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:
The runestone that has protected the town of Neverville for centuries has disappeared. Now, the evil necromancer Grimhall is threatening its people. Can you save them from this grim fate?
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Not My Cup Of Tea
PostedJune 12, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Personally, although a woman myself, I really don't care much about games with Amazon women coming in to save the day after men fail. In fact, the heroine in this game fits the description of an "Amazon Woman" in every way - physically and otherwise. So I really wasn't impressed by the story at all.
As for the other features of the game... The graphics were pretty good. The music did not sound original, and I have heard the "ghostly" background sound effects in some games before. So neither the music nor those sound effects did much for me.
The Hidden Object Puzzles (HOP) were fair, although some of the items on every HOP list are challenging to find. But that is not a problem because the Hint is available even in the hardest ("Detective") mode. As for the other puzzles, they are relatively easy, although not always very interesting.
In short, you might enjoy this game if you don't care much for a storyline and would like to play it just for the sake of graphics, HOP, and the puzzles. Otherwise,
I don't recommend this game.
Explore the Mystery Unicorn Castle and save Sophie from the Beastmaster in this exciting HOPA game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
Much Ado About Nothing, Really...
PostedMay 21, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Puzzle, Strategy
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The Storyline is not very original, not even really interesting. The graphics in the main game are just so-so, but especially poor in the Hidden Object Puzzles (HOPs), making it really hard to locate the items on those HOP lists. The music? Was there any? I am sure it was but, as you can tell from my question, it was not very memorable at all. Going back to the HOPs, there are just *way* too many of them! As for the other puzzles, most of them are okay (though not very interesting), but a couple of them can be challenging, especially since the developers have failed to provide a RESET button for almost all of the puzzles. As experienced gamers know, a lot of times it is easier to solve the most challenging puzzle if you start on the right track from the beginning. Once you get off that track though, it just gets harder and harder to solve the puzzle, as you move away from that ideal starting point. So a RESET button can be invaluable in such cases. Unfortunately, the developers failed to realize its significance - or... just didn't care enough to help out the gamers. :(
The game does have at least one good feature: the Map. Even in the hardest difficulty mode, it not only takes you from one location to another, but even tells you where a HOP or task has popped up. Personally, I don't like to use the map *at all*, preferring instead to explore and discover HOPs and available tasks on my own. It would be a mistake to do that in this game, however, because there really are just SO many locations! In addition, you will often need to switch from one location to a distant one, with absolutely no logical clue as to where you need to go, especially in the case of a HOP, which can spring up anywhere at any time. In other words, it can get really tedious and frustrating very quickly, if you avoid using the Map and try to go through all the locations in the game, trying to find your next destination for a HOP or task.
Since this *is* a Collector's Edition, there is a Bonus Chapter, of course. Its storyline is at least related to that of the main game, but really does not add much, if anything at all, to it. What's more, while we know that we are playing the role of a Detective in the main game, we are given no clue as to who we are supposed to be in the Bonus Chapter. A servant? A knight? Or just an unrelated bystander who happened to be attending the festivities when the calamity occurred? What's more, while the graphics in this Bonus Chapter seem to be at least a little better than those in the main game, they are far more unrealistic, giving you a sense of being in some fantasy land as opposed to any real world. So, all in all, it might have been better if the developers had dispensed with any Bonus Chapter altogether.
While the shortcomings I have mentioned are rather annoying, what is actually *the* most annoying part of this Collector's Edition is the Achievements... It's not just that there are so many of them (and I wouldn't mind *that* so much), but that they actually *force* you to play the game over and over, even though it's really not even worth replaying at all. For one thing, there is a set of the so-called "Karmic" choices you have to make throughout the game. Very simply, you are required to choose whether to do the "right" thing or the "not so nice" thing, at many points in the game. For example, you could either kill or (kindly) remove a harmful animal or insect. Again, it might involve agreeing or refusing to help someone. In this latter case, you *will* still be required to do whatever the person is asking, in order to proceed further in the game. But your initial refusal will count as a negative Karmic choice which, as the game warns, affects the outcome of the game. At any rate, because of this Karmic-choice feature, you have to play the game at least twice, since you don't get to choose twice in the same game. Moreover, you need to make all of the given Karmic choices, because there is an achievement related to every choice. :(
In addition to the Karmic-choice *set* of achievements, there is also an achievement for playing the game in different difficulty modes. DON'T go backwards though in terms of the difficulty modes, because it won't count then. For example, I always like to start playing the game in the hardest mode, which is the Hardcore mode in this game. That was a mistake because, while I did get some of the unrelated achievements (for example, not using a Hint, not skipping a puzzle, etc.), I did not get any "credit" specifically for playing the game in that mode. No, you have to *first* play the game in the Advanced mode, *then* in the Expert mode, and *then* in the Hardcore mode, to thus "upgrade" that one achievement as you move from the easier to the hardest difficulty mode.
One word of caution: beware of a catch in this game. I was... well, no offense to anyone concerned, but... getting rather sick of playing this game. So, in my rush to finish the game in the Expert mode, I forgot to pick up the umbrella from a well in the game. Your final exit involves flooding the well with water, after which you can never go back down in the well again. Well, the game allowed me to leave without the umbrella and, of course, I could not go back to get it once the well was flooded! And I needed that umbrella later in the game, of course, so I could not finish the game! Worse, there is no way to *restart* the game in a given mode! So I actually had to delete my profile, thus erasing the three times I had already played the game (Hardcore, Advanced, and was almost at the very end of Expert), and had to start all over to get all the achievements! Talk about annoying, indeed. [Note: it actually occurred to me, but only after I'd already deleted the profile, that I might have been able to restart in Expert mode, after all, if I'd "tricked" the game, so to speak. Specifically, I think I could have switched the difficulty mode from Expert to Hardcore, and then back to Expert. Since you are not allowed to change the difficulty level in the Hardcore mode, I had noticed earlier that the game I was playing then had reset. So that might have worked. But I am not sure since I didn't try it when I got stuck in the Expert mode. So just be aware of this particular "catch" in the game.]
In short, I really didn't care much for this game at all. Now it might be okay to get the Standard edition of this game. That way you won't have to deal with either the boring Bonus chapter and especially those pesky achievements that require you to play the game over and over. But, as far as this Collector's Edition goes, unless you don't mind the game's having little or no storyline, *way* too many HOPs with very few, if any, other puzzles that are really interesting, and can ignore the achievements or feel fine with playing the game repeatedly for the sake of those achievements,
I don't recommend this game.
Mr. Turner was surrounded by people who could all benefit from his death, but who actually murdered him? Play the detective in this classic whodunit mystery!
Overall rating
3
/
5
It was OK
PostedMay 12, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I should note that this is the second Entwined game, the first one being "Entwined: Strings of Deception." There is no connection between the two games, however, so it's quite all right to play this game even if you haven't played the first one. I should note, however, that the first game was far better and more fun than this one. There is just... well, too much silliness... in this game. For one thing, the addition of the Mafia element was a bit of a cliché. Even if we take that element seriously, for the sake of the game, I doubt if the Mafia would ever shoot at two police officers investigating a crime scene, and right there at the crime scene at that!
In addition to the Mafia bit, there is some other silliness in the game. For example, why go to the trouble of finding a SAW and then CUT a curtain rod, when the heroine seems big and strong enough to just remove it?! But even if she looks strong "only on the outside," she has this big, strapping young man assisting her. So why not get *him* to remove the curtain rod? And if he is not that strong either, then surely the two detectives *together* could do it. Such needless destruction of property is not just silly, it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth at least...
There is other silliness as well. For example, can you even imagine an *electric* bulb, without so much as even a globe to shield it, plugged in right next to the shower-head and *in* the shower itself?!! Talk about a real shocker - literally!
In short, this game had just way too many silly things both in the storyline and in the gameplay. Nevertheless, the graphics *were* great, the music was nice enough, and the Hidden-Object Puzzles and other puzzles were all quite easy and fun. So, if you don't mind all the silliness I have noted, then you might well enjoy this game. And that is why
I recommend this game!
Uncover a dark scheme in Entwined: Strings of Deception and solve an elaborate murder mystery!
Overall rating
5
/
5
A Great Game, Indeed!!!
PostedMay 10, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Puzzle, Strategy
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The storyline is not exactly original (a familiar murder mystery), but it is definitely presented in a most original way. The graphics and the music are wonderful. The Hidden Object Puzzles (HOP's) can be rather challenging, but they are quite fair. In addition, Hints are unlimited and there is no misclick penalty. Moreover, since this is not a Collector's Edition game, there is no risk of losing an achievement if you do use a Hint. So, feel free to use one, as often as you like!
Even though this is not a Collector's Edition game, you do have two sets of collectibles: Fingerprints and Jewelry Items. You don't get any achievements for finding all the items for either set of collectible, but it *is* fun to try to find them. Just one word of caution though. There *is* a bug in picking up one particular fingerprint which tends to "disappear" as soon as you put some powder on it. So you can never pick it up and the game never registers that find. Apparently, the devs recognized this problem but, instead of correcting it, have provided us with an extra fingerprint! Thus, there are actually 18 fingerprints, even though we are always given a total of 17 as the game reports: "1 out of 17," "2 out of 17," etc. Don't let this bug bother you though. As I mentioned, you don't get any achievement for completing either collection, nor do you get any extra story information for doing so.
More concerning for me was the fact that the game raised some questions which were never answered. In fact, I felt the game ended too abruptly, and even some of the more critical questions were answered only in a line in the final cutscene. So that was rather disappointing...
Nevertheless, it really is a great game. I enjoyed it a lot, and I think you will too. And that is why
I recommend this game!
Prepare yourself for a perilous journey across the world in order to save your niece from imminent danger.
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Silly But Fun Game
PostedMay 5, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I should note at the beginning that the storyline is actually pretty silly. A girl takes off on an adventure, with a guy who is apparently her boy friend, and both disappear. So the AUNTIE goes after them, to try to find and rescue them! Not only is the heroine thus apparently an elderly lady, she is also a "ladyship" of some sort! And, at the very beginning of the game, she even has a butler or something. But *no one* accompanies her on her journey and in the adventure itself! Thus, we find Her Ladyship doing everything from such menial things like making a kite to such extraordinary things like repairing a whole airplane that *no one* else is able to do! What's more, Her Ladyship has no compunction about breaking up what seem to be local treasures, just to get something as trivial as a chisel or something! So, as I said, all pretty silly... :/
Having said that, I should note that - if you can get past the silly storyline - the game itself can be quite fun. The graphics are vivid and beautiful. The music is very nice. The Hidden Object Puzzles (HOP's) are all pretty fair and easy. Most of the other puzzles are also quite fair and easy. There was really just one puzzle that I expect will stump many gamers - the one where you have to move 5 round tokens in the 5 slots at the top of the board. You can always SKIP that puzzle, of course, but then you would lose the Achievement for not skipping any puzzles! No worries, though. Since it IS a Collector's Edition, you can always look up the Guide.
Speaking of the Achievements now, most of them are quite fair and easy. There are five sets of Collectibles, which are also fairly easy to find. But I say that "most" of the Achievements are fair because there seems to be some kind of a glitch in getting the achievement for playing & finishing the Tutorial in Expert mode. I, for one, do like to play all the games in that mode, which usually does not even offer a tutorial in most games. I suppose it was offered in this game precisely *because* playing & finishing it wins you an achievement. Yet, I never got that achievement, even though I never turned off the Tutorial! I also did not get the achievement for solving all the HOP's without using a Hint, even though I never once did use a Hint. Having missed both these achievements then, I did not get the achievement for getting all the achievements either! So that was rather... annoying. But I tried not to let that bother me since, in my heart of hearts, I *know* I had won all those achievements! LOL :D
Since this *is* a Collector's Edition, we also get a bonus game, which is actually directly related to the main game, In fact, it picks up where the main game ended, so that was pretty good. Again, the graphics, music, etc., are all pretty good in this bonus game as well.
In short, if you don't mind the above-mentioned ... well, absurdity... of the storyline, you should enjoy this game. And that is why
I recommend this game!
Play fun Match 3 levels and solve incredible puzzles to uncover the culprit behind a deadly threat!
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Pretty Good Game
PostedApril 26, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Match 3, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Don't let the title mislead you. This is neither a scary nor even a detective game! Oh, you play a detective all right. But it's not a story-based game, like most games you might have played. Again, there is a story all right; but you don't go around from one location to another, finding items to use and apply, etc. Rather, you move from one scene to another, with *pictures* of characters, one at a time, frozen on your screen. You click to continue the dialog, but there is no voice acting. The story in fact serves only as an *excuse* to play a number of fun games, predominantly Match-3.
There *are* different types of games though, in addition to Match 3. In fact, there are even some Hidden Object Puzzles (HOP's). But, sorry to say, these HOP's are no good at all. While there are maybe two or three that depict actually real scenes/items, most of them are in the form of cartoons and, worse, they are drawn like those by a 10- or 12-year-old! So they are neither very appealing, nor any fun.
There are other non-Match-3 games that are quite original *and* fun though. These are the ones mentioned in the description of this game: quizzes, and minigames like Arkadiusz’s Kombi and Boxtrap. All of them are rather easy and lots of fun!.
As for the Match-3 games themselves, yes, there are quite a few of them - 100, just like the game description says. But they come in different varieties of their own and therefore don't get boring or tedious as they would if they all involved just matching 3 or more identical icons in a row or column. Some of the varieties, as some other reviewers have noted, *can* be quite challenging - like moving magnifying glasses from one column to another, or even a few columns across, to get them down to a specific box at the bottom. But rest assured, you get only a few levels of each such challenging type, and you can always SKIP any level you want.
In short, if you are not looking for a story-based, classic type of adventure or Hidden-Object game, and would just like to enjoy a series of Match-3 and other games, you should really like this game. And that is why
I recommend this game!
When Julia reaches an abandoned laboratory to rescue her sister, she discovers there is more to this mystery than a mere abduction.
Overall rating
4
/
5
Nice, Easy Game
PostedApril 22, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I must confess that I am not a big fan of science fiction, and I think it is safe to classify this game as primarily a science fiction game. But the storyline is quite original and interesting. The Hidden-Object and other puzzles are quite fun and easy. Even though it is a Standard Edition, there *are* two sets of collectibles to find: Oracle Emblems and Sofia's Diary Pages. The emblems are actually not that important to find. But the Diary Pages, as you can probably guess by the collection name itself, do add to the storyline. So I suggest you keep an eye out for those pages. No worries though, because both collections are pretty small and quite easy to find.
In short, I think it is a pretty good game. Nice, fun, and even relaxing. That is why
I recommend this game!
Help Emma dig through the poisonous pieces of this family mystery and solve the case! Play Family Mysteries: Poisonous Promises!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 4 found this review helpful
So-So...
PostedApril 20, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Let me start with the positive aspects of the game. The Hidden Object Puzzles (HOP's) were fair and fun. They were a bit long, compared to those in other games, because most of the items require an additional step before you can collect them. That is not a problem in this version of the game, however, because it is a Standard Edition and thus has no achievements and so you don't have to worry about missing any, for example, finding 3 items in 3 seconds or finishing a HOP in less than a minute, etc.
The other puzzles are quite original, easy, and fun. In fact, I think puzzles were the best part of this game.
Turning now to the negative... The storyline was original, but I found it quite boring and even... well, ludicrous. The main character is a female police officer. She has a male partner with whom (get this!) she is actually *madly* in love. The partner does play a part - or at least makes appearances - but is in fact good for absolutely *nothing*. Don't get me wrong now. I am all for "woman power" (being, in the interest of full disclosure, a woman myself). But when a woman goes in effect BOXING with male villains, while her male companion basically lies around doing nothing... well, that's a bit too much for me to swallow. There is no boxing actually in the game. We get to play a matching type of game, instead. But that is in fact what *she* is doing - boxing, often with villains much bigger than herself! And if that were not bad enough, just wait until she screams, something along the lines of "Oh, Duke! Don't die. I can't live without you!" and then, in the very end, "Aw, Duke..." She fights villains like a man, but is practically PUTTY in her boyfriend's hands! Rather nauseating, to say the least... :/
In short, it's that storyline that really turned me off. But if you don't mind such silliness and would like to try it for the sake of its HOP's and the puzzles, then
I recommend this game!
Step into the shoes of a Private investigator with short-term memory loss and uncover the shocking truth about his involvement with a serial killer called The Executioner.
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Great Game, Great Fun!
PostedApril 19, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The storyline is quite original and *very* interesting. The voice acting is pretty good as well. The Hidden Object Puzzles (HOP's) are a bit too long and tedious, requiring us to take additional steps for finding just about every other item on the list. But they are still fair to see and fun to play. The other puzzles or mini-games are quite fun too as well as original and interesting.
There are also 2 sets of collectibles, one involving morphing objects. But they are also quite fair to see, although not always fun to find. (LOL) The game also has 24 achievements. Almost all of them are fair and fun. There were two though that I didn't like. The first one required us to find all the items in a HOP in less than a minute. Ordinarily, this kind of an achievement is a whiz. As I mentioned, however, the HOP's in *this* game are rather long and tedious *because* most of the items require an additional step before you can find and click on them. So it *can* be quite a challenge to win this achievement.
The other achievement I didn't like required us to solve all the mini-games without skipping. Again, ordinarily, this kind of an achievement is a whiz too. But the problem with getting this achievement is some kind of a glitch. I actually played the game *twice*, solving ALL the puzzles by myself, but the game wouldn't give me that achievement. So that was a bit ... annoying... Still, the game is really a lot of fun in so many ways, don't let these two achievements get you down.
The game also has an interesting Bonus Chapter that is directly related to the main game, explaining why the main game begins how it does. It is rather short though, but still a lot of fun to play.
In short, I really enjoyed this game; and I am sure you will too. That is why
I recommend this game!
When detective Gingertail is called home by ex-girfriend Barbara, he could never imagine it would be the investigation of his life... and her death.
Overall rating
4
/
5
Not So Interesting, But Still Fun To Play
PostedApril 16, 2022
Zurreen
fromAustin, TX
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Family, Hidden Object, Mahjong, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Let me note at the outset that the hero is not good-looking at all, and the voice actor is really bad (sounds like some old-style stage actor playing Julius Caeser or something). The story is somewhat original, I guess, but not really interesting. The whole game seems to be an episode from some hard-nosed Detective show, back from the 1950's or something. The game also has a Bonus Chapter. I don't know why it starts off with "5 years earlier," considering it has absolutely nothing to do with the main game's story at all. It is also quite boring, does not have much of a story, and seems to have been added only because this *is* supposed to be a Collector's Edition.
Having said all that, however, I should tell you that the main game at least *is* a lot of fun to play. The graphics are good, and the music is nice. The HOPs (Hidden Object Puzzles) are quite clear, fair, and fun to play. The other puzzles are quite easy, pretty innovative, and fun to solve too. There are 33 collectibles in the game, and all are pretty easy to spot. There are also 20 Achievements in the game, but I found that 2 were practically impossible to get, apparently because of some glitch. One of these was that I did find all the collectibles, the game noted it as such in the Collectibles section of the game, but never gave me the Achievement for it. The other one was for finding 3 HOP objects in 3 seconds, something I am pretty sure I did several times, but the game never gave me the Achievement for that either. But that's okay. As I mentioned, the game is a lot of fun overall.
In short, if you don't care about the hero's looks, the bad voice-acting, and a rather stale storyline, you should be able to enjoy this game for the reasons I noted above. And that is the only reason
I recommend this game!