skinnzy's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4
- Helpful Votes:117
- Reviews Submitted:6
- First Review:June 11, 2012
- Most Recent Review:December 3, 2012
- Featured reviews0
skinnzy's Review History
Farmington Tales
Let's get farming in this unique Hidden Object farming simulator hybrid! Harvest the perfect crop, sell it at the market and search the farm for treasures!
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Great combo game!
PostedDecember 3, 2012
skinnzy
fromNova Scotia
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Farmington Tales is a motley mix of straight forward HOG scenes mixed with some Minesweeper, Sudoku, and Tetris style minigames, topped off with the over-riding FarmVille style game of growing and selling crops and upgrading your farm.
Most hit the mark beautifully, but some less so...
The main gameplay consists of converting your derelict run-down farm into the much coveted 'Farm Of The Year'. This requires growing and selling crops, raising livestock, and unlocking and upgrading building with your profits.
-->Lots of fun! Many different crops to plant, fields to maintain, and livestock to feed. You also have to manage your market, set prices, watch inventory, etc.
Scattered amongst your buildings and pastures are HOG scenes, where you uncover secondary quest items, collect money from completing HOG challenges, and selling leftover junk to a travelling salesman.
-->Very enjoyable HOG scenes. Pleasing, high-quality relaxing music, nice visuals, easily identifiable objects (although some can be quite small), and extra challenges that are not required, but are rewarded with extra cash.
Finally, you will sometimes be presented with a random minigame that will stop your progress until completed.
-->These were the only annoyance to me. Some are fun... I kind of liked the Sudoku puzzle and the Minesweeper puzzle (even though it's less sophisticated than the original as you cannot place a question mark). Some are awful... (the card memory game and the tangled wires) but you can pay a fine to skip the puzzle which is much appreciated.
I completed the goal of the game over one (fairly heavy played) weekend, so I wish it could have been longer; but you have the option to keep playing, doing the HOG scenes, and building your bank account.
If you liked this game you might want to try:
The Promised Land
The Promised Land
I recommend this game!
Return to Mysterious Island
Use your survival skills to uncover artifacts, solve ancient technologies, and explore the Mysterious Island.
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Very well done old-fashioned adventure game!
PostedDecember 3, 2012
skinnzy
fromNova Scotia
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
No HOG's here, folks! Just old-school exploring, searching, experimenting, (and sometimes cursing) fun!
Return to Mysterious Island offers you a very good storyline coupled with great voice acting, nice visuals, pleasing music and some pretty darn difficult puzzles. I consider myself an expert gamer and it took me much longer than it should have just to get off the darn beach and start exploring the actual island. And I admire that!
For me, the game ran incredibly smooth, transitioning from scene to scene very quickly. I soon found this to be a very important positive as sometimes you'll find yourself running all over the island trying to find the one item missing in your inventory. The scenes themselves are beautifully rendered, so you never really get sick of visiting them multiple times.
I especially enjoyed the ending where you are required to answer riddles - presented by a deadly robot - by choosing one object displayed amongst many in the Captains Room. It reminded me of the riddle contest in Stephen Kings 'The Dark Tower'.
If you enjoy challenging adventure games that require experimentation, patience, and lots of exploration, this game is for you!
If you liked this game and are looking for something similar:
Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy
Syberia
Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy
Syberia
I recommend this game!
Virtual Villagers: The Secret City
Guide a tribe of castaways as they live, breed, and discover secrets about their mysterious home in this real-time sim adventure.
Overall rating
3
/
5
57 of 82 found this review helpful
Bleh!
PostedNovember 27, 2012
skinnzy
fromNova Scotia
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File
Current Favorite:
Nostradamus: The Last Prophecy
(31)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Aargh! Thar' be spoilers ahead! Take heed!
OK, I realize that there are many, many people out there that love the Virtual Villagers series, but after a second go at this line I just don't get the attraction.
The game is filled with completely ambiguous, non-logical puzzles (at two points you have to drop one of your beloved villagers - not just any villager, mind you, but a specific one - straight into a bonfire to complete a puzzle. Now wait a tic... I love my villagers! Why the heck would I try, multiple times, to throw them onto a burning pyre?)
Also featured is the much appreciated 'try-and-fail' mechanic regarding a slew of alchemy potions, (most of which are detrimental to your villagers, and only a couple of which directly progress gameplay).
And to top it off a storyline is offered that can be summed up in about one paragraph, if not one sentence.
The game is full of contradictions:
The fire helps your villagers! (but let the fire burn out)
Alchemy is essential! (but ingredients are meaningless and most concoctions will hurt you.)
Look for collectibles! (to achieve pretty much the worst reward possible).
The fire helps your villagers! (but let the fire burn out)
Alchemy is essential! (but ingredients are meaningless and most concoctions will hurt you.)
Look for collectibles! (to achieve pretty much the worst reward possible).
If you do enjoy this style of game, I would strongly recommend that you try 'The Promised Land'. It has somewhat similar mechanics, except there's much more to do, much more fun to be had, and most importantly, things make bloody sense!
I don't recommend this game.
Syberia II
The story continues on a train headed east, as Kate Walker and Hans Voralberg search for a mysterious island known as Syberia.
Overall rating
3
/
5
16 of 17 found this review helpful
Meh....
PostedJune 15, 2012
skinnzy
fromNova Scotia
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is a bit of a tough review for me as I am very glad that I purchased this game and then happily muddled my way through it, but the above statements are tempered by the fact that I played Syberia 1 and wanted/needed/required resolution.
I completely and utterly enjoyed the first installment of Syberia and its entire storyline. I found it wholly unique, mysterious, and almost magical as I followed Kate in her discovery of the automatons, her need for independence, and her final realization of purpose culminating in a dramatic forging north with Oscar in her devoted pursuit of Hans and his rumored mammoths.
I easily forgave her clunky, slow, running style from one screen to the next, and then her inevitable ponderous backtracking to where she started. I forgave the repeated dialogue, the repeated dialogue, (ahem), the repeate... wait, maybe if I backtrack a bit...
Regardless, the first installment held wonder. Syberia 2 holds boiled potatoes with a touch of pepper: it's comforting and filling, but in the end, you still feel kind of empty.
Personally, I found the entire trip north rather boring outside of a few bright spots. Romansburg is pretty cool, but Ivan and Igor are as characteristically unbelievable as throwing 2 of the 3 stooges into a Shakespearean play. Unfortunately, these idiots are fairly major players throughout the game, becoming the main antagonists outside of the weather. This game would have been much improved with a strong, identifiable nemesis, but we never get one.
The addition of a cute sidekick animal named Youki reminds me of sitcoms that add a young, homely/cute child to the cast the minute the ratings start to drop.
The portrayal of the northern Youkol tribe is almost offensive: short, fat, unintelligible; cowering from machinery, yet rich with magic dream powers.
Fun Factor: Not bad, there are lots of really fun spots, but some annoying ones. I found traversing through the Youkol village to be an annoying chore.
Visual/Sound Quality: Great production values, great music, superior voice acting.
Level of Challenge: Good and bad. I found some puzzles just relied on the 'try and fail' method, which I despise. A good puzzle should have a logical solution, as obtuse as it may be.
Storyline: Well, great to a point, but when I hit the final scene I wanted to be both nostalgic and laugh my frickin' head off at the same time. It's just so ridiculous that the time and effort you've invested into the game is almost overwhelmed by such an ambiguous, silly, yet somehow touching conclusion. I still don't know how to take it.
Overall: If you've played Syberia 1, and want to know what happens next, purchase now!
If you're interested in the premise, make sure to play Syberia 1 first.
As a stand-alone game, bleh. If you haven't played the first, and don't want to, skip it.
Only recommended for those who've played Syberia 1, and enjoyed it.
I recommend this game!
Mystery Case Files: Escape from Ravenhearst
Return once more to the haunted grounds of Ravenhearst Manor to uncover new details about this poignant saga. What you find could very well be the final chapter of this riveting story-if you escape.
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Awesome! (if you know what to expect going in.)
PostedJune 14, 2012
skinnzy
fromNova Scotia
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Just finished Mystery Case Files: Escape from Ravenhearst, and IMO I thought it was a fantastic experience! I do now (kind of) understand the criticism leveled at this game towards its disturbing content, but it is still nothing compared to your basic horror movie by George A. Romero or something from the 'Saw' series.
That said, this is still a pretty dark game compared to most other offering from BF, and as long as you understand and expect that going in, you will probably have a great time unraveling this mystery!
Another important point to make is that this is a fairly challenging game. The MO puzzles are easy enough, but the actual game puzzles can be quite perplexing with very few (to none) clues to help you muddle through them. I always keep a scrapbook handy to jot down notes for games, but looking back I see that I have 3 full pages of annotations and sketches for this one. I did have to search a WT for one particular puzzle, but that frustratingly turned out to have one of the most simple solutions in the game. Grrr!
Fun factor: Terrific! (As long as you've always dreamed of being a victim in a horror movie.)
Visual/Sound Quality: Very well done and is reflected by the file size. Wonderfully creepy yet beautiful scenery and situations. Dennis Kleinsmith puts in a truly powerful performance as the deranged antagonist!!
Level of Challenge: High. There were several puzzles where I sat for quite some time, randomly pressing buttons before even beginning to understand how the puzzle actually worked; what its basic concept was... Then even more time spent figuring out the solution.
Storyline: Engaging, disturbing, but easy to follow as in its heart lies a pretty simple revenge arc.
In closing:
Overall, I don't quite get the negativity pointed at this game, as it's clearly labeled as a psychological thriller with disturbing content. But this content does not even come close to most scenes presented in your average horror flick.
Are there disturbing scenes? Yes. Are there gross scenes? Yes. Was I offended by any of them? Not in the least!
If you're a fan of horror/psychological thriller movies and love difficult puzzles, I can't recommend this game enough!
If not, steer clear... There are plenty of other games to play.
Played on:
HP Pavilion
Athlon 64x2
CP 4200+
2.20 GHz 1.9 GB RAM
Windows XP Media Center Edition v. 2002 SP3
HP Pavilion
Athlon 64x2
CP 4200+
2.20 GHz 1.9 GB RAM
Windows XP Media Center Edition v. 2002 SP3
Ran very smooth experiencing only very slight lag when bringing up the case file diary. No glitches. No crashes.
Happy gaming!
I recommend this game!
Safecracker
Play the role of an expert safecracker and find the hidden deed to riches within and extravagant mansion.
Overall rating
5
/
5
33 of 33 found this review helpful
More, please!
PostedJune 11, 2012
skinnzy
fromNova Scotia
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Highly recommended if you love challenging puzzles!
Gameplay is extremely straightforward, consisting solely of progressing through a large estate house finding a few clues, solving puzzles and cracking safes.
As simple as the game is in execution it makes up for in the many varied puzzles placed in your way. Some are quite simple and require just a minute or two of thought, while others are mindbendingly complex that may stump you for hours. The amazing thing is that they are never cheap, there is always a logical solution - if you can figure it out!
The Visual/Sound Quality is pretty good, the house itself is a bit barren but nicely rendered, and the narrator has a pleasing voice that never gets on your nerves. The music is unobtrusive and fitting. Sound effects are great...you'll come to love the mellow 'Ding' sound that arrives when you hit upon the solution to a particular puzzle.
The story is as bare-bones as it gets, but that's not what this game is about, anyway.
It's about the puzzles.
And they do not disappoint!
I recommend this game!