pennmom36's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.7
- Helpful Votes:358,445
- Reviews Submitted:4709
- First Review:December 10, 2012
- Most Recent Review:March 15, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
It's up to you and your canine companion to save the city!
Overall rating
5
/
5
309 of 349 found this review helpful
ONE RING......CAN CHANGE DESTINY
PostedApril 28, 2016
pennmom36
fromDriven by pure will.......and coffee beans
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Adopting a beautiful Golden Retriever (looks more like a yellow lab) at the Lost Hope animal shelter was meant to be, your destiny, and his! Turns out, Ice is no ordinary companion, Ice is from another world and he has been sent to find a human worthy of the Ring of Destiny. The Ring of Destiny is capable of moving mountains or changing history, the ring will transfer you to the world in need of help, which just so happens to be Agora. It is in Agora that you teem up with Aeron, the Chief Wizard and learn of the Shadow people who have nefarious plans to destroy the world.
The Ring will need to be recharged after each use, in a Match 3 type game where you click and drag as many identical symbols possible until they have all been matched. Eventually your ring will have many capabilities, but for now, the ring can only ward off the evil Shadows. Each scene has at least 1 Hidden Dragon, as indicated by an icon tab on the left of the screen. There are also Achievemnets to earn and plus sign inventory items that require some type of interaction before using them such as a small puzzle.
The Hidden Object Puzzles are just so-so, nothing really exciting, finding key words during a story, Interactive list finds, Fragment fins, Silhouetted Shape finds or following a recipe in the correct order.
The Mini Games are actually creative, some super easy, some frustrating. The following are brief descriptions of some of the Mini Games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Lead Ice to the shoreline avoiding monster arms, when the number on the spaces change to the number 1, the monster arm will appear there on the next move.
2) Restore the image by selecting different pearls to swap puzzle sections.
3) Using the clues, select runes in the correct order, followed by a Match 3 game.
4) Several puzzles where you must trace shapes without going outside the lines.
5) Help Ice find the correct path by selection matching prints in variations.
6) Destroy all of the shadows by moving the wizard to spaces adjacent to them, the shadows will multiply in areas further from the wizard.
7) Select the objects in the scene as shown on the scrolls to talk to the dragon.
This Collector's Edition has 4 Music Soundtracks, 7 Wallpapers, 4 Screensavers, 6 Concept Art pictures, 12 replayable HO's, 16 replayable Mini Games, 11 Movies, 15 Achievements, 46 Hidden Dragons, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Adventure, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Prepare for a mind-bending journey into the realm of the weird in Haunted Halls: Revenge of Dr. Blackmore! Brace yourself for the unexpected in this exciting Hidden Object adventure!
Overall rating
1
/
5
5 of 8 found this review helpful
Haunted Halls: Revenge of Doctor Blackmore CE
PostedApril 27, 2016
pennmom36
fromSorry about that painful feather incident little buddy!
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
You've just been awakened by a computerized voice telling you there's no possibility of escape and you're locked into a portable life support system, courtesy of that crazy cephalopod, Dr. Blackmore! The good doctor is annoyed with your constant meddling and the trouble you gave him as you searched for your sweetheart Tim at the Green Hills Sanitarium. The good news is that Tim is still alive as well, the bad news is that the doctor will allow you to save him AFTER you save the "other victims" and he plans on hindering your progress every chance he gets in this cat and mouse twisted game. He has hidden his victims in Alaska, Chicago, Chernobyl and even Pompei, so once again, you'll have to go through several of Dr. Blackmore's portals, and hopefully survive his delusional traps.
This game just keeps getting more biazar as it goes. I get that the mad doctor is notorious for experimenting on patients, but there's a kangaroo that can't read his newspaper until you find his glasses, a small marsupial that has a sugar addition, a pheasant that lays an egg after you shove a missing feather back into his derriere, only to hatch a baby that grows into a full grown ostrich! None of that makes sense, it's just too weird for me. The graphics are Hand Drawn, but par for the theme of the game, there's an overabundance of hues of greens, which makes it kind of ugly. You will find a Portable Laboratory eventually which allows you to create useful inventory items by combining ingredients in a specific order according to the recipe shown. (again, this makes no sense, where did the recipe come from?)
The Hidden Object Puzzles have improved however since the last few episodes, with Interactiveness included to their list finds as well as Progressive, Silhouetted Shape finds, but they are still a bit archaic in my opinion.
The Mini Games are just so so, and the directions are vague. Below are brief descriptions of a couple of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Match each finger ring to it's symbol by following wires to open each hand.
2) Connect all of the pieces, click button at the top to rearrange the pieces and each of the 6 buttons to rotate.
This Collector's Edition has 13 Concept Art pictures, 3 Screensavers, 6 Wallpapers, (the screensavers and wallpapers have the same pictures as the Concept Art pictures only they are the finished product) 4 Music Soundtracks, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter.
I don't recommend this game.
An unforgettable journey through a magical world! Go in search of magical artifacts! Complete 120 unique levels of Mahjong!
Overall rating
2
/
5
69 of 72 found this review helpful
No Different Than Mahjong Magic Journey 2
PostedApril 27, 2016
pennmom36
fromThree different tiles to choose from, that's insane! How can I possibly choose between 3 different tiles?
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This Mahjong game is exactly the same as it's predecessor, Mahjong Magic Journey 2. I'm assuming the layouts are somewhat different, but this game is just more of the same, and after a few levels, it just gets boring. There are 6 different rooms to complete starting with the Tree of life, Novice, Experienced, Expert, Master and finally Grand Master. Each room offers 20 different levels.
You can choose from three different tiles, Traditional, Numbered and Magic themed with dragons, fairies and unicorns, the exact three tiles offered in MMJ2. The goal is to remove available unblocked tiles, the faster you remove them, the more points you will score. To achieve all 3 available keys you must remove all Gold tiles, Remove the gold tiles within a specific time, and within a specific number of moves, this however is more difficult than it sounds because it's nearly impossible to match gold tiles with gold tiles in most levels. There is a Shuffle Feature that takes time to recharge, but matching any silver tiles will restore the shuffle feature immediately.
For me, this game becomes boring and frustrating quickly, there's nothing special about this game, there are no new or exciting features, in fact, there's nothing different about this game other than a number 3 instead of a 2.
I don't recommend this game.
Solve the secret of the pharaoh and find the pyramids' treasures in Pharaoh's Riddles! New Egyptian riddles await you!
Overall rating
4
/
5
47 of 49 found this review helpful
LOVE THE EGYPTIAN THEME
PostedApril 26, 2016
pennmom36
fromI think Imhotep should be in this game instead!
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is a pretty decent picross game, with the normal single color feature, but after yesterday's detective griddler, it's hard to give a fair review. I did enjoy the Egyptian theme and music, although many of the finished pictures are difficult to guess what picture you just created, which would have been more defined with additional colors. This game is based upon logic, so all puzzles can be solved without guessing or using hints, if you look long enough, you will find a logical solution.
As with all Picross, Griddlers, Mosaics, the goal is to fill in the squares on each grid using logic. There are sets of numbers on each row and column indicating the number of squares that need to be filled. Each group of numbers requires at least one empty square between them, sometimes it's easier to figure out which squares cannot possible be filled in which narrows down the field. Starting with the largest numbers are usually the easiest to figure out, Left clicking will fill in a square and Right Clicking will cross off a square.
There are 6 different locations and each location has 20 levels. You can earn up to 3 stars per level, a star is deducted for each mistake you make, and you need at least 1 star to unlock the next level. You can replay any level to try for a better score. All filled squares contain coins, some have bonus coins, you can use the coins to unlock other locations or to purchase 2 Starting Hints, the right to make a Mistake x3, or refill Hints on this level.
If you haven't played this type of game before, there are 6 Training Levels to get you familiar with the games mechanics, and there is a single brush up level available for Experts who haven't played the game in a while. Although there are way more entertaining Picross games available such as Fantasy Mosaics and Hidden Clues, this game is pretty decent, especially is you're a fan of single color, typical puzzles, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Mix potions, pick locks, make magic orbs, and much more - to rescue the magic creatures from the evil wizard in this enchanting match-3 adventure.
Overall rating
5
/
5
163 of 179 found this review helpful
SOME OF THE MOST UNUSUAL AND CREATIVE MATCH 3 BOARDS I'VE EVER SEEN!
PostedApril 26, 2016
pennmom36
fromIsn't Imhotep in Egypt?
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Imhotep has captured Mostaccio's friends and this cute little gnome needs help finding and freeing them! This game has some of the most entertaining features, crazy layouts, and entertaining Match 3 fun I've seen in a long time. You can play in Relaxed Mode which has no timer, or Timed Mode which offers a little more challenge as you race against the clock. There are Trophies to earn, Magical creatures to free, and a Magic City to build. The score will tally up your points and time as well as how many matches you made, the number of match 4's and 5's and cascades, how many gems you collected and how much mana you collected.
Match 4 items and you receive an Orb of Zapping bonus, Match 2 different items in the same move and receive an Orb of Pounding, Match 5 items to receive an Orb of Archery, Match 5 items in an L or T shape and receive an Orb of Marksmanship. There are the usual tasks of clearing all blue tiles, clearing obstacles such as chains or double chains, and dropping items off the board such as key fragments.
Some of the boards start out small and grow larger when matches are made near locks which open up hidden sections of the board. Once you find a magical creature, you must make matches of enough keys to unlock the prison. That freed creature repays you by allowing you to collect Mana which allows you to use Spells to help you achieve your goals.
The tiles are interesting too, when you match butterflies the flutter off the board, and black cats meow when you click on them. I really enjoyed playing this fairytale themed Match 3 game where each scene seems to offer something new and fresh. Give this one a try, to see if you have as much fun playing as I have, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
The murders are rampant in Miami! Follow the clues to crack the cases and arrest the killers!
Overall rating
5
/
5
86 of 96 found this review helpful
I Think Colonel Mustard Did It With A Lead Pipe In The Library!
PostedApril 25, 2016
pennmom36
fromSorry Mr. Penguin, but this game rocks!
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Well, I think that's the wrong game, but this one's just as fun! There are 10 murder Cases to solve in this fantastic whodunit Mosaic Griddler game. Each case has 12 different puzzles to solve, and each puzzle gives you a clue to solve the crime. You will uncover evidence to find out the Murder Victim's Name, Age, Cause of Death, the Murder Weapon used, the Killer's Gender, Name and finally the Killer's Motive.
Most of the puzzles have 3 different colors (some only have 2) you can switch back and forth between colors which can help you if you get stuck. You can choose Casual which crosses off the numbers one by one, or Advanced which crosses off numbers when the entire column or row is complete. You are allowed up to 4 mistakes, and there is a Hint feature that has to recharge before being used again.
There has never been a game quite like this before which adds the excitement of figuring out whodunit, detective style! My only complaint is that some of the puzzles have colors that are so close to the same shade that it's difficult to tell them apart which can lead to mistakes being made if you're not careful. If you're a Mosaic, Griddler fan, or a fan of detective solving crimes, this game will knock your socks off, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Two serial killers are back from the dead. What is their connection to an infamous vampire, and how can you stop them?
Overall rating
4
/
5
107 of 118 found this review helpful
If St. Germain Says He Want's To Have A Little Tete-a-tete....RUN!
PostedApril 24, 2016
pennmom36
fromShould I be taking the Carter Brother's Garden Gnome, seems like bad juju!
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Beatrice Lefort was the only person who made it out of John and Wayne Carter's house alive, in July of 1932. The two brothers had already murdered 14 people, which were discovered without a drop of blood left! Prior to Miss Lefort's escape, the Carter Brothers were just ordinary everyday kind of people. Two brothers living in the French Quarters of New Orleans, working for a living at the docks, typical neighbors that kept to themselves. Au contraire mon frere, these are no ordinary men, and the people of N'Awlins believe they are vampires! As a Paranormal Investigator, you've seen it all, surely vampires don't exist, but lately you've uncovered enough evidence to know that, when St. Germain want's to have a little chit-chat with you, you might want to RUN!
POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERTS:
The game takes place several years after the Carter Brothers demise, and focuses on the Vampire aspect of the story, so this really shouldn't spoil the game's plot.
The game takes place several years after the Carter Brothers demise, and focuses on the Vampire aspect of the story, so this really shouldn't spoil the game's plot.
(This paragraph is about the true story/legend of the Carter Brothers in New Orleans)
This game is based upon the true story of the Carter Brothers, a woman did escape and alert the authorities. When the police arrived at their apartment, there were 4 victims tied to chairs with slits in their wrists, not deep enough to kill them, but according to Beatrice, the brothers fed upon their blood. The police found more than a dozen other victims in their apartment, and waited patiently for the brothers to return home from working on the docks of the Mississippi. It took all 8 police officers to restrain the brothers who seemed to have strength no human their size should have had. The brothers were executed and laid to rest in the Carter Family Vault, and when another family member died several years later, the vault was reopened, and to everyone's surprise, there was no trace of John and Wayne Carter, no bodies, no evidence of foul play, nothing. Even today, there are reports of sightings of the Carter Brothers in the French Quarters, the residents of the apartment where the brothers lived say they see the two of them frequently.
This game is based upon the true story of the Carter Brothers, a woman did escape and alert the authorities. When the police arrived at their apartment, there were 4 victims tied to chairs with slits in their wrists, not deep enough to kill them, but according to Beatrice, the brothers fed upon their blood. The police found more than a dozen other victims in their apartment, and waited patiently for the brothers to return home from working on the docks of the Mississippi. It took all 8 police officers to restrain the brothers who seemed to have strength no human their size should have had. The brothers were executed and laid to rest in the Carter Family Vault, and when another family member died several years later, the vault was reopened, and to everyone's surprise, there was no trace of John and Wayne Carter, no bodies, no evidence of foul play, nothing. Even today, there are reports of sightings of the Carter Brothers in the French Quarters, the residents of the apartment where the brothers lived say they see the two of them frequently.
It's been a long time since a game has ended with such a fantastic cliffhanger. This is how every demo should end, if the player is on the edge of their seat because of the storyline, the devs have done their job well. The demo's ending is kind of like watching a season finale, the kind of ending that leaves you scrambling to hit the "buy now" icon and wondering why it seems to be taking forever to activate. In reality you're just too anxious to find out what happens to Angeline the paranormal journalist! Because you are a journalist, you naturally have a camera for photo ops. Each time you take a picture, you will rush back to your hotel room bathroom which has been transformed into a makeshift darkroom, so you can develope the photo, using step by step instructions shown. The Collector's Edition (is the one I recommend, and purchased) has Achievements to earn and 52 Mardi Gras Masks to collect, some of which are fairly well hidden.
The Hidden Object Scenes aren't the best, but not horrible either, most of them are Interactive List Finds. There are also slightly Progressive Interactive scenes and scenes where you return items from the inventory bar into the scene where they belong.
The Mini Games vary from basic and simple to somewhat complex, but nothing too hard or frustrating. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Cross out the men on a phone book, then cross off all names that don't start with a B and end in e.
2) Interact with train track pieces until the correct path has been chosen.
3) Swap puzzle pieces to restore a map. (surprisingly more difficult than you'd expect)
4) Connect symbols using cables to create the symbols shown when two shapes are combined.
The Collector's Edition has 14 Achievements, Wallpapers, Screensavers, Music Soundtracks, 52 Collectible Mardi Gras Masks, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy
I recommend this game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 5 found this review helpful
Haunted Halls: Green Hills Sanitarium SE
PostedApril 23, 2016
pennmom36
fromI feel like something's watching me!
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Something has gone terribly wrong with your boyfriend Tim. You haven't heard from him in over a week, since he left to investigate the Green Hills Sanitarium. He assured you he wouldn't be gone long and that everything was fine, after all the sanitarium has been closed for a long time, what could possibly go wrong? Green Hills was closed when authorities exposed unethical treatment of its patients by Doctor Blackmore who performed horrible experiments on his victims. When you arrive at the mental institute, the horrors you discover behind the closed doors of this asylum will haunt you for the rest of your life!
I love the storyline of Haunted Halls with the crazy doctor who conducts unethical experiments on his patient victims, he even conducted an experiment on himself, which left him with the torso of a man and octopus tentacles for legs, lots of legs! This Standard Edition is a much better choice than the Collector's Edition which doesn't seem to offer enough extras to warrant the price difference. There just aren't very many frills with the CE, and none of the extras can be accessed in the demo. The graphics are hand drawn, they are really decent for an older game but I'm a fan of Computer generated graphics.
The Hidden Object Scenes are simple Listed Item finds, there's no interactions, no frills. I must say, I miss this style of old school HOS, today's games try so hard to mix it up and keep it fresh that they lose sight of what made HOPA's the number one genre in the first place, I also like the fact that the objects within the HOS are creepy and are objects you'd totally expect to see if you were investigating a mental health facility that has been closed down.
The Mini Games are just as creepy, the very first one has you place different colored eyeballs (which you collected in strange places around the grounds of the sanitarium) into sockets and then use right and left arrows to move each row of blocks so that the eyeballs can drop to the bottom. Each row of blocks have one or two missing blocks that allow the eyeballs to drop through these openings, but you have to restart the entire game if your eyeball gets stuck because you chose the wrong path.
The Collector's Edition has Wallpapers, Screensavers, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Jigsaw Puzzle: Beach Season – the journey to the seaside starts right now! 500 high-quality photos means 500 ideas for a summer vacation!
Overall rating
5
/
5
71 of 76 found this review helpful
AWESOME PICTURES
PostedApril 23, 2016
pennmom36
fromI wish they had a feature that automatically lined up and separated the pieces, not sorting them to the areas the will eventually fit into :(
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Let's face it, if the pictures aren't interesting the puzzles are worthless. Fortunately, these pictures are really interesting, I especially loved the underwater pictures which have such vivid beautiful colors, which makes me wonder why they don't allow you to set the finished puzzle pictures as wallpapers?
Not much has changed as far as the features go, there are 5 different puzzle groups, Nature, Gaiety, Food, Shopping and Romance, each box has 100 different puzzles for a total of 500 puzzles. You can Ghost the image on the background or hang a picture with 3 different sizes, and you can change the resolution and the background colors, green, pink, blue or gray.
There is a Box to store extra pieces in, and you can Sort the pieces into the general location, and choose just Border pieces. There is a Magnifying Glass and a Hint feature as well as a Top Score tracker. My favorite feature is Modify which allows you to modify the number of pieces, the shape of the puzzle pieces and whether or not you want the pieces to rotate. I use the Modify feature with every puzzle so I can choose how many pieces I want to assemble. I am still working on my last purchased puzzle game which is 1001 Earth Jigsaw Puzzles, which has pictures that I like most, animals birds and nature landscapes. This game however has awesome pictures that won't disappoint fellow puzzle geeks, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Can you help the people of this frozen world?
Overall rating
3
/
5
174 of 199 found this review helpful
THE CONSEQUENCES ARE UNIMAGINABLE
PostedApril 23, 2016
pennmom36
fromThe Tinkerer...really?
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Eve Glover has received a distress signal from Corra, one of many worlds the portal has given her access to. Corra is a brutally cold world that would be uninhabitable if not for the Pylon Core, an amazing device that provides a source of heat. In order for this civilization to survive, the Core requires an unusual type of energy, humans! People who are "chosen" during the Thawing Ceremony by the Harvesters, a group controlled by the Senate, and feared by the people of Corra. Eve must find out why the Core needs human sacrifices, and why the chosen never return, before the Thawing Ceremony takes place.
Normally, I'm a huge fan of this Sci-fi series, the original Amaranthine Voyage shed light onto a whole new genre, and it had a storyline like none we've ever played. Winter Neverending, however, offers nothing new or exciting, I think this series needs to separate itself from the other ones, with new characters, and new ways of traveling to other worlds. The reason everyone liked the first couple of games was because of the concept of visiting alien planets, but this storyline doesn't feel like I'm on another planet, just someplace really cold, like Ohio. This Collector's Edition has a Hidden Sign to collect in each scene, some of which are cleverly blended into the scenery, and there are the usual Achievements to earn as with most Collector's Editions. Other than a Translator that works automatically, a Bow and Arrow, and a quick travel map, there are no gimmicks or sidekicks available.
The Hidden Object Scenes are the same ole same ole that duplicate all other games this dev produces, usually layered with 2 or 3 different types. There are Sketches of items to find, Interactive list finds, Morphing Object finds, and Progressive-Interactive Silhouetted Shape finds where you find the first item that matches the silhouetted shape and then use that item back in the scene interactively to expose the next item and so forth. Some but not all HOP's have a Morphing Object to find (there is a morphing icon when a morph is available) and you can opt for a Bubble Shooting Game instead of the Hidden Object Puzzle.
The Mini Games, with the exception of a couple, are way to simple to even qualify as a puzzle. Below are brief descriptions of some of the Mini Games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Rotate the mirrors to direct the paths of light between pairs of like colored runestones.
2) Use a Bow and Arrow by lining the site onto the targeted object, and then selecting the tension to shoot the arrow.
3) Place puzzle fragments correctly.
4) Steer the vehicle along the path using directional arrows when it flashes to make left and right turns.
5) Select a gold token and move it to an available slot to turn adjacent blue tokens gold, followed by a computer move. The goal is to have more gold tokens than blue.
6) Align the outer ring with the inner ring symbols.
7) Select the sets of symbols that match the center symbol shown.
8) Move the yellow runes to their matching gray runes by selecting gray tiles to rotate the corner runes.
This Collector's Edition has 16 Achievements, 42 Hidden Signs, a Souvenir Room, 12 Morphing Objects in the HOS, 8 Music Soundtracks, 23 replayable Puzzles, 16 replayable HOP's, replayable Bubble Popper games, 8 Wallpapers, 8 Concept Art pictures, 10 Videos, replayable Puzzles and HOP's from Phantasmat games, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter.
I don't recommend this game.