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:
Hidden Mysteries®: Gates of Graceland®
Explore the home of the King of Rock and Roll while searching for clues about a lost song!
Overall rating
4
/
5
FOR ELVIS FANS ONLY
PostedFebruary 23, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I got this game because I'm an Elvis fan, and that should be the only reason for anyone to buy this game. The actual game play takes a big back seat to the film clips and other Elvis memorabilia scattered throughout the game. It left me feeling sad that we lost such an enormous talent at such a relatively young age.
The premise of the game is finding a song that Elvis wrote for his mother but that was never recorded or released. The ending of the game was disappointing in this regard. Also, I was very disappointed in the music. Of all the wonderful music Elvis recorded, I didn't even recognize the background music of the game. Perhaps it was meant to be the undiscovered song that was the storyline, but regardless, it would have been nice to hear some actual Elvis music in an Elvis game.
Unlike most games that I play, I will not be deleting this from my computer, and may go back and play it again, just for the memories.
I recommend this game!
Amazing Adventures: The Caribbean Secret
Legend has it that a Spanish ship loaded with a fortune of gold went missing somewhere in the Caribbean! Find the secret treasure!
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
EQUAL PARTS HOS AND PUZZLES
PostedFebruary 18, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
This game has 25 levels and several locations within each level. For each location, there is a HOS to play and then immediately after a puzzle to complete. The puzzles include match 3, several variations of picture puzzles and word seeks. At the end of each level, you get a map piece for use at the end of the game. When you put all the pieces of the map together at the end of the game, you find the treasure.
During the game, if you collect all 50 skulls, it opens the bonus play at the end of the game. I always enjoy this, as I get to go to every location and find every hidden object at that location. The bonus content also includes 25 match 3 puzzles.
One of the things I really like about these games is the interesting facts about the location that are revealed at the end of each level. For instance, killer whales are actually dolphins. So the game is educational as well as fun.
This is just a nice hidden object game, relaxing and fairly easy to play. Excellent for kids and beginners, as well as those of us who like to keep our hidden object skills sharp with lots of practice.
I recommend this game!
Uncover a dark scheme in Entwined: Strings of Deception and solve an elaborate murder mystery!
Overall rating
5
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
ONE OF THE BEST
PostedFebruary 14, 2014
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game did almost everything right. The hint button worked as the entrance to the strategy guide when used outside the hidden object scenes. This really streamlined the game and made it extremely easy to figure out the next step. There was no need to use a walkthrough at any point in the game.
Although this is a murder mystery, it is not dark and gloomy. All graphics are sharp and bright. The game flowed logically and the story had an unexpected ending.
Puzzles could be skipped but you didn't have to wait for a skip button to charge. Here, again, the hint button was the way to get to the choice of skipping a puzzle.
There was a lot of back and forth, and here is the only weakness in the game. There is a map, but it is not interactive, and this would have been a big help considering all the going and coming that was necessary.
In addition to the puzzles, you also had to collect items of jewelry and fingerprints throughout the game, although this gained you nothing and were not used in the game. Perhaps this was a way to set up the bonus play for a CE, if there is one. The puzzles were interesting and varied.
Another nice touch was the ability to mute all the sound yet still be able to hear the voiceovers.
Again, the only improvement that could possible have been made to this game was upgrading the map to be interactive to cut down on the down/over/up/back clicking that was necessary to move through the locations.
I enjoyed this game so much that I didn't want to stop playing, I'm going to go looking for more games in this series, if there are any. I highly recommend this game.
I recommend this game!
Set off on an adventure and help your professor with a mysterious discovery in Tearstone, a fun Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
2
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
TOO FRUSTRATING
PostedFebruary 13, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I was barely into Chapter 3 when I had enough and quit playing and deleted this game. It was so convoluted and illogical that I had to refer to the walkthrough over and over again, and I was barely into the game. Since I had to exit the game every time I needed to access the walkthrough, this just became too time consuming and frustrating. There was no map and the hint button wasn't that useful, as it would say "nothing to do here" but wouldn't give me a clue as to where I needed to go to find something to do. Just not fun.
I don't recommend this game.
Emma`s soul is free. But a dark secret still lurks in Ravenhearst Manor. Return to Ravenhearst to continue this tale of twisted love.
Overall rating
1
/
5
12 of 15 found this review helpful
YOU NEED TO BE A MIND READER TO GET THROUGH THIS ONE
PostedFebruary 13, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This game needs an interactive map and a walkthrough because it takes you back and forth over and over again until you are completely lost. I had to go look on the internet for a walkthrough, as there is none available on the Big Fish web site. The strategy guide has to be purchased.
There is no explanation on any of the puzzles to tell you what you are trying to accomplish. I guess the developers thought we could read their minds. If I hadn't been able to find a walkthrough, I would have had to quit the game early on for lack of knowing how to proceed. I had to refer to the walkthrough over and over again, which completely breaks the rhythm of the game.
At the end, you need 10 jeweled hearts. During the long game, only 3 were available during regular play. To end the game, you have to find the remaining hearts, which means you have to back track through the game to find hidden object scenes to play to get the necessary hearts. This just has me scratching my head.
I think this is a very poorly designed game and it left me frustrated and irritated. Perhaps the developers hoped to make a lot of money selling the strategy guide. Not entertaining or enjoyable at all.
I don't recommend this game.
The residents of Bitterford, Maine have fallen prey to a terrible curse. It’s up to you to unravel the series of mysterious events that led to the town’s downfall and uncover the evil that was responsible.
Overall rating
2
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
STARTED OUT GOOD BUT DIDN'T LAST
PostedFebruary 10, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who is giving this game a low rating. At first, I liked it, but it got frustrating towards the end and the built-in strategy guide was a joke. All it did was show pictures of your current location with things circled or something and you were supposed to be able to figure it out from that. There was no way to move around in the strategy guide; you got whatever it gave you for the scene you were on.
I had to access the walk through several times, but even this didn't help. I had one puzzle fixed exactly how the walk through showed but I still had to skip it, because it didn't work.
The puzzle at the end of each card reading was so difficult that, after the first 2, I skipped all of them. I have a very touchy mouse pad and trying to move and rotate the picture puzzle pieces was just too hard and frustrating. On one puzzle, I had all the pieces in place except one, and it was down at the bottom and I couldn't get it up and around the other pieces I already had in place. I would have had to undo part of the puzzle just to get that last piece in. Not fun.
I had to resort to the forum for this game to open the safe at the quarry, which is way too much trouble for any game. The strategy guide and the hint button did not work for the bonus chapter at the quarry. Now how silly is that?
It really would have been nice to be able to hear the voice overs without any other sound since "real" actors were used for them, but this was not an option. And being forced to read all the credits at the end? What gives? Hugh egos????
The bonus chapter was a joke. You get a mask to find morphing objects, but by this time, you have finished the game, so why would you want to go back and look for objects that, according to the forum, gain you nothing at all?
Just a disjointed, frustratingly bad game.
I don't recommend this game.
Travel to Hodgepodge Hollow and learn the time-honored profession of magical potion creation in this fun Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
APPEALS TO YOUR INNER CHILD
PostedFebruary 9, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is one of the cutest games I've ever played. The protagonists of the game are a bunch of gnomes who have to fight the dragons to recover certain items that the dragons stole. In order to do this, the gnomes have to collect ingredients and mix potions to accomplish various tasks along the way. An interactive map takes you to the areas where you need to collect ingredients.
This game should really appeal to children and those of us who are still kids at heart. Although some of the hidden objects were a little hard to find, there was nothing difficult about any of the game. Just a neat, light-hearted romp through fantasy land.
I recommend this game!
Find out who is behind the shocking zombie invasion.
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
CUTE MONKEY
PostedFebruary 8, 2014
arnold1049
fromApache Junction, AZ
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This game was a little short on hidden object scenes, at lease in my opinion. It seemed there were more puzzles than hidden object scenes.
It could have really used an interactive map, as there was a lot of going back and forth, but using the hint button enabled me to find the next active location. I did have to refer to the built-in strategy guide (a great +) a couple of times, but it was for help with puzzles. I skipped a few of the puzzles as some of them were kind of hard for me. I also have no patience for puzzles with no logic, just click until you get it right, unless you want to go to the strategy guide for the solution. For one puzzle, I did go to the strategy guide, but the solution had so many clicks to it, it would have taken a page to write them down.
The storyline was good, but fizzled at the end. I played the casual mode as I like my games to be relaxing. The bonus chapter fit well into the main game. There was a cute little monkey character that added a lot to the game.
I recommend this game!
Track down the terrifying and menacing Phantom of the Renaissance Faire in this exciting Hidden Object Adventure
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
HARD ON THE EYES
PostedFebruary 6, 2014
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
You need a built-in magnifying glass to find the HO in this game, and that is a little too much for me. Occasionally, I have to use a magnifying glass in real life and to have to use one in a game is too much work.
This game was very short; there were no puzzles, only very hard to see HOS. I wasn't able to collect all the fairies, so I don't know what, if anything, that would have gotten me. I needed the magnifying glass to find the fairies and obviously I didn't do a very good job of it. Collecting fairies increased the number of hints available to you, so maybe that is all they were intended to do. I didn't need too many hints, but at times, even with the magnifying glass, I couldn't find all the HO.
There is a built-in map, which seemed to help at first, but towards the end of the game was no help at all.
There was also an "eye" that would tell you that there was some kind a aura in an area of the HOS. The use of this "eye" was not explained in the instructions for the game. This was the only thing that sent me to the walkthrough and I found out it really had no use at all, except maybe to tell me that there was something else in the HOS to find. But the only way to find it was to find all the other HO and then it would be revealed automatically, so the "eye" really was superfluous.
Even if you get this game for free, it isn't worth the trouble.
I don't recommend this game.
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
5
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
I'M GOING BACK TO THE FARM
PostedFebruary 4, 2014
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game was a unique experience for me. I'd never played a game like this before, but was attracted to it because I was born and raised on a farm. This game has a lot of things to do; HOS, puzzles, planting and harvesting crops, selling stuff at a farmer's market, raising animals, upgrading buildings, winning Farmer of the Year, completing tasks to gain achievement awards, and going on quests. The characters were great, including a dog you get to name, and the storyline believable including a nasty banker and a weird neighbor. It took me awhile to figure out some of the game play, so at first I thought the game was repetitive and boring, but once I figured out the steps I was missing, it picked up momentum.
I'll definitely buy the other Farmington game and even consider other similar games.
I recommend this game!