pennmom36's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.7
- Helpful Votes:358,445
- Reviews Submitted:4715
- First Review:December 10, 2012
- Most Recent Review:May 17, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Can you bring peace to the kingdoms in time?
Overall rating
4
/
5
76 of 87 found this review helpful
Let There Be Peace
PostedOctober 2, 2016
pennmom36
fromWhat do you think will happen if I kiss Arthur the frog?
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
I love Mad Head games, you can always count on them to offer unique games that are highly entertaining such as, Cadenza, Shadowplay, Nevertales, Beyond, Shiver, Rite of Passage, Sable Maze, Witches Legacy, Where Angels Cry, Dark Realm, Haunted Hotel, Dark Dimensions, House of 1000 Doors, Empress of the Deep, Twisted Lands, The Secret Order, or Maze Subject 360, just to name a few. These devs clearly put a lot of time and effort into their games and Dark Realm: Lord of the Winds is a perfect example. The game gets way better after the demo, and the locations have gorgeous graphics. Clearly this is a fantasy based game, and the graphics reflect that very well.
In my last few reviews, I talked about how lame some of the games from the well known producers have been lately. In my opinion they are releasing games at a wicked fast pace and seemingly not caring about the quality of entertainment the games provide. I've also stated that some of the "lesser known" series devs are ramping up their game as they try to compete with the big dogs, and they are producing some really good games that are highly entertaining. Dark Realm: Lord of the Winds by Mad Head games, reflects EXACTLY what I've been saying, quality through and through! Is this game perfect? No, there's always room for improvement, but it is very entertaining, has really good graphics, and offers a variety of HOP's and Mini Games. Nuff said, on with my review:
Queen Valera has made a very important decision, one that could endanger the entire Kingdom and it's peaceful citizens. Queen Valera has offered a Peace Treaty with it's long time rivaling neighbor kingdom ruled by the ever so handsome King Harlon. She knows how dangerous it is, but she must lower the protective shield to allow King Harlon to enter so the treaty can be signed. King Harlon offers Queen Valera a gift, but as soon as she opens the chest, a powerful force attacks the Queen, taking her breath away, literally, removing her life force! Both sides panic, both sides begin blaming each other, but the Queen is dying! Queen Valera's best friend and right hand man, Nathaniel, offers to exchange places with the Queen, giving her his breath, so she may live, and save the Kingdom. A local healer is able to exchange the curse, and slow down the process on Nathaniel to buy some time, until the cure can be found. Queen Valera must travel to the Wind Colossus, to reverse the affects of this powerful orb, to save not only Nathaniel, but hopefully, stop the war between the two Kingdoms and establish peace going forward!
Nathaniel has given the Queen his Bow, this is no ordinary Bow, this Bow has unlimited and powerful abilities. The first of many Arrows you have, allows you to retrieve anything the arrow hits. The Arrow will return along with the item that the arrow hit, but of course, there's a Mini Game involved with each use. Each time you use the Bow, you will play a variation of "Blocks" where you move blocks until the arrow has a clear path, each game becomes increasingly more difficult to solve as more blocks are added to the board. Eventually, you will find other arrows that have special abilities, an Arrow that has explosives, and one that freezes it's target, others are added after the demo. In the Collector's Edition the bonus features include 35 Hidden Feathers, one in each scene, Achievements to earn and a Morphing Object in each Hidden Object Scene.
The Hidden Object Scenes are fairly entertaining, which Mad Head is well known for. They have very interesting scenes with Silhouetted Shape finds, Interactive List finds, and even Keywords or Symbol find during a story. One of my favorite scenes is finding shapes that are carved on the Ship's Wheel, turning clockwise or counterclockwise to steer the ship by finding the symbols shown in the center, one at a time. Another among my favorites was finding two different symbols that when combined would create the symbols from the inventory bar,
The Mini Games are also entertaining, not to easy, but not too difficult either. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo, and a few notable puzzles from the main game:
1) The Bow and Arrow game of Blocks requiring you to move blocks until the arrow has a straight path to travel from the bottom to the top.
2) Select and rotate the blue rings to create a continuous line for the energy to flow through. Selecting one ring may affect the others.
3) Move sliders to aim the cannon both up and down and left and right, that select the fire bottom to shoot.
4) Find and fill in the shapes indicated on the pillars with corresponding colors. Select the stone shapes to enable or block flow of color. Fill shapes with color by pressing gems.
5) Guide the light through the maze by selecting empty highlighted circles to move the beam of light.
6) Select and guide the ball through the maze without touching the path walls.
7) Find three of each shape hidden within the illustrations of a storybook.
8) Reorder the fish from biggest to smallest by swapping the fish located on the top. You will need to follow the tangled lines to figure out where each fish will land at the bottom.
9) Fill the spiral with the three types of water by selecting from the puddles. No two touching fields can be the same.
The Collector's Edition has 14 Concept Art pictures, 4 Wallpapers, 10 Music Soundtracks, 17 replayable Hidden Object Scenes to earn Gold, Silver or Bronze time awards, Collectible Hunt games, Constellations Mini Games, 14 Achievements, 35 Hidden Collectible Feathers, Morphing Objects within the Hidden Object Scenes, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
What secrets are hiding in the European countryside?
Overall rating
5
/
5
166 of 189 found this review helpful
If You Fail The Challenge Of The Labyrinth You Stay With The Shadows For Eternity!
PostedOctober 1, 2016
pennmom36
fromHelen: "Leave me alone!" Me: "No problem, you're floating in midair and your glowing eyes are freaking me out!"
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
It'd been 40 years since Edgar and his fiance Helen disappeared mysteriously. Edgar's sister Veronica Johnson, fears she might be losing her mind, because she just took a picture of Helen peeking out of a window from her family's home, which has been abandoned and boarded up for years! Once she compared this picture to a picture of Helen taken just before her disappearance, she is utterly shocked, because the pictures are practically identical! Helen hasn't changed in the least bit, Helen, hasn't aged in over 40 years! Emma has her hands full with this, now you see it, now you don't case, but all roads seem to lead to Helen's friend, Ben Carmer, who just so happens to be the last person to see the couple before they disappeared without a trace.....or was there?
Fear For Sale has always been a hit or miss type of game, it's either really awesome, or kind of a dud, but I have only two complaints with The Dusk Wanderer. First of all, the storyline is nothing new, in fact, I was able to figure out the plot within about 20 minutes, not just the plot, but exactly who, what, where, when and pretty much how. Secondly, the graphics are very poor. One of the features I have always loved in Fear For Sale is that they always seem to have top notch crystal clear computer generated graphics, they just didn't impress me this time. As with all other games in this series, you earn points for just about everything you do. As you earn these points, you will progress in rank status starting as a Cub Reporter then advance to Reporter, Investigative Journalist and so forth for a total of 8 rankings. For me personally, it doesn't thrill me one way or the other, I have no intention of competing with my friends to acquire a better score. This series is also known for their Collections that are in Categories, this time the categories are: Against the clock, Damsel in distress, Adam's legacy, Timepieces, and Hope and redemption, each category has 5 collectibles. This Collector's Edition also has 34 Beyond Objects and the usual Achievements to earn as well, which make this CE well worth the extra money because of the extra CE bling.
The Hidden Object Scenes are fairly typical scenes for this series, however, they are breaking out of their shell a little bit, offering keywords in sentences to find, replacing items back into the scene,finding items using your phone, interactive list finds, and silhouetted shape finds. There are also several smaller zoom zone HOP's as well as the one's requiring you to find a handful of fragments or parts scattered around the entire scene.
The Mini Games are entertaining, some are super simple, others a little more intense, but all seem to be doable. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Dress a mannequin to replicate the picture shown.
2) Move the Edgar's figurine next to Helen's by selecting directional arrows to move Edgar. Helen's character moves in the opposite direction of Edgar's.
3) Place torn picture fragments in a book.
4) Use the cypher to enter the correct code.
5) Follow tangled hoses to their matching color coded valves.
6) Find matching symbols to climb up the rope by selecting 2 rocks at a time.
7) Connect the stars to make a constellation using the given number of lines.
8) Pick the colored parts of the picture and place those colored items to their correct places in the scene.
9) Adjust levers according to the picture clue.
10) Turn the fragments of the image in such a sequence as not to block each subsequent step.
11) Select the blue symbol parts to create a symbol that the compass points to.
This Collector's Edition has 9 Wallpapers, 11 Concept Art pictures, 3 Screensavers, 4 Music Soundtracks, 25 Collectibles (5 collectibles in 5 categories) 9 Achievements, 26 Hidden Object Scenes, 28 Mini Games, 35 Beyond Objects, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy the Fear!
I recommend this game!
Can you uncover the secret of the Qin dynasty?
Overall rating
4
/
5
99 of 111 found this review helpful
I'm Focusing My Review On This Fascinating Emperor
PostedSeptember 30, 2016
pennmom36
fromWhy do I do all the work and risk my life while Sam gets all the promotions?
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
As you may already know, I wasn't very impressed with this edition of Hidden Expedition when I first played the Collector's Edition. Then my curious side emerged and I began to search for more information on the Emperor, and he really is an interesting and important figure. I thought I would share 10 facts that I found to be the most interesting, if you're not interested just skip this paragraph to get to my review of the game itself.
#1-Qin Shi Huang became the king of the state of Qin at the ripe old age of 13 (and he accomplished this feat without a cellphone, can you believe it!) His real name was actually Ying Zheng.
#2-Throughout China it was widely believed that the Emperor was illegitimate and his mother Zhao Ji was already pregnant when she married Yiren. Historians now theorize that this story was fabricated by Chinese Scholars to defame the Emperor, 2 fold because not only would that have made him an illegitimate child, but it would also mean that he was the son of a merchant and not of royal descent.
#3-The young Emperor was responsible for the unification of China when he conquered the remaining 6 kingdoms. For the first time in history, China was a united centralized state. (again without the use of a smartphone!)
#4-After he conquered the 6 other kingdoms Ying Zheng declared himself Qin Shi Huang. Translated, Qin means "of Qin" Shi means "first" and Huangdi was a new term meaning Emperor. (so technically he was responsible for a new word as well)
#5-To avoid political chaos after the unification, the Emperor unified the Chinese Script.
#6-The Great Wall of China was then constructed to keep the states safe. The famous wall actually connected various existing state walls.
#7-The Emperor was also responsible for the construction of the Lingqu Canal and the Sichuan Dujiangyan irrigation system. Along with the Great Wall, these three constructions are considered to be great feats of ancient Chinese engineering.
#8-Throughout most of Chinese history, the first Emperor of Qin (there were only 2 Emperors of Qin) was considered to be unpopular and inhumane. This opinion didn't change much until the late 19th century. Now it is believed that because the Emperor ordered books burned and had over 400 scholars executed, Confucian Scholars began to portray their ruler as a brutal tyrant.
#9-I'm almost finished I promise but the good stuff centers around the tomb! He was afraid of death and became obsessed with finding the elixir of life to become immortal.
#10-His tomb took 700,000 men 38 years to construct! The Emperor's mausoleum was larger than any city in the entire world at the time, and was intended to be paradise. The Emperor's tomb is protected by about 6,000 of the famous life sized Terracotta Army of Warriors, among the army are Chariots and 40,000 real bronze weapons! Their mission, was and is, to protect the Emperor in the afterlife from evil spirits.
After all these accomplishments, the first Emperor of Qin trusted his alchemists who created his "elixir of immortality" Ironically, the Emperor died during his visit to Eastern China after swallowing the mercury pills they created to give him eternal life. See I told you he was a fascinating person, so on to the review....
I have played thousands of games and lately I've been left to ponder an important question. Am I getting bored with these games or are they getting lame? The answer I can assure you is that I'm not bored playing a GOOD game, an interesting game. There have been some real duds lately by some of the top ranking series titles, because, in my opinion, the devs are working at lightning speed to release one game after another. I get it, I'm a business owner, and the bottom line is net profit, as long as a series is selling like hotcakes, you keep offering them until they aren't. Here's another thing I realized lately, the Lesser Known series (the one's who aren't working at breakneck speeds) are putting out REALLY GOOD games that are interesting and fun, such as Shadowplay and Bridge To Another World.
Your mission, should you decide to accept, is to babysit a really annoying character! H.E.L.P. will spare no expense to keep Professor Huang Son Jiang and his colleague Anna Chan happy, safe and secure. You will be expected to solve all of the intricate puzzles and locks located throughout the Emperor's Tomb, unassisted, while everyone rushes you from behind. The Tomb is full of Mercury and booby traps (that's latin for you're going to get killed by something you'll never see coming, yet they all seem to go off in front of you?) All's going well, then Sam gets hurt AGAIN, seriously, I think he does it on purpose to get promotions. Then out of nowhere, BAM, the unthinkable happens, bet you didn't see that one coming? Of course you saw that one coming because it's the same story, just with different characters!
No agent would be complete without lugging around a huge H.E.L.P Box. It's a good thing I lugged this 40 pound box down the mine with me because believe it or not, there are actually Fact Cards hidden in the Emperor's Tomb! Can you believe it? This tomb has been closed for thousands of years! Surely this is Ancient Alien work, how is that possible? With the Collector's Edition version, there are also 40 Hidden Signs and 22 Achievements to earn.
The Hidden Object Scenes are always the same in the HE series. That's not necessarily a bad thing, at least they are familiar. There are the typical Silhouetted Shape Finds that are usually presented in at least a couple of phases where once you find all the items, another set of shapes is presented and then a third set with a final object to find. There are also Interactive List finds and finding Keywords in a story being told. Each HOP has a Morphing Object available.
The Mini Games are the reason I continued the demo, they aren't bad at all and most are doable on the first attempt. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Move levers until all of the arrows are in the green zone.
2) Complete the circle by selecting and dragging the animal shapes to the correct position.
3) Create paths for the dragons heads to fall onto it's matching body by using directional arrows to move rows of blocks below them.
4) Move the pieces to the center of the board to form a complete symbol, pieces must be selected in the correct order.
5) Arrange bells from the largest to the smallest animals shown on the bells.
6) Select the arrows to move the figurine to the yin-yang which stops whenever it encounters an obstacle.
7) Move the coins to the correct side of the board based on color, select arrows to select pairs of coins at a time.
8) Create a path for the mercury to flow from the pearl to the empty circle in a labyrinth.
The Collector's Edition has 17 replayable Puzzles, 15 replayable HOP's, 8 Concept Art pictures, 8 Wallpapers, 9 Music Soundtracks, a Souvenir Room, 40 Hidden Signs, 11 Videos, 22 Achievements, 15 Morphing Objects within the HOP's, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
Can you escape the mirrored world to save your love?
Overall rating
1
/
5
58 of 63 found this review helpful
Polar Opposites
PostedSeptember 29, 2016
pennmom36
fromThe only reason I want to get back to the real world is to get away from those annoying dolls!
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
After losing her sister, Alex became very critical of herself. Time and time again she would look into the family mirror and imagine what it would be like if she were "different" and had more self esteem. All that changed once she met Ryan, and soon they would be married. Fate however had different plans in store for Alex, because a strange key has mysteriously appeared. Even stranger, the family mirror mysteriously reveals a keyhole, and naturally Alex places the key into the mirror and voila! Xela appears and Alex disappears, only to reappear inside the mirror world where she is forced to watch her more brazen doppleganger take over her life. Well, after all, Alex did create Xela, so be careful what you wish for, it may come back to bite you!
I'm being generous by giving this game a one star rating. The graphics are dreadful, the story is stupid, the mechanics are painfully archaic and don't even get me started on those annoying dolls, Red and Blue, ridiculous to say the least. It took me three days to finish the demo. The jest of the game is to search the mirrorworld for shards of memories and fight your way back into the loving arms of Ryan, who probably likes Xela's personality better anyway! Each scene has a large obtrusive wine glass to find and other than a few Achievements, that's about it, and certainly not worthy of the Collector's Edition price.
The Hidden Object Scenes are boring and just not fun, to make matters worse, most of the scenes are repeated at least once which is boring. They are mostly Interactive list finds but there are also matching pairs, multiple finds and even spot the difference. The scenes are cartoonish and child like in my opinion.
The Mini Games aren't impressive either. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Start with the red key and press piano keys in order according to the color clue shown.
2) Arrange the pages so they form the notes shown.
3) Move all books to the far right shelf, books cannot be rotated.
4) Reassemble the glass door by placing shards correctly.
5) Separate the roses from the leaves by drawing only 3 straight lines. Select two pins to draw line that can't cross leaves or roses.
6) Light up all the pins by traveling to each pin only once.
This Collector's Edition has 13 Achievements, 4 Music Soundtracks, 5 Wallpapers, 8 Sketches, 40 Collectible Wine Glasses, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you stop the fiery witch before it’s too late?
Overall rating
5
/
5
152 of 170 found this review helpful
This Witch Has Had 500 Years To Brood And It Shows!
PostedSeptember 29, 2016
pennmom36
fromMissed Opportunity: Why is it that I never have a bag of marshmallows when I need it?
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
Welcome to Menzbruck detective, this quaint little town holds many secrets, but not for long. Your client, Katharina has just awakened Madlena, one of the most powerful medieval witches ever burned at the stake! Madlena has big plans for Katharina, the first witch born in 500 years, none of them are good, and none of them are desired by poor Katharina! You're going to have to go on a witch hunt of your own because if you fail, this quaint little town will have two angry witches to deal with!
I don't know how you would ever solve these paranormal cases without your trusty psychic glasses that give you a glimpse into the past. Not only do they conveniently show you just the really important things pertaining to the case at hand (good thing, can you imagine all the really stupid things the past could show?) but they are really chic and stylin' to boot. This edition of Mystery Tales is really good, not perfect, but by all means, 100% better than the last CE handed to us! (wink, wink, nod, nod) The story is kind of silly and hoaky, and the game is really easy to play. In fact, the game can be played without a Strategy Guide and more than likely you'll never use the hint feature, but that's okay, it's fun, entertaining and jam packed full of CE bling. There are 15 Morphing Dungeon Devices, yep, you can fill the Torture Chamber with all the latest (by late I mean really old) gadgets. There's the tried and true pendulum, the typical rack, rusty pincers, a spiked collar, spiked boots, and a spiked chair, (are we sure this stuffs is medieval?) the tried and true expander, skull press, and cage, a water barrel, (or is it waterboarding) an iron mask, gallows, a wicked iron maiden and of course, no respectable dungeon would be caught dead without an executioner's hood! If that isn't enough to make Christian Grey proud, there are 36 Collectible Tarot Cards, Collectible missing pages from the Witches Spellbook, Collectible Notes (could somebody please explain why my notebook pages are scattered all around town, why are the pages loose in the first place?) Achievements to earn and a ton of Plus Sign inventory items, many of which require a puzzle to be solved. It doesn't get any better than this game when it comes to CE bling!
The Hidden Object Scenes are basically the same variations repeated, but the HOP's are fairly entertaining and are located in some interesting locations. My favorite scene was inside of an Iron Maiden with a ghostly vibe. There are Interactive list finds, Silhouetted Shape finds, and Multiple finds, many are multi layered, switching between a couple of different styles and some have small puzzles to solve withing the HOP's. If you don't like HOP's you can opt to play a Match 3 game instead.
The Mini Games have a wonderful feature, you can choose to play all of the mini games in either an Easy mode or or a Hard mode, why other games don't offer this feature is baffling. below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Slide blocks to "free" a chain.
2) Find pairs of matching symbols by selecting two roses at a time, a wrong selection will cause the roses to swap positions.
3) Restore the picture so it matches the image the image on the clue found. Select the central buttons to rotate the surrounding tiles on the circles.
4) Find items that match keywords in a storybook.
5) Using trial and error, select a colored pin and a notch, wrong choices will reset the lock.
6) Swap disks to restore the picture.
7) Place the inner tokens next to their corresponding images on the outer circle. Tokens move along blue paths, select center arrows to rotate those paths.
8) Rotate square tiles, rotating one tile may affect others.
9) Arrange stones chronologically.
10) Place the heads on the correct statues based upon the pictured clue.
11) Drag rows and columns to clear matching symbols, while removing skulls last.
This Collector's Edition has 15 Morphing Torture Chamber Dungeon Devices, 36 Collectible Tarot Cards, Collectible pages for the Witches Spellbook, Collectible Note Pages for your dossier, 33 different Location's, 118 Zoom Zones, 23 Mini Games, 13 Hidden Object Scenes, 13 different Characters introduced, 14 Wallpapers, 13 Concept Art pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, 33 Achievements, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Guide Dracula on a madcap quest to find out who's zombifying the masses through their cell phones!
Overall rating
5
/
5
65 of 76 found this review helpful
Don't Answer The Phone!
PostedSeptember 28, 2016
pennmom36
fromRing, Ring, Ring
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
The Incredible Dracula is no longer a bachelor, yep, he's a family man thanks to his online dating stalker, also known as Princess. The Count soon finds trouble in paradise, when people start to become hypnotized after using their cell phones. The Count and the Princess hit the road, together this time, to search for answers and destroy the billboards and other technology responsible for zombifying everyone.
I've truly never enjoyed a Time Management game more than this series, Chasing Love was an exceptional game and The Last Call is even better! You can play in relaxed mode, multi click and timed modes and in the CE, each level has a present to find and open to receive collectible stickers.
This game has it all, Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves and Trolls. You will need to hire zombies to clear paths, gather resources and collect food. My favorite part is building BloodDonalds hamburger shacks when the Count gets hungry, but of course there's the normal buildings such as sawmills and mines. Rufus is your go to zombie guy but has very little to say other than uugghh. Some items you collect will go towards crafting objects, after all, Princess still requires luxury. You will gradually earn bonuses that can be used once the meter fills such as swift feet which speeds up the zombie workers temporarily (but I thought everyone hated fast zombies!?) . I love how everything is related to the story, the garlic, the BloodDonalds, and even when you repair the road, the zombies simply slap a few misguided boards on top. The goal is to earn 3 gold stars, and you can replay the levels to achieve a better score.
The Collector's Edition has 30 Hidden Presents with stickers, 10 Biographies (hilarious) 6 Wallpapers, 5 Creepy Music Soundtracks, 5 Concept Art pictures, 34 Trophies to earn, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy....if you dare!
I recommend this game!
Travel to a Klondike Gold Rush town to solve a murder!
Overall rating
2
/
5
47 of 54 found this review helpful
My One Star Rating Was Too Harsh On The Collector's Edition So I Bumped It Up To Two, It's Still Not That Great
PostedSeptember 27, 2016
pennmom36
fromThis snowbird's flying the coop!
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
I'm not a hard person to please when it comes to games, usually I can find entertainment value in every game I play. I had a really difficult time finishing just the demo, which thankfully was short, taking me just under an hour to finish.
When Dead Reckoning was first released, I thought it was a terrific whodunit adventure that appealed to my sleuthing side. Lately, the epic games of the past are spiraling downhill while some lesser known titles are stepping up their game. Probably because the devs believe the game will be a hit because most gamers automatically purchase games because "all of the other games were really good" and lesser know devs still strive to produce a better game than the last one, right?
As far as whodunits go, I suppose this is a good enough plot, just not one that I could relate to. Seth Savage is a railroad tycoon that has the Klondike gold rush community of Snowbird Creek split. Railroads could make or break the hard workers, some risking their lives panning for gold, others rely on making their money working on Seth's latest tunnel project. When Seth Savage is found murdered, the list of suspects begins to pile up in this ruthless untamed town, and of course that's where your skills come into play. Finding out who killed Seth Savage and why!
With the Collector's Editions version, Dead Reckoning: Snowbirds Creek does seem to have all the "extra's" one could ever want. The only thing I would question about the CE's worthiness is that the entire game may be quite short if the demo itself is a mere hour, give or take. Each scene has a Hidden Sign, but the bright gold fishing trophies are hard to miss, they stick out like a sore thumb. There are several Achievements to earn, and most of the Hidden Object Scenes have a Morphing Object to find.
The Hidden Object Scenes are typical, with several of the standard type scenes. There are Interactive List finds, and scenes where you find 5 identical items in 2 different sections which give you an item to release the rest of the listed items such as a hook to grab the net that covers the inventory bar. The only HOP that was slightly different required you to find items in a general store with just the inventory numbers such as 516 or 331. There is a Morphing Object in each scene and you can opt for a Match 3 game instead of the HOP. Technically, each time you interrogate a suspect (or examine a body) it's in the form of a HOP because you have to find evidence one item at a time.
The Mini Games are entirely too simple. Most of them can be done in seconds, which at least allows you to earn an achievement pretty easily. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Arrange the financial records so that their lines complete a pattern.
2) Match all of the inner rope fibers by opening two fibers at a time.
3) Find related pairs of hiking items.
4) Dial the numbers written on a clue you found earlier.
5) Orient the tracing on the map by rotating the tracing and dragging it around until it lines up with the original.
6) Charge the tram by traveling through each point on the map without traveling to the same point twice.
7) Repeat the pattern by pressing the left or right keys to match the birds movements.
8) Move the golden keys to the 3 slots on the left. Select arrows to move all of the keys which move until they hit an edge, obstacles or each other.
The Collector's Edition has 6 Videos, 7 Music Soundtracks, 8 Wallpapers, 8 Concept Art pictures, 23 replayable Puzzles, 13 replayable Hidden Object Puzzles, replayable Match 3 Games, a13 Morphing Objects in the HOP's, 13 Achievements, 40 Hidden Signs, a Souvenir Room to store the collectibles, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter. Give this one a try before you buy, it's just to iffy of a game.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save your boyfriend before it's too late?
Overall rating
5
/
5
265 of 296 found this review helpful
REALITY IS FLUID IN TALEWORLD
PostedSeptember 24, 2016
pennmom36
fromMadHead Games does it again! Now this is thinking outside the box!
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
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could rewrite the storyline of a game? Well, that's exactly what you get to do in Nevertales: Hidden Doorway! Helen receives a frantic video from her boyfriend Ian Barton, claiming his mentor Benedict Bell, isn't who he says he is, and that he's in dire need of her help. Helen rushes over to Mr. Bell's house to find Ian trapped behind a door bound by otherworldly chains. Ian shoves a novel he wrote, "The Hidden Doorway" through a small opening between the chains explaining that reality is fluid here, like fiction, and with his book she is able to change the story to a more favorable outcome! Helen sets out to free Ian from Mr. Bell who seems to have gone off the deep end, she quickly realizes that she has become a character in the stories that he has written and must outwit the author as she searches for Ian within the chapters world. Helen has an even bigger problem however, just who is the monster in reality, Ian or Benedict Bell?
Ian's novel will be your guiding light in this world as well as Taleworld. At certain points in the game, you will read a paragraph, words in purple text can't be changed directly, but the words in blue text can be altered to have a more favorable outcome. When you click on the word in blue, several items will be presented at the top of the page, you must the choose the item that will best suit the situation and change the outcome to a favorable outcome by using that item. This Collector's Edition also has a Hidden Collectible Sign in each scene, as well as the usual Achievements to earn, which also allows you to earn Gold, Silver and Bronze stars for each of the 9 Achievements.
The Hidden Object Scenes have a Morphing Object to find and an icon indicator to remind you to look for the Morph which is something I appreciate because I have a hard time remembering when they are within the HOP. There are Interactive List finds, Silhouetted Shape finds, Multiples of each item finds, items listed that simply move to expose fragments to complete a puzzle, and even smaller Zoom Zone scenes with just a handful of items to find. (note that some zoom zones have arrows to move the scene up and down, some have rotation arrows that allow you to flip the item to see the back of it)
I really enjoyed the Mini Games, they weren't too frustrating yet not too simple either. Below are brief descriptions of some of the Mini Games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Arrange the pie shaped pieces so that the ball can roll down through the maze at the bottom.
2) Cut all the bushes by controlling the scissors. Scissors will cut in a straight line until the hit a hedge wall or other obstacle and the scissors can't cross their own path.
3) Select and rotate the two suns until the positions of the smaller planets align with their bigger versions.
4) Recreate the image by selecting square tiles and placing them in the correct squares.
5) Rotate the safe numbers using arrows from the clues you found earlier.
This Collector's Edition has a Hidden Sign in each scene, 9 Achievements available in Gold, Silver, and Bronze categories, a Morphing Object in each Hidden Object Puzzle, 16 replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 22 Concept Art pictures, 17 Wallpapers, 10 Music Soundtracks, Avatars, a Scrapbook, a Gardening Puzzle, a Nostalgia Section, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
Ian's novel will be your guiding light in this world as well as Taleworld. At certain points in the game, you will read a paragraph, words in purple text can't be changed directly, but the words in blue text can be altered to have a more favorable outcome. When you click on the word in blue, several items will be presented at the top of the page, you must the choose the item that will best suit the situation and change the outcome to a favorable outcome by using that item. This Collector's Edition also has a Hidden Collectible Sign in each scene, as well as the usual Achievements to earn, which also allows you to earn Gold, Silver and Bronze stars for each of the 9 Achievements.
The Hidden Object Scenes have a Morphing Object to find and an icon indicator to remind you to look for the Morph which is something I appreciate because I have a hard time remembering when they are within the HOP. There are Interactive List finds, Silhouetted Shape finds, Multiples of each item finds, items listed that simply move to expose fragments to complete a puzzle, and even smaller Zoom Zone scenes with just a handful of items to find. (note that some zoom zones have arrows to move the scene up and down, some have rotation arrows that allow you to flip the item to see the back of it)
I really enjoyed the Mini Games, they weren't too frustrating yet not too simple either. Below are brief descriptions of some of the Mini Games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Arrange the pie shaped pieces so that the ball can roll down through the maze at the bottom.
2) Cut all the bushes by controlling the scissors. Scissors will cut in a straight line until the hit a hedge wall or other obstacle and the scissors can't cross their own path.
3) Select and rotate the two suns until the positions of the smaller planets align with their bigger versions.
4) Recreate the image by selecting square tiles and placing them in the correct squares.
5) Rotate the safe numbers using arrows from the clues you found earlier.
This Collector's Edition has a Hidden Sign in each scene, 9 Achievements available in Gold, Silver, and Bronze categories, a Morphing Object in each Hidden Object Puzzle, 16 replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 22 Concept Art pictures, 17 Wallpapers, 10 Music Soundtracks, Avatars, a Scrapbook, a Gardening Puzzle, a Nostalgia Section, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Can you uncover the secrets of Crimson Hollow in time?
Overall rating
5
/
5
146 of 164 found this review helpful
Black Widow Baby
PostedSeptember 23, 2016
pennmom36
fromPoor, poor Stacy!
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
There's nothing better than playing the demo of a game, thinking you have the plot figured out, only to find out that you were wrong, dead wrong! Mandms33 was absolutely correct with her title, because I didn't see that one coming either! Once you get to about the third chapter you're probably not going to know who to trust, but there's always good ole dad to help you out. I'm so glad I purchased this game, I did however opt for the Collector's Edition, mostly because I love Morphing Objects.Here's a rundown of one of the best Grim Tales to date.
Detective Anna Gray has a new case to solve, one that might be a little too close for comfort! Rosette Darkwood has asked Anna to look into the mysterious disappearances of several of her Boarding School students that have gone missing. The headmistress has a few theories of her own, because all of the women were last seen with the handsome Dorian Black, at his family's mansion, Crimson Hollow. The Black family and the Gray family might have more in common than Anna ever imagined, and Dorian may be impossible to investigate if he has the same abilities as Anna!
Daddy dearest is alive and well, sort of. If you remember the last episode, Anna received some unexpected help from her father Richard's spirit when her nephew's son was kidnapped. After the investigation, Anna kept her father's powerful skull (weird right?) and just so it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands, she has brought the skull with her. Once inside Crimson Hollow, Richard Gray is awakened once more, perhaps because of the family ties that bind.....whenever his skull glows, dad has something important to discuss with you, but just bits and pieces of information at a time. There are a couple of devices to help your investigation, Anna's trusty detective kit with a lockpick, a screwdriver and a flashlight (high tech stuff) and a Charm that was actually given to Dorian by Richard. The charm is called the Sphere of Time and is capable of allowing its owner to travel to the past even when protected by magic.
One thing's for sure, this series just keeps getting better and better! You can always count on Grim Tales games to have exceptional graphics and a flawless incorporation of real characters. What often goes unnoticed however is the sounds. You can hear the wind howling, and the crackle of a fire, everything is realistic, and several things can be interacted with, just because you can! Stop playing for just a few seconds and listen, the sights and sounds are what make or break a game and you may not even know it. The Collector's Edition has hidden Jigsaw Pieces that will allow you to assemble 3 different Screensavers, Entailed Castle, Ancient Secrets, and Family curse pictures. As far as I can remember, all Grim Tales Collector's Editions have Morphing Objects, and the Morphs in Crimson Hollow are very creative, some of which aren't very obvious. There are also 10 Morphing Portraits to find and the normal CE bling of Achievements, Wallpapers, Secret Rooms and even Archives.
One thing's for sure, this series just keeps getting better and better! You can always count on Grim Tales games to have exceptional graphics and a flawless incorporation of real characters. What often goes unnoticed however is the sounds. You can hear the wind howling, and the crackle of a fire, everything is realistic, and several things can be interacted with, just because you can! Stop playing for just a few seconds and listen, the sights and sounds are what make or break a game and you may not even know it. The Collector's Edition has hidden Jigsaw Pieces that will allow you to assemble 3 different Screensavers, Entailed Castle, Ancient Secrets, and Family curse pictures. As far as I can remember, all Grim Tales Collector's Editions have Morphing Objects, and the Morphs in Crimson Hollow are very creative, some of which aren't very obvious. There are also 10 Morphing Portraits to find and the normal CE bling of Achievements, Wallpapers, Secret Rooms and even Archives.
The Hidden Object Scenes are really just average, for me, that's okay as long as the Mini Games are decent and in abundance and they certainly are. There are Silhouetted Shape finds, finding items that match Keywords in a story setting, Listed Item finds and even small Zoom Zone HOP's where you are tasked with finding a handful of fragments. My favorite scene was finding items that matched their Silhouetted Shapes, but the items morphed and you had to click on the item when it was in it's correct form.
The Mini Games are a mixture of small and simple puzzles to longer more frustrating types, but seem to be very doable. Below are brief descriptions of some of the Mini Games you'll encounter during the demo and a few of my favorites from the main game:
1) Select a word from each column that relates to the clues given, then click search on the computer. If correct you will read information pertaining to the search.
2) Fill each bronze plate with the correct number of spheres based on the number clues next to them and use the green triangle to move the spheres from one plate to another.
3) Control the magnet to take out all of the fragments from the fountain.
4) Move the cubes so that they will fit into the top slots of the lock using directional arrows on rows and columns.
5) Release the brides spirit from the door by selecting locks from beginning to end on chains that are free.
6) Trap the white checker piece in the corner using black checkers that can be moved to highlighted places on the board.
7) Move the clock hands so that the clock is set to Midnight, moving one hand may affect others and at different speeds.
8) Navigate to the center of the labyrinth in a specific number of moves, using directional arrows.
9) Select the correct piano keys using a complex cypher clue.
10) Select matching pairs of symbols by clicking on black spots to flip over two at a time. If you choose the incorrect matching symbol you will have to star over from the beginning.
11) Turn off all the runes on the shackles, when you turn off one rune, you change the state of adjacent runes.
12) Move the iconic monuments to the correct locations on a map.
The Collector's Edition has 8 Wallpapers, 8 Concept Art pictures, Archives, a Secret Room, 5 Music Soundtracks, Hidden Jigsaw Puzzle pieces that allow you to assemble 3 different Screensavers, Morphing Objects, 10 Morphing Portraits, 15 Achievements (to the best of my knowledge) a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
An arsonist is burning down the Mountain Kingdom's forests!
Overall rating
5
/
5
291 of 339 found this review helpful
This Royal Wedding Is Smoking Hot And On Fire
PostedSeptember 22, 2016
pennmom36
fromWhat do you need me for? It seems Snow White can take care of the fire much better than I can!
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Once upon a time, a knight met a witch along his journey. The witch struck a deal with the knight, a deal that would make the knight a very wealthy man, if he were brave enough. She told the knight of a place that was filled with unimaginable treasures, all of which he could keep, except for one special item, a Tinderbox that belonged to her Grandmother. The knight agreed to this deal, but when he returned with his abundant treasure, he refused to give the witch her Grandmother's Tinderbox, when he discovered what the Tinderbox was capable of! When the knight returned to the Mountain Kingdom, he used his newfound wealth, and the Tinderbox to transform from commoner to king by marrying the Kings daughter. The knight turned king went to great lengths to protect the Tinderbox from the scorned witch, and those who sought its power, but somehow, someone has managed to steal it, someone who is desperately trying to stop the wedding between Prince Gwyn and Princess Gerda, but this someone may really surprise you!
Also, Once upon a time, back in the day, when I first discovered my love for HOPA's, I discovered this epic series, Dark Parables. I became hooked, purchasing one Dark Parable game after another, I just couldn't get enough of them. The stories were fantastically creative, taking well know fairytales and twisting the plot ever so gently to draw you in hook, line, and sinker. But my favorite feature was the Morphing Objects which to be honest with you I didn't know they even existed until I was a couple of chapters in on Curse of Briar Rose, the first DP game I played.You know why? Because the developers were geniuses! Dark Parables were non-linear games, Morphing Objects didn't Morph until they were eventually triggered by an action you did in an entirely different scene. These Morphs were challenging to say the least and often times you had to travel to a scene several times, and then had to be patient to spot the Morphs because they morphed so slowly slowly. I beta tested The Thief and the Tinderbox, and requested that the devs please consider going back their "roots" to give us this style of morph in the game itself, and not within the HOP's. Unfortunately, this game only offers Morphing Parables to find throughout the main game, I really hated this feature, why bother, it's just not very fun to search for a storybook puzzle piece when there are so few pieces to find. There are 3 parable pieces to find to assemble 7 different parables so they will be far a few between scenes . I also noticed that the graphics are becoming much crisper too, at one point the glittery gold hues were almost overbearing, especially in Jack and the Sky Kingdom, so I'm glad to see that feature change.
The Hidden Object Scenes haven't changed, and that's a good thing. Dark Parables are famous for their FROG's, this is where you are tasked with finding several fragments in three different sections. When all fragments have been found in a section, those pieces will automatically combine, and once all three sections are found the three sections will combine to make a single inventory item, usually an Emblem or fancy key, because DP are also famous for requiring you to find all kinds of fairytale emblems which seem to be missing or at least partially missing from just about every door, window, box or passageway in the kingdom. I know it may seem boring that all of the FROG's are the same type, but the scenes aren't as easy as you'd think, and they offer a nice change of pace. Other games have tried unsuccessfully to incorporate this type of HO but somehow never seem to be quite as fun as they are in this series.
The Mini Games are always a treat in this series, I look forward to solving the fantasy themed puzzles and rarely skip them. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Recreate each of the masks by swapping the parts, press the arrow to rotate the masks right or left.
2) Untangle the lasers by dragging the tokens along their tracks. Press green arrows to rotate the wheel to move the center of the tokens.
3) Press buttons to guide the knight through the maze and complete the tasks. The first task is to take the checkered tile and then defeat the dog, then take the treasure in the corner, but the dog will kill you if you don't have the tile. The second task is to press arrows to move through the rotating rooms. If you get blocked you'll have to start over. The third task is to swap the tiles to create a path for the knight to reach the final treasure, you can only swap green tiles. Use the tiles to rearrange the arrow tiles. You can "skip" any or all of the three stages in this multi-layered puzzle.
4) Guide the King to the castle by arranging the number tiles in the right order, press the play button to check your solution.
This Collector's Edition has 6 Concept Art pictures, 8 Wallpapers, 8 Music Soundtracks, 21 replayable Mini Games, 17 replayable FROGs, 39 Hidden Signs, 16 Videos, Collectible Souvenirs, 12 Achievements, Morphing Parables, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
Also, Once upon a time, back in the day, when I first discovered my love for HOPA's, I discovered this epic series, Dark Parables. I became hooked, purchasing one Dark Parable game after another, I just couldn't get enough of them. The stories were fantastically creative, taking well know fairytales and twisting the plot ever so gently to draw you in hook, line, and sinker. But my favorite feature was the Morphing Objects which to be honest with you I didn't know they even existed until I was a couple of chapters in on Curse of Briar Rose, the first DP game I played.You know why? Because the developers were geniuses! Dark Parables were non-linear games, Morphing Objects didn't Morph until they were eventually triggered by an action you did in an entirely different scene. These Morphs were challenging to say the least and often times you had to travel to a scene several times, and then had to be patient to spot the Morphs because they morphed so slowly slowly. I beta tested The Thief and the Tinderbox, and requested that the devs please consider going back their "roots" to give us this style of morph in the game itself, and not within the HOP's. Unfortunately, this game only offers Morphing Parables to find throughout the main game, I really hated this feature, why bother, it's just not very fun to search for a storybook puzzle piece when there are so few pieces to find. There are 3 parable pieces to find to assemble 7 different parables so they will be far a few between scenes . I also noticed that the graphics are becoming much crisper too, at one point the glittery gold hues were almost overbearing, especially in Jack and the Sky Kingdom, so I'm glad to see that feature change.
The Hidden Object Scenes haven't changed, and that's a good thing. Dark Parables are famous for their FROG's, this is where you are tasked with finding several fragments in three different sections. When all fragments have been found in a section, those pieces will automatically combine, and once all three sections are found the three sections will combine to make a single inventory item, usually an Emblem or fancy key, because DP are also famous for requiring you to find all kinds of fairytale emblems which seem to be missing or at least partially missing from just about every door, window, box or passageway in the kingdom. I know it may seem boring that all of the FROG's are the same type, but the scenes aren't as easy as you'd think, and they offer a nice change of pace. Other games have tried unsuccessfully to incorporate this type of HO but somehow never seem to be quite as fun as they are in this series.
The Mini Games are always a treat in this series, I look forward to solving the fantasy themed puzzles and rarely skip them. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Recreate each of the masks by swapping the parts, press the arrow to rotate the masks right or left.
2) Untangle the lasers by dragging the tokens along their tracks. Press green arrows to rotate the wheel to move the center of the tokens.
3) Press buttons to guide the knight through the maze and complete the tasks. The first task is to take the checkered tile and then defeat the dog, then take the treasure in the corner, but the dog will kill you if you don't have the tile. The second task is to press arrows to move through the rotating rooms. If you get blocked you'll have to start over. The third task is to swap the tiles to create a path for the knight to reach the final treasure, you can only swap green tiles. Use the tiles to rearrange the arrow tiles. You can "skip" any or all of the three stages in this multi-layered puzzle.
4) Guide the King to the castle by arranging the number tiles in the right order, press the play button to check your solution.
This Collector's Edition has 6 Concept Art pictures, 8 Wallpapers, 8 Music Soundtracks, 21 replayable Mini Games, 17 replayable FROGs, 39 Hidden Signs, 16 Videos, Collectible Souvenirs, 12 Achievements, Morphing Parables, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
I recommend this game!