pennmom36's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.7
- Helpful Votes:358,445
- Reviews Submitted:4700
- First Review:December 10, 2012
- Most Recent Review:January 15, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Braveland
Start as a humble warrior's son whose village was cruelly raided. Command your troops and defeat your enemies!
Overall rating
3
/
5
62 of 73 found this review helpful
Got Boring Too Quickly
PostedJune 25, 2014
pennmom36
fromThose poor baby wolves!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is a game that you're going to love or hate. Available in Easy, Normal and Hard modes of difficulty. There is too much dialog in between battles in my opinion, a gang of bandits has plundered all of your food supply for the winter so you are a brave warrior tracking down the bandits to make them pay for what they stole. Other pheasants, archers, peons etc join in your posse and help battle the bandits, each with their own set of skills, some of the people who join you have skills that they are willing to teach to your people. When you finally get to the battle, you must strategically decide who each man will battle according to skills and lives available. The characters are on a honeycomb grid and you move the characters to the bandit you want him to attack. You can move your character over the character that is dead and has dropped money but your opponent can do this as well. You can purchase upgrades such as endurance in a battle or stronger attacks and you can purchase more men with the gold you receive. Each character as well as your opponents will have different skills, different endurances and different ways of moving so you must read about each character's skills. For me this game became monotonous too quickly, but you may very well love it.
I don't recommend this game.
Big Win Goldmine
Step up to the slots and shout YEE-HA when you win big in Big Win Goldmine Slots!
Overall rating
5
/
5
133 of 164 found this review helpful
It's Official, I'm A Millionaire!
PostedJune 25, 2014
pennmom36
fromCan I bet all 2 million on roulette?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
What an entertaining game! I'm either really good at this game, or the ratio of wins is really high because after just one hour of play I earned 18/60 awards and had over 2 million dollars! You can customize your slot machine's payout mode, low-medium or dream, and you can have either 4 reels or 6 reels. You start with 10k and can bet minimums of 25 all the way to maximum of 30k with 243 playable lines. There are 60 awards for such things as winning 6 games in a row, 5 kings etc. Each time you get a winning spin you can choose to gamble that hands winnings by playing a single hand of blackjack, a game of roulette, or a game of gamble where you put all winnings on either red or black and if the mining cart spills out your color, you can continue to play (or quit) by guessing the suite. There is a random donkey racing game and gold nugget games as well. I'm here to tell you this is bar far the most fun I've had virtual gambling, it's a really fun game, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Journey into the mythical Snowfall Kingdom and investigate the disappearance of children in Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen!
Overall rating
5
/
5
13 of 16 found this review helpful
Dark Parables: Rise of the Snow Queen CE
PostedJune 24, 2014
pennmom36
fromWhat happens to the Snow Queen in the summer?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Dark Parables is by far one of my favorite series of games, Snow Queen is one of the reasons I love these games. Dark Parables takes the usual fairy tale and gives it a bit of a twist to make the usual unusual. The Snow Queen has been nothing more than a folk lore handed down for centuries, now she has been seen by several people of the town causing most of them to flee, even worse several children are missing! It's your job as a detective to investigate the Snow Queen, fact or fiction, and of course rescue the missing children.
The graphics are stunning, there is a particular style of beauty that only Dark Parables seems to be able to accomplish. There are 20 morphing objects to find which will upgrade your hint meter to refill faster with each morph found. Keep in mind that the objects won't necessarily morph when you first see them, some require a certain action or chapter to activate them. This game is also famous for the collectible parables, several gems in several parable stories and when you find all of one parable, you can read a story about it.
The Hidden Object Scenes are actually Fragmented Object Scenes where you find fragmented pieces in three sections and when all pieces have been found they fit together to form a single item that will be used as inventory such as a trident or an emblem. There are tons of mini games, most of them involve creating a path using the correct number of colored tokens as shown above the game.
This Collectors Edition includes puzzles, wallpapers, concept art, music, movie gallery and a bonus game, Hansel and Gretel. I always opt for the CE simply because of the morphs that are incredibly well done, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Travel through time to find the lost artifacts and restore the lost collection!
Overall rating
5
/
5
113 of 123 found this review helpful
This Is How A Match 3 Game Is Done!
PostedJune 24, 2014
pennmom36
fromTime warp
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Available in Relaxed or Timed modes, travel to over 50 locations as you help the Professor collect the artifacts that were lost in time. You start out in the Professors lab until you repair the time machine that will allow you to travel to exotic places and times such as Egypt and Mexico. The goal is to complete an object needed to recover the artifact in that area, but different obstacles might be standing in your way, bushes which need hedge clippers, dams that need wood etc. Some of the Match 3 games require you to make matches below items such as an eye, wood, lightning, until enough fall off of the board thus completing the object needed. Other games require you to make matches until all cells have been turned yellow, and some require you to make matches clearing a path as the board moves so that the object on the left will travel to the object on the right such as a lamp and a generator. Some tiles are blocked requiring you to make matches beside them in order to break the stone or wooden tiles. You receive more points for larger matches and you must strive for 100% accuracy which was a really cool feature. After each area is completed and the artifact found for that area, you will complete a jigsaw puzzle which reveals the next location. The jigsaw puzzle is fairly easy, the shapes are outlined on the picture and you pick up the pieces at the bottom that are available, more show up as you place the pieces until complete. The tiles are appropriate for the area as well such as Egyptian birds, ankhs, and the eye of Ra, Mexico has Myhan themed pieces that resemble carved stone, this really is an entertaining Match 3 game, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Take part in building the monument that made Alcatraz Island a household name!
Overall rating
5
/
5
104 of 117 found this review helpful
The Best Monument Builders Yet!
PostedJune 24, 2014
pennmom36
fromCal Palone, really??
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
My favorite feature on the Monument Builders games are the anecdotes, in this case a very interesting subject, Alcatraz! Before each level you will learn a fact about this prison, once a military prison converted into a maximum security prison which once held the famous prisoner # 85, Al Capone. This is a TM game that requires you to meet specific goals and earn up to three stars depending upon the time it takes you to finish the level, you also earn gems which can be used to purchase upgrades. Some of the goals are clearing the roads of debris such as cement bags, logs, and giant cupcakes (??) You must repair the roads to allow the horse and carts deliver product. You may need to build a cement factory, a bank or a cake factory, but keep in mind that in order to produce food, you will have to build a cake factory, to build a cake factory you will have to collect cement and wood etc. With the gems you earn you will be given the choice to upgrade in three different areas such as, specialized workers, faster production, or automatic delivery of supplies. With 50 levels available this should turn out to be a very fun and informational game, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Build the sweet shop of your dreams and keep the local patrons coming back for more!
Overall rating
3
/
5
65 of 73 found this review helpful
Rush Is Right
PostedJune 23, 2014
pennmom36
fromSelf serve now open!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is one of the few Match 3 games that I just couldn't get in to. In some ways it is similar to a popular candy themed Match 3, just not as much fun. The object of this game is to "serve" customers who are waiting for a tasty treat, to do this you must make Match 3 or more of whatever ingredient this customer wants such as chocolate dipped strawberries, ice cream or candy. You need to make sure the customer is happy and doesn't wait too long for his treat just like in a Time Management game. Once you have made enough matches and the treat is ready, you have to stop making matches and click on the finished product which will be served to the customer, and then click on the money the customer leaves to make room for another customer. This takes a lot of time which becomes frustrating and you lose stars (3 star goal) at the end of the game. There are bonuses you earn in the form of a cherry bomb which destroys tiles in a cross formation for every 20 swaps made, a lollipop will appear every 60 matches which adds 40 % happiness to the angriest customer. You also get treats for match 4's which is given to the angriest customer and match 5 puts money on the board which can be clicked individually. You can use the money you earn to purchase products such as more expensive treats. I thought the music was a tad bit annoying, and this would have been a better game if it wasn't a TM game combined with a Match 3.
I don't recommend this game.
Kathleen’s beloved Danny has been arrested under strange circumstances and accused of murder. It’s up to Kathleen to hold her own investigation and find out what really happened.
Overall rating
4
/
5
103 of 124 found this review helpful
This Story Is All Over The Place, But It's Not A Bad Game!
PostedJune 22, 2014
pennmom36
fromMan, that hotel clerk didn't know what hit him!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Kathleen is an attorney, just arriving home after winning a big inheritance case, she receives a frantic call from her boyfriend Danny. "I'm in trouble and I need your help" she listens in disbelief as the police are arresting Danny on murder charges! Danny believes he is being set up for the murder of his neighbor, Jack Goodman, a mountaineer, all because of an Indian totem that Danny has been searching for for ages. Unfortunately the police have way too much evidence, an icepick with Jack's blood and Danny's fingerprints on the murder weapon. (never clear as to whether they have Jacks body) Here's where the story goes astray: as Kathleen is searching Danny's hotel room for the artifact she finds a portal which naturally she jumps in, and finds herself in the past in the year 1913. She meets an older man who claims that he is responsible for the fact that she was time warped. He claims that a man named Frank found the Indian artifact and was able to hold a ritual to use this artifact to destroy the soul, depriving a man of his sanity, feelings and will, and that he hid the pieces of the totem just before Frank used this same ritual to wipe out his memory. Who's Frank and how did this man get his memory wiped out if he hid the totem? What does this ritual have to do with Jack's murder and why was Danny so interested in the totem in the first place. I feel like I have to purchase this game to find out what's going on. Did my memory get wiped out as well?
The only thing this game has going for it is this incredible story as confusing as it may be. I found it odd that the music track would just stop leaving dead awkward silence for a stretch before repeating the same track. The graphics aren't bad, there are no bells no whistles, no extra anything. The Hidden Object Scenes are slightly interactive list finds where you may have to click on a purse to open it and expose an object inside, they are mostly just random piles of junk heaped in a pile, not bad, just nothing to write home about. The mini games aren't bad, they are fairly easy but entertaining such as finding the diagram for the correct placement of several Indian figurines wearing different animals cloaks such as a bear, wolf, and coyote and then placing the animal figurines directly below the matching Indian. There are a lot of HOS, not as many puzzles or mini games.
To sum it all up, this game isn't going to give you a WOW factor, but for a stand alone standard edition, it is decent enough to hold your interest. The areas of interest are logical, you probably won't have much difficulty figuring out which inventory items are to be used, making this a good game for beginners, with an interesting story that will peak the interest of more advanced players, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Haunted Manor: Painted Beauties
A peaceful day at the park becomes a journey into the surreal when you become the latest victim of a troubled artist's deal with Death!
Overall rating
5
/
5
112 of 236 found this review helpful
Make A Deal With Death Herself
PostedJune 22, 2014
pennmom36
fromFirst things first, I'm looking for those beads!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Stephan Black wanted to move people with his paintings, now that he has made a deal with Death herself, he does actually move people with his paintings, he moves them into a portal painting where they will be trapped as they wait for Death to arrive! Stephen's wife and son died of a horrible illness nearly 100 years ago and their spirits still haunt the Gothic Manor that you have been trapped in since you agreed to allow Stephan to paint your portrait. Now you must find a way to enter the painting portals and free the innocent souls that are trapped, while trying to find the missing pieces of your own portrait, can you right the wrongs before Death comes to collect her souls?
I played the beta version of this game and couldn't wait till it was released. I will admit that I prefer the Collectors Edition because I'm a huge fan of Morphing Objects, and there are Achievements to earn as well. Also you may want the available Strategy guide because this game can be confusing due to the fact that there are several rooms in the mansion, and several portals to enter. There aren't a lot of Hidden Object Scenes or mini games, instead the game is loaded with a ton of interactions in every scene. You meet a priest who gives you a broken rosary and explains that if you find all 33 missing beads, the rosary will protect you from Death (whaaat...give me 3 of em!) Some of these little pearl beads aren't easy to spot because they tend to be located in the corner of a zoomed in area but you are focused on the main area of interest. The HOS are slightly interactive and are both list finds as well as finds that require you to find the object that matches the silhouetted shapes. The mini games are good, but some tend to be time consuming such as swapping tiles in between 4 different squares until each of the four squares contain related item pictures in categories such as planets or weather.
I do recommend the CE over this SE, but if you don't care about all the bells and whistles extras, then this game will be just fine. There is a lot of back and forthing to do in this game but there is a jump map available, and some gamers complained that the Guardian Angel cherub baby used as the hint icon was annoying, but it didn't bother me either way. The graphics are mostly dark, gothic and dreary colors, perfect for this type of game, but not everyones going to like this genre, however, it really is a great game with an excellent but sad love story. Give it a try, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Help a detective explore a rampant briar growth in Scotland, and discover the true tale of the real Sleeping Beauty!
Overall rating
5
/
5
7 of 15 found this review helpful
Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose SE
PostedJune 21, 2014
pennmom36
fromThe King should have named the Princess, Rose Petals, then this wouldn't be an issue!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
To celebrate the birth of their daughter, Briar Rose, the King and Queen hosted a festival for all to enjoy, everyone was invited, except for a single Godmother. This Godmother was a sorceress with evil and wicked intentions and didn't take this well, vowing to get even. That's exactly what she did several years later when Briar Rose pricked her finger on a spindle laced with an evil spell that cast everyone in the kingdom into a slumber and briars began to consume the grounds of the castle encasing everything and everyone in a thick and thorny tomb! Only one person dared to rescue the Princess, a handsome Prince who chopped his way into the castle to free the lovely Princess Briar Rose and kiss her gently on the lips. Well that always works in the fairy tales but this time it only worked on everyone but the Princess who continued to sleep. One thousand years later you are called upon to find a way to destroy the briars that will consume the entire town within 7 days, is this even possible?
This is the first game I played that had morphing objects, and I was hooked. Therefor the Collectors Edition is a must for me. Morphs are one of my criterias for purchasing a game and no other series has been able to top the manner in which the objects morph. This is a non linear game in which activities you do in one scene triggers activities in other scenes you have already been to. Some of the morphs happen right away in a current scene, others may not be triggered until you have done something several scenes later so you will need to return to previous locations often to look for morphs and even the FROGS. Your hint meter will fill up faster for each of the morphs you find.
The hidden object scenes are actually fragmented object scenes. These are scenes that have several fragmented pieces hidden (some very well hidden or blended) and when all the pieces are found for all 3 sections of an item, the sections will connect to make a single inventory item such as an axe which will be used in the game. The mini games are good, such as choosing the correct three pictured tokens that go to the King, Queen and a Knight such as a crown, a tiara and a helmet, a scepter a mirror and a sword, simple but fun.
The Collectors Edition has achievements, 20 morphs, wallpapers, screensavers, music, concept art, Dark Parables novels (very interesting fairytales) a built in strategy guide and a bonus chapter. Personally I prefer the CE but this is still a great game if you don't have to have all the bells and whistles, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
For 25 years, you thought you had no family. But one night, a man steps through a mirror from another world, claiming to be your uncle... changing your life forever.
Overall rating
5
/
5
168 of 353 found this review helpful
The Forgotten Child
PostedJune 21, 2014
pennmom36
fromHow come the healing powder instantly cured the owl but only fixed the Uncle for a minute?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
When the people of Earth dream, the dreams come alive in another world. Their thoughts feed Vi Animo, keeping the tree of life alive. (roughly translated heart and soul?) You are the forgotten child, the child raised in an orphanage, abandoned, with only an amulet and a note that reads "Please protect our baby girl, she is in great danger. Her name is Grace" A man suddenly appears in your mirror, briefly before a dark shadowy monster attacks him and pulls him away from your vision, leaving behind a beautiful owl with an identical amulet secured around his neck! After fixing his injured wing, you read the note attached to a crystal asking you to use the crystal to travel to their world and it was signed, Mother and Father! As far fetched as it may seem, you know you will travel anywhere to find your parents, so you use the glowing crystal to open the portal in this seemingly normal mirror, are you prepared for the darkness that awaits?
This is a beautifully designed adventure game with bright vibrant colors, filled with all the extras that a Collectors Edition has to offer, Achievements, Wallpapers, Concept Art, Music, Movies, a built in Strategy Guide, and a Bonus Chapter that can only be accessed after finding all 176 Magic Leaves. Yep, thats correct, 176 transparent leaves to find, each scene has several leaves hidden and theres no need to worry if you've found them all because a tab will appear (or you can click on the tab at any time) showing how many leaves are in that scene or how many are left to find. Many of the inventory items you find will have a plus sign indicator that means you either have to fix that item in the form of a mini game, or you need to combine that item with another item such as a filled tobacco pipe that you light with a flint. The owl that you rescued belonged to your Uncle and he tells you that the owl will help you in your journey to save the world. This owl is trained to attack the darkness monsters and even better, you control what and where the owl flies and where exactly he should attack.
There isn't really anything special about the Hidden Object Games, they are simple interactive list finds that may require you to pick up one glove and put it with the matching glove to complete the pair. You can opt for a Match 3 game instead, but the Match 3 game isn't anything special either, truthfully it is rather bland and slow, BUT the mini games and puzzles are AWESOME!!! Some of the mini games were same ole same ole puzzles such as turning several rings until you complete a picture, or swapping colored beads until all beads are in their matching colored bases. Other games were way more appealing some I haven't seen before, there was a game that had several keys on the top that required you to use left and right arrows to unblock all of the keys paths so that they would drop to the bottom of the board into the keyhole, the entire row of blocks moves when you use the arrow allowing some keys to fall yet blocking others so you had to be careful not to permanently block keys. My all time favorite was a puzzle, I'm a jigsaw puzzle geek anyway, this was a puzzle with square tiles and there is a black and white ghosted image of the picture in it's entirety on the board. An elephant grabs one puzzle tile at a time and you need to guide the elephant left to right until the puzzle piece is lined up to where you want him to drop the piece. The puzzle doesn't necessarily go row to row, some pieces go ontop other pieces not just side by side (of course eventually they will and none of the spots get blocked in)
I really enjoyed playing this game, seems like BF has been thinking outside of the box lately as they are obviously trying to figure out how to improve and progress forward on games that are fantastic to begin with, in order to keep the games current not stale. Personally, I find myself expecting more and more out of the CE's the more they give us, the higher the bar raises, give this game a try and see if you don't agree, enjoy!
I recommend this game!