline is also a bit different, like most of the previous HE games--there is a disappearance at the beginning, but as it turns out, finding the missing person is *not* your goal! Of course, there are lots of great Smithsonian facts included in the game and the extras, which is fun for a museum geek like me. And even the closing credits are fun to read! I love it when I find a game so meticulously and lovingly designed. As I say, it could be a bit more challenging in places, but that's my only (small) complaint. I hope I can get this one on my iPad at some point!
I recommend this game!
Was Marion Ashworth murdered? Uncover the victim's true identity!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Almost Five Stars
PostedJune 14, 2015
andibeard
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I like the Danse Macabre series and lately I've been really enjoying EIPIX offerings, so I thought I was going to end up giving this game five stars. But there are a couple of things that ended up holding me back. First, the good things: The visuals are excellent, as usual with EIPIX games; the mini-games are largely interesting and varied; and the collectible masks are not always super-easy to spot. You do also get a chance to go back and find the ones you missed at the end of the game. Customizable difficulty options are always good, too.
The cons include a confusing storyline; I still think I must somehow have missed some cutscenes, because I didn't really grasp everything that was happening until at least halfway through the game. There was a weird mish-mash of entertainers/stage performer drama and girls' school drama so the focus was unclear. The places to find objects, the use of some objects, and the arbitrary back-and-forth between rooms was all just very...average. I did expect a more coherent story experience based on my prior experience with this developer.
The other negative is something you should know from the very beginning: When you get the chance to examine the body, take it! I decided to go look into the next room first but when I came back, the body was gone! I had to delete my entire profile and start a new one before the game would start over (just starting a new profile in addition to the old one didn't work). So try to do stuff in order if you can. A fun game but not to the standard of the previous Danse Macabre series.
I recommend this game!
Save the besieged alpine village of Martlet and rescue its residents from the mysterious living statues in this exciting Hidden Object Adventure game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Good but not Outstanding
PostedMay 21, 2015
andibeard
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Adventure, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I'm a little surprised this one has so many five-star ratings, as I didn't find anything especially amazing about it, though it's a very good game and I did enjoy playing it. The mini-games are quite varied and interesting in design--definitely not the same old stuff, for the most part. The HO scenes were okay, but not very challenging. The storyline was different from the usual fare, I have to admit, and the ending took me a bit by surprise. With this game you definitely should use the map, as the game covers a huge range of rooms and spaces and it would take forever without the map to give you quicker travel time (and indicate active areas, too). It isn't always immediately evident, or even sometimes logical, what you should do with the things you find, but this does give the game more interest and challenge. I personally found the "backstory" cutscenes a bit boring, and at one point they seemed out of sequence, but this didn't really bother me. I would suggest skipping the CE, though, as the collectibles were inconsistent and sometimes easy to forget about, and the other bonuses are not all that interesting. I'd have been quite content with the SE. Still, a good game and definitely recommended for HOA fans.
I recommend this game!
Release the characters from the witch's curse and find the portal home!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Disappointing
PostedApril 12, 2015
andibeard
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
While I enjoyed the previous EotP game, this one has a number of issues that have interfered with my enjoyment. First off, the storyline just doesn't make sense from the outset--it's not clear how or why you get transported to this realm, and the witch's bad deeds have no motivation other than "I'm just evil! ha!" And yes, the curse of the angry witch is definitely an overused trope in these games to begin with!
The game also seems to just not function smoothly--it takes a long time to load, unlike most of the other complex HOPA games of this type, and the action is often slow and jerky once you start playing. Processes that should take a second (like objects entering your inventory) take several seconds (for no reason) and the mini-games that depend on smooth action and hand-eye coordination are very hard to play due to jerky action.
The mini-games are nice in that they are actually games, not just some arbitrary difficult thing to overcome, so you do have to think your way through them. However, some of them were a little too challenging, even for me. There aren't overly many HO scenes, which is nice, but a few of them are pointlessly difficult, though generally they are only moderately to mildly challenging. The extras in the CE also don't seem worth the extra money to me (mostly just finding potion bottles in a few scenes--I prefer the full range of collectibles, morphing objects, etc.). The map is not really all that helpful unless you play the lowest difficulty level, as unfinished tasks are not indicated on other levels and the range of rooms in which you play is pretty small.
On the plus side, the visuals obviously have a lot of effort put into them, particularly the people, so it's a nice game to look at for the most part. And as I said, some of the mini-games are nice if you like playing actual games. If the game play had been smoother and the storyline made a little more sense, I probably would have given this four stars. I hope the next EotP game ups the ante a little!
I don't recommend this game.
Tragedy strikes a popular Parisian cabaret when their star dancer is murdered! Gather the suspects and unmask the killer.
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
A Lot of Bang for your Buck
PostedMarch 11, 2015
andibeard
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I enjoyed this game tremendously for several reasons. First off, the title suggests it's going to be one of those dark and grim games, and though it is a murder mystery, it has more of the feel of an Agatha Christie story than the usual bleaker-toned BF offerings. The protagonist is a charming lady detective, for once not looking for her lost child/spouse/father but just solving crimes. So the storyline and approach are refreshing.
The game itself is well-designed, with nice graphics and some thought going into the variety of HOS and mini-game types. Some of the mini-games were quite challenging, but in a "use your brain" sort of way rather than a "frustratingly picky controls" or "senseless logic" kind of way. Also refreshing!
The CE is worth the money, as you get collectible windmills throughout the game, morphing objects in the HO scenes, and collectibles that you can gather after playing the bonus scene. There are mini-games and HO's you can play after finishing the game as well as stills and movies from the game and a Making Of feature. Lots to do here! The bonus scene is not really connected to the main game's storyline, so people who don't buy the CE won't be missing any of the plot.
Small annoyances: Occasionally, the windmills blended so well into the background that they were near-impossible to spot on my monitor. Also, it wasn't always clear when I could examine an object with the forensics kit, so I just had to keep guessing until I found the objects that could be examined. My game got a little glitchy sometimes when using the kit, too, but nothing serious. And of course the one cliched thing about the storyline is the "mysterious masked bad guy who somehow appears in every scene" trope, which is a minor gripe, given how nicely the rest of the characters were portrayed.
Overall, I found this game to be a good balance of visuals, story, and the right level of challenge without being frustratingly hard to too easy to figure out. Definitely a keeper.
I recommend this game!
Discover the fabulous secrets that a jungle hides in Adelantado Trilogy: Book One! Help the brave and noble officer, Don Diego De Leon, to find and save the lost expedition.
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Compelling but Ultimately Frustrating
PostedFebruary 14, 2015
andibeard
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Be warned--this game is fun and well-designed, but very challenging! I love sim games and have enjoyed good-quality time management games, too, so I thought I would love this one, and at first, I really liked it. However, I found that I could score the "bonus" in every chapter except the last two, which I have played a variety of ways and still have not gotten the bonus on--and you cannot play the "Conclusion" chapter without having gotten the bonus on all the other chapters.
One of my issues is that I don't understand how to master difficult levels. I would play the same chapter the same way twice in a row but end up short on wood one time and short on stone the next, so it's not clear to the player what factors are always at play. It seemed like I was always short of something in those last two levels no matter how I adjusted what I built and where. The game does provide you suggestions (and commands, as I discuss below, though it's often impossible to tell which are which) but not specific information on what's affecting your production of materials, as the more detailed sim games do. This would be very helpful in mastering the hard levels.
I also didn't like that some levels are extremely directive, and even when I could see the need to immediately restore or build a particular type of building, it often wouldn't let me until I'd restored others first, in the order that the game dictated. On one of the hard levels, you can't talk to the endgame Native guy until you have restored an old quarry, even though you may have 300+ stone and don't need to restore it. And there is no way to know that you have to restore that particular quarry in order to talk to that particular character. The game just doesn't allow for freedom when you could benefit from it, and doesn't give you guidance when you do need it!
So...obviously this game poses too complex a challenge for someone who wants to play fairly casually and yet still find ways to master the game (i.e, the "easy" level may be too easy for most levels, but the "normal" level is too hard for the last two!). Your mileage may vary, but ultimately I gave up and probably will not be trying out the next games in the trilogy unless the reviews indicate that these issues are quite different in those games.
I recommend this game!
Explore a world of magic to stop an ancient evil!
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Best of the Series
PostedFebruary 1, 2015
andibeard
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I was only mildly to moderately impressed with the first two games in the Otherworld series, but this one is definitely the best of the three so far. Like the first two, the visuals are stunningly beautiful. Unlike the first one, the pacing of the story here is good, the gameplay is challenging but not frustrating, the mini-games are varied and good, and I even liked this chapter of the continuing saga (usually stories get old by the third installment, so good job on the developers' part!). The HO scenes are a little challenging at times and were the only part I didn't enjoy terribly--there are some instances where you have to move some things around to see behind them but it's a bit confusing to know whether you actually need to interact with everything or not in order to find the objects. However, there weren't overly many HO scenes, and none are repeated (!), so this was a minor concern. The hints are helpful, as well, and there are notes and a map for easy navigation, though the gameplay never really gets spread over too large an area at any given point in the game, which is also nice. In the CE, there are little dragon collectibles, which are very easy to see, as well as a fairly short bonus chapter which wasn't as fun or deeply-developed as the previous chapters, so I think the SE probably would have suited me just as well in this case. And like the previous installments, this one also lets you keep a very useful object throughout! I really like that aspect of these games. It's something more developers need to start considering instead of the use-and-toss method! Overall, a fun fantasy game (though this one involves a little more crossover into the modern world than the others). Hopefully, the next (last??) game in this series will continue the upward trend!
I recommend this game!
Help Epiphany O’day sneak on board the luxurious and dangerous Imperial Majestic to stop murder and mayhem in its tracks!
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Older-style Game, But Fun
PostedJanuary 26, 2015
andibeard
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game is clearly in the old-school tradition of HOA games, as evidenced by the graphics and the layout of the inventory, etc. The other clue is that the HO scenes are actually quite challenging, just like the old HO games from a decade ago (unlike today's games, where most of the HO scenes just seem to be here for a quick diversion but nothing is really hard to find). The storyline and main character are charming, and the adventure puzzles are decently challenging without being completely illogical. The only reasons I would give this four stars instead of five are that the game play is very slow--the scene transitions are slow as well as the conversations between characters, which can't be clicked through (though you can skip them, but then you risk missing something important)--and the fact that there seems to be a bit too much HO and not enough adventure for my tastes. However, the game is fun and different from the usual "your ___ has been kidnapped by a maniac" storylines. Definitely worth a shot if you like HOGs!
I recommend this game!
Diva's dark talent claims another victim – can you stop her before the curtain falls?
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Good Game, Could Have Been Better
PostedJanuary 23, 2015
andibeard
fromUSA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game isn't quite up to the same standard as the first Maestro game, but it is enjoyable to play. The minigames are varied and the adventure aspect is pretty good--it's nice that you don't have to run around through a gazillion screens to solve your puzzles, as each part of the game only covers a small area, and there's a map in any case if you want to go back. The HO scenes are far too simple, and I found myself a bit annoyed by them by the time I finished the game. The story is fine but not up to the Maestro standard and certainly not as music-themed as previous games in the series. The CE includes collectibles, some of which don't become available until the bonus game, but none of the other features really made the CE worth the price for me. Though the main part of the game (before the bonus scene) was a bit short, I'd have been just as happy with the SE on this one, if not happier.
I recommend this game!