kdeltakilo's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.1
- Helpful Votes:451
- Reviews Submitted:38
- First Review:June 4, 2013
- Most Recent Review:March 30, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
You're cordially invited to attend the world's greatest magic show! Thurman the Magnificent will give a performance no one will forget!
Overall rating
5
/
5
49 of 54 found this review helpful
The CE is Solitaire Heaven
PostedMarch 10, 2015
kdeltakilo
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This review is based on the completed Collector’s Edition. This is fun, easy, relaxed gameplay. I love this game, both the main game and the bonus chapter. I like the nostalgic graphics and found them charming. The graphics are less sophisticated than what you might find from some developers. However, I like these types of graphics. I compare them to the original Disney cartoons which were hand drawn and more appealing. The later Disney cartoons rely heavily on CGI and have lost the character and soul that came through in the hand-drawn illustrations. That’s how this game felt to me.
I enjoyed this storyline. The music and voiceovers suited the story and never became annoying for me. I really liked the HOPs, but if you don’t want to play them, you can choose to play solitaire instead. The solitaire that is available in each HOS is pyramid solitaire. You clear the pyramid by removing pairs of cards that total 13.
The HOS’s were very easy and so were the puzzles. I didn’t have to skip any puzzles, and I almost always have to skip at least one. (The puzzles were more challenging in the bonus chapter. There is a guide, and I had to consult it on one of the bonus puzzles.) The game never became frustrating, and I appreciate that. I really dislike games that become frustrating since I mostly play to relax.
My favorite part of this game is the bonus content in the collector’s edition. The bonus content includes 6 different games of solitaire, and I love solitaire.
The games of solitaire include: Pyramid, Baroness, Golf, The Wish, Monte Carlo, and Accordion.
Pyramid is the same game available in each HOS throughout the main game and bonus chapter. Baroness is similar to it, in that you clear the table by removing pairs that total 13, but the setup is totally different. In Golf, you’re clearing the table by moving all cards to the foundation. The sequence is one up or one down. In The Wish game, you remove cards from piles in pairs. In the Monte Carlo game, you pair cards with adjacent cards. In the Accordion, you have to consolidate the entire pack into one pile. I found it to be the most confusing one to figure out.
This is the first game I’ve played where I liked the bonus content even more than the actual game. I usually remove a game after I’ve played it, but because of the solitaire games, I’ll be leaving this one on my computer for quite some time. This has now become my go-to game for solitaire.
I recommend this game!
In this scarier-than-ever story, find out what really happened on prom night, 1964...
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Another brilliant game from Eipix!
PostedFebruary 4, 2015
kdeltakilo
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Strategy, Brain Teaser
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
An auto accident on the way to the prom ends in an accident that happened 50 years ago. Now your daughter has been kidnapped by the past, and you have to save her. But everything is not as it seems. This is a great storyline with a mystery that unravels as you play the game.
After the accident, mother and daughter are separated, and you, playing as the mother, not only need to find your daughter but help the victims of a tragic factory accident. The victims are ghosts with haunting memories and they need closure. You give it to them, and it’s a pretty satisfying feeling because these ghosts are all sympathetic and believable.
The game play takes place in some cool locations: a high school on prom night; an amusement park (my favorite location since I’m a sucker for carnivals); a mall, and the ill-fated factory. It has great artwork, is fun to explore, and it completely sucked me in. I was mesmerized by this atmospheric game and couldn’t stop playing. Totally fun. This has just the right creepiness level, and is not too dark or demonic—even though it has ghosts.
You collect eyes as you play, so keep an eye out for those. They are in every location, but some are hard to spot.
The HOS were well thought out and clever. In some HOS you have to find morphing objects to unlock the list of hidden objects. In others you use items you collect to unlock the list of hidden objects. In addition to lists, there are silhouette scenes. Some of those were hard to make out, and that is my only complaint about this game. If you don’t want to do the HOS, you can play match three. There were just the right amounts of HOS for me.
I loved the mini-games, especially in the amusement park. It has some classic arcade games, such as wack-a-mole, iron man, pinball, and duck shoot. On the duck shoot you have to pair up the animals by symbols—not by kind—so pay attention to the symbols on each animal. The animals are on three wheels, and each wheel can be rotated. The animals don’t have to be in the center—or in the triangle created by the three wheels. They just have to be visible for you to take your shot. As you shoot the pairs, they drop off the wheels.
I found the mini-games in the bonus chapter to be a little more challenging than in the main game. I think I skipped one mini-game in the main game, but I skipped at least two in the bonus game, and it’s far shorter. The bonus game was just as much fun as the main game and carries on the story, but from a different characters point of view. I even liked the locations more in the bonus game, and that’s saying a lot because I loved the locations in the main game. (Well, except the bonus game doesn’t have an amusement park, but it does have a train station, and trains are another favorite location of mine.) I highly recommend the CE because the bonus game is so much fun. My only complaint about the bonus game was that it was too short and ended rather abruptly.
I enjoyed every second of this game and hated for it to end.
Be sure to read the credits at the end of the main game. They are hilarious! Eipix just gets better and better. I think I’ve bought all of their games now. They are certainly one of my favorite game developers. Hats off to all the brilliant folks at Eipix! Well done!
I recommend this game!
Complete 120 new levels in Royal Solitaire! Shh! Don't wake the dragon!
Overall rating
3
/
5
7 of 8 found this review helpful
Same old same old
PostedFebruary 1, 2015
kdeltakilo
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I love solitaire. I don't want to play the same game over and over, though, and 8Floor just puts out the same game over and over. All of their solitaire games start out with the same exact hand of solitaire. I know what is under each and every card. I could play it in my sleep if I wanted to. There are not many differences after that initial game either. They just seem to change the order of the hands, but that's about it. The music is nice in this. It's nice in all of their games. The backgrounds are static but well drawn. I'm just tired of the same games over and over. It's the same with their fill and cross games. Before I give 8Floor any more money, they're going to have to put out some new solitaire hands, not the same ones with different music and different backgrounds. I also don't like it that some rounds are impossible to get through without quite a few wild cards. In order to get through, I have to start from the beginning and play the same rounds several times in order to build up my cash or wild cards. It gets old really fast. Maybe they've gone as far as they can with these. I hope not, because I really do love solitaire. Solitaire is the game I turn to when I want to relax. Hopefully, their next game will break the mold.
I don't 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
5
/
5
22 of 23 found this review helpful
More like this one please!
PostedSeptember 24, 2014
kdeltakilo
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This review is based on the completed game. I didn't think I was going to like this at first glance, but I decided to play it anyway, and I'm so glad I did! I love a mystery on a train, and I love a game set in the 20's, so this game was just my thing. And since there were actually three mysteries to solve, it was three times the fun. The train is big, so there are a lot of compartments to explore and new things to see. The mysteries all take place on the train to some degree, but there are stops along the way, which really added to the game. I enjoyed the artwork and the excursions off the train. I always love games where I feel like I’m “sight-seeing,” and this one offered that. The cars on the train are interesting to explore and so are the cities. There aren’t many sound effects and very little music—what little there is never becomes obtrusive or annoying.
There is an evidence board where you gather and examine your clues. I’ve seen other games like this, but I liked the way this one was done better. It’s easy to place the items, and there are no penalties if you misplace any. There is a magnifying glass next to your inventory that flashes when you have new clues to add to your evidence board. I enjoyed using the board and figuring out each mystery.
There aren’t a lot of HOS, and I like the way those are set up. There is a detective kit that you use to search for silhouetted items. You have a flashlight, a magnifying glass (which I can’t remember using), luminal, and a fingerprint kit. I found the last two a lot of fun. The silhouettes aren’t exact matches. It may show the silhouette of an open scissor, but in the HOS, it’s actually closed. Or the silhouette may be of a high heel, but the shoe might be a flat.
The first mystery was the longest one to solve and the most detailed. It is solved both on and off the train. I enjoyed the stop in Paris and found the artwork to be beautiful. I liked all the characters. The voiceovers were good, and there were no annoying characters or story plots. It’s just a very enjoyable game. The second mystery was mostly solved on the train, so you get to explore the train farther and visit new compartments. Again, the artwork was very well done. The third mystery takes you to a new stop in Budapest. It was longer than the second mystery, but not quite as long as the first one. None of them are terribly long. I never found the game tedious or boring. Some games I’m just anxious to get them over with. Some games I never finish because I lose interest and don’t care what happens. This one—I enjoyed every minute of it, and it just kept getting better the longer I played.
I don’t think the hint feature will help you if you find yourself stuck in the game. It is mostly for finding hard-to-find items in the HOS. If you get stuck, revisit all the locations, check your diary, and look at your task. I found it to be an easy to moderately challenging game, certainly not to the point of being frustrating or impossible. If you get stuck on a puzzle, you can skip it. I didn’t have to skip any puzzles, and I never got stuck in the game, so I'm not sure the hint feature is all that important an issue. The puzzles varied in challenge, but I found them all to be enjoyable.
The ending was very satisfying and even unexpected. This was actually four great mysteries in the end, and a really pleasant game. It did have ghosts, but it wasn’t dark and demonic like some games. Those can be fun, but I am growing a little tired of them.
My only complaint about this game is that there are areas that will seem active, but they’re not. I would have liked a few more puzzles, but I was satisfied with the ones they had. But my biggest complaint about the game was that I honestly hated for it to end! I would love more games like this one. It’s one of my favorite games now—probably my second or third favorite of all time—and that’s saying a lot because I own hundreds of games.
I recommend this game!
Travel the world as a Cruise Director, in charge of the super luxurious S.S. Liberty of the Waves!
Overall rating
3
/
5
37 of 50 found this review helpful
This one is a pass for me
PostedSeptember 15, 2014
kdeltakilo
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
First, what I liked. There are a lot of puzzles. After each HOG, there is a puzzle. The puzzles were easy, such as swapping squares to form a picture, or turning them to form a picture... or moving blocks to make the ship's map. They were easy, but I still enjoyed them. They did seem to be growing in complexity, so maybe in later stages of the game they are more challenging, but I didn't like the game enough to keep going.
Now what I didn't like. There are objects hidden in red that are hidden inside or behind other objects, but you have to deduce which ones. There are no gears or hands to guide you. I think some people will really like that and others will find it annoying. I found it a little annoying, but I also found it easy to figure out. There are also objects in blue that have to be moved and joined to other objects. Again, you have to deduce which ones. This makes it more challenging, but whether that's a good thing or a bad thing will depend on the person playing. They do have sparkling areas, but those are just zoomed-in hidden object games.
At first I thought the graphics were going to be crisp, but that was deceptive. Some objects were so poorly defined, I had trouble telling what they were. I also don't like HOG that are all clutter, and this is all clutter. Items can be well hidden without clutter.
I can't recommend it. Try it for yourself, though. It may be that even though it's a no-go for me, you may like it.
I don't recommend this game.
Control the power of magical cards and defeat the Ice Queen before the land is sealed in eternal winter.
Overall rating
5
/
5
18 of 19 found this review helpful
Relaxing and fun
PostedSeptember 12, 2014
kdeltakilo
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I picked this up right away because it is relaxing and the artwork and music are beautiful. After playing awhile, I had some reservations, but they were overcome as I kept playing. What I didn’t like was that when cards are frozen, you have to give up a ruby, but you need 10 rubies to make it to the next round. This was frustrating at first, especially when the cards are frozen on the first hand in the round. (There are 5 “hands” in the round.) Then I realized if I replayed the hand, I got to keep the rubies I’d collected. If I wanted, I could collect all 10 rubies in the first hand, so that really took the stress off because I knew I could make it through any round. I also stopped stressing about giving up a ruby to unfreeze a stack. All I’d gain would be the ruby I’d given up. (And a shot at a perfect score, but I wasn’t concerned about a perfect score. I just wanted to make it through each round and progress. If you want to go for a perfect round, you’ll have to give up some rubies.)
If you quit a round before playing all five hands, you will lose all progress for the round and have to start over again.
There is an undo function. You can use it once per “hand,” but you can buy another undo in the store for 3000 coins, but it takes a while to save 3000 coins. The 2nd undo is called the “Wheel of Time.” If you buy it, you can sell it back, but you only get half of what you spent for it. I bought it at the end of one round but didn't use it. I didn't know if it would still be there on the next round, but it was. Not sure why, but the coins I'd spent for it were back in my "bank" as well.
At first, I was buying a lot of wild cards. After realizing I could replay a hand to collect more rubies, I stopped buying as many wild cards. I would only buy one on the first hand of each round to give myself an edge.
There are helpers you gain along the way. The first one is the frog. He sells you wild cards for 100 coins. I was disappointed when I realized the cards weren’t really “wild”. They couldn’t be played as any card in the deck but had a set face value. The second helper you collect is Tommen the Thief. He removes a face card of your choice. He recharges but only as you clear spades from the playing field. I counted once, and unless I made a mistake, it takes 13 spades to recharge him. The third helper you collect is the Elf Queen. She removes two random face cards. You don’t get to choose which cards she removes. I didn’t like that at first either. You have to be careful when you use her because she might remove cards that are part of a sequence. She recharges as you clear hearts from the playing field. I counted once, and unless I made a mistake, it takes 13 hearts to recharge her.
The hidden object mini-games at the end of some rounds are easy. You look for 10 items, such as crystals or runes. Some are well hidden but most are easy to spot.
There is a multiplier for long combos, but I didn’t get many really long combos. I think the longest one I had was 18 to 20 – most of my combos were in the 5 to 10 range.
Not all hands are frozen but many were. However, after you get to the Gnome King, the cards won’t be frozen for a while. Instead, there will be locked stacks. You unlock them by finding the key which is hidden under other cards. Not all hands were locked, but the locks didn’t bother me, probably because I didn’t have to give up a ruby to unlock them. You can buy a Ruby Key in the store to unlock the stacks, but it takes 4000 coins.
When the Gnome King leaves you, you are joined by two more helpers: The Gnome Warrior and the Forest Keeper. The Gnome Warrior reveals 1/3 of the face down cards. He recharges as you collect clubs. The Forest Keeper randomly changes the foundation card. He recharges as you collect diamonds. Unfortunately, after these helpers join your party, the cards start freezing again. I found my helpers most useful in the first and second hands, when I was collecting most of my rubies, then I’d use the later hands to recharge them.
I recommend this game. It’s simple, straightforward and relaxing… which is a nice change of pace. I like challenging games but not all the time. Sometimes I just want to relax, and this game is perfect for that. Unlike some solitaire games, it is doable. Some solitaire games make the mistake of overdoing the challenge and they cease being fun. This one didn’t do that. Without the ability to replay rounds without losing rubies, I would have given this game 2 stars and not recommended it. Because of the way the developers set this up, I’m giving it 5 stars and recommending it. Next to the classic “Solitaire Mystery – Four Seasons”, this is my favorite solitaire game here. I’m sure I’ll replay this several times.
I recommend this game!
Can you escape from the grasp of a lovestruck ghost?
Overall rating
5
/
5
13 of 14 found this review helpful
Like a much needed vacation
PostedSeptember 2, 2014
kdeltakilo
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The storyline was fun, even though I thought the mystery was easy to figure out. I found the puzzles more challenging than previous games in the Dana Knightstone series. In fact, some of them were a little frustrating. I eventually skipped the last one because it ceased being fun. Overall, this is a welcomed addition to my games. I recommend the CE because there is another mystery to solve. I personally like getting the extra gameplay that comes with the CE in this series. My only complaint about the game was some silly dialogue early on, but that was easily overlooked. Other than that, everything was great. A pleasant, relaxing five hours of losing myself in a game.
I recommend this game!
Fairway Solitaire: Tee to Play
Fairway Solitaire: Tee To Play is an award-winning combination of solitaire and golf. Play sequential cards to create long drives. Long drives make better scores!
Overall rating
5
/
5
Fun and Funny
PostedJune 4, 2013
kdeltakilo
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Strategy, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The gopher storyline is great.
I recommend this game!