pennmom36's Profile
 
 
 
Stat Summary
 
  • Average Rating:
    3.7
  • Helpful Votes:
    358,445
 
  • Reviews Submitted:
    4712
  • First Review:
    December 10, 2012
  • Most Recent Review:
    April 24, 2025
  • Featured reviews
    0
 
 
Status:
 
  • Top Reviewer
 
pennmom36's Review History
<<prev 1 ... 114 115 116 117 118 ... 472 next>>
 
Find clues, interrogate suspects, complete solitaire puzzles and find hidden clues to solve a murder mystery!
 
Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
89 of 104 found this review helpful
DOESN'T HAVE A "WOW" FACTOR, BUT DEFINITELY PURCHASE WORTHY
PostedMarch 12, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromIf I keep having Police Cruiser Bad Luck Accidents I'm gonna get canned!
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
Good
4 / 5
This is a decent Solitaire game that isn't super challenging but it has a lot of variety to break up the monotony, such as, puzzles, mahjong, and some fairly challenging Clutter style Hidden Objects Scenes. It does allow you to replay levels if you don't earn all 3 "Badges" or stars, which is a must-have Solitaire feature as far as I'm concerned. Even though I wasn't blown away with excitement, I used a PCC to purchase it and I'm enjoying the game still. There are over 100 Solitaire levels and plenty of HO's and puzzles, so I feel like the game is purchase worthy.
You can choose Regular Simple Card Graphics or Themed Cards which have various police-related or investigative equipment on them, such as handcuffs, batons, computers, suspects and detective agents. In the last Detective Solitaire game by this developer, you could choose from 3 different types of Solitaire games or have all 3 Mixed together, a Pair Solitaire type requiring you to match pairs of cards either with each other or with the deck card, a Sum type Solitaire which required you to select two cards whose sum is 14 when added together, and a Traditional, Higher/Lower type Solitaire. I was highly disappointed that there were no solitaire options this time, it's either a Higher/Lower type or an actual Mahjong game with mahjong tiles rather than cards. (you have to play the Mahjong on several of the solitaire levels, it's not a skippable mini-game) Mahjong is my least favorite genre of all games, but this particular Mahjong was pretty decent and the tikes are very traditional. There are 2 Detective Boosters that will hold 2 tiles until they can be used.
The Investigation begins by playing Solitaire levels until you earn the required amount of "Clues" (48) which are square puzzle pieces. Once you have all the clues or puzzle pieces you play a mini-game puzzle variation of either rotating the squares or swapping squares to complete the image which "reveals" the criminal. Between Solitaire Levels you will play a Clutter-type Hidden Object Scene of various types, such as finding objects with just a small flashlight beam or finding objects that are presented one by one. The objects aren't always the same size or color as the pictured items.
Power Booster Cards are located at the bottom left as "Agents" that can be used once they charge. You can use them to Remove a Random Open Card or Remove a Random Closed Card by shooting them, or Add 2 Random Wild Cards to the field. Number specific Wild Cards are available in just about every level and stored until you need that specific number, multiples of the Wildcards are shown above the card slots as well.
I have played for a few hours and so far there is only one type of Obstacle Card, Police Tape Cards that require uncovering the Search Warrant to remove the tape. The "Good Luck-Bad Luck Cards have returned and they are on most levels. Good Luck Card reward you with Coins, Bad Luck Cards disable one of the Booster Agents for the entire level. It's a decent game, just not a blow your socks off kind of game, but it is an enjoyable and relaxing solitaire to pass the time.
SOLITAIRE MURDER MYSTERY SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-Double Clue: Solitaire Stories (May 3-2017) 4.1
2-The Deceptive Daggers: Solitaire Murder Mystery (March 9-2020) n/a

by: Playtinum
I recommend this game!
+74points
89of 104voted this as helpful.
 
Can you catch a magical culprit behind a string of strange robberies?
 
Overall rating 
It was OK.
3 / 5
175 of 209 found this review helpful
NO THOUGHT PROCESS REQUIRED HERE FOLKS, PUT YOUR BRAIN ON AUTOPILOT
PostedMarch 12, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromMCF Huntsville did so well the CEO of BF cracked open a bottle of champagne & asked "when can we have the next one ready?" That was basically the beginning of the invention of HO games as we know it today!
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
OK
3 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Poor
2 / 5
Storyline 
OK
3 / 5
Completed Game approximately 5.0 hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
19 Scene Locations +8 CE Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Ages 8+
I just don't get it! Just a few years ago, HOPA games were amazing, they were challenging, they were fun! Nowadays, the graphics are much better but the games themselves have become foolproof! It's like herding cattle through a chute, they can't go to the left, they can't go to the right, they can't go backward, they can only move in a straight line forward. This game is a cattle chute, you move one scene at a time, you don't move left, you don't move right, you don't go back to the next scene until you find 2-3 items, solve a couple of tasks, and play a mini-game or two. Move forward to the next scene, same scenario, push through the herd, next scene, next chapter, push another cow or two, move forward a few more feet, repeat the process. Your brain goes on auto-pilot, you can't go wrong, you can't do anything wrong, you can't even go in the wrong direction because the game won't let you move outside the cattle chute!
The reason the games of yesteryear were so cool was that you weren't confined to just one or two scenes, some games didn't lock any of the scenes and you would search scene after scene, searching for something you needed but missed the first time around. You had to figure things out on your own, solve complex or tricky puzzles, remember codes and clues you discovered (and try to figure out if something was a clue that would eventually be required down the road) Morphing Objects were challenging to find because oftentimes they didn't morph the first time you stumbled upon them, collectibles weren't large and impossible to miss, and Hidden Objects were the basis of the game...they were called Hidden Object Scenes because the Objects were just that...HIDDEN or at the very least, they were blended into the scenery to trick the mind's eye! I haven't become burned out on HOPA games, THEY have fizzled and burned out all the features that made them exciting to play. I can download an older game from my vast library (yes, I own every CE version of every HOPA game BF offers!) and still thoroughly enjoy playing them to this day! I don't want to see this genre disappear, but if the developers continue to create games that are this foolproof, fans will (and have) walk away. It's okay to offer some games for beginners, but that's such a small percentage of gamers, why wouldn't you want to cater to those who have been playing for a long time, those of us who made this genre a commodity in the first place? I urge the remaining developers to go back to their roots, play the games of yesteryear to refresh your memories of how & why this genre exploded in popularity, back to the day when developers of HOPA's were rolling in the dough$$$!!!
✩Collectibles/Morphing Objects: (CE version only)★
There are 27 Collectible Shamrock Coins and 27 Morphing Green Leprechaun Hats that are too large and easily spotted because they look so out of place in the scenes. The second you "walk" into a new scene, your eye automatically focuses on the huge, shiny gold coin with a green shamrock, the coin is always high, the hat is always low, they are impossible to miss!

⚙️Gadget/Helper⚙️
There are two Gadgets with Icons located on the Right and Left side of the Inventory Bar. The Evidence Folder on the left is used 6 times during the Main Game and 3 times during the CE Bonus Chapter. After collecting evidence, you open this folder and place each of the 4 available Character Cameos onto the correct Paragraphs located below. The photos turn into Names that fill in the blanks of the sentences...don't real investigators use this method?
The second Gadget is an "all-seeing eye" Deduction, located on the right side, and is used 6 times during the Main Game and twice during the CE Bonus Chapter. Before making a deduction, you are tasked with playing a Hidden Object Scene by finding a few Listed Items in the room to either piece together a series of events that took place, and occasionally a series of events that will help you escape a situation. Neither Gadget seemed realistic or necessary for that matter and took all credibility away from the plot premise of a detective trying to solve actual crimes.
❏Hidden Object Scenes❏
There are 18 Hidden Object Scenes +5 in the CE Bonus Chapter, including a repetitive Deduction Gadget hidden object variation of finding 3-4 Listed Items in the room that either helps you piece together a series of events or helps you concoct an escape plan. The scenes are clear but not located in interesting locations and certainly not "hidden." In the event that the original scene didn't bore you to tears, they decided to make you repeat the scene for a second shot at putting you to sleep! Clearly, the developers were bored too because, by the time the third chapter rolled around, nearly all of the HO scenes were repeated a second time. The HO scenes are mostly Listed Item Finds (1-3 items may require a slight interaction, such as opening a drawer) but they also include Silhouetted Shape Finds, Finding Listed Items in Pairs, Reverse Finds (take items from the inventory & place them into the scene) Multiples of a Single Object Find, and one scene where you are tasked with finding 6 Items a squirrel eats. Unfortunately, there are no alternate puzzles offered.
♙Mini-Games♙
There are 29 Mini-Games +9 in the CE Bonus Chapter, including a repetitive Folder Clue mini-game where you drag 4 photos onto the correct paragraph clues. I gotta tell you, these are some of the most boring, simplistic puzzles ever offered in one game! The majority of puzzles are no-brainers, swap 4 books to the matching colored slots? Place 6 torn fragments into the highlighted slots? Paint with 4 colors, is the sky blue? Move screws to their matching colored slots along a given path? Rotate pipe sections? Use a magnifying glass to find 9 specified items...which btw are the only items that are highlighted in blue? Really??? I kid you not, several of the puzzles could be completed in ONE SINGLE MOVE!
✯Bonus Chapter: (CE version only)✯
Constable McDonnell has asked you to return to Dublin when a mysterious Banshee wreaks havoc throughout town. Her victims are rendered comatose and nothing seems to arouse them in this average-length, 8 scene Bonus Chapter. You will use your Folder Icon 3 times to Review Clues via a repetitive Mini-Game of dragging 4 photos to the correct paragraphs to complete the sentence, and your Deductive Icon twice to draw conclusions via a Hidden Object Scene. There are 5 Hidden Object Scenes and 9 Mini-Games (including those associated with the Gadgets mentioned above) and each scene have 1 Morphing Object and 1 Collectible. Once all morphs & collectibles have been found, they will unlock a board game to play. I'm not sure if you can return to the scene to collect any missing coins or morphing hats because I didn't miss any and you probably won't either because they are so large and look so out of place that they are easily spotted.
✺Collector's Edition Version Extra's✺
7 Wallpapers, 18 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Screensavers, 5 Music Soundtracks, 47 Movie Video Cutscenes, 24 Achievements (12 achievements are available in 3 category progressions) 10 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 11 Replayable Mini-Games, 27 Morphing Green Leprechaun Hats, 27 Collectible Shamrock Coins, 5 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a Built-In Strategy Guide.
DARK CITY SERIES LIST
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-London (November 29-2017) 4.5
2-Munich (November 8-2018) 4.5
3-Vienna (September 12-2019) 3.7
4-Dublin (March 12-2020) n/a

by: Friendly Fox Studio/4Friends Games
I don't recommend this game.
+141points
175of 209voted this as helpful.
 
Join Claire on an exciting time management adventure and help save the world from catastrophe!
 
Overall rating 
Hated it.
1 / 5
53 of 56 found this review helpful
THESE ARE LOST ARTIFACTS I HAVE NO DESIRE TO SEARCH FOR
PostedMarch 11, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromIt's pretty difficult to play a TM game when the "clicks" you make lag for several seconds!
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Awful
1 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Awful
1 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Awful
1 / 5
Storyline 
Awful
1 / 5
This game has some serious issues, it lags between clicking and actually doing something, and it takes forever between scenes as you sit there staring at a <<<LOADING>>> bar for an eternity. When I tried to find out what was offered in the EXTRA'S on the CE version's tab, not only did I have to wait eons for the loading bar to fill but the second you exit out of whichever category you chose it takes you back to the main screen and you have to click on the extra's tab again and wait for the loading bar to fill again, just to get to the next extra's category, what a pain!
There are 50 Levels and the CE version has 10 Bonus Levels as well as 25 Achievement Trophies to earn. The CE version's Extra's include 5 Music Soundtracks and 10 Concept Art Pictures and a Strategy Guide but the game is super easy and there isn't a whole lot of strategy involved. There are no Morphs or Collectibles in either version and it's hard to justify the CE worthiness just to get 5 Music Soundtracks, 10 cartoon style Concept Art Pictures, and 10 extra Levels, heck, it's hard to justify buying the SE version for that matter!
There are the usual (& boring) tasks to perform, clearing paths, repairing and upgrading Workers Houses, Sawmills for Lumber, and Farm Plots to produce various crops, There are also the same-ole, same-ole Bridges to repair, Holes to patch along the paths, and some levels require that you upgrade certain buildings to a certain level. You may need to build houses to accommodate specialized people to rid the paths from certain obstructions.
This is just another cookie-cutter TM game that doesn't have much to offer. The games by this developer are always the same, and always boring. Perhaps it's time to just let these explorers so their expeditions solo, definitely w/o me!
LOST ARTIFACTS SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-Lost Artifacts SE (August 30-2017) 3.1
2-Lost Artifacts: Golden Island SE (January 5-2018) 2.4
3-Lost Artifacts: Soulstone SE (June 20-2018) 3.0
4-Lost Artifacts: Time Machine SE (January 6-2019) 2.2
5-Lost Artifacts: Frozen Queen SE (March 11-2020)

by: GameOn Production (developer)
by: 8 Floor Games (producer)
I don't recommend this game.
+50points
53of 56voted this as helpful.
 
A giant creature is causing chaos around the world! Join Dracula as he embarks on an extraordinary quest unlike any he has experienced!
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
128 of 137 found this review helpful
DRAC'S STILL ONE OF MY FAVORITES!
PostedMarch 10, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromHead for the mountains Drac!
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Excellent
5 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
Let's be honest, very few Time Management games have an amazing storyline, the kind of storyline that you anticipate reading between levels. Incredible Dracula games have always had storylines that are adventurous and sometimes downright hilarious!. I love the characters in Drac's entourage and those they meet on their never-ending quests when duty calls. Although it's hard to make a fatal error (build the wrong thing or fulfill a quest in the wrong order & not having enough resources necessary to continue) there's still enough of a challenge to hold my interest.
I'm glad they decided to include my favorite feature of constructing or repairing BloodDonald's for food which was briefly substituted with donuts in Game of Gods, it just didn't work in a game with characters like Dracula, Frankenstein, Witches, and Zombies. Speaking of characters, all our favorite characters have returned to assist Dracula, Rufus the undead worker, Elizabeth aka Princess and her furry sidekick Vlad. Every level has a different character which of course, will help us once we help them solve their particular dilemma.
There are 50 Levels and 33 Achievement Trophies to earn, and you can play in a Normal Blood-sucker Mode, a Casual Mode for chilled vamps and a Relaxed Mode with no Time restraints to cut your fangs on. I found this game to be a tad easier than the last game, which isn't a bad thing because I thought the last one was a little bit too challenging because it was difficult to earn all three stars without playing each level several times.

There are the usual yet unusual TM tasks of collecting Resources, Clearing Paths, Repairing and Upgrading BloodDonalds Restaurants, Sawmills, Crystal Mines, Laboratories, Fire Towers to produce Fireballs, Pharmacies to continually replenish Magic Elixir, filling potholes, collecting Bones for Vlad so he can slurp the puddles, harvesting pumpkin bwains, repairing iron bridges, repairing gate levers, removing seaweed, jellyfish, coral and sludge left behind by the Frozen Sea Monster, and even cracking clamshells for rewards!
This game has great humor, interesting characters, cool features, and above all, it's a really fun Time Management Game to play. It's also a Fangtastic series, once you play one, you're going to want to play them all!
INCREDIBLE DRACULA SERIES LIST
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-Chasing Love (November 3-2015) 4.3
2-The Last Call (April 30-2016) 4.2
3-Family Secrets (January 17-2017) 4.6
4-Game of Gods (January 16-2018) 3.3
5-Vargosi Returns SE only (September 19-2018) 3.7
6-The Ice Kingdom SE only (January 18-2019) 4.3
7-Ocean's Call (March 10-2020) n/a
I recommend this game!
+119points
128of 137voted this as helpful.
 
 Summer Adventure 4
Summer Adventure 4
Mary's family is on a new summer adventure. Complete amazing collections, clean up the clutter, solve fun mahjong puzzles and discover more puzzle fun!
 
Overall rating 
It was OK.
3 / 5
118 of 126 found this review helpful
I'D ACTUALLY GIVE IT 3.5 STARS FOR THE IMPROVED GRAPHICS!
PostedMarch 8, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromOhhh nooooo...Look out Mr. Golden Retriever, there's a 5 foot fork and a giant birthday candle in the back yard!!!!
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
OK
3 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
OK
3 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
I have a hard time being super negative on a game when I see improvements from game to game in a series because if they are improving something, they are obviously trying, and let's face it, you just can't please everyone. On my review of Summer Adventures 3, another reviewer made the comment that I shouldn't write a review if I don't like the game, but how will developers know what people DON'T like in a game if all they read are reviews from people who like or love that particular game? (Wouldn't they continue spewing out game after game that's the same as the one before?)
If you have read my reviews (thank you:) you probably know that I do love a good old-fashioned HOG if it's done correctly and has good graphics that don't have microscopic objects or objects so blurry that you can't tell whether you're staring at a turtle or just a random corner of a table. Summer Adventures 4 is an improvement as far as having easily identifiable objects, however, the scenery graphics are about as bare-boned basic as it gets with bland, single-colored items that are void of detail, there's no shading or angular lines to give it dimensional depth, the scenes just look large and flat.
There are 60 Hidden Object Scenes that can be played in a Timed or Relaxed Mode, and you can earn up to 3 Stars, according to the amount of time it takes, but it doesn't seem to penalize you for misclicks or using the Hint feature. This is an old-fashioned Hidden Object Game where you are tasked with finding 15 Listed Items in each location, to earn up to 3-Stars. Each scene has a single Zoom Zone (as indicated by sparkles) that contains the final 3 objects. You can improve your star rating by replaying the scenes, via the level map, but the objects to find are different each time you play. Each level has 3 Hearts and 3 Anchors to find with Icons located on the left and right of the Inventory Bar to keep track of how many you have found. When you find all 3 Hearts in a scene, it will unlock 3 Animal Images in your Photo Album (what do hearts have to do with animals other than loving animals?) I'm not sure if the animals are supposed to represent those indigenous to the area the scene correlates to if so, it would have been nice if the scene had some type of description for each Summer Adventure location. When you find all 3 Anchors, it will unlock an image of a Yacht or Ship in your Photo Album. There's a third Photo Album that contains 40 Scene photos as well. Why didn't they go the extra mile to allow you to save all 60 level images? Why not add them as wallpapers to download? (otherwise, who cares??)
The items to find are still not proportionate, in the first scene, the fork was larger than a lounge chair, and the candle was about four times the size of the Golden Retriever dog!

After each Hidden Object Scene, there is a simplistic mini-game available, such as a 24 piece Jigsaw Puzzle with no rotating feature, Mahjong, Pipes, where you click to rotate square tiles to connect a path of pipes, a Group Match 2 game where you click on 2 or more identical tokens, Clutter type HO's, and a Word Search variation with images instead of actual words.
SUMMER ADVENTURE SERIES LIST
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
1-Summer Adventures 1 (August 3-2018) 2.9
2-Summer Adventures 2 (April 8-2019) 3.9
3-Summer Adventures 3 (June 24-2019) 2.5
4-Summer Adventures 4 (March 3-2020) n/a

by: Imaginary Two Games
+110points
118of 126voted this as helpful.
 
Family turmoil among the gods has affected common mortals and the Argonauts Agency is called on to help!
 
Overall rating 
Hated it.
1 / 5
61 of 80 found this review helpful
Let's Just Hang Up A Sign That Says "AGENCY CLOSED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST" Shall We??
PostedMarch 8, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromI'd like to think that these developers don't think to read these reviews. If they did read them, they would have a better understanding of why their games get such poor star ratings!
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Awful
1 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Awful
1 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Awful
1 / 5
Storyline 
Awful
1 / 5
I have played all 6 Argonauts Agency Time Management games (demo only, I'm not Wonder Woman ya know?) and it's hard to tell the difference between games! The first game was boring, the second game didn't pick up any speed, the third game went backward, the fourth game spiraled into the dud category, the fifth game joined the fourth, and this game was a complete waste of time! I played the first 5 levels and they were so repetitive and so easy that I could have just kept the clock ticking from the first level and still completed all 5 levels in the time allotted for the first level!
I became so bored that I decided to see how far I could upgrade the Casino-style Equipment. For those of you who haven't played this series, there is an Upgrade feature that allows you to spin the wheel in hopes of getting 3 identical Equipment Icons. (they add these features so they don't have to create an entirely new game platform when converting it to the mobile version which seems pretty lazy when you think about it!) You start out with 10 Free Spis, and you will earn +10 Spins for every 5-minutes of gameplay and the spins take so long that by the time you use up all 10 spins, 5-minutes have passed and +10 more spins are added! There are 6 different types of Equipment that either increase or decrease by percentage increments. You have to win each piece of equipment several times for each upgrade (9 time's for the 1st upgrade, 12 times's for the 2nd, 15 time's for the 3rd, 18 time's for the 4th, and 21 time's for the 5th and final upgrade) During the 60-minute demo, I was able to upgrade 4 out of the 6 Equipment Bonuses available to the 3rd out of 5 Tiers, by repeatedly hitting the spin button! (you can also win Free Gems/Spins. If these bonuses are so easy to get, why do they bother making you spin, (is it because it's a feature intended for the mobile version where you pay to play?) why not just give them to us from the start?
Equipment Bonuses to win "Casino Slot-Style (upgradable 5 times for each bonus):
⛏️Sandals~speeds up the characters.
⛏️Axe~cut down trees faster.
⛏️Shovel~fill holes faster.
⛏️Sword~monster battle time reduced.
⛏️Hammer~speeds up construction.
⛏️Pick Axe~speeds stone breaking time.
You can play in an Untimed, Normal or Hard difficulty mode and it allows you to switch back and forth easily before the start of each level with an icon located above the levels. I do like this feature because sometimes it's helpful to play the first go-round in an untimed mode to figure out what the requirements are, such as what materials are needed for each task (bridges, boulders, etc) and then play the level again in a normal or hard mode, especially when a TM game requires a lot of strategies. Unfortunately, this game doesn't require much strategy so it's wasted potential!
Once again, the game is chock-full of annoying, repetitive, back-and-forth, to-and-fro tasks of rowing a boat to a tiny port, just to pick up a loaf of bread and fill a pot-hole or two. In all fairness, they did throw in a couple of buttons on the islands, the size of a small mountain, that requires sending two workers to hit the buttons simultaneously...how clever. Every level has a million bridges to repair, wooden bridges, stone bridges, long bridges, short bridges, London Bridges, build a bridge, repair a bridge, lather, rinse, repeat.
There's really nothing different here than any other TM game. Build Farms for food, Sawmills for wood, Gold Mines, Quarries for stone and Markets for trading food for specific materials such as Stone or Gold. There are the usual Berry Bushes (ohhh, a new task to grow berry bushes from a seedling. well, at least it gives Medea a reason to move?!?) for a renewable food source, as well as the usual path blockers of thorny vines, bushes, potholes, conveniently cut & stacked wood, stone monoliths "veins", puddles, and large round bread loaves left behind by a kind little old lady with nothing better to do? Now I wonder who left all those gold coins behind?
Once you have collected 5-Stars, you get to open a Treasure Chest located on the bottom left of the Map screen which allows you to choose between three smaller chests to earn extra resources, faster workers, etc. by a percentage. These bonuses automatically take effect, but they are only temporary. (seems like another flashy mobile app feature doesn't it?)
Collector's Edition Extra's: (CE version only)
50 Main Levels (both versions) 30 Achievement Trophies, 10 Concept Art pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, a built-in Strategy Guide (sooo not needed) and a few extra levels in the Additional Campaign section.
ARGONAUTS AGENCY SERIES LIST
Title Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-Golden Fleece (November 21-2018) 3.4
2-Pandora's Box (February 1-2019) 3.6
3-Chair of Hephaestus (June 16-2019) 3.0
4-Glove of Midas (August 30-2019) 2.8
5-Captive of Circe (November 11-2019) n/a (Mac only so far)
6-Missing Daughter (March 8-2020) n/a
by: Workroom 7
I don't recommend this game.
+42points
61of 80voted this as helpful.
 
Board the shuttle and embark on a space exploration adventure like no other in an exciting new time management game!
 
Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
143 of 150 found this review helpful
FAR ◪ _ ◪ OUT!
PostedMarch 7, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromAliens are coming I tell ya!............ ဗီူဗီူ ဗီူဗီူ
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Excellent
5 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
I've played thousands of games over the years but I've never played a game quite like this futuristic Time Management masterpiece! I've always been a sci-fi fan so this game attracted me like a hypnotic laser-beam and even though it doesn't have a Strategy Guide included, I was eager to earn my position aboard the SS (space ship) Sparrow under the command of the not-so-infamous Captain John Evans. I knew this game would have amazing graphics the moment I saw the download size (1.28 GB) but they exceeded my expectations, on every aspect for that matter!
There are 66 Levels starting with planet Earth and beyond... planet Clark, Efremov, Sheckley, Asimor, Wells, Gibson, and Asimov. There's even an Additional "Missing" Chapter to complete additional missions. Each planet has Researcher Artifacts, including the Artifact of Evans and Pratt.
You can play in a Relaxed Mode which still allows you to earn all 3-Stars and gives you Unlimited Time, and a help feature once per level or mission. The Explorer Mode is a normal mode that awards you with 1-3 Stars depending on how long it takes you to complete the level, you still have unlimited time to complete your mission, you just may not earn all 3 stars. Expert Mode is an all-or-nothing, Limited Time mode requiring you to complete the mission with all 3 Stars or bust! This is definitely a Strategy-based game, one that I had difficulty earning all three stars on the first, and sometimes, second or third-time-around, so kudos to anyone who can complete these missions in the Expert mode, lol.
Nowadays, I look for TM games that have unique tasks or unusual goals because I've played so many cookie-cutter versions, I've fixed a million bridges, gathered a billion berries, fruit baskets and loaves of bread, filled-in tons of potholes, built or repaired enough sawmills to annihilate an entire Rainforest or two, and mined so many gold mines that there couldn't possibly be any gold left in the world. No worries here folks, you'll be recycling metal scrap heaps, creating Robots in the Control Center, building wind-powered Generators, shooting down artilleries, flying through asteroid fields, refueling spaceships, opening resource caches, and paying people to deliver various supplies.
You will still be tasked with building houses (aka futuristic explorer's tents) for income, but building those houses require Metal, Mines, and Money, none of which is an easy feat. Often times, you'll need to build a Metal Factory to manufacture the required supplies, demolish the factory, build a Crystal Factory in its place, generate crystals and then turn around and recycle it, before being able to build the required housing. Once you figure out what "supplies" are required to build or repair various buildings, the game gets easier and you'll be able to figure out the series of events or plans of attack to get from point A to point B. Once Crystal & Metal factories have been constructed or repaired, you have to order Crystals and Metal in increments of 25-50-100 or 250 units or credits. I found it beneficial to take notes of how much metal & crystals were required for each task so that when I replayed the level, I knew exactly how much to manufacture so I wasn't wasting my time or money (managing my time & money!)
Collector's Edition Extras:
21 Futuristic Music Soundtracks, Wallpapers (not as impressive as one would expect from a game with graphics this amazing??) 66 Captain's Logbook (level recap pics) Hidden Chapter and/or Missions. There is no Strategy Guide which was slightly disappointing, but in the end, it wasn't a deal-breaker for this sci-fi fan!
I recommend this game!
+136points
143of 150voted this as helpful.
 
Pixel Art delivers a new set of color by number pictures! This series makes painting easier than ever before.
 
Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
44 of 50 found this review helpful
LOVE THE LARGER IMAGES!
PostedMarch 7, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromNext stop, Pixel Art 9...and 10 and 11 and...
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
OK
3 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
I love the larger, more detailed images on this eighth edition because you get a sense of accomplishment compared to the smaller images that can be completed with just 10 colors. When a picture has 20-30 different colors it's really fun to watch the scene unfold, little by little, pixel by pixel, besides, it gives you more "in the zone" time to just block out the business of the world and find some zen time :)
I'd still like to see a few options added such as an Undo button, a Cursor option of different widths (the current custom cursor is way too large and bulky) a full-color palette for the Background Colors, a full-color palette to choose the color of "shaded" current numbered pixels, and an option to save the completed images as a screensaver or wallpaper, makes sense, right?
When I played the first Pixel Art game, I wasn't a fan because the demo portion mostly offers small puzzles with very few pixels and even fewer details. I purchased the original Pixel Art game with an about to expire PCC and to my delight, I discovered that the puzzles became more intense after the demo and I was hooked! I found my "ZEN" these puzzles are totally relaxing and a great way to just zone out and chillax. When I say intense, I just mean more intricate, because the puzzles don't actually require a lot of thought, but that's the beauty of it...it's not supposed to be a brain-burner! The accompanying music is soothing with occasional nature sounds blended into the background to make the experience even more peaceful, with frogs and crickets chirping or the sounds of waves as they ebb and flow.
There's not a whole lot to have to figure out, it's about as uncomplicated and basic as it gets so as long as someone can recognize numbers, they should be able to play! Pixel Art is a computer version of Paint by Numbers. Each pixel has a number and you chose the corresponding color bubble from the palette (also numbered) on the right side, and you simply left click to fill in all the numbers with the correct color, you can hold the mouse button and swipe through large groupings as well.
There is a Slider Bar that allows you to zoom in & out (there's a "fit" tab as well) you can also move the entire page around by right-clicking and dragging. There is an auto-fill feature that will fill in large groups of pixels in a particular color by double-clicking, but that feature has to recharge after each use, besides, it's more satisfying to color them yourself. The last feature is a slider bar that allows you to change the color of the background, it really only allows you to change the colors in shades of grey to black. To me, it would make more sense to have an entire color scale available on a paint by numbers game though, wouldn't it?
Come join me on the Zen Pixel Art Train, I'll save ya a seat!
PIXEL ART SERIES LIST
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
1-Pixel Art 1 (August 27-2018) 4.3
2-Pixel Art 2 (February 13-2019) 4.1
3-Pixel Art 3 (June 17-2019) 4.4
4-Pixel Art 4 (June 25-2019) 4.3
5-Pixel Art 5 (October 21-2019) 4.6
6-Pixel Art 6 (December 17-2019) 4.2
7-Pixel Art 7 (January 13-2020) n/a
8-Pixel Art 8 (March 4-2020) n/a
by: T1 Games
I recommend this game!
+38points
44of 50voted this as helpful.
 
Can you save the kingdom from a crystal curse?
 
Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
51 of 55 found this review helpful
WHAT HAPPENS IF HER FOOT'S TOO BIG?
PostedMarch 6, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromWhy don't we ever get stories about poor Snow White or Pocahontas? I mean the crystal slipper syndrome is cool, but there are soooo many cooler Princesses! (did you know Tinkerbell was a Princess until booted out in 2005!
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
OK
3 / 5
Completed Game approximately 7.5 hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
21 Scene Locations +8 CE Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner-possibly Intermediate
Anna Dupre and Jannet Carrel have been best friends since childhood. Every year they plan a best friend get-together, a tradition they both look forward to all year long. This year, Anna has planned a very special event that combines Anna and Jannet's tradition, with the Crystal Kingdom's traditional Ball. Unbeknownst to Jannet, Prince Nicholas will propose to her best friend by placing the traditional Glass Slipper upon Anna's royal foot, unbeknownst to the Royal Family, this tradition has been cursed to become crystallized just like Cinderella's Glass Slippers!
Collectibles/Morphing Objects: (CE version only)
Each scene has 2 of those famous 4Friends Opaque Collectibles that are really well-blended into the scenery and one of my personal favorite collectibles overall. (my all-time favorite CE feature are non-linear morphs from the original DP series) There are 58 Opaque Mice which unlocks 7 Crystal Mice when you find 6-12-21-30-39-48-58 Opaque Mice. Each scene also has a Morphing Object, some of which are well-hidden and challenging to spot at first glance. There is an available pull-out Tab that tells you how many morphs & collectibles remain in each scene.
Gadget/Helper:
There is a Clock Gadget named Celeste who is the Keeper of the Crystal Kingdom. Celeste requires a Crystal Tear in exchange for an Anti-Magic Sphere, to break the spell cast by a sorceress, upon the Royal Family members who have been cursed, including your best friend. Each time you offer Celeste a Crystal Tear, she enlightens you with the backstory of the tear's owner. After receiving the Sphere, you must "fight" the animal that ensnares the royal member via a Match 3 game, collecting the correct animal prints against your opponent. The Celeste Gadget is used 5 times to "fight" a Wolf, a Fox, an Owl, a Squirrel, and a Bear, and she also gives you Anti-Magic Powder for the Crystal Tears of Cinderella and the Princess.
Hidden Object Scenes:
There are 22 Hidden Object Scenes +7 in the CE Bonus Chapter and a ton of smaller zoom zone hop's. There are Interactive List Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Keywords in Sentence Finds, Replace Items, and Spot the Difference Finds available. There are no alternate puzzles offered.
Mini-Games:
There are 38 Mini-Games +11 in the CE Bonus Chapter and several Pair-Matching tasks. This is one of my favorite developers, and I hope they read this review because I'd like to throw a word of cation their way concerning their mini-games. Avid HOPA fans are also avid reviewers and clearly have picked up on the fact that the mini-games are all recycled from one game to the next. The games in The Crystal Tear are the same games in Mark of Fate, and the same games offered in basically all their other series. They have included the same Gadget as well, where you have to feed the gadget a crystal tear to learn the backstory. When everything is the same from one game to the next, avid fans are going to notice, and we have noticed according to the reviews. How many fans didn't bother to download this game after reading the reviews? I'm just hoping the devs will realize that they may be turning off a lot of regular players because of the lack of new games and features...sometimes the story alone isn't enough to tip the scales!?!
Bonus Chapter: (CE version only)
Rewind the clock 40 years and delve into the Fairy Godmother's origins in this somewhat lengthy bonus chapter that takes place over 8 Scene Locations. There are 11 Mini-Games, 3 pair-matching games, and 6 Hidden Object Scenes. Celeste doesn't make an appearance, however, there is a Magic Book gadget that is used a couple of times that includes a small mini-game of tracing lines. and you will continue searching for the final 16 Opaque Mice and 8 Morphing Objects which will unlock the final 2 Crystal Mice.
Collector's Edition Version Extra's
8 Wallpapers,13 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Screensavers, 5 Music Soundtracks, 34 Movie Video Cutscenes, 24 Achievements (9 achievements are available in 3 category progressions) 18 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 19 Replayable Mini-Games, 58 Opaque Crystal Mice (2 per scene) 29 Morphing Objects (1 per scene) 6 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a Built-In Strategy Guide.
LIVING LEGENDS SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-Ice Rose (April 20-2012) 4.2
2-Frozen Beauty (July 12-2013) 4.4
3-Wrath of the Beast (February 20-2015) 4.4
4-Bound By Wishes (April 1-2016) 4.6
5-Beasts of Bremen (March 17-2017) 4.3
6-Uninvited Guests (December 1-2017) 4.5
7-Fallen Sky (October 26-2018) 4.3
8-The Crystal Tear (March 6-2020) n/a
by: Friendly Fox
I recommend this game!
+47points
51of 55voted this as helpful.
 
In Adventure Mosaics: Forest Spirit, enter a magical forest and complete 200 colorful and enchanting nonograms puzzles!
 
Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
68 of 74 found this review helpful
RICH VIBRANT COLORS & A HEARTWARMING STORY
PostedMarch 5, 2020
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromJust look at the above middle picture in the synopsis, beautiful colors, beautiful landscapes, eh?
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
Excellent
5 / 5
I absolutely love this developer because they clearly pour their heart and soul into the games they create and I've yet to see a cookie-cutter game come down the pike from them! I loved the color choices and I loved the pictorial adventure storyline concept, I even loved how the pictures were inside squares to represent an entire landscape image. The only complaint I have is that the biggest percentage of the Mosaic levels are a tad too easy-breezy.
There are 200 Mosaic puzzles that can be played in a Casual mode where the numbers are crossed off one by one, or and Advanced mode where the numbers are crossed off once the entire row or column has been completed. There are 6 Tile style options, including my favorite Lego Tiles, and there are 10 downloadable Wallpaper backgrounds included!
There are two Hint types available, one that fills in a Random Cell, and one that allows you to choose a 3 Across & 3 Down (in a Plus + pattern) area. You can earn up to 3-Stars per level, one for Completing the Level, one for Making no more than 1 Mistake, and one for making No Mistakes at all.
Mosaics are really addicting puzzle games and they aren't difficult to learn, if you can count, you can master them! (assuming they are based on logic because some are literally Guesser Griddlers) The Mosaic Grid has Rows & Columns and there are Numbers or groups of numbers on the edges of each of those rows & columns, each group of numbers must be separated by at least one empty cell. You simply fill in or cross off cells by process of elimination, sometimes it's easier to figure out where a filled-in cell isn't possible, for example, a 2-cell slot can't contain the required 3-cell number so those cells would be crossed out. Larger numbers are the easiest to figure out, if there are 20 cells in a row or column and the number of required cells is 18, you would fill in all but the first and last 2 cells, (16 cells) until, by process of elimination, you figure out where the final 2 filled in cells go because those 16 cells will be filled in regardless of where they begin or end...that sounds way more complicated then it actually is! You really need to get a "hands-on" the puzzle to see for yourself just how easy, and addicting, they can be :)
I recommend this game!
+62points
68of 74voted this as helpful.
 
<<prev 1 ... 114 115 116 117 118 ... 472 next>>