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.
This is a really good Hidden Object game but I'm so tired of the Travel-themed games, it's as if the developers can't think of a different subject! The graphics are really good, it's almost identical to the much-beloved Vacation Adventure series and I think it would be more popular as a nature-themed game, versus a travel-related game. They copied the format down to every single feature of Park Ranger so they may as well use the Park theme too, perhaps visiting scenes from popular parks across the country. If they used animals, or nature-related objects instead of random objects like Paper Bags, Tablets, Ropes, Spears, and Napkins the game would be way more appealing and it would capture both animal & nature lovers.
You can only play in a Relaxed Mode, there are no Timed options to search for 12-16 Listed Items, as you progress there are also Multiples of the Same Object Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Find & Replace Items, Descriptive Item Finds, and Placing Pictured Items Into the Scene. Items in "pink" text are hidden in or behind other objects (a magnifying glass appears over these areas) and items listed in "blue" are objects that require a task such as "search woman" which I found odd, especially when the task didn't directly involve the "woman" (don't worry, it was an airport security scene location) Each scene has two Zoom Zones that will appear and disappear as the objects shown on the list are found or added, collectibles can be found in the Zoom Zones as well.
Each HO scene has a Collectible Raccoon, a Postage Stamp, a Suitcase Item, and 3 Silhouetted Shape Finds. You will earn a Red Star for completing the Hidden Object location, a Blue Star for finding all of the Silhouette Contours) and a Yellow Star for finding all of the Collectibles.
There is no Magnifying Glass or zoom enlargement feature but there is a Hint Feature that will show you the location of a single random object and a Super Hint feature that briefly shows you all remaining available items.
After each Hidden Object Scene, you will play a mini-game, such as Placing sections of a picture, dragging a white pool ball along tracks so that it touches all the pool balls without backtracking, Spot The Differences, and a Memory Match game where you had to match related items versus identical objects. There was a mini-game where you had to find & replace motorbike parts but I never could figure out where to place the final piece which looked like a block of wood?
The Collector's Edition version has 8 Extra Hidden Object Scene Locations, (30 HO Scenes total), 8 Extra Mini-games, (30 Mini-Games in the SE) 30 Suitcase Items, (both CE & SE) 30 Postage Stamps (available in CE & SE) 8 Extra Postage Stamps, 12 Wallpapers, and 20 Music Soundtracks. You still get to collect 3 Silhouetted Shapes in each scene, as well as a Raccoon, and a Postage Stamp so unless you want 8 extra scenes and some random wallpapers, this is the better option!
Come join us for tons of fun at my new Nature-themed gaming forum thewoodsforum.boards.net
fromRemembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is a heartache that never goes away, until we meet again on the Rainbow Bridge one day. დ Loki
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'm convinced that Somer Games simply changed their name to Melon Games because surely a new developer wouldn't make the same mistakes as their predecessor!? I suppose their theory is to develop in quantity versus quality...but then again, if all you are doing is changing the background graphics and everything else remains the same, all the way down to the repetitive music, you only have to sell a few games because all you need is one person and one computer to swap the background and change the title and labels.
Once again, there is no option to continue playing after the Gold Cards are removed, and once again, the Shop still only has the same 3 features, a Mulligan (Undo) to purchase for 2500, a Shuffle for 2500, or a Joker to purchase for 5000. Once again, there are 9 Raven-themed card backs, and 3 different face cards, one of which is a large font. Once again, the soundtracks are exactly the same as every other solitaire game they've developed.
Once again, you begin the game in Newbie mode, which allows you to replay any hand, the Professional mode, which only allows you to replay the entire pack of 10 levels, can be accessed after starting the game in the Newbie Mode. There are 20 different Packs, and each pack has 10 levels, requiring the player to earn a specified amount of points to unlock the next pack. Once again, the scoring is similar to bowling.
Once again, the tutorial forces you to click another card from the deck on the first level (the same first-level design offered every single time) even though there are several more cards available to remove from the field. I'm STILL reluctant to skip the tutorial just in case they have added a new feature...which never happens...but still, I keep the faith!
I hate that when you remove a card with a Rose Seal, it takes forever as it explains what the card gave you. It freezes continued gameplay with a popup telling you what you won, usually +499 extra points, but occasionally you get a Joker, Shuffle, or a Mulligan. Finding two of these cards back to back is maddening!
Join our daily BF game discussions or chat with fellow fishies on hundreds of other topics from gaming to funny cat memes. It's easy, it's fun and totally free! We'll keep the campfire stoked for you! thewoodsforum.boards.net
fromRemembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is a heartache that never goes away, until we meet again on the Rainbow Bridge one day. დ Loki
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 Freeplay section is my absolute favorite, especially when it's a larger picture with lots of detail. I spend much more time on these images trying to take advantage of shading and contrast colors. The beauty of this feature is that the possibilities are endless because you pick a colored square and then move a circle around to pinpoint the shades you want within that color's swatch. There is an eyedropper that allows you to "grab" a previously painted color so you don't have to worry about trying to remember a chosen color if you need to reuse it later on. Using this feature also takes longer because you aren't filling in predetermined colors and the finished product is so much better!
I've often wondered why they don't offer an option to download your own images in the freeplay section because there are a ton of downloadable paint-by-number pictures available online.
I also love that I can choose whichever image I want, I don't have to finish one chapter or group to unlock the next group. There are no thick black lines, no drab brown & black colors used, and none of those ugly pictures of a cup of coffee or a single lemon sitting in the center of the picture. Most of the images require you to paint the entire scene versus a tiny picture in the middle of a grey page.
I love that each color tells you how many cells you'll need to fill in and it keeps track of the ones you've filled in so you know exactly how many remain unfilled. When compared with the "other" painting series, it's like day versus night because this game has beautiful images, beautiful colors, and every feature imaginable.
When you get done painting, head on over to my new woodsy-themed forum for some relaxing conversation with fellow BF fans. There's always something interesting going on and we are about to start a new group play adventure so come have some fun at thewoodsforum.boards.net
fromRemembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is a heartache that never goes away, until we meet again on the Rainbow Bridge one day. დ Loki
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 isn't a good sign, do you remember when Mariaglorum Games released a similar style of games just before they closed their doors (League of Light: Growing Threat followed by Bonfire Stories: Manifest Horror) Some loved the new style, and some hated it but it was a sign, it was the Writing On The Wall so to speak and those were the last two games created by that developer! Although they are still in business, this same scenario happened to Brave Giant, the last couple of HOPAs they developed were lacking the quality we had come to expect. The Writing On The Wall was clear and shortly after, they stopped making HOPAs and opted for an easier market selling small casual games like Cat Lovescapes. The same could be said for Mad Head Games as well...man I miss them!
I can't help thinking Domini is creating its own demise! They are getting bad advice from BF and they refuse to listen to reviewers who are demanding better quality.
With that being said...I totally agree with Domini's decision to release a simple HOG, in fact, I suggested they do this! I suggested they designate a portion of their team to create simple HOGs to fulfill their contract needs between creating HOPAs of better quality...Quality NOT Quantity!
I do think they made a tragic mistake when they debuted this as a CE version rather than just releasing it as a SE. I truly believe Domini is one of the best HOPA developers that entered the market (they used to be on my top 3 list back in the day) I know what they are capable of! Clearly, they are just being pushed by BF to spew out games at a reckless pace which is burning out Domini's creative spark! SLOW DOWN the break-neck pace of releasing a new series every week, throw out some filler HOGs as a distraction so you can focus on creating a HOPA of the same quality as you did in the beginning...Change The Writing On The Wall!
Obviously, this is just a Hidden Object Game (HOG) and not the usual Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (HOPA) Unlike the title suggests, there are only 10 Doors to explore, perhaps this is by design and the plan is to explore 10 additional doors on the sequel? Each Door has a different story related to Fairies, Witches, Detectives, etc. There are no voiceovers, as a matter of fact, there is no sound or music whatsoever as you read the dialog boxes which seems awkward as if something isn't working correctly but I'm pretty sure it's intentional.
HIDDEN OBJECT SCENES: There are a total of 52 Hidden Object Scenes, 99% of which are HOs that were previously offered in other Domini games. The HO's vary from scene to scene with Listed Item Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Progressive-Interactive Finds, Spot the Difference Finds, Matching Pairs, Descriptive Clue Finds, Find & Replace, and Fill in the Blanks (? + ? =__) or Combo Finds where you find objects that are created when you combine 2 different objects.
MINI-GAMES: There are only 11 Mini-games and their solutions are the only thing shown within the Strategy Guide. Although the graphics have been changed, they are basically the same games we've played hundreds of times, such as Connecting Gears of matching colors without overlapping paths, Moving Glowing Spheres along tracks, Navigational Maps, Moving Blocks, Hex-shaped puzzles, or rotating candles correctly. There is an option to select Easy or Difficult before the start of each Mini-game.
BONUS CHAPTER (CE Version only) The Bonus Chapter contains 4 additional Doors each offering 4 Hidden Object Scenes and a final Mini-game at the end of each chapter or door.
CE EXTRAs (CE version only) 10 Wallpapers, 7 Concept Art, 5 Music, and a Strategy Guide that only shows the solution for the Mini Games. Because the CE content is so basic, I cannot recommend this version, but I do recommend the SE version.
Like most of you, I too missed the BF forums so I created my own forum! Come join us (it's Free!) and reconnect with familiar friends, join group Adventure games, access handy Game Series Lists, find gaming help & share tips, or just chillax by the campfire and enjoy nature at thewoodsforum.boards.net
fromRemembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is a heartache that never goes away, until we meet again on the Rainbow Bridge one day. დ Loki
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 isn't a good sign, do you remember when Mariaglorum Games released a similar style of games just before they closed their doors (League of Light: Growing Threat followed by Bonfire Stories: Manifest Horror) Some loved the new style, and some hated it but it was a sign, it was the Writing On The Wall so to speak and those were the last two games created by that developer! Although they are still in business, this same scenario happened to Brave Giant, the last couple of HOPAs they developed were lacking the quality we had come to expect. The Writing On The Wall was clear and shortly after, they stopped making HOPAs and opted for an easier market selling small casual games like Cat Lovescapes. The same could be said for Mad Head Games as well...man I miss them!
I can't help thinking Domini is creating its own demise! They are getting bad advice from BF and they refuse to listen to reviewers who are demanding better quality.
With that being said...I totally agree with Domini's decision to release a simple HOG, in fact, I suggested they do this! I suggested they designate a portion of their team to create simple HOGs to fulfill their contract needs between creating HOPAs of better quality...Quality NOT Quantity!
I do think they made a tragic mistake when they debuted this as a CE version rather than just releasing it as a SE. I truly believe Domini is one of the best HOPA developers that entered the market (they used to be on my top 3 list back in the day) I know what they are capable of! Clearly, they are just being pushed by BF to spew out games at a reckless pace which is burning out Domini's creative spark! SLOW DOWN the break-neck pace of releasing a new series every week, throw out some filler HOGs as a distraction so you can focus on creating a HOPA of the same quality as you did in the beginning...Change The Writing On The Wall!
Obviously, this is just a Hidden Object Game (HOG) and not the usual Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (HOPA) Unlike the title suggests, there are only 10 Doors to explore, perhaps this is by design and the plan is to explore 10 additional doors on the sequel? Each Door has a different story related to Fairies, Witches, Detectives, etc. There are no voiceovers, as a matter of fact, there is no sound or music whatsoever as you read the dialog boxes which seems awkward as if something isn't working correctly but I'm pretty sure it's intentional.
HIDDEN OBJECT SCENES: There are a total of 52 Hidden Object Scenes, 99% of which are HOs that were previously offered in other Domini games. The HO's vary from scene to scene with Listed Item Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Progressive-Interactive Finds, Spot the Difference Finds, Matching Pairs, Descriptive Clue Finds, Find & Replace, and Fill in the Blanks (? + ? =__) or Combo Finds where you find objects that are created when you combine 2 different objects.
MINI-GAMES: There are only 11 Mini-games and their solutions are the only thing shown within the Strategy Guide. Although the graphics have been changed, they are basically the same games we've played hundreds of times, such as Connecting Gears of matching colors without overlapping paths, Moving Glowing Spheres along tracks, Navigational Maps, Moving Blocks, Hex-shaped puzzles, or rotating candles correctly. There is an option to select Easy or Difficult before the start of each Mini-game.
BONUS CHAPTER (CE Version only) The Bonus Chapter contains 4 additional Doors each offering 4 Hidden Object Scenes and a final Mini-game at the end of each chapter or door.
CE EXTRAs (CE version only) 10 Wallpapers, 7 Concept Art, 5 Music, and a Strategy Guide that only shows the solution for the Mini Games. Because the CE content is so basic, I cannot recommend this version, but I do recommend the SE version.
Like most of you, I too missed the BF forums so I created my own forum! Come join us (it's Free!) and reconnect with familiar friends, join group Adventure games, access handy Game Series Lists, find gaming help & share tips, or just chillax by the campfire and enjoy nature at thewoodsforum.boards.net
IT'S PRETTY DIFFICULT TO EARN ALL 3 SPIDERS ON SOME OF THE LEVELS
PostedNovember 6, 2022
pennmom36
fromRemembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is a heartache that never goes away, until we meet again on the Rainbow Bridge one day. დ Loki
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 played the demo of the CE version in Limited Moves Mode and I played this SE version in the Limited Time mode and noticed that it's more difficult to earn all 3 Spiders on many of the levels. When I played the Limited Moves Mode I was lucky to have a few moves left so I figured the dev was just a bit stingy with the number of moves they dished out, but on the Timed Mode, I usually had at least 2-minutes remaining but never earned the third Spider! How much time, or how many moves have to be remaining to earn that 3rd Spider? It sure would be nice to know how the scoring works, at this rate I'll never make it to the Expert option of play!
They finally fixed the large screen compatibility issue, the music soundtrack issue that used to stop playing or freeze up for several seconds in each loop, and they improved the graphics for the characters which used to look like a creepy claymation cartoon. They did add a "skip conversation" button but it only seemed to work after a few sentences appeared in a slightly faster manner which doesn't really qualify as a "skip conversation" feature which should just move on to the next window.
You can play in a Casual or Expert Mode and then choose between a Timeless Mode, a Timed Mode, or a Limited Moves Mode. There are 14 Achievements to earn and 21 House Repairs that cost between 100 and 55,000 Coins to purchase. As stated above, you can earn up to 3 Spiders per level but I haven't figured out what the criteria are for earning the 3rd Spider because, in the CE version, I had 24 moves left on level 5 and met all the goals yet only earned 2 Spiders, and I played Limited Time on this SE version & still didn't earn 3 spiders so maybe it is a points issue?
Large Matches award you with a Small or Large Pumpkin Bomb, Column/Row Destroyers, or Triple Column/Row Destroyers (depending on the direction the original match was made, either vertically or horizontally) as well as a Column & Row x3 Destroyer. There are 3 Bonuses available for unlimited use but they have to recharge between uses, a Hint to show you an available move, a Shuffle feature, and a Hammer to destroy a single chosen tile. TIP: when swiping a powerup into position, try to swipe it to a regular cell because if it is placed on a gold cell, it will clear every cell except the one it was swiped to (it won't clear the gold cell it is placed upon)
There are several Obstacles to overcome or unusual features, and most levels have several variations available. I felt they are worthy of adding to my review so you can see the benefits of the game.
-Single Brown Tiles: requires a single match on the tile to remove. -Double Purple Tiles: requires two matches on the tile to remove. -Rocks/Double/Triple Rocks: requires 1-3 adjacent matches to destroy. -Board Keys: requires dropping off the board to unlock the giant Lock. -Star Essence/Covered Essence: requires an adjacent match to collect. -Weights/Dynamite: requires dropping weights to trigger the dynamite explosion. -Exploding Tiles: requires an adjacent match to detonate. -Exploding Rune Locks: requires matches of the selected Rune. -Rune Locks: locks some tiles, requires matches of selected tiles. -Defended Exploder: requires an adjacent match on unprotected sides. -Levers: require an adjacent match to change areas of the board. -Chain/Double Chain Generator: converts nearby tiles to chained tiles. -Infinite Exploder: requires adjacent matches to explode, again & again. -Corrupted Tiles: morph and requires an adjacent match when non-corrupted. -Fog Tiles: requires adjacent match. -Frozen Tiles: requires spreading fire with adjacent matches. -Fire Source: spreads by making adjacent matches. -Fire Source Spawner: requires an adjacent match on any unprotected side. -Chained/Double Chained Tiles: requires a match of the chained tile. -Dart Thrower: adjacent match shoots a dart in the direction shown. -Fire-Breathing Tiles: requires a manual adjacent match to explode, -Rainbow Tiles: matches any tile matched manually. -Achilles Heel: requires an adjacent match on the unprotected side. -Flip-Flop Tiles: morphs between Weak & strong (#'s count down then up)
After playing a few levels, a puzzle or mini-game becomes available, varying between Jigsaw Puzzles, Slider Blocks, Pipe Connections, or Memory Match Games.
COLLECTOR'S EDITION EXTRAS: 14 Achievements, Wallpapers, 66 Bonus Levels, 5 additional Jigsaw Puzzles, 10 additional Block Slider puzzles, 10 additional Pipe Connection puzzles, and exclusive mini-games according to the BF synopsis...however...you are required to play at least 30 levels before you can access any of the CE content! I don't appreciate the "buy it to find out what and how much you will get scenario"
Like most of you, I too missed the BF forums so I created my own forum! Come join us (it's Free!) and reconnect with familiar friends, join group Adventure games, access handy Game Series Lists, find gaming help & share tips, or just chillax by the campfire and enjoy nature at thewoodsforum.boards.net
TINY LITTLE LION SHOULD CONSIDER CHANGING ITS NAME CUZ THIS LION'S ALL GROWN UP & PACKS A MIGHTY ROAR!
PostedNovember 5, 2022
pennmom36
fromRemembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is a heartache that never goes away, until we meet again on the Rainbow Bridge one day. დ Loki
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.
Other developers are surely taking notice of the new kid on the block, a developer who has already mastered the art of Hidden Object Games! Tiny Little Lion pounced into the BF pond with one of the best Hidden Object Games in decades (I Love Finding Cats) and just when we thought they couldn't possibly top our beloved animal-themed Hidden Object series...[insert ominous ROAR] along comes Nature Escapes!
The graphics are not only beautiful but crystal clear even when you zoom or use the Magnifying Glass features! This is the only HO game I know of that mastered the art of Zoom. You can scroll to enlarge the scene, or use the Magnifying Glass to search small areas and the best part is that a simple right-click prompts the magnifier which doesn't disappear once you find an object like most games...and all you have to do is right-click a second time to flick it away instantly. You can also zoom the entire scene & use the magnifier even within the Zoom Zones, a feature many devs tend to overlook. In reality, most HO fans are aging and in my opinion, this is o must-have feature!
There are no Timers or Misclick penalties but you will earn more points for making fast consecutive finds (Combo x1, x2, x3, x4, etc.) and you'll earn more points if you don't use the Hint feature. Even though you aren't racing against the clock, you will earn a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Star depending on how many points you earn, so making combos is vital.
Each scene has a hidden Polaroid Picture that converts to Coins which allows you to purchase 20 Plants & Flowers in the My Garden Section. You can even choose where to place the plants or select multiple's of the same plant! You can click the Camera icon to take a picture of your arrangement as well.
Each scene also has 3 Shapeshifting Morphing Objects that are incredibly well blended, they morph at a perfect pace and can be quite challenging to spot! (morphs can appear in Zoom Zones too) Each Morph found converts to a flower you can plant in the wild, in the Nature Album. After "planting" you will receive 3 puzzle pieces for each morph found and you simply drag the puzzle piece to the correct spot on the picture. Once a flower has been completed, that picture becomes available as a Wallpaper.
After every HO Scene, you will play a mini-game, one of which I'm hoping was a teaser of a coloring game in the making where you click & hold an area on the canvas and drag the area to paint it. There are also Rotating Puzzle Piece games and one I have never really come across before where you have to drag colored squares to a grid according to the shade, from light to dark across a row. When you complete a row of colors, the row reveals an image row by road.
My only suggestion is that I think the CE version needs to have a Strategy Guide that shows the location of the collectibles & morphs. If not a SG, perhaps a Hint Button for just the Collectibles & Morphs?
COLLECTOR'S EDITION EXTRAS: 24 Wallpapers, 16 pictures of the Developer's personal Plants, 11 Music Soundtracks, 18 Main Scene Locations +6 Extra Bonus Locations, 72 Shapeshifting Morphs, (54 in the Main Locations + 18 in the CE bonus locations) 24 Polaroid Pictures (18 in the main locations +6 in the CE bonus levels) 20 Flowers & Plants to purchase (Polaroid pictures found are converted to coins to purchase flowers & plants, 5 CE Extra Flowers, 24 Flower Fun Facts.
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THIS GAME ALREADY MADE IT TO THE #2 SLOT...THAT SAYS IT ALL!
PostedNovember 4, 2022
pennmom36
fromRemembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is a heartache that never goes away, until we meet again on the Rainbow Bridge one day. დ Loki
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 Adventures of Theseus is the third game in this series and in my opinion, is the cream of the crop! Match 3 games seem to be a hit or miss lately but this turned out to be a decent game with all kinds of interesting features to hold your interest, such as clearing a path for Delphi or dropping tools to collect resources that are used to build the Altar of Athens!
There are 3 Modes of difficulty, Bronze/Easy with a 30-second hint/skip feature and no timer, Silver/Medium a 500-second Timed option with a 60-second hint/skip feature, and Gold/Hard a 300-second Timed option with no available hints/skips.
Each level goal requires making matches over all Gold Cells, and you must collect a specified amount of each resource shown at the top. Collecting resources is a two-part scenario. First, you drop the tools to the resource by making matches under them, such as a Sickle to harvest Wheat, a Pickax to collect Stone, or an Axe to chop Wood. (once the tool has dropped close enough to the resource, the tool icon can simply be dragged when it displays a downward arrow on the icon)
After using the tools, the resources are ready to be harvested/collected by making adjacent matches. The collected resources are then used to build the Altar of Athens...a much more realistic method than simply earning amulets to build a glittering "world" which is the typical MO from the developer who releases one cookie-cutter game after another here on BF...this is definitely a welcome change of pace!
Bombs appear on the board when you make large matches and can be swiped to detonate. Powerups eventually become available as you progress. You must first fill the powerup by collecting its designated icon with a single click.
-Athena's Blessing (Owls) destroys tiles/obstacles in a Snowflake formation. -Herme's Blessing (Caduceus) destroys a 2-tile range. -Poseidon's Blessing (Trident) destroys a row of tiles/obstacles. -Apollo's Blessing (Lyre) destroys a column of tiles/obstacles -Aphrodite's Blessing (Shell) destroys tiles/obstacles diagonally -Dionysus Blessing (Leaves, Grapes?) destroys a 3-tile range -Zeus's Blessing (Eagle) destroys all of the same kinds of icons.
Obstacles include Wood Crates, Stone Blocks, Chains, Conveyor Belts, Collections where you need to collect a specified number of a specified icon, and one of my favorites is Dead Items where you must clear a path to the meeting point and then destroy the remaining items that are covered in bones!
To break up the monotony, there are several mini-games or puzzles so clearly, this game has a ton of options and features to keep even seasoned Match 3 players happy!
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fromRemembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is a heartache that never goes away, until we meet again on the Rainbow Bridge one day. დ Loki
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.
Completed Game in approximately 4 hours (including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter) 18 Main Game Scene Locations +6 Bonus Chapter Difficulty Range: Beginner-Intermediate
I may be the odd man out here, but actually think this is a decent game. I wasn't bored, I found the tasks to be less mundane than most Elephant Games because I wasn't constantly being tasked with placing a gazillion emblems and motifs. I've always loved the graphics and atmospheres this developer creates so naturally I have no complaints there. The only reason I'm not 5-staring this game is that the storyline was hard to keep up with at times; it seems fragmented and rely's on the player to fill in too many missing blanks to get into the plot, but maybe that was just my take?
HELPER/GADGETS: There are NO gadgets or Helpers however, for some reason, as a Mystic you have a secret revealing potion that can also reveal your "Pet Spirit" in a mirror. Why? This made the game seem less credible! Again, it's hard to understand the plot when you are supposed to be a Cold-Case-solving Mystic who delves into the supernatural...a game with a dark, creepy, mystical vibe, a fairly believable scenario until I summoned a pet monster in my handy-dandy mirror! Thankfully, my pet doesn't require interactions and I'm pretty sure they threw this feature in to make it less intense (evil-demon-wise)
MORPHING OBJECTS/COLLECTIBLES: (CE version only) There are 24 Zoom Zone Puzzle Fragments that allow you to assemble 2 different Mosaic-type Puzzles in the Puzzle Room. There are 12 Collectible Items to adorn your Haunted Castle, each item has a brief description as well. These CE extras are certainly unimpressive! Most of you know that I fell in love with Elephant Games when I first started playing HOPAs. Once I discovered my first Morphing Object while playing Mystery Trackers: The Void, I became obsessed with them and searched high & low to find games that had morphing objects. I soon realized that other than the original Dark Parables games, this developer had the best Morphs, hands-down! The objects morphed slowly and were never obvious because they changed into something similar that complimented the scene's theme, such as a single window pane, a small area of a painting, or a weather vane.
Eventually, this developer started getting lazy and the once amazing Morphs stuck out like a sore thumb because they became huge in size, morphed at a break-neck pace, and turned into out-of-place objects like a white baseball, the size of a baby elephant, sitting in the middle of the emerald-green lawn of an ancient haunted mansion! Morphs simply became "clickables" not collectibles and it was no longer a challenge and certainly wasn't something to look forward to like they were in previous games.
HOPA Fans noticed the difference and we begged for the return of quality Morphs, a feature that made us loyal Elephant Games fans in the first place! Instead of making improvements to this once beloved feature, they simply abandoned Morphs altogether! Nothing says "I don't care about you" better than removing a beloved feature, right? Show us you really do care about your fans, show us you care about the quality that once was. Bring back Morphs with the same quality and passion that inspired us to seek out your games in the past to get our HOPA Morphing Object fix!
HIDDEN OBJECT SCENES: The Hidden Object Scenes are varied and what I am noticing from this developer in the last few games, is a marked improvement. The objects are smaller and less obvious which shows they are clearly making an attempt to blend the objects into the scenery by choosing objects that will blend into the scene rather than stick out like a sore thumb. In the past I could literally find 95% of the objects without even looking at the list, they were that obvious...but now I'm having to actually "search" versus having a free for all clickfest! (why can't they apply this method to the Morphing Object scenario?) There are Listed Item Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Symbols or Matching Symbols, Find & Replace Scenes, Multiples or Pairs (such as finding specific colored handprints), and Keywords in Sentence Finds as well as a handful of smaller Zoom Zone HO's. There are no alternate games available in lieu of the HOs. . MINI-GAMES/PUZZLES: I've always been a fan of this developer's style of puzzles which tend to be mechanical, or require thinking several steps ahead to solve. This time, many of the puzzles are actually just that...variations of jigsaws, and surprisingly, some were a tad challenging like when you had to recreate a picture by rotating octagonal-shaped pieces on a honeycomb grid! For the most part, they did a good job putting twists on standard do-over games to make them Halloween-themed or at least character-related, but they could have been more challenging like the mechanical-style puzzles are.
BONUS CHAPTER: (Collector's Edition version only) The town is celebrating Adamini Castle's newest resident. Theresa's inheritance of a giant castle pales in comparison to what lies ahead, a deceiving Fiancee with ulterior motives! Turns out her "dearly beloved" was only interested in resurrecting the "not so beloved" Evil Castle Spirit so she seeks the help of her mystic grandmother, Agatha. There are 6 additional Mini-Games and 6 Hidden Object Scenes, and you will continue your search for the remaining 3 Haunted items and 6 Zoom Zone Puzzle Fragments which allow you to complete the final puzzle in the Puzzle Room. After completing the Bonus Chapter the Secret Room becomes available which allows you to search for any missing collectibles. The Archives Room becomes available as well, allowing you to replay 14 Hidden Object Scenes and 13 Mini-Games.
COLLECTOR'S EDITION EXTRAS: 7 Wallpapers, ZERO video movie sequences, 2 Screensavers, 4 Music Soundtracks, 21 Achievements, 12 Collectible Haunted Castle Items (with descriptions) 24 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Fragments to assemble 2 Jigsaws, Archives to replay 13 Mini-Games & 14 Hidden Object Scenes, a Secret Room which allows you to return to the scenes to search for missed collectibles, 3 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide.
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DAD ASKED ME FOR A PEN SO I RAN OUTSIDE, SHOT A HOLE IN HIS BOAT, CAUGHT SOME FIREFLIES, REPAIRED THE WELL & 3 SCENES LATER RETURNED WITH A QUILL?
PostedNovember 3, 2022
pennmom36
fromRemembering you is easy, I do it every day. Missing you is a heartache that never goes away, until we meet again on the Rainbow Bridge one day. დ Loki
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.
Completed Game: Nope, couldn't even finish the 1st chapter! 21 Main Game Scene Locations +7 Bonus Chapter Difficulty Range: Suited for those who have never played a great HOPA from yesteryear only-OR for seasoned players who ran out of other things to do, like organize their closet, paint the bedroom, or sit in the line at the BMV.
Right off the bat, I get a pop-up window telling me "If you pay attention you can find interesting things" Then a large pointer says "Take This" and points to Evelyn's scarf...or so I thought. I clicked on the scarf, and I clicked on the gem holding the scarf but nothing happened. I started randomly clicking anything and everything, I practically clicked every single eyelash on this poor maiden's face, and still, nothing happened. Alas, turns out you have to close the window first! Was that supposed to be the interesting part?
The next thing you know, I've been involved in an accident...in the middle of the forest, not a soul in sight...except for that unfortunate Bard, man, he came out of nowhere! All's good, not only is the Bard good-looking, but he's pretty agile too, considering I just ran him over with a 1200-pound horse! So I bring the Bouncy Bard home to meet dad but he doesn't make a particularly good first impression when the Po-po bangs on the Pa-pa's door to issue a BOLO.
I get another pop-up at pops place to explain that Dialog Choices have an input on the game's storyline. Now, THIS is interesting! Well, the concept isn't really interesting, what IS interesting is the fact that the Strategy guide doesn't show an alternate plot at any point which can only mean one thing...the only plot alteration is the immediate response given depending on which choice you made...the plot UNthickens...
After "remaining silent" I'm faced with yet another pop-up window to explain another amazing feature...surely, this will be a cutting-edge feature... I shiver with anticipation! Hmmm, there's an arrow pointing to the Morphing Collectible explaining that "some items should be assembled" Wait, WHAT! my morphing "Useful Trinkets" requires assembly? How cool is that! With a steady finger on my Mouse, both feet planted squarely on the floor to brace myself for incredible happenings, I carefully click on the trinket and you'll never guess what happened...literally, you'll never guess because nothing actually happened? Did it just assemble itself? Was I being punished for not having the bounce-back Bard's back?
What a letdown, so I say to myself "Self, let's take a break and spend some hard-earned Gold to buy items for my Boudoir" (okay, a little bit of an exaggeration, they are actually Gold-colored Leaves..were you expecting Forest-dwellers to use actual gold as currency? Gold doesn't grow on trees ya know, but leaves do!) WOW-wee-WOW my Boudoir is HUGE! Oh crap, this isn't my Boudoir, this is my log cabin living room... must be a typo? Awe, I can buy an adorable kitty for just a handful of leaves! As I carefully count my leaves, praying for kitty's sake that they didn't crumble to dust in my pocket, I notice something odd and confusing. The description says I'm purchasing a Black Cat but I want the adorable Grey Tabby shown snuggling up in a ball on the sofa...surely this is a "Bait & Switch Scam"?!
Obviously, Domini Games is desperate to redeem itself from a whole slew of subpar game offerings of late. Clearly, they are just coming up with new series by simply re-titling games and now they are taking it one step further by pretending to offer new & exciting features within the games when in reality, they are bogus.
The last 10 or so games have been riddled with glitches, and typo's that are actually occurring because they copy/pasted features from the previous game and didn't bother to match the name with the feature. The last game had 3 different names for the featured collectible in 3 different places (the Extra's menu-the pull-out tab-strategy guide) and this game is riddled with oversights as well.
We don't want "shiny" we just want a game that challenges us a bit, makes us have to think about what to do next, a game that isn't cloned over & over...just like the games that were created when Domini first jumped into the BF pond! What happened to your pride Domini? Why can't you break the mold to create something better than the 2.5 average rating games you keep offering? We prefer quality over quantity...have you read any of your reviews? How many reviewers have to say they gave up on your games and will just go replay an older game...that say's it ALL!
Collectibles/Morphing Objects (CE version only) There are 14 Morphing Useful Trinkets, 14 Magical Beasts, and 70 Zoom Zone Leaves that are used to purchase 14 Boudoir Items (the Boudoir is actually a living room in a log cabin) and the black cat is actually a grey tabby but whose keeping track?
Hidden Object Scenes: The Hidden Object Scenes were varied, such as Keywords in Sentence Finds which was very difficult to find objects on a black stone with sketches made of white chalk, not to mention that the correct object didn't seem to correlate with the description. I did enjoy the HO where you had to find items on a picture map as riddled descriptions (? + ? = Tools of a Woodcutter) and the next item was related to the first one but had the first word filled in, such as, Axe + ? = Tools of the Woodcutter. I think they missed the make a tad bit by attempting to make it more challenging, the objects weren't very sensible most of the time. There are also several smaller Zoom Zone HO's where you were tasked with finding 6 Silhouetted Shapes shown.
Alternate Match 3 Game: There is an alternate Match 3 Game available if you don't want to play a Hidden Object Scene. It's the same M3 game, the same boards, the same icons offered in every game. Why not at least change the icons or the M3 type once in a while???
Collector's Edition Extra's: (CE version only) 15 Wallpapers, 15 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, 35 Movie Video Cutscenes, 41 Achievements, 21 Replayable Mini-Games, 21 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 14 Morphing Useful Trinkets, 14 Magical Beasts, and 70 Zoom Zone Leaves that are used to purchase 14 Boudoir Items, 3 Main Chapters, +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide.
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