pennmom36's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.7
- Helpful Votes:358,445
- Reviews Submitted:4712
- First Review:December 10, 2012
- Most Recent Review:April 24, 2025
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall
Expose the fate of Jessalyn Thornton and unveil the truth about a family ghost in Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall
Overall rating
5
/
5
199 of 223 found this review helpful
A Haunting Experience
PostedMay 27, 2014
pennmom36
fromBrave woman!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Nancy Drew has been sent to Thornton Hall to solve a missing person case. Everyone has steered clear of this case because the manor is haunted. Jessalyn and her cousin spent the night in this family manor for a fun bachelorette party, now Jessalyn is missing. Is this a case of cold feet or cold dead ghosts?
This is a very large file game, make sure your computer can handle this game due to the fact that there is no trial version available. This is NOT a hidden object game. This game requires you to solve the case by searching for clues, talking to family members and solving problems. You will have to read books, manuals and journals in order to complete certain tasks. You have a smartphone which will be used to call family members and people related to the case. There are two different modes of difficulty with the biggest difference being able to use hints. The tasks are added automatically such as finding a way to charge Jessalyn's phone. On the basic mode you are able to click on the question mark next to the task and ask for a hint, which will simply tell you the steps you need to take for that task but doesn't show you where the items are.
This game has beautiful graphics, trying to navigate around can be difficult at times because of the 360 degree navigational system, but you will eventually catch on. I loved the different characters you meet, Colton in particular, they are lifelike and well detailed. When you are talking to a character, several options of questions are available and I usually ask all of the questions so I don't overlook a detail I might need later. You will receive an EMF reader to check different areas for strength of activity as well
This isn't an easy game, but it is an adventure game with an exceptional story. If you are tired of the same ole games, give this game a try, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Another Case Solved
This city is clamping down on candy cravings by outlawing sweet snacks! Solve a series of quirky cases by gathering clues, tracking down witnesses, and questioning suspects to reveal the truth behind this city’s sugarcoated secret. This is a case too sweet to turn down!
Overall rating
4
/
5
63 of 70 found this review helpful
Confectionary Prohibition
PostedMay 27, 2014
pennmom36
fromAt least the officers get rationings!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is a F2P game based on a Private Detective sleuth who must start small and hopefully make it big in a town that has made sugary sweets illegal! You create a profile, starting with either Ray Spade or Agatha Beckett. You have several options to choose hairstyle, and facial features, basic features are free and upgrades cost either money or candy to purchase. You can earn stars which are used to learn new private detective skills, and you earn money and candy which are used to purchase furniture, decorations and helpful tools, each level grants access to more features. Some items take a while to be delivered and this process can be sped up with your ever elusive candy. The cases start small by finding cases in the newspaper and you will play a click and drag match 3 type game by making large matches in specific amounts of items such as footprints, magnifying glasses, questions and even donuts. You will earn pictures of suspects which are lined up for questioning and you must narrow down the suspects by asking 3 of several questions provided such as man, woman, wears glasses, has freckles etc. then you choose the correct suspect, each case gets more difficult. You must solve enough of the smaller cases in order to get the major cases. Most of the mini games are based on clues given to deduce the answer. I loved the concept, however, for me personally, the game had too much repetitiveness at times, but you might just love it, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Fantasy Mosaics 2
Complete custom mosaic puzzles and discover the fantasy images hidden beneath
Overall rating
5
/
5
80 of 84 found this review helpful
More Challenging Puzzles
PostedMay 27, 2014
pennmom36
fromThe scenery confuses me!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Well they don't give you much time to ease into a groove, the challenges start right from the start in this second edition of Fantasy Mosaics. The object of this game is to logically fill in cells on a grid with number clues, keeping in mind that there must be a space between numbered cells. Every step you take in the game will help culture and restore your fantacy garden, but personally I could care less about building a garden. There are 20 chapters with 5 levels each and the goal is to earn a gold trophy. There is a tutorial at the beginning but only as an illustration, not a guided step by step process, if you haven't played this type of game before hang in there once you get the hang of it you're hooked! Some of the cells contain bonuses such as an axe which will allow you to reveal the state of a single tile, a keg? which allows you a chance to make an extra mistake, and a penguin which will give you a hint by highlighting a single filled tile. Another winner, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
The Secret Order: Ancient Times
Destroy artifacts in the past to preserve the world’s future!
Overall rating
5
/
5
155 of 173 found this review helpful
Unstable Artifacts
PostedMay 25, 2014
pennmom36
fromFly, be free little buddy!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The Mask and Scepter that were stolen a few weeks ago are now unstable and consuming the world into oblivion. The only solution is to board the Royal Griffin once again and travel to Nineteenth Century London to destroy the artifacts that were created from celestial materials. It's already too late for Sarah Pennington's father and museum curator Christopher, the artifacts are too powerful and they too are being consumed into a vortex void, it's time to save the world!
I love the way this series ties the stories together, yet make the game unique enough to stand alone for those who haven't played any of the Secret Order games. I also recommend the Collector's Edition because of the available Griffin collectibles, turquoise Unicorn collectibles and golden Dragon collectibles as well as a bonus game and built in Strategy Guide. The graphics are superb in some areas, crystal clear and colorful but I wasn't thrilled with the blurry ill defined items in the hidden object scenes, this made no sense to me. Another feature this game has is a baby Griffin that hatches and becomes your sidekick. I wanted a majestic Royal Griffin and this baby playdoh griffin was out of place and clearly hatched to add a cuteness aspect. Other than that I loved this game.
The hidden object scenes are interactive list finds and finding fragments of a single item, there was an option to switch to a game of Mah-jongg instead of the HOS. Although I wasn't thrilled with the graphics of the HOS, I was thrilled with the mini games which ranged from simple puzzles to complex thought processing games. My personal favorite was the game that required you to use directional mirrors to guide different colored light beams to the color matching gem, some mirrors were broken and could be fixed, others were broken and you had to bypass that area.
If you have the chance, start with the first game in this series, BUT this is merely a suggestion and not required to enjoy this solid game. This is the type of game that has plenty of interactive areas in each scene, and a pleasant change of scenery between the current world and the olden world of yesteryear, a thoroughly entertaining game which allows you to save the world (hopefully) enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Haunted Manor: Painted Beauties Collector's Edition
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
220 of 264 found this review helpful
A Portrait Of Death
PostedMay 24, 2014
pennmom36
fromHey put the swan medallion on and see if he follows you!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Haunted Manor: Painted Beauties Collector's Edition
(83)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Did anyone notice how much demo time was given! I was fortunate enough to review the beta version, and good things come to those who wait, it may have taken a while but now I get to take advantage of this weekends sale! Stephan Black lost his wife and young son Charlie to a horrible illness, "I will make a deal with Death herself" he vowed in anger. And she indeed fulfilled his wish, in return he captured new souls for Death, by painting their portraits and trapping them in his Gothic Manor. You must reconstruct your portrait before Death claims your soul, you will need to enter the portrait traps of other victims and free their souls as you search for the missing canvas pieces of your own portrait. Captivating story, perfect execution of game mechanics, superior game period!
I love the morphs, the harder I have to look the better and I did have to look pretty intensely for a few of these morphing objects, 30 in total. You are given a pearl rosary which happens to be missing several pearls. If you can find all of the pearls (some of those little balls are hard to spot first time around) this rosary will protect you from Death, now that would put finding those pearls at the top of my to do list, but they are far and few between and Death is breathing down my neck! The hidden object scenes are slightly interactive list finds which may require you to uncover something or take the lid off of a jar. I loved the mini games even though they weren't new, such as rotating 4 pillars and swapping tiles into an empty space until each pillar has red, green, blue and then yellow tiles that line up across all 4 pillars. You will earn achievements along the way for not skipping mini games or not using the hint system during an HOS. There is a good map system for traveling to different areas, you will need to use the map, there are tons of rooms, and several portrait portals to enter which can become disorienting at times.
This is a well produced game, it is apparent that the devs treated this game like a baby, the dedication is obvious in every aspect of this game. I will be purchasing this game in the Collectors Edition (I do love those morphs) I am one of those players that love the dark gothic, haunted manor, games, a little bit of sunshine is okay but put me in a haunted manor and I'm good to go. Have a safe holiday this long weekend and enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Curse at Twilight: Thief of Souls
Overall rating
5
/
5
30 of 33 found this review helpful
Curse at Twilight: Thief of Souls
PostedMay 23, 2014
pennmom36
fromI still don't know who sent the invitation!
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This little gem snuck past my radar! You have been invited to that familiar manor down the street known as the Darkfall Manor, you weren't aware that anyone had purchased this old manor let alone renovated it so naturally your curiosity gets the best of you.....what a mistake this would turn out to be, mistake or destiny? The manor is definitely haunted and destiny has sent you here to make things right,
There are all kinds of cool features with this game. To start with, your inventory bar can easily be toggled between your goals, your inventory items and the objects you need to find. The objects aren't the hidden object scene items, but just about every scene has a broken item such as an axe, or bell, and you need to find all of the fragmented pieces as shown on the objects tab in order to restore that item. You will also have a tab at the top of the screen that show the number of tasks as well as how many tasks have been completed and another tab shows how many gold coins have been collected and what the total amount of coins in that scene should be found. You need to find all coins in that scene in order to earn that scene's picture on the map and gain hints! There are also HOS but not that many and in my opinion the need is fulfilled with the fragmented objects. There are mini games as well such as following directions to turn on the electric panel, selecting the correct colors on an owl and even puzzle swaps with rotating pieces.
Don't let this game slip past your radar, it's is well worth your time. I'm going to play the Collectors Edition to see what exciting features are in that game, what could possibly top this one? Enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Grim Facade: A Wealth of Betrayal
The city fears the return of the infamous Fire Knight – but is Rosa Ramirez really responsible?
Overall rating
4
/
5
117 of 131 found this review helpful
Return Of Headless The Fire Knight
PostedMay 23, 2014
pennmom36
fromGuilty! or not?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Once only a legend, merely folklore handed down for centuries, now reality, The Fire Knight has returned! You have been hired to find Rosa Ramirez who has been accused of stealing the sword from the town statue, thus unleashing the wrath of the now headless Knight. It is said that the knight was deeply in love with a beautiful woman who was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stakes! This knight swore revenge and began to study the black arts until he found a potion to transform himself into a flaming knight of fury. The town's statue however depicts the very moment the Fire knight met his demise with a single thrust of the very sword that Rosa has been accused of stealing.
Without the collectible butterflies and achievements, this game does wane a bit but I still enjoyed many of the features of this game. The graphics aren't the best out there, they are the blurred pastels of games past and sometimes didn't fit my larger screen, but this didn't really affect anything. I enjoyed the story and thought the hidden object scenes were unusual. There are several types of HOS, ranging from finding the item that matches the brief description, feeding the correct food to all of the animals, placing items back into the scene and even finding 12 stringed instruments. The one I liked the most was using an eraser to erase the items listed, that were shown in a scrapbook on several pages. There is also an option of playing mahjong instead of the HOS. The mini games can be played in casual or hard modes such as putting two sections of keys together on the left in order to match the key on the right. There is also a game that you play with a cockatoo bird where you have to guess at which cup the coin is under after they are shuffled around. You will find coins laying around each scene and the coins are used to buy various items from a shady dark alley vendor such as, knifes, medicine and gloves.
The bulls and butterflies are gone in this Standard Edition, but I still like the story as well as some of the tasks available. This is probably the better value, not many people seemed to find any worth in buying items for the bull with butterfly money anyway, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Cruise Clues: Caribbean Adventure
Help Detective Angelina track down an elusive jewel thief in the Hidden Object game, Cruise Clues: Caribbean Adventure!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Cruise Clues: Caribbean Adventure
PostedMay 22, 2014
pennmom36
fromJust doing my job! Which happens to be on a cruise ship, hard work, really.
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
Phantasmat Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Take a nice break from reality on a cruise ship headed for the Caribbean. Even though this game wasn't my cup of tea, I will admit that the graphics are very good, just as the game promises. Angelina is an FBI agent aboard the Diamond of the Seas searching for a thief dubbed the King of Diamonds who steals from the rich (but doesn't give to the poor). This is mostly a hidden object game with a handful of simple mini games. The hint system in my opinion is horrible, the compass turns red but doesn't show you the location of any items. Some of the scenes are repeated a couple of times and they are mostly onboard the ship in rooms such as the disco bar, piano bar and poolside but there are also scenes at port and my favorite, underwater, which was so crystal clear you can just picture yourself with a snorkel and underwater camera, enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Royal Envoy 3 Collector's Edition
Embark on an exciting expedition to crack the intriguing puzzles of the past, while developing new lands for the kingdom!
Overall rating
5
/
5
181 of 206 found this review helpful
Anything For Gold!
PostedMay 22, 2014
pennmom36
fromDoes this story sound familiar?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is one of my favorite TM series, It is reported back to the King that a new island has been found and this island has an abundance of fish, pearls, pirate treasures and of course gold. The natives have forgotten how to build shelters so they agree to be ruled by the king in exchange for new houses for their people. Cedric is back with the Royal Envoy to manage the work being done. This Collectors Edition has 46 achievements to earn, wallpapers, original soundtracks, intro movie and a walkthrough. This should be a lengthy game with 80 levels and another 32 bonus levels. You are given tasks before each game to complete that level such as building houses, collecting gold and hiring 8 workers. You have all the time in the world to plan what you want to do because the game doesn't start until you click the first task. Workers need food from berries and even from the markets that can be built. Houses need wood which can be chopped from trees or you can build a sawmill to produce wood. The houses you build will pay rent and the more upgraded a house is the more rent you receive. There is a really good tutorial for beginners and there is a relaxed setting with no timer for those who love the game without the pressure of a timer, envoy!
I recommend this game!
Criminal Stories: Presumed Partners
Nancy Boyle, a young woman without a criminal past, has been found dead near her home in Brooklyn.
Overall rating
2
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Criminal Stories: Presumed Partners
PostedMay 21, 2014
pennmom36
fromHow can I solve crimes when the crime lab looks like a crime scene?
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Time Management, Puzzle
Current Favorite:
New York Mysteries: Secrets of the Mafia Collector's Edition
(100)Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Unfortunately there isn't anything about this game that I thought was entertaining. There are two features that I thought sounded good in theory. The first one allows you to click and drag as well as zoom into the entire scene. The second mode was called parallaxe (I have no idea what that means) which allows you to scroll through the scene. The later feature actually cut off some of the scene and I didn't realize it until out of frustration I changed modes and voila, there was more to the scene! The hidden object scenes were random items strewn about the room mostly the floor and even when you zoomed into the scene, items were small and unrecognizable. You can find blue stars, not so hidden in each scene which will earn you more clues, up to 99! You just might need that many hints to find all the hidden objects. The mini games were basic puzzles such as swapping torn picture pieces to complete or matching fingerprints to the sample shown. It took too long between scenes and there are no voiceovers so you have a lot of dialog boxes to read from two separate characters.
I don't recommend this game.