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:
Help Jane restore her house in time for Halloween!
Overall rating
1
/
5
9 of 15 found this review helpful
TROUBLE IS BREWING ALRIGHT!
PostedFebruary 27, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Double, double, toil, and trouble. Fire burn and, cauldron bubble. The title is befitting, were we not worth the trouble? I actually liked the first two games in this series but this one looks like someone slapped it together just before Halloween to make a few bucks.
I have a large 38" Alienware curved monitor and if a game can't convert to this resolution it usually centers the screen and places a black bar on both sides but this game just stretched the entire screen until everything was out of proportion, even when I chose the "higher graphics" versus the "fast graphics. I can appreciate the fact that developers can't code every possible resolution nowadays, but screens are getting larger because everyone wants to see the "bigger picture", so this certainly needs to be mentioned for future games.
I can live with a stretched appearance, but that's just one of many issues this game has. The storyline was so boring I couldn't skip through it fast enough and the characters were downright creepy looking but I couldn't figure out if they used a claymation type of graphics or a computer-generated program, either way, it didn't do the characters any justice whatsoever!
The Music soundtrack didn't loop seamlessly, in fact, it didn't loop at all. At the end of the track, the music just stopped playing for several awkward seconds, for such a long time that it left you wondering if the game froze up, but then a new track would start playing.
Every level seemed to have a gazillion new features to explain, they literally threw the kitchen sink into this game. The problem is that the tutorial levels were so numerous that they had to disappear almost instantly to get through all of the feature explanations so you could barely finish reading one popup before the next one would appear. The end result is you had to just figure them out on the fly or do some speed reading and hope you absorb everything that's being thrown your way. This issue was addressed by several reviewers on Halloween Trouble 1 AND 2, so does the developer not care?
The points earned allow you to Repair your house. Everything was a drab brownish color and the end result wasn't any better than the drab, one-room "house" you started out with. If you are going to offer a decorating/repair feature, the purchases have to be interesting! The whole point of this feature is to give the player an incentive to keep playing the levels because they want to earn enough money to finish decorating. I guarantee you that absolutely no one will feel this way about these repairs/decorations, seriously, they are dreadful...and not in a cool Halloween ghoulish way!
You can play in an Endless Level Limit (Relaxed Mode) a Limited Moves or Limited Timed Mode, and you can choose a Casual or Expert difficulty Mode. There are 14 Achievements to earn and 17 House Repairs to make as well. You can earn up to 3 Spiders per level and they did add a replay feature that wasn't available in the previous games.
Large Matches will give you a Pumpkin Bomb of various strengths on the board which must be swapped to create an explosion. There is a Hammer Booster that destroys a single chosen tile/chain and a Shuffle Boosters to mix up the tiles when you have trouble finding meaningful matches (which happens a lot)
As you progress, various Obstacles are added for a challenge, such as Chained Tiles, Locked cells that require making a specified number of matches, Fog covered cells and Invisible Tiles that hide parts of the board until you make adjacent matches over the tiles! Cauldrons located at the bottom of the board can be collected by making matches directly above them, and some of the green fog-covered cells will trigger a chain reaction explosion that usually unlocks a section of the board after the explosion.
This SE version still offers 14 Achievements and 17 House Repairs, the only features not available are the Wallpapers, extra Puzzles and 50 Bonus Levels, but trust me, you won't want to play 50 more levels of this particular game!
If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise...join us won't you? thewoodsforum.boards.net
I don't recommend this game.
Help Jane restore her house in time for Halloween!
Overall rating
1
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
A HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARE
PostedFebruary 27, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Double, double, toil, and trouble. Fire burn and, cauldron bubble. The title is befitting, were we not worth the trouble? I actually liked the first two games in this series but this one looks like someone slapped it together just before Halloween to make a few bucks.
I have a large 38" Alienware curved monitor and if a game can't convert to this resolution it usually centers the screen and places a black bar on both sides but this game just stretched the entire screen until everything was out of proportion, even when I chose the "higher graphics" versus the "fast graphics. I can appreciate the fact that developers can't code every possible resolution nowadays, but screens are getting larger because everyone wants to see the "bigger picture", so this certainly needs to be mentioned for future games.
I can live with a stretched appearance, but that's just one of many issues this game has. The storyline was so boring I couldn't skip through it fast enough and the characters were downright creepy looking but I couldn't figure out if they used a claymation type of graphics or a computer-generated program, either way, it didn't do the characters any justice whatsoever!
The Music soundtrack didn't loop seamlessly, in fact, it didn't loop at all. At the end of the track, the music just stopped playing for several awkward seconds, for such a long time that it left you wondering if the game froze up, but then a new track would start playing.
Every level seemed to have a gazillion new features to explain, they literally threw the kitchen sink into this game. The problem is that the tutorial levels were so numerous that they had to disappear almost instantly to get through all of the feature explanations so you could barely finish reading one popup before the next one would appear. The end result is you had to just figure them out on the fly or do some speed reading and hope you absorb everything that's being thrown your way. This issue was addressed by several reviewers on Halloween Trouble 1 AND 2, so does the developer not care?
The points earned allow you to Repair your house. Everything was a drab brownish color and the end result wasn't any better than the drab, one-room "house" you started out with. If you are going to offer a decorating/repair feature, the purchases have to be interesting! The whole point of this feature is to give the player an incentive to keep playing the levels because they want to earn enough money to finish decorating. I guarantee you that absolutely no one will feel this way about these repairs/decorations, seriously, they are dreadful...and not in a cool Halloween ghoulish way!
You can play in an Endless Level Limit (Relaxed Mode) a Limited Moves or Limited Timed Mode, and you can choose a Casual or Expert difficulty Mode. There are 14 Achievements to earn and 17 House Repairs to make as well. You can earn up to 3 Spiders per level and they did add a replay feature that wasn't available in the previous games.
Large Matches will give you a Pumpkin Bomb of various strengths on the board which must be swapped to create an explosion. There is a Hammer Booster that destroys a single chosen tile/chain and a Shuffle Boosters to mix up the tiles when you have trouble finding meaningful matches (which happens a lot)
As you progress, various Obstacles are added for a challenge, such as Chained Tiles, Locked cells that require making a specified number of matches, Fog covered cells and Invisible Tiles that hide parts of the board until you make adjacent matches over the tiles! Cauldrons located at the bottom of the board can be collected by making matches directly above them, and some of the green fog-covered cells will trigger a chain reaction explosion that usually unlocks a section of the board after the explosion.
If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise...join us won't you? thewoodsforum.boards.net
If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise...join us won't you? thewoodsforum.boards.net
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save the Northern Woods in a race against the clock?
Overall rating
3
/
5
46 of 64 found this review helpful
IT WAS A TAD BIT BORING AT TIMES & THE GRAPHICS UNAPPEALING BECAUSE OF THE FOREST FIRE SCENARIO
PostedFebruary 27, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I wasn't crazy about this new series from the developers who created the beloved Alice's Wonderland series. I had a hard time getting into the game because the storyline and associated goals were the "after effects" of a forest fire which made for some very gloomy and unappealing graphics. I refused to even consider purchasing the CE version because none of the CE content was available...really?? Are they just expecting us to buy it to find out what we purchased and hope we're good with what we got for the extra price?
In the demo of the CE version, the tutorial pointed to the puzzle pieces which disappeared before I could click on them, but then showed that I had found them. I thought it was just a tutorial glitch where it gave you the collectibles automatically in order to explain the feature but this same scenario happened 3 other times, and I didn't bother clicking on them because I couldn't access the CE features like the puzzle room, the painting room where you supposedly paint a picture with the palettes you collect or upgrading the house with the stars (pop up window says the bonus content is only available in the purchased game)...so much for "try before you buy"
Maybe those CE extra's are something I'd enjoy and would eagerly pay the extra money for, but I wasn't going to buy a CE version not knowing what I'm getting for the extra cost...why the need for secrecy? The developers may have thought it was a "teaser" feature to entice people into purchasing the game to find out what they got, but I see it as a huge mistake on their part, it seems almost deceptive, in fact, it makes me think that the developers aren't very confident in its worthiness either and were just hoping to get sales simply from customers who were curious about the features. Perhaps it was because I didn't purchase the game, but I didn't see any indicators to tell me if I had found the Puzzle Pieces or the Morphing Palette, either in-game or on the level; map, maybe that is in the purchased version as well? Anyway, those extra's seemed to be glitchy, and I also had to switch to the System Cursor on the CE demo because my Custom Cursor kept disappearing or was wildly jumping all over the screen. I didn't have this issue on the SE version so I think this SE version is the better option!
As for the game itself, it seems to have the standard tasks of gathering food, clearing debris such as weeds and trash from the paths, repairing bridges, etc. It also has a unique insta-grow feature after cutting down and replanting trees! You'll have to use Portals to hop from area to area, restore plants that make magic elixirs, or repair compost bins for materials.
I hope Ellie decides to visit a real farm next time with tasks that involve animal husbandry versus simply growing & harvesting crops. It would be awesome to have unique features, maybe collecting chicken eggs every morning, milking the cows, and going for a ride on the horses...yee-haw that would be amazing!
In the meantime, take a stroll through The Woods and feed some friendly bears at my new forum. If you miss chatting with fellow fishies from the Big Fish Forum days then grab a thermos full of coffee, throw on your favorite jeans & t-shirt, and lace up your hiking boots...ah who are we kidding...just come as you are...keep your comfy fuzzy slippers on, and come chillax with us by the fire at thewoodsforum.boards.net
I recommend this game!
There's a gold rush coming, and it's your job to lead the way!
Overall rating
4
/
5
44 of 54 found this review helpful
NOTHING REALLY NEW BUT STILL AN AWESOME SERIES
PostedFebruary 27, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Yustas always knows how to create amazing Time Management games with unique themes, and interesting features that are just downright fun to play! Golden Rails is one of my personal favorites but I would like to see something different added to each new release so it doesn't feel like I'm just playing more levels from the last game if that makes sense, because a TM game can get boring if the game mechanics are always the same from game to game.
.
You can play in an Easy Untimed Mode, a Normal Mode, or Hard Mode with tighter Time-limits. This is definitely a strategy-based game and you'll have to queue tasks strategically in order to complete the level goals within the allotted time frame to earn all 3-stars.
.
The goals are basically the same as the last two games, you'll have to repair railway sections and stations in order to unload train cargos full of much-needed supplies, such as Ore, Wood, or food, Trade merchants for tools needed for the job at hand, rescue Settlers, repair, and upgrade houses, and collect rent. Banks must be constructed or repaired, and of course, you'll have to repair bridges, and Sawmills after clearing obstacles, mine gold veins, harvest food crops, remove traps, and chop down lots of trees that regrow when it rains. You'll need to hire extra workers because some tasks require two or more available workers at the same time, while some have dedicated assignments at mills to cut wood or mine ore.
.
You can play in an Easy Untimed Mode, a Normal Mode, or Hard Mode with tighter Time-limits. This is definitely a strategy-based game and you'll have to queue tasks strategically in order to complete the level goals within the allotted time frame to earn all 3-stars.
.
The goals are basically the same as the last two games, you'll have to repair railway sections and stations in order to unload train cargos full of much-needed supplies, such as Ore, Wood, or food, Trade merchants for tools needed for the job at hand, rescue Settlers, repair, and upgrade houses, and collect rent. Banks must be constructed or repaired, and of course, you'll have to repair bridges, and Sawmills after clearing obstacles, mine gold veins, harvest food crops, remove traps, and chop down lots of trees that regrow when it rains. You'll need to hire extra workers because some tasks require two or more available workers at the same time, while some have dedicated assignments at mills to cut wood or mine ore.
Each scene has a hidden Yustas owl that peeks out from behind a bush...my favorite part of the game! TIP: Before the start of each level, you can scan your cursor over the bushes and trees until you see the Hidden Owl Banner pop up, (he is hidden behind bushes or trees) As long as you don't click on any resources, the timer won't start so you won't waste precious Time on the meter searching for the collectible owl. If you forget to search for the owl, you can simply replay the level, search for the owl, and exit the level, your original score will be intact and the owl icon will be added! There are 60 "Wanted Owls" total or one per level (including the 10 Bonus Levels)
After completing level 5, you can use your stars earned to purchase Train Upgrades that speed up workers or speed production of resources.
This Collector's Edition version has 50 main levels and 10 CE levels. There are 60 Collectible Owls, 4 Wallpapers, 5 Music Soundtracks, Train Upgrades, 30 Reward Trophies, and a Built-in Strategy Guide that also shows where the Collectible Owls are located. There are also Shooting Range levels available.
There's always something interesting going on at my new forum! If you miss chatting with fellow fishies from the Big Fish Forum days then grab a thermos full of coffee, throw on your favorite jeans & t-shirt, and lace up your hiking boots...ah who are we kidding...just keep your comfy fuzzy slippers on, and come chillax with us by the fire at thewoodsforum.boards.net
I recommend this game!
Can you defeat the Spirit of Ice and Cold in time?
Overall rating
2
/
5
56 of 65 found this review helpful
"SPIRITS CHRONICLES" ISN'T A NEW SERIES ENTRY, IT'S JUST ANOTHER GAME IN THE OLD "SPIRIT LEGENDS" SERIES
PostedFebruary 25, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Completed game approximately 5.5 hours
23 Main Game Scene Locations +7 Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner...always is
23 Main Game Scene Locations +7 Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner...always is
"Domini Games brings you a new sensational series"... Scorned Spirits, Eternal Winters, Magical Creatures, Bestiary Books, an old lady mentor, Healer in training...does any of this sound familiar? Does this sound like a brand new "sensational" series game? Do you have Deja Vu as I do? Are we being duped...again?
Gadgets/Helper:
Hmmm, this new series just so happens to have the same exact Bestiary Book feature as Spirit Legends, what a coincidence!??? The Bestiary Book is used 5 times in the Main Chapters only (No Bestiary Book used in the CE Bonus Chapter) When the Bestiary Book starts to shake, rattle, and wiggle-jiggle, that's your cue to don your superhero Cape & Mask and put your Healer Skills to the test! (hmmm, wasn't I a Healer in Spirit Legends too??) This is no time to panic Healer, just grab the book from the left side of the inventory bar and throw it at that hideous beast...okay, I'm exaggerating a bit...it's more like a gentle lob. Before the beastly Beast is destroyed, you'll play a quick mini-game, that varies with each beast, and voila! the dastardly beast turns into a docile, domesticated pet... awe, that's so adorable that the Beasts love puzzles too :)
Hmmm, this new series just so happens to have the same exact Bestiary Book feature as Spirit Legends, what a coincidence!??? The Bestiary Book is used 5 times in the Main Chapters only (No Bestiary Book used in the CE Bonus Chapter) When the Bestiary Book starts to shake, rattle, and wiggle-jiggle, that's your cue to don your superhero Cape & Mask and put your Healer Skills to the test! (hmmm, wasn't I a Healer in Spirit Legends too??) This is no time to panic Healer, just grab the book from the left side of the inventory bar and throw it at that hideous beast...okay, I'm exaggerating a bit...it's more like a gentle lob. Before the beastly Beast is destroyed, you'll play a quick mini-game, that varies with each beast, and voila! the dastardly beast turns into a docile, domesticated pet... awe, that's so adorable that the Beasts love puzzles too :)
There are no coincidences here, Domini has been trying to boost their plummeting ratings lately by slapping a shiny new series label on every new release. Clearly, they didn't wake up one morning and announce to their team that they were going to create 9 new game series this month! Anyone who has played Domini Games over the years can surely recognize the familiar themes here and realize that one new series is exactly like the old "Fatal Evidence" series, the next one is exactly like "Dark Romance" or "Enchanted Kingdom"? Every feature, including the theme of "Spirit Chronicles" is 100% the same as the old series "Spirit Legends" it's practically the same title Spirit Chronicles versus Spirit Legends! All Domini is doing is grabbing finished games from series that were tanking, and putting a new title on it because everyone knows that a new series gets more attention (and better ratings) just because it's shiny-brand new!...how's that working out?
Clearly, they are aware that there is a problem, clearly, they know the ratings are tanking but instead of addressing the root problem, they are choosing to play a Cup & Shell game to trick us. I used to think that they couldn't figure out why their fans were turning against them, but clearly, they just don't care if they are willing to use deceptive practices. They want to make money without putting forth any effort, they have a format and they aren't willing to stray from this format so they continue to copy/paste formats from one game to the next, all of which are geared towards Beginner players even though 90% of their audience has been playing Domini Games for 10 to 20 years!
Audio/Visuals:
I can never really find fault with the audio or graphics in a Domini game, the graphics are really good but they do tend to be overzealous with the color palette. Lately, this is the only aspect of their games that really shines with superior quality, the stories are unimaginative and the tasks are so repetitive that surely even a beginner would take notice? Domini is also known for adding items that can be interacted with but as you'll soon discover, these interactions become a rarety after the demo portion!
I can never really find fault with the audio or graphics in a Domini game, the graphics are really good but they do tend to be overzealous with the color palette. Lately, this is the only aspect of their games that really shines with superior quality, the stories are unimaginative and the tasks are so repetitive that surely even a beginner would take notice? Domini is also known for adding items that can be interacted with but as you'll soon discover, these interactions become a rarety after the demo portion!
Collectibles/Morphing Objects (CE version only)
Once again, there are a gazillion Missing Notes to discover which is the most worthless and uninteresting feature of all time. There are 15 Morphing Amulets and 15 Spell Books, and 70 Zoom Zone Energy Sphere Coins used to purchase 15 Barn Animals that are clustered in the center of the page...they couldn't even bother to place them thoughtfully around an actual barn or place them in stalls or paddocks??
Once again, there are a gazillion Missing Notes to discover which is the most worthless and uninteresting feature of all time. There are 15 Morphing Amulets and 15 Spell Books, and 70 Zoom Zone Energy Sphere Coins used to purchase 15 Barn Animals that are clustered in the center of the page...they couldn't even bother to place them thoughtfully around an actual barn or place them in stalls or paddocks??
There is an optional Collection Icon Tab that can be enabled or disabled in the settings menu which will light up when there is a collectible in the current scene. You can also choose to show/hide the availability of collectibles on the Map.
Hidden Object Scenes:
There are 12 Hidden Object Scenes +4 in the CE Bonus Chapter. The Hidden Object Scenes range from simplistic Listed Item Finds to variations such as Silhouetted Shape Finds, Symbol Findsm, Multiples of the Same Item, Matching Pairs or Pairs of Related Objects, Keywords in Sentence Finds, or Replacing Items into the Scene, I did enjoy the scene where you had to pick the correct dog after reading a brief description about its habits, appearance, or breed traits.
There are 12 Hidden Object Scenes +4 in the CE Bonus Chapter. The Hidden Object Scenes range from simplistic Listed Item Finds to variations such as Silhouetted Shape Finds, Symbol Findsm, Multiples of the Same Item, Matching Pairs or Pairs of Related Objects, Keywords in Sentence Finds, or Replacing Items into the Scene, I did enjoy the scene where you had to pick the correct dog after reading a brief description about its habits, appearance, or breed traits.
Alternate Match 3 Game:
There is an alternate Match 3 Game available if you don't want to play a Hidden Object Scene, which still doesn't allow you to make consecutive matches quickly because you have to wait for all tiles to stop falling before you can make the next match which makes the game super boring. The M3 boards are always square and they never add obstacles or new features to make it progress in difficulty. FYI: one of the achievements requires you to play the alternate Match 3 game in place of the HOS. (just once)
There is an alternate Match 3 Game available if you don't want to play a Hidden Object Scene, which still doesn't allow you to make consecutive matches quickly because you have to wait for all tiles to stop falling before you can make the next match which makes the game super boring. The M3 boards are always square and they never add obstacles or new features to make it progress in difficulty. FYI: one of the achievements requires you to play the alternate Match 3 game in place of the HOS. (just once)
Mini-Games:
There are 25 Mini-Games +8 in the CE Bonus Chapter. You can choose to play them in an Easy or Hard difficulty mode and you can choose which mode to have them start out in the Custom Setting (you can still switch between modes for each individual game) Here are brief descriptions of the games I found to be more entertaining:
There are 25 Mini-Games +8 in the CE Bonus Chapter. You can choose to play them in an Easy or Hard difficulty mode and you can choose which mode to have them start out in the Custom Setting (you can still switch between modes for each individual game) Here are brief descriptions of the games I found to be more entertaining:
1-Jump pegs until only one peg remains.
2-Select 2 partial symbols to recreate the symbols shown.
3-Click on glass pieces with hinges to align correctly.
4-Rotate gems with pipes to recreate the pattern shown.
5-Place kitchen utensils on a grid without overlapping.
2-Select 2 partial symbols to recreate the symbols shown.
3-Click on glass pieces with hinges to align correctly.
4-Rotate gems with pipes to recreate the pattern shown.
5-Place kitchen utensils on a grid without overlapping.
Bonus Chapter (CE Version Only)
Milena is causing havoc when she tries to steal powers from the Spirit of Fire just one month after the last incident! There are 8 additional Mini-Games and 4 Hidden Object Scenes with 7 additional scene locations. You will continue searching for the final gazillion notes, 3 Morphing Amulets, 3 Spell Books, and 6 Zoom Zone Energy Orb Coins which allows you to purchase the final Barn Animals.
Milena is causing havoc when she tries to steal powers from the Spirit of Fire just one month after the last incident! There are 8 additional Mini-Games and 4 Hidden Object Scenes with 7 additional scene locations. You will continue searching for the final gazillion notes, 3 Morphing Amulets, 3 Spell Books, and 6 Zoom Zone Energy Orb Coins which allows you to purchase the final Barn Animals.
Collector's Edition Extra's: (CE version only)
15 Wallpapers, 15 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, 27 Movie Video Cutscenes, 35 Achievements, 18 Replayable Mini-Games, 18 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 15 Morphing Amulets, 15 Spell Books, a gazillion Missing Notes, 70 Zoom-Zone Energy Orb Coins, 15 Barn Animals (purchase using coins) 4 Main Chapters, +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide.
15 Wallpapers, 15 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, 27 Movie Video Cutscenes, 35 Achievements, 18 Replayable Mini-Games, 18 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 15 Morphing Amulets, 15 Spell Books, a gazillion Missing Notes, 70 Zoom-Zone Energy Orb Coins, 15 Barn Animals (purchase using coins) 4 Main Chapters, +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide.
Come take a stroll thru The Woods at my new Forum and get to know fellow Big Fishies at thewoodsforum.boards.net
I don't recommend this game.
Can you save your kingdom from a malevolent creature in time?
Overall rating
3
/
5
53 of 72 found this review helpful
SOMETHING'S WRONG IN THE CASTLE YOUR MAJESTY
PostedFebruary 25, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Completed Game approximately 3.5 hours
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
18 Main Game Scene Locations +8 Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner-Intermediate
(including completion of all mini-games & CE Bonus Chapter)
18 Main Game Scene Locations +8 Bonus Chapter
Difficulty Range: Beginner-Intermediate
The Queen leaves the castle for a few lousy minutes and when she returns all @%$! has broken out! The castle is a disaster, most of the staff is missing, the King is MIA, and the guards are in a zombified trance mumbling "somethings wrong in the castle your majesty" The only one who managed to keep their composure through this ordeal was poor little Princess Snow White...hey wait a minute, she may be “as pure as the driven snow”, but something tells me she's left her footprints in this snow before!
I'll admit, I loved the twisted fairy tale plot in Cursed Fables which twists everything you thought you knew about Snow White and the Seven Dwarves upside down! I would have given this game 4-Stars if I didn't encounter an annoying glitch with the Custom Cursor that caused it to be jerky, slow to respond, and was constantly disappearing when idle. I did change to the system cursor which improved these issues but it didn't exactly resolve the lagging issue and it was frustrating to play at times.
Once again, Elephant Games forgot to re-label the Collectible Cards to Dwarven Dolls. I didn't play the beta of White As Snow but I'm betting it had collectible cards and the developers made a last-minute decision to change them to dolls but forgot to change the feature in the collectibles tab and strategy guide.
While I'm complaining, I wish Elephant Games would change the way they list their Achievements. It's impossible to tell how many achievements they have because they are scattered around a scene invisibly, they only show up if you scan your cursor over the scene and happen to scan over a silhouetted shape, they are never organized, they are just scattered about and for those of us who want to earn all achievements, it's aggravating to try to find each achievement to figure out what my goals are, achievement-wise! Oh, how I'd love to be a quality control tester for the big Elephant :(
GADGETS/HELPER:
There are no helpers or gadgets.
There are no helpers or gadgets.
COLLECTIBLES & MORPHS (CE Bonus Chapter only)
The Collectibles Tab states there are 12 CARDS to collect, the Strategy Guide affirms this as well, but they aren't cards they are dolls, hideous dolls representing the 7 dwarves...and then some...? There are 48 well-blended Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces that will create Four 12 piece jigsaws to assemble with rotational tabs.
The Collectibles Tab states there are 12 CARDS to collect, the Strategy Guide affirms this as well, but they aren't cards they are dolls, hideous dolls representing the 7 dwarves...and then some...? There are 48 well-blended Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces that will create Four 12 piece jigsaws to assemble with rotational tabs.
HIDDEN OBJECT SCENES:
There are 9 Hidden Object Scenes +5 in the CE Bonus Chapter with a few Zoom Zone HO's throughout the game. There is 1 Keywords in a Sentence Find, 1 Matching Pairs, 1 Slider Bar (align 2 parts using top & side scroll bars), and 1 Find & Replace Hidden Object Scene, the rest of the scenes are either Listed Item Finds or Listed Item Finds with slight Interactions. The locations were so boring because they were so predictable, such as, inside a carriage, on a table, inside a tent, inside a hollowed-out tree, on a sleeping guard, shelves in a shed, and a vanity top. I actually enjoyed the one on the vanity because you had to find objects and then place them correctly according to the mirror's reflection...because it required a little bit of thought!
There are 9 Hidden Object Scenes +5 in the CE Bonus Chapter with a few Zoom Zone HO's throughout the game. There is 1 Keywords in a Sentence Find, 1 Matching Pairs, 1 Slider Bar (align 2 parts using top & side scroll bars), and 1 Find & Replace Hidden Object Scene, the rest of the scenes are either Listed Item Finds or Listed Item Finds with slight Interactions. The locations were so boring because they were so predictable, such as, inside a carriage, on a table, inside a tent, inside a hollowed-out tree, on a sleeping guard, shelves in a shed, and a vanity top. I actually enjoyed the one on the vanity because you had to find objects and then place them correctly according to the mirror's reflection...because it required a little bit of thought!
MINI-GAMES:
There are 17 Mini-Games +8 in the CE Bonus Chapter. Usually, I enjoy Elephant Games puzzles but most of these were either super simplistic, or they have been offered so many times in past games that you could solve them in your sleep.
There are 17 Mini-Games +8 in the CE Bonus Chapter. Usually, I enjoy Elephant Games puzzles but most of these were either super simplistic, or they have been offered so many times in past games that you could solve them in your sleep.
Most Enjoyable Puzzles:
1-Arrange various-shaped boards to fit inside the grid.
2-Make the correct number of connections for each square by drawing a line from point to point.
3-Swap bird parts correctly by choosing the correct skeleton hands to grab and exchange parts.
4-Align color-coded, shaped sections correctly on a honeycomb-shaped grid x3
5-Move key "teeth" up or down and test the solution to turn all lights green.
1-Arrange various-shaped boards to fit inside the grid.
2-Make the correct number of connections for each square by drawing a line from point to point.
3-Swap bird parts correctly by choosing the correct skeleton hands to grab and exchange parts.
4-Align color-coded, shaped sections correctly on a honeycomb-shaped grid x3
5-Move key "teeth" up or down and test the solution to turn all lights green.
Least Enjoyable Puzzles"
1-Swap 3 Gnomes according to silhouetted shape.
2-Trap the spider by clicking on honeycomb-shaped cells to surround him.
3-Swap & rotate symbols to match those shown in the center.
4-Move figurines so their shadows match their outline on the tree.
5-Drag 3 different knots along a rope (trace the shapes)
1-Swap 3 Gnomes according to silhouetted shape.
2-Trap the spider by clicking on honeycomb-shaped cells to surround him.
3-Swap & rotate symbols to match those shown in the center.
4-Move figurines so their shadows match their outline on the tree.
5-Drag 3 different knots along a rope (trace the shapes)
BONUS CHAPTER: (Collector's Edition version only)
First, the party decorations went missing in the Dwarven Kingdom, and now it appears that the conductor has gone MIA as well! The Dwarven King fears foul play is working at hand here so he calls the best detective there is...you! There are 6 additional Mini-Games and 5 Hidden Object Scenes that take place over 8 additional locations. You'll continue your search for the final 3 Collectible Dolls and 12 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces that allow you to assemble the final 12 piece Jigsaw Puzzle. After completing the Bonus Chapter, you'll gain entry to the Secret Room and Expedition Room.
First, the party decorations went missing in the Dwarven Kingdom, and now it appears that the conductor has gone MIA as well! The Dwarven King fears foul play is working at hand here so he calls the best detective there is...you! There are 6 additional Mini-Games and 5 Hidden Object Scenes that take place over 8 additional locations. You'll continue your search for the final 3 Collectible Dolls and 12 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces that allow you to assemble the final 12 piece Jigsaw Puzzle. After completing the Bonus Chapter, you'll gain entry to the Secret Room and Expedition Room.
COLLECTOR'S EDITION EXTRAS:
5 Wallpaper, 5 Music Soundtracks, 23 Achievements, 13 Replayable Mini-Games, 13 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes,12 Collectible Dolls, but the game refers to them as CARDS, 48 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces that will create Four 12 piece jigsaws to assemble with rotational tabs, a Secret Room (timed HO within the scene locations) an Expedition Room (return to scenes to find any missed collectibles) 3 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide.
5 Wallpaper, 5 Music Soundtracks, 23 Achievements, 13 Replayable Mini-Games, 13 Replayable Hidden Object Scenes,12 Collectible Dolls, but the game refers to them as CARDS, 48 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces that will create Four 12 piece jigsaws to assemble with rotational tabs, a Secret Room (timed HO within the scene locations) an Expedition Room (return to scenes to find any missed collectibles) 3 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-In Strategy Guide.
If you go down in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise...join us won't you? thewoodsforum.boards.net
I recommend this game!
Feed the hungry masses on a tropical luxury cruise!
Overall rating
3
/
5
19 of 23 found this review helpful
I THINK THIS WOULD BE A BLAST IF....
PostedFebruary 23, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
As others have stated, this game can be a little glitchy which is a pity because it seems like it would be really fun. I gave up on it after just a few levels because I was getting frustrated with the game mechanics, freezing issues, and clicks not being recognized, particularly when trying to add milk or fruit to the cereal!
Speaking of cereal, Yustas needs to work on making dishes more colorful and not so identical in appearance. It's hard to tell the difference between cereals the customers are requesting which are identical in shape and way too similar in color (very pale tan, or very light blue color variation), and it's hard to tell what ingredients are supposed to be added to some of the special requests because they aren't bright and colorful, and they don't have detailed graphics, in fact, every food item is similar in color. In my opinion, there needs to be a sharp contrast that allows the player to immediately know which condiments to add, we shouldn't have to waste time trying to figure out if we need to add this or that!
You can play in an Easy, Normal, or Hard difficulty mode, the higher the difficulty mode, the more money you will have to earn to finish levels in Gold (3 stars). There are 50 Main Levels and a handful of side quest levels as well. You can earn more points when you multi-task, such as, serving complete orders in one trip or checking out multiple customers. The points allow you to purchase upgrades to the kitchen to help you with automation, ease of cooking or serving, or speeding up characters or cooking processes.
This Collector's Edition version has 30 Reward Trophies to ear, 3 Wallpapers. 7 Character Bios,50 Main Levels, and 10 Bonus Levels (+side quest levels) The BF synopsis claims to have downloadable Soundtracks but I certainly didn't see any?
There's always something interesting going on at my new forum! If you miss chatting with fellow fishies from the Big Fish Forum days then grab a thermos full of coffee, throw on your favorite jeans & t-shirt, and lace up your hiking boots...ah who are we kidding...just keep your comfy fuzzy slippers on, and come chillax with us by the fire at thewoodsforum.boards.net
Help Hercules build the Wonders of the World!
Overall rating
2
/
5
29 of 34 found this review helpful
THIS WAS ONCE A SPECTACULAR SERIES
PostedFebruary 23, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I was completely bored by this game, in fact, I haven't been impressed with the games in this once-beloved series ever since they opted for giant Bonus Buttons and ditched the Strategy Guide.
The tasks are boring and repetitive and little effort or thought was put forth as far as the resources are concerned. Every level involves clicking on several giant switches...not to be confused with the giant Bonus Buttons...basically, every scene has the same path blockers, square boxes, giant cheese wheels, a few stumps, and of course, tons of broken bridges.
To make the scenes even less appealing, they used weird camera angles and split scenes that just look awkward...let's not even bother with mentioning the annoying music...oops
To make the scenes even less appealing, they used weird camera angles and split scenes that just look awkward...let's not even bother with mentioning the annoying music...oops
You can play in a Relaxed, Casual, or Expert Mode. There is absolutely nothing new or exciting in this 13th edition of Hercules, same features, same repetitive tasks. This used to be an amazing Time Management series but now they are just ordinary, repetitive, and boring.
They ditched the Strategy Guide a few games back to opt for a feature that uses a blue arrow to point to the resource or task in the correct order. Most of us only use a SG when we can't earn Gold after a few attempts and only want to use it to get us out of an occasional rut. Most of us do not want an arrow to hold our hand and walk us through the game exactly as the dev wrote the code...just saying...
Collector's Edition Extra's:
5 Bonus Levels, 1 Super Bonus Level, 9 Wallpapers, 6 Movie Cutscenes, Hidden Puzzle Runes to complete 5 Puzzles (Cheesy Robot-Lord of Gears-Maintenance-Agent Hercules-Fishing) 24 Trophy Achievements, NO Strategy Guide just a blue arrow hint system.
5 Bonus Levels, 1 Super Bonus Level, 9 Wallpapers, 6 Movie Cutscenes, Hidden Puzzle Runes to complete 5 Puzzles (Cheesy Robot-Lord of Gears-Maintenance-Agent Hercules-Fishing) 24 Trophy Achievements, NO Strategy Guide just a blue arrow hint system.
FYI: the SE version still offers 6 movies, hidden puzzle runes to complete 5 puzzles, and 24 achievements. The only difference in the CE version's extra's is 9 wallpapers, 5 BL & 1 Super BL and those annoying Blue Arrows!
There's always something interesting going on at my new forum! If you miss chatting with fellow fishies from the Big Fish Forum days then grab a thermos full of coffee, throw on your favorite jeans & t-shirt, and lace up your hiking boots...ah who are we kidding...just keep your comfy fuzzy slippers on, and come chillax with us by the fire at thewoodsforum.boards.net
I don't recommend this game.
Help Hercules build the Wonders of the World!
Overall rating
2
/
5
12 of 14 found this review helpful
DEFINITELY NOT CE WORTHY!
PostedFebruary 23, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I was completely bored by this game, in fact, I haven't been impressed with the games in this once-beloved series ever since they opted for giant Bonus Buttons and ditched the Strategy Guide.
The tasks are boring and repetitive and little effort or thought was put forth as far as the resources are concerned. Every level involves clicking on several giant switches...not to be confused with the giant Bonus Buttons...basically, every scene has the same path blockers, square boxes, giant cheese wheels, a few stumps, and of course, tons of broken bridges. To make the scenes even less appealing, they used weird camera angles and split scenes that just look awkward...let's not even bother with mentioning the annoying music...oops
You can play in a Relaxed, Casual, or Expert Mode. There is absolutely nothing new or exciting in this 13th edition of Hercules, same features, same repetitive tasks. This used to be an amazing Time Management series but now they are just ordinary, repetitive, and boring.
They ditched the Strategy Guide a few games back to opt for a feature that uses a blue arrow to point to the resource or task in the correct order. Most of us only use a SG when we can't earn Gold after a few attempts and only want to use it to get us out of an occasional rut. Most of us do not want an arrow to hold our hand and walk us through the game exactly as the dev wrote the code...just saying...
Collector's Edition Extra's:
5 Bonus Levels, 1 Super Bonus Level, 9 Wallpapers, 6 Movie Cutscenes, Hidden Puzzle Runes to complete 5 Puzzles (Cheesy Robot-Lord of Gears-Maintenance-Agent Hercules-Fishing) 24 Trophy Achievements, NO Strategy Guide just a blue arrow hint system.
Collector's Edition Extra's:
5 Bonus Levels, 1 Super Bonus Level, 9 Wallpapers, 6 Movie Cutscenes, Hidden Puzzle Runes to complete 5 Puzzles (Cheesy Robot-Lord of Gears-Maintenance-Agent Hercules-Fishing) 24 Trophy Achievements, NO Strategy Guide just a blue arrow hint system.
FYI: the SE version still offers 6 movies, hidden puzzle runes to complete 5 puzzles, and 24 achievements. The only difference in the CE version's extra's is 9 wallpapers, 5 BL & 1 Super BL and those annoying Blue Arrows!
There's always something interesting going on at my new forum! If you miss chatting with fellow fishies from the Big Fish Forum days then grab a thermos full of coffee, throw on your favorite jeans & t-shirt, and lace up your hiking boots...ah who are we kidding...just keep your comfy fuzzy slippers on, and come chillax with us by the fire at thewoodsforum.boards.net
I don't recommend this game.
As a newly recruited agent, it’s your job to uncover what lies behind the real declassified UFO sightings in this chilling hidden object game.
Overall rating
3
/
5
121 of 164 found this review helpful
IT'S PRETTY BAD WHEN A TIMED GAME HAS ISSUES ACCEPTING CLICKS!
PostedFebruary 23, 2022
pennmom36
from❥ Loki ❥ "Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart" -Winnie the Pooh
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I actually watched both seasons of Project Blue Book and enjoyed the show. I was hopeful that this would be a decent HOG covering UFO encounters and conspiracies associated with the government's attempts to deceive the public with the Project Blue Book investigations.
Although the characters and the cases are true to the original show, this really isn't a game where you make actual deductions to solve cases, as the BF synopsis would lead you to believe. Project Blue Book is just your typical "App" type of HO game where you are tasked with finding a handful of repetitive objects (pictured or listed items) to "Investigate" while replaying the same scene multiple times until you find the required number of "Clues" to unlock the next scene. I'm pretty sure clicking buttons & reading the backstory doesn't qualify as a "deduction" therefore, it has to be a conspiracy bwahahaha
There are no voiceovers so you'll have to do a lot of reading if you want to follow the cases. It is a slow process to get to the HO scenes because you have to click "Investigate" and wait for a "loading" page to finish loading, then you have to click on the scene that appears to begin...and wait as the timer counts down 3-2-1. Now you are tasked with finding Pictured or Listed Text Items as quickly as possible to earn the maximum amount of stars. Some scenes show the objects one at a time and you must find the item before the circle that surrounds it within 10 seconds, if you don't find it in time, a popup window will ask if you want to try again, and it simply gives you another 10 seconds to find the same item over and over,
You will earn Stars in portions (1 Star, 1/2 Star) depending on how fast you found them but there is no penalty other than the fact that you will have to repeat the scene more often to "Close" the investigation with 5 Stars. There is a Camera "Hint" system that starts out with 10 Hints which can be refilled by playing any of the Mini-games.
Mini-Games Available:
Image Swap-swap rectangular sections of a scene to reconstruct the room.
Image Swap-swap rectangular sections of a scene to reconstruct the room.
Redaction-drag "blacked out redaction lines" of varying patterns over the paragraph on a letter that needs to be redacted (shown in blue text) until all words are covered.
Match 3-simplistic swap-type of Match 3 game that doesn't allow you to make fast, consecutive matches, you have to wait for tiles to stop falling before it will allow you to make another match,
Jigsaw-drag torn fragments to reconstruct the picture.
Some of the items to find are hidden on the "fringes" on the top or bottom of the screen, some of which were barely showing such, as a bell where only the rope attached to the clapper was hanging from the top...but perhaps it was because of my 38" screen monitor?
The biggest issue I had was that some of the items took several "clicks" before being removed which is a horrible scenario in a game based upon speed! It was always the same item that had issues no matter how many times you replayed the scene. By the time I got to the Hanger scene, I was having trouble clicking on 2 objects, the clock on the wall, and the Gas Can. I replayed the scene to earn all 5 stars before moving on but once I got to the variation that required me to find 1 object at a time, it was impossible to finish because I would click on the gas can over and over but after 10 seconds it shows a popup asking if you want to "try again" (I even tried the camera hint to make sure I had the right object)
I couldn't progress past the hanger scene because of this clicking glitch so unfortunately, I have to pass on this game and reflect that in my rating of the game...too bad because I do love a good Alien Conspiracy!
There's always something interesting going on at my new forum! If you miss chatting with fellow fishies from the Big Fish Forum days then grab a thermos full of coffee, throw on your favorite jeans & t-shirt, and lace up your hiking boots...ah who are we kidding...just keep your comfy fuzzy slippers on, and come chillax with us by the fire at thewoodsforum.boards.net