pennmom36's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.7
- Helpful Votes:358,445
- Reviews Submitted:4711
- First Review:December 10, 2012
- Most Recent Review:March 30, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
A dangerous spirit has returned from the past!
Overall rating
3
/
5
90 of 117 found this review helpful
JUST ANOTHER MEDIEVAL SORCERER
PostedOctober 14, 2017
pennmom36
from"Whatever the spirit did to him has a prolonged effect" ya think?! He turned to stone, that's about as prolonged as something gets! At least he's already in the garden, it works!
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
During the14th century, the plague known as the Black Death, swept through Europe, killing millions of people. The plague was merciless, and its victims suffered immense and unbearable pain before succumbing to death. There was little the Plague Doctor's could do to ease their patients suffering.Death was inevitable. The Black Death was unstoppable. After losing his entire family, Moro made the moral decision to search for an alternative form of medicine, Dark Magic. It wasn't long before Moro was accused of heresy by the Inquisitor's, and burned at the stake. Moro vowed to return one day, stronger than ever, and now he had indeed returned!
Put on your Magic Glasses that let's you see past events, it's time to investigate the return of yet another angry sorcerer from a Plague ridden era. Everything about this game is predictable and impractical, from the moment you begin your investigation....at the European Museum of History, because that's where all evil sorcerers are reborn.
This game has everything you already know it's going to have, a briefcase sitting on a park bench, that has a patch with something important sewn inside (why would you do that?) AND an old fashioned hairpin. Turn around, you know there's going to be a bulletin board nearby, complete with a crow playing the "mine" game, and of course an object wedged partially inside it's only crevice. Keep searching, you know there's a broken zipper pull, and something mysteriously hidden within the bushes, bushes that of course have thorns. By the end of the game my inventory items consisted of items that I knew exactly what I would use them for, a glass shard, paperclip, eyes, and yes, acid! Of course, you haven't learned from your past mistakes, and you will pick up a pile of Notes, that the wind will immediately scatter throughout each of the games locations, and amazingly, there's only 1 page per scene!
This Collector's Edition version has 15 Morphing Cursed Items and several Coins to collect that allows you to purchase virtual items for your Cursed Items Exhibit. Both collectibles have an Icon located on the top of the Inventory Bar.
The Hidden Object Scenes are varied with Interactive List finds, Interactive Silhouetted Shape finds, finding and replacing Keywords in Sentence finds, with an optional Match 3 alternative game to play.
The Mini Games have the option of an Easy or Hard Mode to choose from, but even on the hard mode, most of them are doable on the first attempt. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1-Use directional arrows to rotate tiles to reassemble the picture.
2-Choose two sections of the lock teeth to swap along the top and bottom.
3-Connect the tiles with the specified number of connections for each tile.
4-Move flags along the lines to their correct outlined shapes.
5-Use the clue to turn the correct slots green, press arrows to rotate the clock hands.
6-Move tokens to their color coded slots without overlapping lines.
7-Rotate tiles to connect folders.
8-Remove all tiles by selecting 2 identical adjacent tiles.
MYSTERY TALES GAMES AVAILABLE
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1- The Lost Hope (January 25-2014) 4.0
2- The Twilight World (January 29-2015) 3.5
3- Alaskan Wild (August 24-2015) 3.8
4- Her Own Eyes (February 18-2016) 4.1
5- Eye of the Fire (September 29-2016) 3.4
6- The Hangman Returns (January 26-2017) 3.7
7- The House of Others (June 29-2017) 3.8
8- Dangerous Desires (October 14-2017) n/a
2- The Twilight World (January 29-2015) 3.5
3- Alaskan Wild (August 24-2015) 3.8
4- Her Own Eyes (February 18-2016) 4.1
5- Eye of the Fire (September 29-2016) 3.4
6- The Hangman Returns (January 26-2017) 3.7
7- The House of Others (June 29-2017) 3.8
8- Dangerous Desires (October 14-2017) n/a
This Collector's Edition has 10 Concept Art pictures, 14, Wallpapers, 5 Music Soundtracks, 17 replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 16 replayable Mini Games, 35 Achievements to earn, 15 Morphing Cursed Items, 51 Collectible Coins to buy 15 Cursed Items for the Exhibit, Missing Note Pages, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter.
Mysterious portraits are causing their subjects to transform into monsters!
Overall rating
3
/
5
20 of 23 found this review helpful
SOMEBODY SURE LIKES GREEN
PostedOctober 13, 2017
pennmom36
fromIf I'm so worried about the minotaur attacking me, why did I hang around searching for objects right next to him?
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Usually when games go overboard with the color hues, they add way too much blues and purples, but in this episode of Dark Romance: The Monster Within, somebody sure must have liked green, because everything's so green. When the Standard Edition of HOPA games are released, I first play that versions demo, and then I finish the Collector's Edition version, if I felt it was worthy enough to buy during a sale. I tried to finish this game, but after completing the next chapter after the demo, I just found myself too bored to care. I kept trying to make myself return to it, to see if it got any better, or see if perhaps I was just having a bad day before. A week later, I still had no interest in completing the game. I really loved the first game in this series, which was about vampires, and since then, the storylines haven't been as interesting, and certainly not very dark, Dark Romances, and I think that's why. Here's a recap of my review to help you decide which version, if either are right for you:
Surely everyone knows by now, not to open that last wedding present, that nobody ever knows where it came from. Sure enough, it was a cursed gift, a portrait of the new bride, that's slowly morphing into a beast, and causing Sybil Vane, to morph as well! Nigel and Sybil aren't the only newlywed's hexed by a curse, because this is Dark Romance, this couple must work together to find out who and why, they are being targeted, before the beast within takes control, and Sybil is gone forever.
In true Dark Romance fashion, you will solve this mystery by playing both characters, Nigel and Sybil, which gives you a different perspective, from both characters point of view. In the Collector's Edition version, there are 3 different collectibles, with icons above the inventory bar that open up whenever there's an available collectible. You can choose to disable this function in the custom settings, there are 15 Morphing Objects, 12 Cursed Paintings (with a background bio) and 64 collectible Paint Brushes, which allow you to purchase animals in the Menagerie and paint their portrait. You don't really get to paint the picture, it just appears, and it paints the animal with other animal parts, like the fennec fox with a duck bill and feathers, it just doesn't make sense
I thought this game was going to give us a break with the gimmicky tool feature, but it turns out that the only thing papa had left, was an Amulet. What does the amulet do you ask? Well, it somehow gives us the ability to turn into a falcon and fly! This part leaves me with so many questions, why do I need a real falcon if I can just turn into one using my amulet? Why can't I find an amulet that turns me into a panther and we can both live happily ever after changing into a cat? How does an amulet such as this work in the first place, voodoo, dark magic, alien technology? How do I return to human form? Do I carry the amulet around my falcon neck? Do I eat rodents when I'm a falcon?
The Hidden Object Scenes aren't all that impressive, and you can opt for a Match 3 game in either version, but these alternate puzzles rarely offer a really good Match 3 game. There are Interactive List finds, Progressive Interactive Silhouetted Shape finds, and Keywords in Sentence finds requiring you to find and replace items correctly. There are also Multiple finds in smaller Zoom Zone HOP's as well.
The Mini Games however, I found to be creative and somewhat lengthy. Most games are available with an Easy or Hard difficulty mode option. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Eliminate all but one token by removing tokens located between two matching tokens.
2) Point each dial to one of the symbols shown on the clue, by pressing the blue arrows to rotate the dials the total number of times shown on them. Rotating one dial may affect others.
3) Guide each flower to its matching corner without intersecting paths.
4) Perform first aid on Benjamin logically.
5) Press icons in the correct sequence.
6) Guide Nigel to the gates, avoiding the black hawks.
DARK ROMANCE GAMES AVAILABLE
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-Vampire In Love (February 8-14) 3.9
2-Heart of the Beast (April 23-15) 4.0
3-The Swan Sonata (October 17-15) 3.4
4-Kingdom of Death (April 21-16) 3.4
5-Curse of Bluebeard ( October 13-16) 4.7
6-Romeo and Juliet (February 25-17) 2.7
7-The Monster Within (September 7-17) 4.0
2-Heart of the Beast (April 23-15) 4.0
3-The Swan Sonata (October 17-15) 3.4
4-Kingdom of Death (April 21-16) 3.4
5-Curse of Bluebeard ( October 13-16) 4.7
6-Romeo and Juliet (February 25-17) 2.7
7-The Monster Within (September 7-17) 4.0
The Collector's Edition has 15 Wallpapers, 20 Concept Art pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, 10 replayable Movie Videos, 30 Achievements to earn, 12 Cursed Paintings, 15 Morphing Objects, 64 Collectible Brushes to buy 12 Animal paintings in the Menagerie, 19 replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 19 replayable Mini Games, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
An awesome combination of word puzzles, adventure and charm. Help Nagi island-hop his way through unknown dangers.
Overall rating
3
/
5
48 of 61 found this review helpful
RETTEB EB DLUOW TI SDRAWKCAB SDROW LLEPS DLUOC I FI (read from right to left)
PostedOctober 13, 2017
pennmom36
fromI spelled a word in French and it was accepted!
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Amazing Pyramids
(16)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The Title says it all, if I could have spelled the words backwards, this game would be awesome and so much more fun. NagiQ 2 is available in English or Spanish, which would make this an excellent Spanish learning game in my opinion, because you could have fun forming words in Spanish, while learning how to spell the words correctly.
This is a simple game at first, so you'll have to be patient for a few levels, but I can assure you, the levels get increasingly more difficult as you progress. The music reminds me of a jack-in-the-box, xylophone music that has a faster tempo the faster you wind it, and the graphics look like they would appeal to youngsters, but they would not be able to spell words, so I'm a bit confused as to what the targeted age is here?
In a nutshell, there are a few letters on the grid style board to start with, the goal is to form words using the random letters on the bottom, that will eventually connect the gold letters to the letters that are blue, usually on the opposite side of the board. Words can only be formed left to right or top to bottom, not backwards, which would have been awesome.
As you are trying to form words, a list of acceptable words will appear, but it doesn't tell you the value of each letter or word, which made the game less fun for me personally. Once you have spelled the word you want, by first clicking on the letter at the bottom, and then on the tile you want that particular letter placed, you need to click the play button on the bottom right. This will permanently place the word on the board and give you a whole new set of letters.
If the board seems too difficult, you can reset the board, or you can choose the Letters icon to receive a new set of letters. Some of the tiles have gift boxes on them, and if you form a word that includes that tile, you will receive either coins or Lorin's Tokens to help you form words. When the Iron Hand Pirate appears, he throws more letters on the board to complicate things. Forming words will eventually defeat him.
I enjoyed playing the rare Word game offered, however, not enough to want to purchase it. I feel like this game would have been more creative and more challenging if I could have written words that go from right to left, or bottom to top, and I would like to know how much specific words were worth, so being more creative with my choices would net me more coins.
If you like games similar to scrabble, you will probably love this game. For me, it was just an okay game that could have been a really good game with the additional features I talked about.
A Halloween party becomes a spine-tingling fight for survival!
Overall rating
5
/
5
296 of 355 found this review helpful
WE'VE BEEN EXPECTING YOU ....BWAHAHAHHAHA
PostedOctober 12, 2017
pennmom36
fromIf Jane is a Seer, why didn't she see this one coming?
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Haunted Hotel move over! This is the big leagues baby, and this will be an evening Jane and Joe will never forget, unless they die of course. Halloween costume, check. Huge pumpkin head mask, check. An extra pair of clean underwear, prolly not, but this looks like the most awesome Halloween costume party ever! That's because it's real, these guys are the real McCoy's, and these two orphans are in for an unforgettable evening, as they try desperately to find each other first, and then a way out, before the Beyonders do terrible beyonder things to them!
This is my favorite kind of game, filled with creepy Ninja dolls that climb the walls, evil sadistic looking clowns (I couldn't stop making the clown do his creepy eye laughing thing, I spent more time interacting with the weirdness than playing the game) Just when I thought this game was going to be the first game to push the limits of the horror genre games here at big fish, they backed off and added some pretty comical features. I'm pretty sure they weren't doing this intentionally, but for once I want to play a game that doesn't hold back, and I'm bettin' a game like that would skyrocket sales. I know a lot of people don't like dark games with things that go bump in the night, and I'm okay with glittery games filled with unicorns occasionally, but there's way more horror genre fans than not, otherwise there wouldn't be so many games like this offered. I say, make me show proof of age (cause I can double it!) and make me tremble with fear!
In this Collector's Edition version, there are Morphing Beyonders Objects to find in each scene, Album Picture Fragments to collect and assemble 4 eight piece puzzles, and 12 Rare Halloween themed Dolls to find. I'm glad I don't have to hang on to them for real, everyone knows creepy dolls are always possessed just like Annabel!
Right at the get go, Joe suspiciously disappears, and come to find out, he's been taken hostage. Surely it will be difficult to find Joe in this huge mansion filled with things that go bump in the night, right? Oh look, here's your sign..Hostage This Way, written in blood...red paint. That was easier than I thought it was going to be! So once I find a map leading to THE very room I need to find, I decide to investigate my surroundings, while trying my best to be stealth like so as not to alert the Beyonders.
First things first, fix the broken wire to the lights so I can see, I'm sure a light won't alert the bad guys to use as a beacon to find me. (why are wires always on the outside of the wall, and always frayed in half just shy of the switch?) By this point, I've already removed the famous broken skeleton key from the door lock, found away to open the ole "trap door hidden under a rug with a missing handle, used a coin as a screwdriver, solved a mini game to open a ridiculously complicated purse lock, used a rag as a tourniquet to compress solid iron pipes, found and used a razor blade to find a hidden treasure inside a sewn up patch, and of course found and replaced every emblem ever made since the beginning of time, to open up every trinket box and hidden caches I've come across, and this is just the third room!
Moving on to the hostage situation, I enter an underground maze of complicated tunnels, most of which lead to a dead end. At one point did this lead somewhere? Did they scrap this passage mid-way during construction? It's a good thing I have a map to follow, don't all mansions come stock with a map? Did I mention there's a horseshoe shaped magnet just out of reach that I simply must have, because I need it to remove an important object inside a Spider cage? Did I mention the bars on the cage are so wide I could stick my hand through them, if it weren't being guarded by an attack steroid ridden spider? He's still just a spider, I'm pretty sure he can slip through the bars with no problem!
By now I've had several close encounters with a ghost who seems to just float back and forth, with seemingly no rhyme or reason, surely it's a trick? Finally I reach the bedroom where Joe is being held hostage, bummer, the door is locked with a keypad. It's a good thing the code is written on the glass next to the lock. (the keyword is glass, Joe could have easily busted the glass and escaped) In all fairness Joe's hand are bound with magic rope? It's okay though, he knows they hid the special Magic Knife in the same room he's in, he just doesn't know where??
In order to find this knife, I need to look for some anti-rust remover, this stuff impresses me more than a Magic rope does hands down. But wait, first I need to find a drawer pull because its missing one, and simply placing a new drawer pull on the opening always seems to do the trick! While I'm searching for a way to free Joe, I may as well place these fragments on the picture and do a little Hidden Object searching. Man, this picture suddenly does seem larger up close, it's so big I have to look at it in 5 different sections as I practically do a 360 degree panoramic viewing!
I'm totally exhausted at this point, this is a big house after all. On a serious note, although it sounds as if I was unimpressed with this game from my review, I'm not. Quite the opposite, I just like to look at unrealistic things with a sense of humor. I loved the creep factor, and even though all of the tasks are predictable and obvious, I still had a blast playing it, in fact I've already bought it!
This Collector's Edition mostly has a bunch of creepy dolls and clowns speaking Latin, Spiders and cobwebs, shadows and objects that come to life and some even jump out at you. It also has 8 Concept Art pictures, 8 Wallpapers, 4 Music Soundtracks,7 Achievements to earn, a Secret Room, Collectible Fragments to assemble 4 Album pictures with 8 pieces each, 12 Collectible Halloween themed Doll Figurines, and Morphing Objects, enjoy the escape!
I recommend this game!
Explore the dungeons of Cliffmont Castle in this unique new match-3 adventure!
Overall rating
5
/
5
72 of 76 found this review helpful
WOW A 10 STAR MATCH 3 GAME!
PostedOctober 11, 2017
pennmom36
fromSo medieval, and so much fun!
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I just got around to playing this fantastical Match 3 game, and I regret that I didn't play it sooner! You can choose from 3 different Cursors, and you may want to try all 3 because one of the 41 available Trophies to earn, requires that you do. You can play in a Relaxed Mode or Normal Limited Moves Mode which quite honestly gives you more than enough moves to finish. There are 32 castle upgrades to purchase with the coins you earn playing. The goal for each level is to clear all Gold Tile Cells, but there's so much more going on with this game!
This is a multi-board game which requires you to find objects and tools hidden within the boards, to unlock the next section of the board, be it a crowbar, a file or a simple key. These hidden objects are usually hidden under the Obstacles, Crates, Dirt Patches, Chains, Fog, Grids, Gem Shaped Boxes, Rocks, you name it, this game has it! You can even choose to keep playing to earn Badges, but you must earn 3 Stars and Collect every item.
You will earn Amphora when you match 4 tiles, and a match 5 will give you a bomb, using two or more will create an even larger explosion. As you progress, Power-ups become available such as Bombs that can be placed anywhere, Magic Wind Potion to destroy Cobwebs,and Magic Fire Potions to remove Ice Tiles. Portals can be used to warp to another area of the board once you collect amulets by dropping them off the board, and there are optional side quests of making matches in a sequence or dueling opponents.
This is one of the most entertaining Match 3 games I've played in a very long time, one that you shouldn't put off playing like I did, enjoy making matches!
I recommend this game!
Snow, Ice and the deadly wind blowing from the Frozen Mountains! The Lost Lands have been overtaken by ice in the middle of summer!
Overall rating
4
/
5
60 of 76 found this review helpful
I'VE LOVED THIS SERIES EVER SINCE LITTLE JIMMY GOT EATEN BY THE TREE!
PostedOctober 11, 2017
pennmom36
fromWhy can't these stories center around an unusual blistering hot phenomena? This game makes me shiver!
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Lost Lands is one of those series that tends to slip under the radar, so to speak. They don't release the games in this series at a breakneck speed, spewing out a game every month like a lot of other game series do. When you think of a really good game series with interesting storylines, you probably don't think to include Lost Lands, but you should!
Five-BN doesn't get enough credit for this one, actually they have a lot of great game series, Darkness and Flame, New York Mysteries, House of 1000 Doors, Sacra Terra, Forbidden Secrets: Alien Town, and let's not forget about the newest one The Legacy: Forgotten Gates. You should check those games out as well, they are amongst my favorites. If I voice one complaint with Lost Lands, it would be with the graphics department, because it seems to me that the graphics are becoming slightly cartoonish, mostly with the inventory items. One of the reasons I love this game is because their Collector's Edition's always have an abundance of really good Collectibles and Morph's. It is for that reason alone that I am only giving this Standard Edition four stars instead of five because I prefered the CE version. Here's a recap of my review to help you make a decision about which version, if either is right for you:
Susan has once again been summoned to the Lost Lands by Maaron the Alchemist Mage, and she's still wearing her pajamas and slippers! Winter has arrived way too soon (winter is coming if you're a GOT fan, UPDATE: Winter is Here! lol) and Maaron needs the warmaidens help to find the source of the sudden freeze, emanating from the Frozen Mountain. Foinor the dwarf has returned to escort Susan through the tunnels leading to the mountain, to join forces with Maaron to stop the freeze, before it's too late.
Lost Lands is a fantastic adventure game, however, I've never understood why the graphics of the scenes aren't as stunning as the videos. The videos are CG but the scenes themselves are hand drawn, and at times are cartoonish in nature, with very little color. If I'm being picky, I would also add that the lip sync isn't all that great either, the lips are moving, but they certainly don't match up to the words being spoken. There's also a discrepancy in the storyline, the introduction video shows a museum SECURITY GUARD twirling a nightstick while on duty, which becomes airborne, and causes an undesirable chain of events to occur. The video then switches over to show Susan watching the news on television, and the news anchor says he was a JANITOR, when clearly he was a security guard. Why would a janitor have a nightstick?
Other than those minor complaints, my favorite feature in Lost Lands, are the abundance of extra's offered in the Collector's Edition versions. You can even choose whether or not you want the cursor to change when it scans across a collectible or morph. They are actually on the small side, but in my opinion, that's what makes them more challenging to find. In Ice Spell, the CE version has 30 Morphing Objects and 13 Lost Lands Manuscript Pages to find. There are also several Collectibles in different categories, Mittens, Icicles, Owls, Stained Glass, and Golden Horse Statues, all of the above, will unlock Bonus Puzzles when the collections are completed, as well as Achievements. Eventually you will use a Magic Wand to cast spells that can repair or damage items, make items smaller or larger, or make invisible items visible. Each time you use the wand, you'll have to play a game of "connect the dots"
The Hidden Object Scenes are all Progressive Interactive Silhouetted Shape finds, where you find an item that matches the silhouetted shape shown, and then use that item interactively in the scene to expose the next silhouetted shape item, until complete. Most of the HOP's include a small Mini Game to solve.
The Mini Games are somewhat on the easy side, I'd prefer something a bit more challenging, but at least they are entertaining. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Shovel the snow into the pit, by selecting directional arrows to push snow piles. Adjacent snow piles move one cell away, and if you push a pile against the border it can't be moved and you will have to start over.
2) Make your move to the next location when the wolves aren't looking.
3) Rotate the pointers to the required symbols.
4) Use the hint to select the correct symbols
5) Arrange the statues arms to resemble the picture.
6) Connect the dots to recreate the image using the wand.
7) Rotate the dials to the correct number using a picture as a reference clue.
LOST LANDS GAMES AVAILABLE
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-The Dark Overlord (February 22-14) 4.4
2-The Four Horsemen (January 15-15) 4.6
3-The Golden Curse (November 7-15) 4.5
4-The Wanderer (October 25-16) 4.3
5-Ice Spell (September 12-17) 4.7
2-The Four Horsemen (January 15-15) 4.6
3-The Golden Curse (November 7-15) 4.5
4-The Wanderer (October 25-16) 4.3
5-Ice Spell (September 12-17) 4.7
The Collector's Edition version has 14 Wallpapers, 15 Concept Art pictures, 17 replayable Movie Videos, 8 Music Soundtracks, 21 Achievements to earn,19 replayable Mini Games, 5 Bonus Puzzles, 30 Morphing Objects, 13 Lost Lands Manuscripts to discover, 7 collectible Mittens, 8 Icicles, 8 Owls, 7 Stained Glass pieces and 12 Golden Horse Statues to collect, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, don't forget to wear your coat, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
330 variants of solitaire each with a detailed tutorial and quality HD graphics.
Overall rating
2
/
5
89 of 100 found this review helpful
GREAT GAME IF YOU DON'T MIND THE FACT THAT YOU NEVER WIN
PostedOctober 11, 2017
pennmom36
fromI'm pretty sure I was about to win the last game, but the demo ended when I had a single card left to remove!
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Magic Cards Solitaire
(28)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
What would be better than 330 games of Solitaire? The answer is 1 Game of Solitaire that you actually have a chance of winning. I'd like to win at least one game an hour! Honestly, most of the Solitaire games available here are worthless variations that I have no desire to play. During the demo, I played most of the games in the Golf category, that were similar to Tri-Peaks Solitaire. I played a few different types and didn't win any of them so I finally settled for playing Golf of Egypt, for the remainder of the demo, and didn't win a single game, nada, zilch, 0 with a capital Z!
This game is by Magnussoft, the creators of Magic Cards Solitaire, Magic Cards Solitaire 2: The Fountain of Life, and Solitaire 220 Plus. If you have played the original Magic Cards Solitaire game, you will recognize the same exact music plus one. Because there are only 2 tracks of music that I noticed, (perhaps different in other categories?) it does become quite monotonous. You can choose from 8 card themes as a matching set, if you choose a particular face card, the back of the card comes with that selection. There are a whopping 49 Background colors to choose from, and I will admit that most of them have vibrant colors and beautiful graphic designs. My only question is, why stop at 49, bump it to 50, you're driving me crazy here!
There are several categories of Solitaire, Arizona, Bakers Dozen, Canfield, Carlton, Fan, Forty Thieves, Four Seasons, Freecell, Gypsy, Golf, Klondike, Pairs, Sir Tommy, Spider, Yukon, and Others. Within each of those categories, are approximately 20 subcategories or variations of that particular type of Solitaire. Obviously some have more than others.
There is one feature that drove me bonkers, if your mouse hovers over any card on the board, a transparent bar appears at the top of the screen, telling you how many card remain. Likewise, if your mouse hovers over the foundation deck, the same transparent bar appears to tell you how many deck cards remain. (not enough I assure you) At first I thought it was a cool feature, but then it just became annoying.
You can save any game at any point so you won't lose your progress if you want to try another type of game, and there is a Statistics Page that keeps track of your progress. (my stats didn't look so hot)
For me personally, this is a whole lot of nothing, many of the games offered come stock with most computers anyway. Perhaps if I had won more games, I'd feel differently, but I'm just not digging this particular game, however, I do love playing the first Magic Cards Solitaire game.
I don't recommend this game.
Take on the role of a young Roman patrician and fight back the rebellious tribes in this tower defense game.
Overall rating
3
/
5
31 of 36 found this review helpful
I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO A GOOD TOWER DEFENSE GAME BUT THIS DIDN'T HIT THE MARK
PostedOctober 10, 2017
pennmom36
fromI'm just going to board that Roman ship and set sail on a journey to find another TD game!
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I'm a Tower Defense Fan because I love the strategy of figuring out which weapons to buy and where to place them. I love the thrill and the slight sense of panic you feel when the enemy starts to approach the castle, fort or whatever you are tasked with defending. Defense of Roman Britain however, just didn't do it for me, the graphics are really good, but the music is a bit intense, and and overbearing. The language translation is poor, the features are slow to respond and clunky, and I didn't see a need to zoom in and out of the scene. I had to play in windowed mode because the icons were partially cut off on the right side. Once I selected the windowed mode, I had to exit the game and restart it before the windowed mode would execute.
The biggest reason I wasn't impressed is because there is too much going on to make it appealing. I've never liked the feature of dragging gears to upgrade weapons. Sometimes simplicity is warranted, like simply reading a list of available upgrades for each weapon with percentage based coverage.
Another turn off is that the weapons offered tell you nothing about them until after you purchase them, I'd prefer to know what a weapon is called, and what it does, so I can make an informed decision about which weapon should be placed in which tower..
DEFENSE GAME SERIES
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
1-Defense of Greece (September 21-2015) 4.5
2-Defense of Egypt (January 10-17) 4.5
3-Defense of Roman Britain (October 10-2017) n/a
2-Defense of Egypt (January 10-17) 4.5
3-Defense of Roman Britain (October 10-2017) n/a
Tower Defense games are far and few between, and I really wanted to be wowed by this game. Defense of Roman Britain is a good game, but for me, it wasn't an epic, gotta have it kind of game, enjoy!
Discover a world of fantastical creations in this hidden object adventure!
Overall rating
2
/
5
66 of 87 found this review helpful
IT'S EVERYTHING I EXPECTED
PostedOctober 10, 2017
pennmom36
fromWhere are the fantastical creatures? I was distracted with the clock tower door, did I miss them?
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This is an old school, scroll to zoom into the HO scenes, because everything looks the same, game. It's very similar to the HdO games but you can't drag the scenes around with your mouse, at least not mine. The graphics are average, with an abundance of gold hues, and the music is neither here nor there. At the beginning of the game, a woman narrates the story of the Katz Factory, but it was if she were reading a bedtime story to a 4 year old, trying to make the story more interesting for her own benefit. After that, you meet up with Otto the plant manager, and he slightly moves his lips, but he has no voice, so you just read the text dialogs.
You can choose between an Easy or Normal difficulty mode, and there are 9 Concept Art pictures included. There is a section called Concept Code, which I found to be hilarious, and the best part of the game. At first it looks like simple computer data coding used to create the game, but if you read the words you'll realize that someone has a sarcastic sense of humor! During the game, there are 17 hidden Flying Pigs to collect, and when I say hidden, I mean hidden because some of them are difficult to spot, mostly because of the dark graphics.
This is mainly a HOG, with Multiples of the same item finds such as 21 keys or torn paper pieces, Listed item finds and even Fragments. As you progress, bits and pieces of the story unfolds via the Log book, but it's not essential to read it to progress. During the HO's if you can't find an item, you can click and drag the Hint Music Box around the scene, the faster the music's tempo, the closer you are to an object. If you use the music box hint AND click on the object, you'll have to wait for it to recharge, however, I found that if you find the object with the box, but click somewhere that doesn't have an object, the music box will return to it's slot, you can then click on the object, and because it technically wasn't used, there's no recharge period. Eventually you will find Oskar the cat, who also seems to have a sense of humor and when you hover the mouse over him, he becomes quite opinionated. Some objects that you find go into your inventory, which appears only when an item is needed, such as keys to unlock doors.
There are Mini Games as well, however I cannot comment on these because I wasn't able to progress far enough to encounter one. This is because I ran into a glitch of some sort, when I couldn't access the clock tower door. I tried deleting the game, restarting my computer, and even a wild random clicking frenzy to no avail. I finally deleted my profile, and I created a new profile choosing the easy mode this time, and of course I had to start all over, but this worked because the door began to sparkle and I was able to enter the clock tower door!
If you enjoy a simple Hidden Object game with a few mini games thrown in, and you don't mind trying to find items that can be difficult to see at times because they are either small or blend into the same colored graphics, this game fits the bill. I will admit that I preferred the challenge of some of these HO's over the junkpile unhidden items usually offered in the big named games. But in the long run, this game wasn't interesting enough for my personal tastes to buy it, but it may be your cup of tea.
I don't recommend this game.
Dive into this spooky match 3 adventure and help Victoria decorate the School of Magic for Halloween.
Overall rating
5
/
5
147 of 160 found this review helpful
s-BOO-ktacular Match 3 Game
PostedOctober 9, 2017
pennmom36
fromI love Halloween and the themed games that are offered!
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Cradle of Egypt
(92)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Secrets of Magic has returned just in time for Halloween, and this time you get to choose how you want to play the Match 3. Not only can you choose to play in a Relaxed, unlimited moves or time mode, you can choose between a Limited Moves or Limited Time mode. Then you get to choose the difficulty within the Limited Moves or Limited Time mode, with either Casual or Expert difficulty, which give you either more or less power-ups, and more or less obstacles! I love having options, and I found that you can even switch between the modes mid-game without losing your progress! There is a meter on the left side that will even tell you the stats of progress when you hover the cursor over it.
You need to make the required amounts of matches of each token type, as shown at the top, for each level. Most levels have a Key you must drop off of the board, that will unlock the hidden part of the Match 3 board. I found it easier to meet the goal requirements by going after the key as soon as possible. Large matches will give you a power-up on the board, Potions will destroy tokens in an X formation, Dark Pumpkins destroy all tokens surrounding it, and directional firecrackers destroy tokens in either a row or column. You can include them in a match, swipe them to an adjacent tile, or double click to detonate them. Dropping Chests off of the board is worth 2000 points.
You need to make the required amounts of matches of each token type, as shown at the top, for each level. Most levels have a Key you must drop off of the board, that will unlock the hidden part of the Match 3 board. I found it easier to meet the goal requirements by going after the key as soon as possible. Large matches will give you a power-up on the board, Potions will destroy tokens in an X formation, Dark Pumpkins destroy all tokens surrounding it, and directional firecrackers destroy tokens in either a row or column. You can include them in a match, swipe them to an adjacent tile, or double click to detonate them. Dropping Chests off of the board is worth 2000 points.
As you progress, you unlock Power-ups to use at any given time such as the Magic Wand to destroy a token of your choice, the Hammer destroys one obstacle, and the Whirlwind shuffles the tiles, the fourth power-up wasn't available in the demo or I haven't progressed enough to earn it.
There are several obstacles, the power-ups are originally encased inside a clay square that you'll need to make matches next to first to break the clay, then drop the encased item off of the board. There are also Crates, and Stone barriers that require one or two matches next to them to break, tiles inside chains require matches of whichever tile is chained, to release them.
I hated the fact that the "loading" page took forever in between levels, but I liked the fact that I could continue making matches, not having to wait for all tiles to finish dropping etc. You get to purchase Halloween items to decorate the Magic School Entrance, and each item gives you 3 different option styles. The best part about this game is that you can customize the type of Match 3 game you like. Enjoy!
I recommend this game!