AverageSizeFish's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.8
- Helpful Votes:2,910
- Reviews Submitted:173
- First Review:June 2, 2014
- Most Recent Review:May 1, 2017
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Investigate strange goings-on in the eerie town of Fort Nightingale!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Slow and Monotonous
PostedJune 27, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The graphics were well done but to my eyes the artwork was dreary rather than eerie or ominous. My overall impression was of grey monotony.
The puzzles and HOS were fairly easy but not insultingly so. They might work well for beginning players.
The adventure component involved quite a bit of running back and forth and the performance of some rather silly tasks. Also, there were times when I felt that the developers hadn't thought gameplay through enough. For example, at one point you need to lift a latch on the other side of a closed door. Even though you have items in your inventory that would fit through the crack and lift the latch you aren't allowed to use them...instead your character runs 20 feet away to get a ruler to do the job. It makes the performance of the task feel contrived under the circumstances.
The storyline was somewhat interesting but it develops very slowly and, to me, in a sort of odd way. It felt like one person started writing it and then someone else joined in and went off in a completely different direction than where it had been headed.
Between the slow story, the relentless to and fro running around, the monotonous appearance, and the easy puzzles/HOS I actually found myself nodding off while playing this game. It wasn't a horrible game but I found playing it was dull.
I don't recommend this game.
Someone in the Order has turned traitor, murdering one of the Secret Five! Only Sarah can prevent the Order’s destruction!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Unexceptional
PostedJune 27, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The graphics and sound are good. They didn't wow me but there's nothing wrong with them either.
The storyline is fairly uninspired but would have been sufficient to keep my interest had the rest of the game made up for a lack of novelty in the plot.
The puzzles and HOS are not challenging at all and they weren't particularly interesting in any way.
The adventure component required some amount of back and forth running around and included performing many tasks I've seen in so many games that it's just boring to see them again here.
Overall, there's nothing really wrong with this game but there's nothing special to recommend it either. This is the second in this series that is fairly middling. I hope they do a better job with the next one.
I don't recommend this game.
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Something different in a very good way
PostedJune 25, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
The graphics and sound are atmospheric and perfectly complement the eerie story line. Together, story, graphic art, and sound create an immersive atomosphere uncommon in the HOPA genre. Lots of little details contribute to the feeling that you're there. The lighting hit the mark perfectly for me...not too bright or too dark anywhere.
I typically prefer a game with plenty of HOS and puzzles. This game doesn't have a large number of either but I didn't miss them...it's just that well put together. Often the so-called adventure part of a game is an annoying flog involving clicking randomly looking for who knows what so that you can complete contrived tasks that have been exercised past their limit in game after game. Not this one. The feel of it is sort of reminiscent of Dire Grove to me although I think this one handles the eerie adventure part better. I could actually put myself in the character's shoes and imagine what it would be like if I were there. This isn't only because of the graphics...it's because there is no annoying running back and forth, no collection of objects that you have no idea what they're for, and no silly tasks that need performed. Nothing gets between you and the compelling flow of the story.
The level of challenge could be higher but testing you with tough puzzles or can't find that last object HOS isn't what this game is about. In the place of that it offers you a story that you pursue with no distracting silliness. In this case it's a good trade IMO.
Overall this is something different than most in a very good way. If the rest of the game is as great as the beta it will be fantastic.
I recommend this game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Beautiful and fun
PostedJune 25, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The graphics are beautiful and there are so many areas to explore. The amount of work that went into this game is obvious.
The sound quality was great.
The level of challenge was very good being neither too easy or frustratingly difficult.
I haven't played previous titles in the series so maybe my confusion about some parts of the story were because of that. There were times when there was so much going on that I didn't know what was going on. This didn't stop me from being able to figure out what I needed to do next but it did make things feel a little busy at times. There isn't too much running back and forth and game progression is generally linear which I prefer.
The HOS have some challenge to them and are beautiful to look at. I felt there weren't enough of them and would have liked more. Puzzles were of average type and ranged from easy to moderately difficult but were so pretty that playing them was enjoyable no matter what type they were. There are plenty of puzzles but not an overwhelming number of them.
Overall this was a very well done game and it's fun to play. The storyline could be honed a bit more for people who haven't played others from the series and there could be more HOS but this doesn't detract from its quality. I don't usually care for fairy tale stories but this one is different than most.
I recommend this game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
The potential is there
PostedJune 25, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The visuals and sound are very good. Navigating is, for the most part, smooth although a few of the interactive inventory objects were a little difficult to get to work since they seemed to require exact placement of one item over the other to interact. Without this exact placement it seems as if you just chose the wrong two things to combine.
There were lots of things to collect and I liked that.
Even though I had game tips turned off I occasionally received messages in the bar at the top of the screen telling me what to do. I don't mind this too much personally but I've seen a lot of reviewers complain about this kind of issue so it's worth mentioning.
The HOS were very simple. In one puzzle the list was about six items long and the ony six items present in the scene were on the list. I also would have liked to see more HOS.
The puzzles were equally simple. In one case you had the solution to the puzzle in your inventory before you even got to play the puzzle. A few extra puzzles would be welcome too.
The storyline was interesting enough and had a couple pretty surprising twists which was fun. The character's actions were driven by the story and made sense within the context of the story. There was minimal running back and forth collecting random things which is a huge plus for me.
Overall, I think it's possible that many people will like this game but for me it was far too easy. The potential is there for it to be a really great game if the level of challenge was improved.
Nightmares from the Deep: The Siren's Call Collector's Edition
Face off against Davy Jones and his nightmares from the deep!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Ambitious and has potential but didn't do it for me
PostedJune 24, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Review based on demo.
The beginning of this game includes several long cut scenes that lay out the story. Because of the length of these cut scenes I didn't feel I got a complete look at the game and so it might have gotten more or less compelling further down the road but based on what I played I thought it was about average for the genre in terms of fun factor.
My feeling is that BigFish offers games on trial so you can see if you like playing the game before buying it but, due to the length of the cut scenes in this game, which were so long they felt almost like I was trialing a movie instead of a game, I couldn't trial this one enough to even know if I want to buy it. That said, I felt like if I skipped the cut scenes I would have no idea what was golng on and wouldn't be playing the game how the developers intended.
The sort of cinematic appearance of cut scenes and parts of the game play are ambitious so kudos to the developer for that. The effort mostly worked but the animation of characters in both cut scenes and game play are somewhat awkward at times which detracted from the effect. The voice overs were really pretty good overall and the sound effects appropriate.
I play HOPA games to play HOS and puzzles and this game was somewhat disappointing in this regard. In the hour I played my character went to numerous locations but I only ran into 2 or 3 HOS and all of them were either semi or fully interactive. I don't like interactive HOS and I wish the game had some standard ones. The puzzles were equally scarce, average in type, and fairly easy. The directions were clear and the solutions straightforward which was nice. There was one that was challenging and I had fun doing it. Had I run into more puzzles of this type during the demo I would have liked it more.
Gameplay was pretty good. For the most part your character is doing things that are reasonable within the context of the story and not just running back and forth while you randomly click around. I never felt my inventory was filled with a bunch of random stuff I didn't know what to do with.
The story itself was a little far fetched but, hey, it's a game and that's ok. I didn't find it super-absorbing but if it had come along with great HOS and puzzles I would have liked it well enough to want the game given that gameplay was actually being driven by the story and not just random collecting things.
Overall, I felt like this game was different than others in attempting to create a sort of cinematic experience that the player participates in and becomes immersed in. However, I play HOPAs for HOS and puzzles more than for the adventure component. Had those elements been present to the same degree and with the same quality as the cinematic storytelling I would have felt the fun factor exceeded average. As it was I was left feeling like I wanted a game more than a cinematic experience.
Perhaps the game changes as you go further along but this trial is too short for me to know and I don't want to spend CE dollars to find out. I don't feel I got a good enough look at it to recommend it or not recommend it since the cut scenes took up so much of the trial time.
After a long journey, Queen Sophia faces her enemy for the last time - but will she succeed in saving her parents?
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Ho Hum
PostedJune 24, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
The first thing I noticed about this game as I started to play was the completely lackluster performance of the voice-over actors. They sounded like they were reading the ingredients off the back of a cereal box. The next was the rather childish and shallow nature of the story. It just failed to interest me at all.
For a HOPA game it felt short on puzzles and games and what there was did not really present a challenge. The HOS are interactive which I don't care for in general and especially not the intricate type where every single thing on the list requires some form of interaction. It makes it so that when you start the HOS you don't have to search much...you just wave your mouse over the scene to see which objects make the cursor change or the object stick then match those with another that does the same. Rather boring and definitely not a real HOS.
On the plus side most of the times when your character performs an action or picks something up for the inventory you have an idea why she's doing it. This aspect makes up for a lot of failings IMO since lately it seems a lot of game developers aren't capable of giving the character rational story-motivated things to do/get. Also there were a few clever devices such as when they disguised a sort of FROG scattered over several scenes as the character rebuilding her mechanical dragon. It was just too bad they made all the pieces so easy to find and assemble.
Overall this seems like a decent, if boring and silly, game. I'm sure some people will like it but I thought it was average at best.
I don't recommend this game.
A mysterious fortune teller has foreseen her demise at midnight this very day. Can you find the soul who seeks to kill Madame Fate? You be the detective.
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
One of the best
PostedJune 24, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game, in spite of its age, is easily one of the best HOP games I've played. The graphics have stood the test of time very well and on my newer machine showed only a slight graininess at times. The appearance of the game areas and characters is creative, charming, and very well drawn.
The HOS are challenging and the game is full of them...just what I want from a HOP game. The HOS are timed which I like but people who don't like that counting down timer probably won't be fond of this game.
Many of the puzzles are unique in that you simply have to play them to figure out what they do. People that complain there are no instructions for these puzzles have completely missed the point of them. Figuring out the instructions by tinkering with elements of the odd device you're presented with *is* the puzzle so giving instructions would ruin the very thing that makes it a puzzle. Each of the special puzzles are so clever and funny they're just super-fun to play. The game also includes some word puzzles which I really enjoyed too. I wish more HOP games had puzzles like the ones in this game.
The game is long and in between playing HOS and puzzles you find out more about the members of Madame Fate's carnival. This is a delightfully comedic storyline that fit perfectly with the graphics and the puzzles.
Overall, this is one of the best HOP games I've ever played. It's difficult to think of another that even approaches the level of creativity and originality found here. That combined with its length and level of challenge make it just about perfect.
I recommend this game!
Twenty years ago, the children of Greystone were taken by a mysterious fog - only you escaped. It’s time to find out why...
Overall rating
2
/
5
19 of 36 found this review helpful
Annoying, silly, and not fun.
PostedJune 23, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
The game starts off, typically enough for this genre, with all kinds of broken things needing fixed and stuff that the black bar announces is missing something. Unlike some games though, in this one there is absolutle no story development before you're plunged into this world of "why do I care?"
If you click around randomly a lot of the "mystery" will solve itself oddly enough. You don't need to think at all...just click randomly a few times and things all fall into place. The things that don't fall into place from clicking will fall into place from black bar instructions...unfortunately you're going to be dependant on these strategies because there is no story you're following here. For example, your character will develop some glowing scar on her hand...but you have no idea where this scar came from, when she got it, and at the point she develops it you probably couldn't care less about those issues anyway. A magic scar with no explanation? It just feels silly.
There is way too much useless and overwrought character talking to herself and saying nothing compared to actual gameplay. The HOS are not real HOS...they're these "interactive" ones that are not challenging at all. You just swish your mouse over things to reveal something you need to collect instead of actually looking for it. The puzzles are so simple you can make a few random clicks at the thing and it's solved. I actually solved one with three random mouse clicks. Another puzzle had the solution to it right above the puzzle so all you had to do was read the answer that was on the screen.
The voice over from the main character has an annoying super-dramatic tone that doesn't match what is going on. Everything she says is in this breathless OMG voice even when nothing exciting is going on.
And, of course, there are all the typical devices like feeding an animal. I just wonder how often these developers run into random animals they have to feed to carry out a task in their usual life.
Overall I have to say this is a game with a really annoying voice over, pseudo-HOS where I want real ones, puzzles that can be solved with random mouse clicks, and not much else. My advice is give it a pass.
I don't recommend this game.
A series of unexplained deaths baffle authorities, and you’re called in to investigate.
Overall rating
2
/
5
34 of 37 found this review helpful
Tolerable but not fun
PostedJune 23, 2014
AverageSizeFish
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
As always the graphics are very well done making the rest of the review really tough to write seeing the work that went into making this game. But there is no way to say much that's good about this game beyond that.
The story and the character's behavior are ridiculous. Here's how it would read if someone actually just ran around doing the things our character does:
Police Report: All points bulletin - There is a vandal/thief in the area whose behavior is quite erratic. This person has barged into several crime scenes and is obstructing our on-going investigation by tampering with evidence and damaging property. To date this person first damaged a vendor's kiosk outside the home where a murder took place. She then broke in through the back window of the dwelling and stole several valuable gems. Inexplicably, she threw soot all over the wall in one room and slashed open the upholstery on a chair. She also stole a ring that had, for no apparent reason, been hidden in the bottom of a bird cage. Following the invasion of this home she then went to a second home where, bizarrely enough, she stole a gold apple from a statue gracing the front of the home, crashed a lawn cart before stealing several items from it, and took advantage of the occupant's grief in order to steal a treasured memento from her. This person is known to lift sharp objects from wherever they go and should be considered dangerous.
The best you can say at this point is at least our character isn't running around carrying a ladder, a wooden pallet, a bucket of water, and a burning torch all at the same time as I've seen some games have the character do. The honest thing to say is that all of this is really far-fetched. It's far-fetched to the point where playing the game turns into random clicking wondering what crazy thing the developer wants you to blindly do next.
The HOS were like the gameplay crushed down into a single scene. They weren't real HOS but these annoying and simple things where you had to scroll your mouse around to see where the cursor would change. Then you click and perform some very simplistic interaction with some other thing that causes the cursor to change when you scroll over it. The puzzles were equally as lacking in challenge.
When I see a game that has this amount of work go into making it I want to write a good review. But a game is more than just how the graphics look. It needs some kind of story that makes sense and it needs to communicate that story to the player in a way that is engaging. This game did not accomplish that for me. A HOPA game should also have HOS and puzzles worthy of the name. This game does not.
Overall playing this game gave me a strong feeling of "I just don't care". It was tolerable but unfun.
I don't recommend this game.