This "Top Reviewer" is one of our most frequent game reviewers. We think you'll trust what they have to say and find their reviews helpful and informative.
This "Top Reviewer" is one of our most frequent game reviewers. We think you'll trust what they have to say and find their reviews helpful and informative.
I had forgotten just how amazing this game was. The graphics are really good, especially when you take into consideration how old this game is (2011) and they just don't make Hidden Object Puzzles like they did in Samhain. Even though this is a Standard Edition, there are still 18 Achievements to earn, the only downfall this game has is that there are only two modes of difficulty, Casual and Advanced.
The word Samhain means November in Irish and in the Celtics culture, it refers to the third autumn month. During Samhain, the borders between worlds becomes thinner, the passages are revealed the hills open and all the supernatural rush out, ready to devour the human world. Robert quit his job as an investigative journalist and became obsessed with Celtic mythology conspiracies. You drop everything and head for the Celtic Festival at the All Saints Chapel after receiving a disturbing call from Robert who's apparently gotten himself in a bit of trouble. When you arrive, you see a long line of people, including Robert, heading toward the chapel at the top of the hill. Even though you were only a few minutes behind them, everyone has disappeared, with the exception of a man who appears to be dead, slumped over the trail!
The Hidden Object Scenes are so well done, they are all simple Listed items, and those items are in plain view, but they have done such an exceptional job of placing the items within other objects that many of the items are tough to find. My favorite HOP requires you to first find a net and then use that net to scoop out the objects at the bottom of a crystal clear pond.
The Mini Games are really entertaining. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Swap tile pieces to restore the image, right click to rotate pieces.
2) Put symbols in the right order from biggest to smallest using mathematical clues shown.
3) Connect pipe sections to allow the water to flow from top to bottom.
4) Arrange the tokens so that all the beams turn yellow, only one prism per beam.
The Collector's Edition has 18 Achievements, Concept Art, Screensavers, wallpapers, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Chapter, enjoy!
This "Top Reviewer" is one of our most frequent game reviewers. We think you'll trust what they have to say and find their reviews helpful and informative.
I lasted about 15 minutes in Rory's Restaurant, the food is horrible and so is the game. I'm pretty sure this is the worse Match 3 game I've every played! This is a cross between a Time Management game and a Match 3 and it simply doesn't work. The goal is to match at least 3 of the same ingredients in order to fulfil the customers order. The customers show up on the left side of the screen and two or three ingredients are shown with numbers on each ingredient indicating how many matches you'll have to make to complete their order. When all ingredients have been collected, you click on the money to collect it and another customer takes his place. You can click to change the order of the plate to serve, some customers pay better than others and serving them quickly will net you more money. The money earned is used to purchase more recipes thus, giving you more ingredients on the board to match. There are 10 Achievements to earn, and you can access the mini games to replay in the Extra's section for Hidden Object Scenes and a Dessert Making game. All of this was boring and has very little entertainment value.
This "Top Reviewer" is one of our most frequent game reviewers. We think you'll trust what they have to say and find their reviews helpful and informative.
Your ancestors have endured a family curse for many generations. Desperate to find a cure, they sought help from the Druids of Wolfhill. The price they paid would leave future generations forever indebted to them, until that fateful night when Henry decided to flee with his daughter. Several years have passed, and your father has taught you to control your curse, but tonight, you must return to Wolfhill for the first time, to rescue cousin Neil and his family from the same fate you escaped from all those years ago.
The graphics in this latest edition of Shadow Wolf Mysteries: Curse of Wolfhill are beautifully hand drawn, I prefer the crisp, computer generated graphics, but these artists deserve a pat on the back for their creativity. Because you are a "coming of age" werewolf, you will hone your special abilities such as a keen eyesight, a keen sense of smell, and werewolf strength, which are obtained once you have found enough Viscum Lupinorum, a rare mistletoe that is native to Wolfhill. There is an icon on the bottom right side of the inventory bar to keep track of the mistletoe, with a meter indicating how much you'll have to gather before the next "power" will kick in. There are the usual complex inventory items to interact with, and custom difficulty modes available as well. The Collector's Edition has Achievements to earn, and Collectible Family items such as photo's, and personal Miller family items.
The Hidden Object Scenes are varied with Interactive List finds, finding items that match the Red Text words during a background story of the Millers, Fragment finds, and silhouetted Shape finds. Some of the items are fairly well hidden which presents a nice challenge. My biggest complaint is that some of the scenes are repeated, which becomes really boring the second time around.
The Mini Games are decent but nothing really new, some are available in Casual or Hard modes. The following are brief descriptions of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Move the hands in the correct order. 2) Rearrange the windmill blades so that all tiles of the same color are on the same blade. 3) Select matching pairs of toys. 4) Press the fingers in the order shown in demo. 5) Move the pin all the way to the finish without touching the sides of the lock. 6) Extend all of the spiders legs to open the lock, moving one leg may affect others. 7) Slide the vacuum tubes to their sockets to overload the system, then move the elements to clear a path for the tubes.
The Collector's Edition has 4 Music Soundtracks, 20 Videos, 7 Wallpapers, 8 Concept Art Pictures, 4 Screensavers, 12 replayable Mini Games, 17 replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 17 Achievements, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Adventure, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
+60points
71of82voted this as helpful.
Guardians of Magic: Amanda's Awakening
Open your eyes to a wondrous world in Guardians of Magic: Amanda's Awakening, a spectacular adventure of science and spell-casting.
Overall rating
2/ 5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Guardians Of Magic: Amanda's Awakening
PostedMarch 26, 2016
pennmom36
fromAnd she thought science was the route to take!
This "Top Reviewer" is one of our most frequent game reviewers. We think you'll trust what they have to say and find their reviews helpful and informative.
Some games just don't age well, and this is one of those games that was probably fantastic back in the day, but is now dated and awkward to play. Amanda was raised by her Grandfather, Julian Reese, who was a well respected magician. Amanda wasn't very interested in magic or astrology, she was interested in science and chemistry, so Grandpa had his good friend Dr. Magus mentor and teach Amanda everything he knew in this field. After Grandpa's funeral, Amanda comes across a letter Grandpa left for her, warning her that she's in danger. Seems Grandpa had visions that Amanda would face great challenges and he left her the blueprints to a device that would help her face these magical challenges, a Clockwork Bubble Blower (how ridiculous does that sound) that reveals hidden secrets of the magical realm.
There is very little to do in each location, there's usually only one or two items to pick up for inventory, and an occasional puzzle to solve. There aren't any Hidden Object Scenes in the demo, and I doubt there are any in the entire game. There are 8 pieces of the Bubble Blower device to find and eventually 10 pieces to the second device but that's after the demo. When you find a piece the blueprint pops up allowing you to rotate the piece until it's in the correct position. A fairy named Mera will become your hint icon, she's a friend of Grandpa's from the magic realm and she's been imprisoned and needs your help locating Grandpa's Spellbook to free her.
Some of the Mini Games are listed below as brief descriptions from the demo:
1) Use directional arrows to key in the code you found in another scene.
2) Click and drag blocks to move the key to the lock.
3) Click and drag puzzle pieces to assemble the painting.
4) Flip over cards until all cards have been matched to their identical image.
5) Shut off the furnace by turning dials to reach 10 psi's on the meter.
As I stated before, this game is old school, the mechanics of the game are clunky, and there's very few areas of interest, the puzzles are simplistic and this game isn't very entertaining.
This "Top Reviewer" is one of our most frequent game reviewers. We think you'll trust what they have to say and find their reviews helpful and informative.
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, Wayne and John Carter are responsible for the death of 14 people, (although they only admitted to a dozen, they probably lost count) victims that had been drained entirely of blood. Surely the body count would have risen if not for the one who got away, Beatrice Lefort! As a Paranormal Investigator, you've seen it all, and vampires don't exist......but, this is N'awlins, and St. Germain will make you a believer!
I love this supposedly true event storyline, but I thought the game moved too slow at times. I'm still on the fence about purchasing this game, the demo ended with a great cliffhanger, but I'm afraid it won't keep up that pace. 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. There are 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.
4) Connect symbols using cables to create the symbols shown when two shapes are combined.
This 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
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Aunt Anna has another family crisis to fix when the past and the present collide head first in the Gray family castle. Brandon's young son Billy is being tormented by a man of many faces, and his wife, Elena has fallen mysteriously into a coma. Sometimes this man appears as Alfred the Butler, sometimes as a bald man with scars, sometimes as Brandon himself, but clearly the man behind the dark cloak is the most frightening entity to Billy, tormenting him every night in his dreams. This man is pure evil, and he'll stop at nothing to destroy Brandon and Elena's only child. Aunt Anna is the only person capable of stopping this madman, her ability to revisit past events is the only means of finding out who, or what is after Billy, and more importantly, why?
If you are new to this series, I strongly recommend that you go back to the beginning (The Bride, I believe is the first in the series but I may be wrong) because this ongoing storyline is awesome, HOWEVER, it isn't a necessity, you will be able to understand this game's story even if you haven't played other games in the series. You won't have any magical amulets to slow down time, you won't enter any magical mirror portals, and you won't have any furry sidekicks, but Aunt Anna Gray does have the ability to use personal objects to travel back in time, where time stands still and people are frozen in that moment of time. With this unique ability, Anna can investigate in that time frame and solve cases that otherwise would be unsolvable. I liked the way her abilities were tied into the story to give us an explanation of the origin of why she is the only one in the family with unusual powers. The graphics are always exceptional, but I thought that the quality of the last game was much better then The Heir. Each Scene is packed full of areas of interest, and there are several Plus Sign inventory items requiring a little something extra before the item can be used. In the Collector's Edition, there are hidden Puzzle pieces to collect that will form 3 different Screensavers when assembled, and each Scene has a slow changing Morphing Object, and some of the scenes have Collectible Character Figures.
The Hidden Object Scenes are different every time, some of which are smaller zoom zone scenes where you find multiple fragments or objects. There are Listed items, Silhouetted Shape finds, Multiples of an item, Pairs of items to find, multi-layered finds, and descriptive finds available in just the demo alone.
The Mini Games are decent, not too hard, not too easy. Below are brief descriptions of the games you'll encounter during the demo:
1) Rotate each of the three valves to move the gauges into the blue zone. 2) Lead the zebra through the labyrinth using directional arrows to open and close the gears along the path. 3) Move lockpicks into the lock selecting individual rods to lift up or down as well as directional arrows to move the lockpicks. 4) Assemble a puzzle picture by swapping square tiles. 5) Move the portraits along the lines to their correct places, or choose two portraits to swap positions. 6) Enter the correct safe combination following the combination found.
The Collector's Edition has 8 Wallpapers, 8 Concept Art pictures, a Secret Room to test your skills, 5 Music Soundtracks, 13 Collectible Character Figures, 3 Screensavers to assemble with the collectible Puzzle Pieces) an Archives Room, a Morphing Object in every scene, 19 Achievements, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Adventure, Enjoy!
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Queen Theresa has been keeping a secret for 25 years, which just so happens to be when you were born. Nanny is somehow privy to this family secret, and now that the evil magician Isa has returned to seek revenge, she urges you to search for the truth to this mysterious dark family secret. The lies you've been told all these years could very well break this royal family apart. Is there any hope or chance for redemption, will you be able to save your mother from certain death?
The first thing I noticed with this newest edition of Spirits of Mystery, was how much the graphics have improved, they really are quite impressive. The only props you have for this adventure is a family heirloom, an Amulet that will allow you to remove the thorny branches that Isa has used to keep you from leaving. Each time you use the Amulet, you will have to search the scene to find all of the thorny flowers with the amulets lens. There are the usual Achievements to earn as well as Collectible Pearls which are used to purchase royal items.
The Hidden Object Scenes are just okay in my book. There are Interactive List finds that leave behind symbol fragments that will be used for clues, and HOP's that require you to find two key items within a story, one of which requires an interaction.
The Mini Games range from super simple to frustrating, some of them have two different modes of difficulty available, Casual and Hard. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games you"ll encounter during the demo:
1) Open the lock by selecting the correct number by multiplying two numbers.
2) Memorize the picture positions on two rows of cards and then match the cards dealt with the cards on the board once they have been flipped over, repeat two more times.
3) Remove thorny branches and complete three different puzzles, selecting sections on two castles that match the symbol shown when combined, click on same jewelry worn on two figures, and place picture fragments correctly.
4) Follow the directions on a recipe step by step.
This Collector's Edition has 10 Movies, 12 Wallpapers, 11 Concept Art pictures, 15 removable items using Collect Pearls, 5 Screensavers, 4 Music Soundtracks, 14 replayable Mini Games, 20 replayable Hidden Object Scenes, a built in Strategy Guide and a Bonus Adventure, enjoy!
This "Top Reviewer" is one of our most frequent game reviewers. We think you'll trust what they have to say and find their reviews helpful and informative.
When I started playing this Time Management game, I thought it was designed for kids because the graphics are cartoonish and the first few levels were so simple. I quickly realized that Natalie had her hands full with these very needy and hungry zoo animals. There's so much to be done here at the zoo starting with the Green Forest and eventually moving on to Waterworld and the Exotic Tropics, taking care of zebras, elephants, giraffes, bears, seals, penguins, and even koala's.
The goals are simple, look at the bubbles above each animal which tells you what they need, click on the item they want such as oranges, bananas, hay, fish, or water, then deliver it to the animal, lather, rinse, repeat! You must do this as quickly as possible to keep the animals from losing their patience so you can earn the most coins. If an animal becomes sick, you must click on the Veterinarian and then the sick animal, if the animal's pen is dirty or is in need of repair, there is a Cleaner and a Handyman. The Cleaner will leave a trash bag in front of the cage that requires having Natalie pick up and then place in the trash bin. When the animals are sleepy, you must click on them to say goodnight, and when it rains you must open their umbrellas. There is only one ball to play with so you must either return the ball to it's storage place or take it directly to another animal. If a visitor is disturbing the animals you must click on them to make them leave, but some visitors are VIP's and you need to click on them to accept donations before they change their minds.
This TM game has three modes of difficulty, Relaxed (untimed), Normal and Expert. You earn coins when you complete the game in a Normal time range, and even more if you complete the level within the expert time range. The faster you attend to the animals needs, the more money you will earn. The money can be used to purchase items and upgrades that help you achieve level goals, such as:
1) Bins that hold more bananas, hay and oranges. 2) Monkeys to pick the fruit for you. 3) Flowers to improve Natalie's mood and work faster. 4) Stairs to increase the amount of coins collected. 5) Hedges to make VIP's visit more often. 6) Pavement to make characters move faster. 7) Vehicle to make Natalie move faster, 8) Lanterns to expand zoo hours. 9) Kid to replenish hay and meat faster. 10) Cart that allows you to carry more than 2 items at time. 11) Animal Enclosure improvements to collect more coins.
I love the change of pace this Time Management provides, it sort of reminds my of one of my favorite TM games, Haunted Domains. It looks super simple and very cartoonish, but it quickly ramps up and keeps you moving, enjoy!
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I can still remember how engrossed I became in the story of Noah's Ark, the first time I heard it (actually the first story that made me pay attention) at Sunday School. I loved the story so much that I could hardly wait until the following Sunday, only to be disappointed because my Sunday School teacher had moved onto another bible story. Mom saved the day by borrowing the book, and eventually she bought me my own book of children's bible stories. This game brought back all those memories, which made me realize that to my knowledge, there's never been a "faith" or religious based Match 3 game offered here at the pond, so kudos, Big Fish!
This is a Match 3 game where you swap two adjacent elements to create a group of at least three tiles. The story of Noah's faith in God is given between levels, and you collect resources to help Noah and his family build the Ark, starting with a simple home on barren infertile land, and slowly progress as miracles unfold giving way to lush forests that allow Noah to build a boat of biblical proportions! Obviously I love this story, but the game itself has a few features that I disliked. For starters, the tiles are too small and many of the elements you match are the same color which makes it very difficult to figure out which element is behind locked tiles such as a single or double chained tile. There could have been some added features that would give this game more of a "wow" factor, instead, it's just the same as every other Match 3 game.
You can choose to play in a Casual Untimed mode for a relaxing game, or Normal mode which has a timer. The goal is to make matches of identical resources over all Gold tiles, as well as collecting a specific amount of whichever resource is shown at the top. Every match you make fills the Mana Meter and allows you to use bonuses such as an Axe which removes a single tile, a Bomb which removes a 4 tile range, and a Talisman which collects all tiles of 1 element. There are the normal obstructions as found in most Match 3 games, with chains fog and crates, nothing different that I can see so far in the game. You are guided through each level and given a brief tutorial by an Angel, however, I didn't see an option to cancel the tutorial. Once you have collected enough of the required elements, you can purchase upgrades that will eventually build Noah's Ark, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
+59points
71of83voted this as helpful.
Guardians of Beyond: Witchville
Save Witchville before it's too late in Guardians of Beyond: Witchville, a thrilling Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!
Overall rating
4/ 5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Guardians of Beyond: Witchville
PostedMarch 21, 2016
pennmom36
fromEven the VHS tape gave those people 7 days, 6 hours, that's rough!
This "Top Reviewer" is one of our most frequent game reviewers. We think you'll trust what they have to say and find their reviews helpful and informative.
Favorite Genre(s):Puzzle, Hidden Object, Time Management, Adventure, Match 3
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(101)
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
Recently I have been playing a lot of the older games in search of a game comparable to my all-time favorite, the original Phantasmat. Many of the older games are outdated and quite frankly not well made or enjoyable, but every once in awhile I come across a decent game such as this one. The graphics aren't bad considering this game was released in 2011 and technology has made leaps and bounds since then. I would love to see the devs revamp this game with today's advanced technology, and throw in a few frills such as morphing objects!
Alice is a psychic working for The Agency for Paranormal who has been sent to a small town called Witchville, to help fellow agent Ethan, investigate a missing persons case of epic proportion. Half of the town's population has gone missing in Witchville, that proudly proclaims to be liberated from witchcraft since 1690. Alice barely makes it to Witchville when she is startled by the appearance of a ghost that causes her car to crash. She survives the crash, and meets up with Ethan, sort of.....unbeknownst to him, he is now a ghost, BUT, he's not dead. The last thing her remembers is a meeting with Dr. Light, an inventor who informs him that he is alive but only has 6 hours left, or he'll be trapped in Witchville forever! What has the good doctor done to Ethan and all the rest of the people of Witchville?
The Hidden Object Puzzles are all Interactive List finds, some of which are scenes in the dark where you search for items with a flashlight. The items are recognizable and the scenes are well done, finding some of the items was actually a challenge, normally I have no problems finding the items and never need to use a hint. The Mini Games are a little scarce, some are puzzle type games. One game I thought was challenging was trying to hit a jackpot on a slot machine by clicking on the green buttons to move the reels. Each button moves a specific amount of revolutions such as 1 picture up or 3 down, and clicking on some of the buttons would affect others. This game was a sleeper surprise, give it a try, it's really entertaining and has an interesting plot, enjoy!