Zurreen's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.7
- Helpful Votes:369
- Reviews Submitted:165
- First Review:January 31, 2015
- Most Recent Review:December 9, 2023
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Find your missing fiancé in the deepest parts of the ocean. Discover the forgotten underwater city hiding many spine-chilling secrets.
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Finally! A Great Game, For A Change!
PostedNovember 10, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
It's been a long, long time since I have played a really good Hidden Object (HO) game, and this was it! The underlying theme is familiar, as you can tell by the game's description itself. Your loved one (in this case, fiancé) has gone missing, and you have to go find him, only to learn he has been captured by an ancient evil which intends to use him for its own dark purposes. Not really a new idea, yes, but it has been presented in an original way. It even - nicely - blends this familiar idea with another one: fighting an oppressive society to secure true freedom for the oppressed. But, again, the presentation is quite original *and* interesting.
I should also note that if you don't like the idea of an underwater world that the description has mentioned, don't worry! You will be on dry land soon enough, even though it is all still supposed to be taking place underwater. So you get to enjoy both those features: underwater and what appears to be a quite normal world. Except for the "wraiths," of course, which are definitely *not* normal!
In addition to the storyline, the music and the graphics are all quite wonderful. The puzzles are also quite reasonable and interesting. The HO scenes are easy enough and actually fun. And if you dislike all the gimmicks we see these days (for example, morphing objects within the HOPs), don't worry. The HOPs are just HOPs with no such nonsense mixed in with them.
Finally, I would like to point out that this is only a standard edition. Apparently, Big Fish doesn't even have a Collector's Edition - at least, not just yet. But I was lucky to find a Collector's Edition of this game. So I can assure you (especially to folks who like to play only Standard Editions), the main game is complete in itself. The Collector's Edition does have a (brief) bonus chapter, which tells us just how one of the characters who helps us in the game got to be in the position that he is in. So it is a kind of prequel to the main game. And, yes, there are achievements too in that edition. No morphing objects, collectibles, or any other such nonsense, however. Just straight achievements based on the game itself. So, yes, it's all quite interesting and fun, the bonus chapter as well as the achievements. But nothing really *necessary* to the main game. In other words, you don't *have* to get a Collector's Edition, unless you really *want* to get those extras I mentioned.
In short, I really loved this game; and I hope you will too. :)
I recommend this game!
Can you stop a crazed kidnapper in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Disappointing On Many Levels
PostedNovember 6, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
The game title and description, as well as the opening cutscene, raised my hopes that - finally - Eipix might have come up with a good game. But these hopes were sadly dashed in a matter of minutes. We get a warning at the very beginning of the game that this "psychological thriller" may not be "suitable for younger or sensitive audiences." While the second part of the warning is definitely true (it quite probably is not suitable for said audience), the first part is not, because the game is not a "thriller" by any stretch of imagination. In fact, there is not even any suspense or a mystery. It also deviates from the usual Phantasmat game format. Oh, there are ghosts all right, as is the case with all Phantasmat games. But they are only there to help. The only villain is a real, live *serial killer*; whose identity is revealed in the first few minutes of the game. Moreover, both the description of the game, as well as shortly after the beginning of the game itself, reveals that this man has kidnapped the heroine's daughter and that the story is going to be about the heroine's quest to get her daughter back. So, as I said, there isn't even any mystery or suspense - unless the question is whether the heroine will succeed in getting her daughter back. But then, doesn't she always, in these Big Fish games?!!!
So the storyline is not original, nor really very interesting. The Hidden Object Puzzles (HOPs) are easy, though not very original or interesting either. Some of the puzzles are really good though, and also pretty easy. As for what you might call collectibles, there are two sets of things we must collect in the game: morphing objects and "signs." But both of them are pretty easy to collect too, since all the morphing objects and signs are identical. In other words, you have to find the same morphing object (a pumpkin) and sign (a ghost) in different locations. The lower-right part of the screen even signals whether there is a morphing object and/or sign at a given location. So that makes it even easier to find both these sets of collectibles.
As for Achievements, it's the same old assortment we find in all the Phantasmat games made by Eipix. And, yes, this game also has the Eipix feature that I really like: you can get almost all the Achievements even after finishing both the main game and the Bonus Chapter. There are only two achievements that you have to get during the game. One is Swift Feet, for which you have to use the Map once during the game to get from one location to another. The other is Match-3 Master, for which you have to switch to the Match-3 mode to complete an entire HOP. This option of playing Match-3 instead of an HOP is not available with every HOP in the game, however. So you have to keep an eye out for it, in order to go for this particular achievement.
As for the Bonus Chapter, unlike so many other Big Fish Collector's Editions, this game's bonus chapter *is* actually related to the main game, instead of appearing to have been just tagged on apparently to fulfill some Big Fish requirement for making a Collector's Edition. For the gamers who would rather play just the standard edition of a game, however, the good news is that the main game is actually quite complete in itself. So you can just buy the standard edition, if you like. I must note, however, that the Bonus Chapter does provide a kind of closure to the main story.
To recap: I wasn't really impressed with the story. But then, I am not fond of stories about serial killers anyway. Even for a serial-killer story, however, there were just way too many murders. Thankfully, there was no "gore" at least - you know, pools of blood, cut-up body parts, that kind of gory stuff. But then, the Phantasmat series has never been about kidnapping, serial murders, etc., either. So I really don't think that this game even belongs in that series.
Finally, as far as a recommendation goes... Well, if you do like stories about kidnapping, serial killers, etc., then you might well like this game. For everyone else, however,
I don't recommend this game.
Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches
Explore a haunted farmstead in Wales called Ty Pryderi! Chris has been asked to house-sit, and is in for a spooky surprise!
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Outstanding, in Every Way! :)
PostedOctober 30, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I should note at the beginning that this is not a Hidden Object game. Rather, it’s a point-and-click Adventure game, the kind you sadly don’t see anymore. More than that though, it is also one of the best such games I have ever played; and, believe me, I have played *quite* a few!
As you begin the game, there are no long cutscenes, documents/letters to read, etc. Rather, you jump into the story right away. The premise is quite simple: young Rhiannon is behaving in a way that alarms her parents, who take her away from the estate, asking their friend (Chris) to basically house-sit for them. Thus, you arrive at the Ty Pryderi farmstead, quite a beautiful yet at the same time a rather spooky and desolate place, partly because of all the renovations going on and partly because of the storyline already explained to us!
And, unlike many Big Fish games, this one actually “lives up” to its Big Fish description, and then some. The story develops as we delve deeper into the game. You don’t really need a Map or any Hints, although I understand you get both in the Big Fish version of this game. It is quite easy to get around the place. In fact, one of the things I loved the most about this game was just exploring the wonderful surroundings, so natural and yet a bit scary, all at the same time. As for the puzzles, or should I say “tasks,” they are all quite straightforward and interesting. The main thing to remember, gamers, is just Pay Attention! You will find all the clues and help you need right there in the game, if you – just – pay – some – attention!
In addition to everything else, I really loved that touch of waking up in the same familiar location after each, what I call, dramatic sequence of tasks. To be honest, I never did figure out how we returned there. I did notice the thud… So I guess we pass out at the end of each such dramatic sequence. But then, how do we end up back in that place? Does someone bring us there, or do we sleep-walk or something (like Rhiannon was doing when she was here…)? The game doesn’t ever explain that but, to be honest again, I am glad it didn’t even try. It’s good to have *something* to try to figure out on our own, you know. I mean, you don’t want the developers to try to explain each and every thing, do you? So that in itself was a nice touch: to leave at least something for the gamer’s own imagination to fill in, so to speak.
And the music, especially when we would wake up at this place, was absolutely wonderful. Thus, both our return to this place, and the music we hear when we wake up, serve as a signal that we are about to start a new “sequence” of tasks in the game. In other words, it is like a transition between the essential parts of the game. Again, a very smart touch, to be sure. Hats off to the developers, once again.
Frankly, I can go on and on about this game, I just really loved it so much. But I think I have said enough to give you a pretty good idea as to why I do like it so much. Very simply: it is a rare combination of a brilliant storyline, a beautiful (and yet haunting indeed!) background, and a variety of interesting puzzles. I sure do wish there were more games like this one. But then, sadly, such gems are so rare…
Well, I do hope you will enjoy this game - at least half as much as I did, because (and I know I have said it before but, really, I can’t say it enough!) I really enjoyed it a lot.
I recommend this game!
A chilling tale of death, deception, and the supernatural!
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Short & Unimaginative
PostedSeptember 20, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
The beginning of the game actually encouraged me to think this would be a great game, at long last. But I had hardly gone much further when the storyline sank back into the same old mold we have seen so, so many times before in Big Fish games themselves: an older person, "devouring" the souls of one or more young women, trying to recapture his or her own long-lost beauty and youth. How many times are we going to have to suffer this same old theme before the game developers start trying something really new for a change???
What's more, the game is so short, even that old beaten theme never gets properly developed. In fact, the whole story can probably be recounted in less than a paragraph. The only things that make the game even as long as it is, are the HOPs and the puzzles. And, yes, the graphics are great (as in almost all Big Fish games); the music is okay; and the HOPs and puzzles are fun - although perhaps way too easy, even in Hard mode. And if that's all you want, then that's all you will get. It's almost as if the developers were in such a rush to put out yet another Dark Tales story, they just slapped together a different (and pretty sloppy) version of an old battered theme. Not exactly a great marketing technique, to say the least... :/
The Achievements are okay, although not really original nor very interesting. One of them is rather ridiculous though, requiring you to solve ALL the HOPs without a single wrong click! As for the Bonus Chapter, it is neither related to the main game, nor does it even make any sense - where did this "brother" come from, and why did we never hear of him before? The chapter seems to have been added only because Big Fish apparently "requires" such chapters in Collector's Editions. Indeed, the Dark Tales series was a whole lot more fun in the beginning when it didn't have ANY achievements OR Bonus Chapters! If only the developers would go back to that earlier format, when the gamers could enjoy the game for its own sake, without having to worry about all this Achievements nonsense OR trying to make sense of such nonsensical "Bonus Chapters..."
I don't recommend this game.
Can you and your sister escape the deadly history of Reed Valley?
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
A Good Game Overall
PostedAugust 22, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This was certainly a much better Phantasmat game than the last few EIPIX has made. The main idea was not exactly original, but the game did have an original "twist" on it. The story was interesting, even though it digresses from the opening, which is recaptured only in the Bonus Chapter. So that was a rather annoying and pretty long "diversion." The other thing that bothered me was the hypnosis. I know, I know. They did mention in a message (if you are quick enough to read the whole thing!), at the very beginning of the game, that the hypnosis methods, etc., in the game had nothing to do with the way it is done in real life. Still, the hypnotist does not even snap a finger and the subject goes under, at the very beginning of the game. Even a magician needs to do more than that. So that was quite disconcerting. You have to make the story a little believable in order for the gamers to really "get into it"; and starting the very game with something so unbelievable is really starting off on the wrong foot. But if you can suspend your disbelief in this respect, as well as ignore the fact that the story has taken a completely different turn from what the opening had led you to believe it would be about, then the game becomes rather interesting.
The HOPs and puzzles were pretty good, and not hard at all. The one thing I do like about EIPIX games is that you can always get just about any achievement even after finishing both the main game and the bonus chapter. [The only thing you cannot get, of course, is the achievement for finishing a HOP scene using only Match 3.] So I do like that flexibility, because you can then actually focus on the *game* rather than on irrelevant things like morphing objects or collectibles, both of which are present in this game, as is apparently a "requirement" these days for making a Collector's Edition.
In short, except for the somewhat misleading opening and the rather unbelievable methods of hypnosis, this was a pretty good game that I think most gamers will like.
I recommend this game!
Can you keep the past from destroying the present?
Overall rating
2
/
5
7 of 7 found this review helpful
Talk About A Real Hype! :(
PostedAugust 6, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I must say I was initially intrigued by the idea of a so-called "rewind," suggesting it was going to be a dial-back to the earlier times when MCF used to be a great series to play. The description of the game seemed to confirm this impression:
"Strange reports have come in regarding the abandoned Victory Hotel. When you arrive to investigate, you find people from your past cases lost in time and trapped inside!"
It was only as I started to play that I found that those "strange reports" were given to us in only a few lines, and the "past cases" are mostly only the first few cases that most of us can barely even remember anymore! As you might recall, the MCF series became a hit only after "Return to Ravenhearst," which was probably one of the first games (perhaps even the first game) to blend the HOP's and puzzles into an actual adventure story. Then again, even Ravenhearst, which was technically a strictly HO MCF game, had an amazing storyline, told to us through diary entries as well as the jigsaw pictures we were required to put together at the end of each chapter. But there is hardly any storyline at all in the present game, "Rewind"! In fact, the two lines of description I have quoted lines is all you get - as a rather pathetic excuse to string a seemingly never-ending series of HO scenes. with some mini-games and super puzzles thrown in here and there.
In addition to having practically no storyline, "Rewind" suffers from so many other problems. For one thing, the HO scenes themselves are rather repetitious and frankly quite boring. Oh, the developers have tried to introduce some new twists - for example, hanging the HO's on a kind of moving assembly line, or flashing them on and off some monitors, and even throwing a mini-game IN many of the HOP's themselves! But these twists tend to make those HO scenes only more cumbersome and less interesting. And the developers did not stop with that either. No, they went ahead and made HOP's even worse by throwing a morphing object in each of those HO scenes. Now it's true there was no other place they could put those morphing objects because the game does not have any real "scenes," as in an adventure game; and because the whole game is nothing but a series of HOP's and puzzles. But I can't understand why did they even feel compelled to add such morphing objects at all, if the idea was to *return* to a pre-adventure era of only HOP's?!!
Meanwhile, the puzzles are no-brainers, only tedious at best and annoying at worst. And, as if it were not enough to add morphing objects in HOP's, the developers have thrown in "capacitor" which we must also find in the puzzles! Again, if the idea was to return to an earlier game style, why throw in this collectible-type of quest which is so juvenile to add in even the "modern" games?
Again, all the promos suggested that the developers are trying to *win back* the MCF fans by a kind of "revisiting" the series' earlier and more successful episodes than the ones we have recently seen. And they try to entice us further by a return to the strict HO gameplay used in the first few MCF games. But "rewind" is definitely not much of a revisit, and I find it particularly strange that they have made it a strictly HO/ puzzle game considering the series had originally succeeded only *after* it became more of an adventure and less of a HO series, starting with the Return to Ravenhearst. In fact, it was only after I played Return to Ravenhearst that I myself even tried the earlier games, only to find them not so impressive even at that time. So it's really surprising that Eipix should return to the first - well, *failures* - to try to regain MCF success in their own. And it's even more surprising that they should do it in such a clumsy way - basically stringing one HOP after another, with a puzzle strewn here and there, with hardly any storyline at all!
In short, don't fall for all the hype, folks. There is no storyline, the HOP's and puzzles are boring, the achievements are the same old EIPIX litany, and - contrary to all the promises - this is *nothing* like even the first few games of the series. In fact, ever since EIPIX has taken over the MCF series, it has hardly produced any *original* stories at all. While imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, EIPIX would be well-advised to remember that their goal should be, not to flatter the original MCF creators, but to retain and possibly even expand the number of MCF fans. So it's high time they stopped COPYCATTING the old MCF games, and hire some new and really creative people to develop some original *and* interesting games of their own!
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save Dupin from a malevolent murderer in time?
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Could have been a lot better
PostedJuly 29, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This game is said to be based on a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. I actually checked out that poem, and the game is nothing like the poem at all. In fact, it seems to be made out of whole cloth! A complete fabrication with little or no relation to the claimed poem. So that was rather annoying itself. But then, the game does not make much sense either. The storyline is somewhat choppy, and parts of it really don't make any sense at all. For example, at one point, we are shot at in a room with a well; the next second, we find ourselves in a dungeon. So how did we end up there? Did we fall through the well? Either way, we should have been injured, yet we are left without a single scratch! So what exactly did happen anyway?!
As if the storyline was not bad enough, the twist from the main game to the bonus chapter is worse. We are left with one impression at the end of the main game only to be told something different in the bonus chapter. This should serve as a warning to players who like to purchase only the standard edition of games! But what a cheap trick to get folks to buy the Collector's Edition to see what is the real, whole story!
I should note that the graphics were pretty good, as usual; as was the familiar Dark Tales theme music. And, yes, there were at least a couple of very good puzzles in the game. But the Hidden Object scenes were just too simplistic, and the Achievements were rather silly. In fact, players will have a hard time figuring out what they even need to do to get some of those Achievements!
In short, this game was quite disappointing on a lot of levels. Sure, if you would like to play a game without much attention to the story or achievements, you might enjoy this game. Otherwise, it is just another addition to a growing line of disappointments in the Dark Tales series.
I don't recommend this game.
Save a missing family from an infamous haunted house!
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Same Old, Same Old...
PostedJuly 16, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Dark Tales had started out as a wonderful series, but I'm afraid it has gone downhill in the last few games. Oh, the graphics are wonderful, as always; and it's always wonderful to hear that old, familiar Dark Tales theme music. It was also great to have our old Dupin "back" again. The devs seemed to have been "experimenting" with new voices, getting one bad one after another. But, apparently, they "saw the light" and went back to the old voice - or so it sounds like, since they sadly never do give us the names of the voice actors in the Credits... A real pity considering it's those actors that actually bring the characters to life, so to speak, in the first place. At any rate, it *was* good to have this particular voice actor for Dupin.
Unfortunately, however, the storyline is a real dud. For one thing, it is given to us in pieces - sometimes through dialog, which is good; but at other times, through HOP scenes, which is really distracting from the puzzle itself. But aside from the piecemeal problem, the story is neither original nor even very interesting. We have seen this story in just so *many* BF games themselves: family moves into a new house, a demon takes over one or more members and threatens the rest of the family, and we then have to somehow exorcise that demon and save the family. As I said, same old, same old... Frankly, I find it hard to believe that Edgar Allan Poe would have written such a time-worn, formulaic story. The devs just didn't do a good job of converting the story to a game ...
In addition to a dull storyline, the game does not have very good puzzles. The HOP scenes and puzzles (even in the Hard mode within the Hard mode!) are neither very challenging nor really interesting. Oh, there were a couple of puzzles that I "kind of" liked; but you wouldn't want to buy a whole game for just a couple of fun puzzles anyway.
Finally, the Achievements are all pretty silly. In fact, you get many of them by just playing the game! In other words, they are just part of the storyline. But the others are not challenging either. I actually liked the Dark Tales series better when there were NO achievements at all. You could then just enjoy the story and the game, without having to worry about all these "extraneous" things. But then, as I said, there is not much of a story here either.
In short, if you like to play a game that requires little or no imagination or mental challenge, playing just for the sake of the graphics, background music, and Dupin's handsome face, then you might like this game. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend this game at all.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you and your friends escape what’s lurking in the mist?
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
It was okay (I guess)
PostedMay 30, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The story started off well enough. It isn't an original idea, though. In fact, it reminded me of the Blair-Witch "line of stories." But then, it just got stale: the usual search-and-apply various items. The graphics were pretty good, but the music rather dull. The Achievements are the Eipix' "usual" list, i.e., same old things. The puzzles and HOP's are just so-so also. I was especially annoyed by the HOP's in which you have to find MORPHING OBJECTS! Someone needs to tell these Eipix devs that HOP's, by definition, are HIDDEN-object puzzles, *not* MORPHING-object puzzles! And it is even more annoying to attempt such puzzles in the Extras for that Rank-Chaser Achievement.
As for the Bonus Chapter, it is only tangentially related to the main story, and not that interesting either. So, unless you are keen on the Achievements, you may as well just get the standard edition of this game.
In short, this game is just okay. I leave it up to the readers to decide whether they would like to play it, in light of everything I just described.
Can you stop the Revenant before it's too late?
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT! Definitely NOT worth the money.
PostedMay 28, 2018
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I had been waiting to play this game for a long time, but talk about a big disappointment indeed. Oh, the graphics are pretty good. But graphics alone don't make a great game. The storyline was not original. It was a twist on an old idea, only --- it was such a *bad* twist, it did not even make sense. The dead seeks revenge on the living? In fact, it wasn't even an intentional misdeed! Not even the courts are likely to have convicted the "culprits," so the "dead" had no revenge to seek! Surely, one would know that, at least after one's dead...
Now the developers suggest that the game is based on some kind of an old legend. Problem is, if such a legend does exist, only children under 10 or less are likely to fall for it! But this is definitely not a game for children. They (the children) deserve better!
Finally, don't fall for any promos, folks! This game is neither scary nor eerie, and not even a mystery. In fact, it seems to have been made only to provide a bunch of HOPs and puzzles (none of which are really even interesting), and a whole lot of achievements (not even really challenging). In short, this is one boring game that I would not recommend to anyone. :/
I don't recommend this game.