arnold1049's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.8
- Helpful Votes:4,545
- Reviews Submitted:555
- First Review:February 24, 2012
- Most Recent Review:December 24, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Protect your tribe from an evil spirit! Become the chosen one and go on an incredible journey in Tulula: Legend of a Volcano!
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
VISUALLY BEAUTIFUL
PostedJuly 26, 2015
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Match 3, Arcade & Action, Word, Mahjong, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is a quirky little game that I just love. The graphics are beautiful and the storyline is engaging. It is so different from most of the games that I play that I couldn't stop playing it. I certainly hope there will be sequels to enjoy.
You are the chosen one to help remove an evil spirit and rebuild the village destroyed by a volcano. Helping you is a shaman that needs to be reunited with his long-lost love.
Each location has a series of HOS and puzzles that you must complete before going on to the next location. In each location, you must find all the pieces of a part of a statue that must be rebuilt in order to get rid of the evil spirit and release the shaman. At the end of each location, you go back to the center and watch the statue be added to with the pieces you found in that location.
Gameplay also involves obtaining points to be used to rebuild the village. There is some strategy involved in using the points wisely so that you can get all the buildings completed. As gameplay continues and you move up levels, more buildings become available for rebuilding. With some buildings, you must obtain the plans for the building before you can rebuild it. There are also achievements to complete that are all displayed in the central room that has the statue that must be rebuilt.
There is great variety in this game and each location contains different puzzles and different actions that must be completed. There is very little repetition in this game. Not a hard game but very entertaining.
I recommend this game!
Plan the perfect Dream Day Wedding for a high rolling couple in a lavish Las Vegas resort. A truly spectacular adventure!
Overall rating
5
/
5
8 of 9 found this review helpful
LOTS OF VARIETY
PostedJuly 26, 2015
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Match 3, Word, Mahjong, Card & Board, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I really like the Dream Day series of games and this one really stands out so far in the ones I've played. This game has so much variety in the puzzles and hidden object scenes that it held my interest throughout and I was always looking forward to the next challenge.
In this game you play the wedding planner for a wedding to be held in a luxury casino in Las Vegas. You are in charge of everything, including buying gifts for the wedding party as well as decorations and other items for the wedding site. Money comes in the form of "bucks" that can be found in each location or that are given to you by other characters.
I do not consider this game hard by any means, although you do have to think. You can't just muddle through this game. Again, the word variety seems to describe everything perfectly.
The graphics are bright and clear. Locations were visited several times but always with a different set of objects or a different puzzle to solve. And just when you think the game was coming to an end, there was another twist that lets you continue playing more puzzles and HOS.
The HOS were not too difficult but there was always one or two items that took a little work. Hints were available and there was no wait time, but it was easy to run out of hints if you didn't make sure you found the golden dice in each scene. For every 5 dice you found, you got one hint. Also in each location were "bucks" that could be spent at the Hotel's various shops.
In some locations, you ended up getting trapped in a room and having to find a way out. This was a neat kind of puzzle and no two were alike.
It was fun using the "bucks" to buy all kinds of things. You can redo the cake and flowers over and over again. You also get to design the wedding gown and decorate the site of the wedding vows.
You have to deal not only with the bride and groom (mostly the bride) but also the bride's mother. This, again, added further variety to the interaction among the characters.
A very enjoyable game.
I recommend this game!
Westward III: Gold Rush
When gold is discovered in the Northern California wilderness, three adventurous pioneers set out to stake their claim.
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 15 found this review helpful
NOT MY KIND OF GAME
PostedJuly 20, 2015
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Match 3, Word, Mahjong
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I don't enjoy strategy or time management games. I played 12 minutes of the demo and had all the frustration I could handle so I uninstalled it. My low rating is based solely on my own aversion to these types of games and not on the quality of this particular game within its own genre for people who like these kinds of games. So I am neither recommending nor not recommending this game. Glad I played the demo before deciding to purchase it, which I didn't.
The ultimate 5-star, around the world cruise from New York to San Francisco on the super luxurious flagship, Liberty of The Waves.
Overall rating
5
/
5
41 of 49 found this review helpful
LONG AWAITED CHAPTER TWO
PostedJuly 1, 2015
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Adventure, Match 3, Word, Mahjong, Card & Board
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I played the free 60 minutes and my review is based on this.
I love hidden object games likes these; no dark, supernatural beings, just bright, clear screens with nothing but hidden object scenes with some easy puzzles scattered throughout.
There are two modes of play, with only minor differences and nothing that really makes one mode harder than the other. One mode has the tutorial, the other doesn't, and the hint and skip buttons recharge faster in one mode than the other. I never needed to use the skip button, and I only used the hint button once, on a find-the-difference puzzle, which is not my strong suit. Which reminds me of another good thing; having a hint available during the puzzles. That's a nice touch.
The puzzles are very basic and not too hard: find the differences, rotate puzzle pieces to compete a picture, match two, etc.
This game is not hard at all for experienced HOG players, but is a nice relaxing game to hone skills. Occasionally there will be a hidden object item that does take some searching. There are also 3 types of interactive hidden objects that make the scenes a bit more fun.
The story is just something that allows the game to flow from HO scene to scene and is not that entertaining. The graphics for the humans make them look like mannequins, so not a lot of reality there. However, the rest of each scene inside the cruise ship makes me want to go on a cruise immediately, particularly when the protagonists get moved into 1st class.
You earn a bronze, or a silver or a gold star depending on how well you do in three areas at each location: picking up trash, finding lost items, and finding all the hidden objects. This game made a much-needed improvement in the trash-finding step by showing when all the trash has been found in the scene. This is done by the lid being placed on the trash barrel at the bottom of the screen.
If you are hung up on getting a gold star for every location, you can replay any location at any time to improve your play and get the gold.
I'm glad this game was finally released and I hope it is followed up with more like it. When the 60 minutes was over, I immediately purchased it.
I recommend this game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
HYBRID JIGSAW?
PostedApril 28, 2015
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
I guess the word "mosaics" covers a lot of ground, because this is a different kind of mosaic game than I was expecting. It is more like a jigsaw puzzle.
You are presented with a board containing a picture or pattern that has pieces missing. These pieces appear in a sidebar on the right hand side of the board. Not all the pieces are shown at once, and there is no way to move the sidebar up or down in order to choose a different piece that you could match immediately. With this little wrinkle, it is often very hard to get the mosaic completed within the allowed time.
The object is to obtain 3 keys for each mosaic; complete the mosaic, complete it with no mistakes, and complete it within the allotted time. As you play, you earn points. These points can be used to purchase additional time for the board, but the extra time is very expensive and you only get an extra 30 seconds of play. It may take completing a couple of more mosaics before you have earned enough points to again purchase time.
Putting the pieces into the mosaic is not challenging; the pieces are large and easily placed. Hint: the size of the piece as it sits in the sidebar is not its actual size. Once you pick it up, it will enlarge so that you can see where it goes. What makes this game challenging is the time limit on completing the mosaic.
I am not overly thrilled with time restraints in games, as they create an artificial tension that I really don't enjoy. I at first rated this game a 4, but after thinking about it, it would be a very dull game without the time limit, and since I don't particularly like that feature, I marked the game down to a 3. If you enjoy racing the clock, then this game would be enjoyable; not too challenging, but enough to keep you on your toes.
Embark on a new adventure into the world of color mosaics as you explore a fantasy forest full of wonders and amazing discoveries.
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
ANOTHER GREAT GAME IN THE SERIES
PostedApril 28, 2015
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
I love these mosaic games where the squares are filled in colors and the board changes depending on which color you are working with. If you get stuck on a board, changing to a different color to work on that board often solves the problem. It is the same board, it just shows only the tiles available for filling in with the particular color you are using at the time.
If you aren't familiar with mosaic games, you fill the board by clicking on tiles according to the numbers at the top and left side of the board. These numbers tell you how many tiles and in what sequence the tiles must be flipped in each column and row.
This game had an "advanced" option to make play a little harder. In most mosaic games, when you have turned over a set of correct tiles, the number at the top or side of the board will be crossed off, allowing you to better understand the correct sequence of flipped tiles. The advanced mode in this game does not do this, so even when you think you have isolated a correct sequence, you won't know for sure. The numbers at the top and side of the board only get marked off when the column or row is completely and correctly. I liked this option, because it also saved me a lot of clicking, as once I had flipped all the correct tiles, the game automatically filled the rest of the row or column with the inactive tiles.
Once all the colors are completed, the board actually displays a picture of something familiar, not just a random pattern. There are twenty locations and 5 boards in each location. The object is to get a star for each board in order to unlock the next board. So far I have only seen gold and silver stars, either of which will unlock the next board in the location. If you make one mistake, you lose the chance at a gold star.
There are no achievements to win, just straight-forward game play. There are hints available and additional hints can be won during play. Two power-ups also help, but they have to recharge after use and they recharge extremely slowly, One is a pick axe that will reveal one tile, the other is a sun symbol which will reveal several tiles in an area where it is placed.
You start out with being able to make two mistakes without having to start over. However, as stated above, a single mistake takes away the gold star. If you make more than the allowed mistakes you are exited from the board and asked if you want to try again. Or you can restart the board yourself, which is what I do as soon as I make that first mistake. During play you also win additional allowed mistakes, I think to a maximum of 4. I would rather have more hints than allowed mistakes so I can keep the gold star.
These board are challenging and one slip of the cursor and there goes the gold star. I play the boards over and over until I get the gold star. Most of the time I'm able to complete the boards in one play, but once in awhile I run into one that takes me many tries before I get it done without a mistake.
This game is interesting, enjoyable, challenging, keeps your attention and works your brain. What else could you ask from a game?
I recommend this game!
Complete enchanting match-3 puzzles to construct a magical city and earn the favor of the Gods.
Overall rating
5
/
5
58 of 71 found this review helpful
MULTI-LEVEL MATCH 3 GAME
PostedApril 27, 2015
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Brain Teaser, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I played the 60 minute trial and this is another great Match 3 game that has so many levels that it will keep me playing for a long, long time. This has a timed element to it, but I haven't figured out yet how much time I can use up before I blow a perfect game. Another game I played like this had 3 stars associated with the time factor. Once you lost one star of time, you lost a perfect game and completing a set number of perfect games was required in order to progress in the game.
The storyline is about a mean Pharaoh whose Queen is sick and dying. He appeals to the gods. who agree that they will save his Queen if he will build a big city for his people. By completing the Match 3 boards, you earn coins, building materials, and all kinds of other items that allow you to purchase and improve the buildings and other items (water wheels, etc.) for the city. You also earn bonuses and powerups that increase the amount of coins, etc. that you earn. Like I said, it has multiple levels. Added to that, there are also 3 levels of difficulty, so that expands the amount of gameplay available from this game.
The Match 3 boards are also intricate and get harder as you move through the game. There are a couple of new tiles I have never seen before in these types of games, a lock and a key, that I saw in the help section but did not run into during the 60 minute trial. I'm not sure how they work, just based on the help section.
Although the tutorial is good and the help section is several pages long, I was still left with a lot of questions that I guess I will just have to figure out while I am playing. I have mentioned two; the time factor as it relates to a perfect game, and the lock and key tiles. But I guess that adds to the fun of the game.
This is definitely a buy for me, although I have several games like this and I don't know when I will ever find the time to play them to the end. But that is the fun of having these games on hand. Whenever I need some fairly stress free game time, I can go to this game and enjoy myself and quit at any point.
I recommend this game!
Psych
Play as Shawn and Gus and solve the crime by using Shawn's heightened observational skills and Gus's eccentric expertise!
Overall rating
2
/
5
0 of 1 found this review helpful
HOPEFULLY THE TV SHOW WAS BETTER
PostedApril 12, 2015
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
There was way too much dialog in this game. Perhaps if there had been voiceovers, using the voices of the actors from the TV show, it may have been more entertaining.
I've never seen the TV show, and I'm not sure whether that is a good or bad thing as far as rating this game. The game just did not flow for me and I often completely lost track of where I was and what I was trying to do.
The HOS were extremely easy, while some of the mini-games were incomprehensible. The instructions were totally inadequate for many of the mini-games, resulting in me having to skip several of them.
At one point, at almost the end of the game, I got stuck in a loop and could not figure out what to do, even with using the hint button over and over again. Some research in the game forums and other internet sites finally got me past this point and I was able to finish the game.
There is no way to customize the difficulty of the game, so the recharge time for the hint button cannot be shortened. I found myself using the hint button a lot to figure out where to go next and often found myself waiting for it to recharge so I could use it again. I sure wish developers could find a way to allow the hint button to work within the mini-games, as often just one little clue would get me going on the right track. But, then, if the instructions for the mini-games were better, I guess I wouldn't need a hint to figure out how to solve them.
This game is very uneven in its play and level of difficulty between the HOS and the puzzles, making it more of a task to do than an entertaining way to spend my time.
I don't recommend this game.
Help the Gods of Mount Olympus decode the ancient scrolls and become a legendary Greek hero!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF THIS TYPE OF GAME
PostedApril 12, 2015
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Card & Board, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
There are 6 rooms/locations with 20 levels/grids within each room. Points are earned when specific tiles are clicked correctly. Each grid starts out with 3 stars; with each mistaken click, one star is lost. In order to unlock the next grid, you must earn enough points, or make no mistakes and maintain the 3 stars. With this many grids available for play, this is a game that I will keep going back to; it isn't something that can be finished quickly.
There are no time limits on the grids, which is a big plus in my book.
Each grid starts with one available hint. Hints are added randomly as play continues. If you run out of hints, you can purchase more hints or have mistakes forgiven using the points you have earned. Even if you run out of hints once, with continued play on the same grid, you will earn more hints.
There are also 17 trophies to earn, 6 for completing each room, several for earning stars and various amounts of points. There is also one for using 15 hints. There is one that I believe is unattainable; finishing a grid in 30 seconds. And since this one is unattainable, it makes another one also unattainable, winning all the trophies. This is a little frustrating, but I guess if you had the time and patience and copied a completed grid you could possibly make the 30 second trophy. Winning all 17 trophies isn't that important to me, particularly if you have to cheat to do it.
The grids are not too big, which means the tiles are good sized and don't lead to misclicks. But don't let the size of the grid fool you; they are not easy. I used a lot of hints, including ones I purchased.
The only other thing that bothered me was that it was hard to see when I made a mistake. Often I would finish a grid, thinking I had made no mistakes, only to see that I had lost a star and had to replay it to keep the 3 stars, I know an "X" appears to the left of the grid to indicate a mistake, but when I am concentrating on the grid, I don't see the "X's" until I'm through. Maybe a red circle or some other visual (not audio) clue to indicate a mistake had been made would be a good addition.
The graphics are excellent with colors that are easy on the eyes. This is a very enjoyable game, not too easy but also not so hard to be frustrating.
I recommend this game!
Visit the Seven Wonders of the World as you journey to ancient civilizations in World Riddles: Seven Wonders, a fun Puzzle game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
NEEDS A NON-TIMED OPTION
PostedApril 10, 2015
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Brain Teaser, Puzzle, Mahjong
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
I guess I am too old and slow for this game.
In order to obtain a gold rating for each of the 7 locations, you must complete each grid, of which there are many, within the allotted time frame, with no more than the given mistakes allowed, The hardest part for me was meeting the time constraints. At the beginning, for the first location, when the grids were smaller and easier, I would be close to the time limit and would replay the grids until I got the gold for that requirement. This is the only location I received gold for. After that the grids became more numerous and harder and I gave up on ever meeting the time constraint and settled for a silver for every other location. To me, the time limits were unreasonable. I can't imagine even being able to click on every block in the grid, which you have to do in order to complete it, in the time allowed, let alone taking any time to figure out which block to click n the first place.
There are hints available, but after use, it takes time to recharge. And the hints are not random. You get a question mark that you must place on a given tile that you want to know about. Often this does not give you enough information to continue to make moves, so relying on hints, due to the time it takes to recharge, just makes it take longer for you to finish. Judicious use of the mistakes allowed can work in the place of hints, but they can be used up quickly and take you out of the running for a gold rating.
I don't usually mind time limits and don't often run into ones that I cannot beat, but this game just left me frustrated. I was so far off the time limit that I didn't even try to replay the grid to beat the clock. That is why I gave the game a lower rating. I don't play games to be irritated and frustrated; I play them for fun. This game should have a non-timed option, or the time constraints should be more realistic and obtainable.
I don't recommend this game.