SparkleGlow100's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:3,053
- Reviews Submitted:371
- First Review:September 24, 2014
- Most Recent Review:November 18, 2020
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Welcome to Holy Mountain Hotel, where all criminals are punished.
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
A dark mystery
PostedMarch 24, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Deep sorrow leading into madness is the theme here. The story visits the many unkempt and often creepy rooms of the once lovely hotel. When it was over, I felt oddly at a loss due to the sad nature of the story, which is revealed towards the end and continued in the bonus. Personally I wouldn’t want to play this game again, but once through was an experience.
I recommend this game!
After searching for five years, Princess found her mother – only to have her kidnapped right before her eyes!
Overall rating
5
/
5
14 of 17 found this review helpful
An absolutely stunning game!
PostedMarch 24, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Everything about this game blew me away! Right from the start the graphics quality, the light, the shadows, the moonlit purples, greens, the background sounds, the puzzles…It was a wonderful game to play.
Find the statues that can be animated/brought to life to help you in your quest to defeat the foes you will encounter!
I recommend this game!
Can you uncover what’s causing the strange symptoms in Blackwill?
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Where does the music come from and why?!
PostedMarch 24, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Good game and I really enjoyed the puzzles.
Art and graphics: good.
Sound : good, except the thunder was too loud and repetitive outside, drowning out every other sound.
Story: What has happened to the girl? Why is she in a trance-like state? Interesting for a good while, but it did begin to feel a little drawn out towards the end.
Art and graphics: good.
Sound : good, except the thunder was too loud and repetitive outside, drowning out every other sound.
Story: What has happened to the girl? Why is she in a trance-like state? Interesting for a good while, but it did begin to feel a little drawn out towards the end.
Aside from the main game, I had a blast spending the black pearls you collect throughout the game in the CE version. I had no idea that refurbishing a room in a computerized world and seeing it gradually transformed would be so much fun! If you'd told me I was going to enjoy that, I would've thought you were kidding me!
The bonus game continues the main game.
I recommend this game!
Release the characters from the witch's curse and find the portal home!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
FREAKY and WEIRD
PostedMarch 24, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Humans that are remnants of their former selves, left crazed, dazed and disfigured by the witch. Monsters that are odd, alarming and peculiar. About 3/4 of the way through, I just couldn't take it anymore and deleted it. I wouldn't recommend this for any kids, it's just too peculiar and unsettling.
Also loud percussion is present throughout, which is linked-in with the ambient sound control. I had to mute it to retain my sanity.
However, the graphics were definitely very good.
I don't recommend this game.
Track down the truth about your grandfather's death!
Overall rating
5
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Who dunnit? Why, where, what, when, how??? ...
PostedMarch 14, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
...Find out in this murder-mystery! Everything was done well. The story kept its pace, the HOGS were good and puzzles were mostly fun and quite do-able. The music and sound were effective and enhanced the settings. I like this new thing that devs are doing, using music more in the way that movies do. The art and graphics were good in a lot of places, like outdoors in the cemetery and the luxurious house downtown.
No ghosts, no magic, no seriously strange mansions. BUT a story based on decisions and consequences of an old married couple and…their secret. An atmosphere of mystery prevails.
In the CE, 45 hidden theatre masks to collect (happy or frowning), plus the usual collection of extras.
I haven’t played any of the previous Nightfall Mysteries . Through use of a letter, the bonus game makes reference to the asylum from one of the previous Nightfall Mystery games. It mentions that some weird, horrible stuff went on there. But neither this game nor the bonus game go there otherwise. The bonus game is enjoyable in its own right.
I recommend this game!
A dragon has awoken after a hundred years - and it's after your son.
Overall rating
5
/
5
10 of 11 found this review helpful
FANTASTIC FANTASY!
PostedMarch 12, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
IF you wish you could live in the Elven kingdom and/or are a Lord of the Rings movie fan, (but don’t care much for the battling), then you will LOVE this. This is mainly an adventure type game. It does have some very straightforward puzzles, but only a few HOGS (I didn't count but it was something like 3 or 4).
SETTINGS, ART and GRAPHICS: Fantasy, forest, waterfalls, moonlit landscapes, abundant sparkling stars, and therefore lots of enchanted nightglow and shimmering going on. You follow pathways through crumbling ruins and beautiful landscapes. Talented artist(s) have created stunning settings with gorgeous perspectives.
STORY: Unfolds like a storybook. I found it thoroughly enjoyable up until the last 1/5 at which point it lost momentum and then I was ready for it be wrapped up. The characters in this game are dignified in both the manner in which they interact with you and also their manner of dress. Nothing inappropriate, gory or scary (not in the SE anyway). Anyone can play this game. What is an Emberwing? You’ll find out.
MUSIC: Orchestral and atmospheric.
HINT: Will tell you what needs attending to, but NOT what item to use. For the SE, BFG does a walkthrough. Google it and it’ll come up immediately. Sometimes they have them in “community” at the top of the web page.
TASKBAR: Stays visible at all times.
LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY: 3 levels of difficulty which are changeable during gameplay.
STORY: Unfolds like a storybook. I found it thoroughly enjoyable up until the last 1/5 at which point it lost momentum and then I was ready for it be wrapped up. The characters in this game are dignified in both the manner in which they interact with you and also their manner of dress. Nothing inappropriate, gory or scary (not in the SE anyway). Anyone can play this game. What is an Emberwing? You’ll find out.
MUSIC: Orchestral and atmospheric.
HINT: Will tell you what needs attending to, but NOT what item to use. For the SE, BFG does a walkthrough. Google it and it’ll come up immediately. Sometimes they have them in “community” at the top of the web page.
TASKBAR: Stays visible at all times.
LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY: 3 levels of difficulty which are changeable during gameplay.
CONS:
*** I read a lot of reviews talking about difficulty in using items. I did find this a few times, not always, and sometimes I had to try maybe 6-7 times. The trouble with that was that I didn’t know if I was using the right item or not anyway!
***Also a slightly unpleasant sound when you click on stuff, so I had to have the ambient sounds lower in volume than I would have liked, since they were tied-in.
***Lastly of course, the loss of momentum during the last 1/5 that I mentioned earlier.
*** I read a lot of reviews talking about difficulty in using items. I did find this a few times, not always, and sometimes I had to try maybe 6-7 times. The trouble with that was that I didn’t know if I was using the right item or not anyway!
***Also a slightly unpleasant sound when you click on stuff, so I had to have the ambient sounds lower in volume than I would have liked, since they were tied-in.
***Lastly of course, the loss of momentum during the last 1/5 that I mentioned earlier.
Even so, this is the first game that I complete as an SE, that I then go on to buy again as a CE on one of those sales!
I recommend this game!
For years, Barton Mansion sat abandoned, a haunting reminder of an obsession gone wrong. But something sinister still lurked there...and it's stirring.
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 11 found this review helpful
Rocky the dog! Rocky the dog!
PostedMarch 4, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I love Rocky the dog! With those adorable, puppy eyes! Every time I had to get him to help me, it was a delight! I bought him all his home comforts with the coins I found.
Top game. What’s there not to like ?! Scary theme, but not scary to play. No vivid or unpleasant images to stick in your mind. Constantly interesting and no dull bits. Lots of fun I thought. Has a certain look to it, which suited the game (the reds and blues) as mentioned before by a reviewer. GOOD TWISTS AND TURNS IN THE STORY!!
The CE also had various collectible items for a picture, as well as the coins for Rocky's stuff. See earlier reviews for full gamplay breakdown.
I recommend this game!
Several young women have gone missing in Paris. Now only you can stop a maniac’s murderous trail of fragrance and deception!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
MYSTERIOUS AND DEEPLY RELAXING!
PostedFebruary 28, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I was instantly drawn into this game! I think I would’ve called it “The Paris & Versailles Mystery,” because that’s where you are, in the 18th century, doing your investigating! Decadently gilded rooms, a mix of sumptuous and olde-worlde buildings, alleys, scenic look-outs, and charm throughout. The bird song is constant when you’re outdoors and it sounds so pretty; there’s so much variation that I couldn’t really detect the loop. The game is set during the evening and the glow of it warms all the scenes. Leaves drift down gently in the breeze which fades in and out. The music is orchestral as you would get accompanying a movie, and enhanced the atmosphere whenever I decided to listen to it: violins, cello, flute, horn, piano. The end section, maybe the last 5th takes you out into the country-side completely , so that was a surprise!
The ambience and the sound effects are linked, but that’s ok I found, because they got the sound balance right (!) ie to hear the birds etc I did not have to suffer loud or unpleasant sounds of the mouse-click sound-effects.
One of your objectives is to collect different scents from all kinds of locations. There’s nothing inappropriate or even remotely scary about this game. All the women are well-covered up and when they do succumb to the deadly fate of dehydration, you’re not presented with the full-on goriness of what they might look like close up. You only get an inkling, from some distance, of mottled-looking skin (the tops of shoulders, or the back of an arm).
The types of places you go to are varied, you visit a house on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the port, a port with all the sounds of waves lapping the boat, seagulls calling, and ropes and equipment gently clanking. The rooms, streets and alleys as described earlier, including a jaunt into the Versailles Palace and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
HOPS were of the word-list type with a minimal amount of interaction. They were not quite on par as the adventure part. You know how sometimes the HOPS are the better part of the game, well not in this case. They just didn’t have that captivating glow or arrangement. I still enjoyed them and the items were very well hidden (not small, just well hidden) so that was good. Puzzles were enjoyable.
The settings included casual, advanced and hardcore and were changeable during the game. There are 35 fleur-de-lys to collect. Their locations are hidden by small x’s. I liked that and it continues into the bonus part of the game.
A weakness of this game is to do with the notebook and notes you find lying around. Many times, you can’t zoom back into them, and once they’re in the notebook they’re too small to read.
HINT BUTTON tells you where to go, but not what item to use, so if you’re missing an item you’ll need to refer to the strategy guide if you have the CE, or walkthrough for the SE, which BFG does. You can google it and it will come up. Hint button recharges at 30 seconds for the casual and 2 minutes for Advanced (didn’t play in Hardcore!) The task bar is lockable, the game was in widescreen for me (not all are). You get notes and map.
The bonus game does not complete the main story in any way, but has the same main baddie. Bonus game is based in London, and includes Westminster Abbey. It was ok I thought, but I was ready to move on by then. Enjoyed the CE for the fleur-de-lys.
Extras for CE include: bonus game, wallpaper, concept art, replayable puzzles, music, videos, but not replayable HOPs (at least I couldn’t see any).
Here’s the thing about this game…it’s a game I almost passed up on, because of the title and the mention of dehydrated bodies!
I recommend this game!
Rescue teenagers from the tragic fate of Romeo and Juliet!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
Loved the night-scenes, especially towards the last quarter
PostedFebruary 24, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The best part of this game for me was the last quarter which was NIGHT-LIT. I thought these last scenes were gorgeous and the story simultaneously came alive at that point. Over all the scenes had a realistic look to them and although colorful, were mostly static and often had that odd cloudy/grainy/foggy/blurry look. The cut-scenes were few and far between and did not feature movement.
The creepy guy with the jester was SO creepy looking that I totally avoided looking at him when he appeared. The concept of the game is slightly matrix-like in that the body stays in one place, but the person’s soul is transported into another dimension, in this case, into the story of a book. I thought that the library area rooms and basement were ok, but bordering on not so interesting. The story plods along but never really got exciting and neither was it particularly relaxing or enchanting. I DID love the café, roads, rooms and cemetery of that last whole section!
I enjoyed the HOS and felt they were done well. They were all of one type, where you place the object into the scene. The puzzles were quite interesting. The sound was actually divided into music, effects, environment and voice. There were three player settings, casual, advanced and hardcore. In casual the hint button took 30 seconds to recharge. Game filled my whole screen (not all games do).
I recommend this game!
The demons of the Seven Deadly Sins have broken free of their fiery prison and taken up residence in Sacra Terra!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Disturbingly good …but too much horror for me
PostedFebruary 21, 2015
SparkleGlow100
fromUSA
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Beyond Objects in the SE! Really nice graphics. Very scary and creepy! I had to lower the volume of the ambient sounds because I found the sounds of patients whining and calling intermittently, truly chilling. It is based in a mental asylum that was built, by the looks of it, more than 100 to 130yrs ago for sure. Old and decrepit now, with falling plaster and shattered tiles, you can tell that it was once a fairly ornate place in many parts.
Demons representing the seven deadly sins have been released due to a rite that backfired by a certain Dr Morbile. Angel, once the daughter of Dr Morbile, but now deceased and in the realm of angels, protects you and this allows you to try and put things right. A few of the images are certainly disturbing for example a syringe sticking out of a teddy bear with splatters of blood around (something you’d definitely see at the start of the trial) and probably if I’d played the trial, like I normally do, I wouldn’t have bought this. With the second of this series “Sacra Terra: Kiss of Death”, that wasn’t quite the same on the scale of horror; if that was a 3/10, I’d say this is an 8/10. But I don’t really watch or read horror, so maybe my threshold for it is much lower. Personally I wasn’t able to play this game non-stop. I had to mix it in with other games to dilute the effect. By the time I got to the second demon, I decided to quit.
But you know what they say, “try before you buy.” I should have known that when reviewers were saying, “the first one is even better,” what they were really saying was that the first one was much scarier/higher on the horror scale.
The music is nicely separated off from the ambient. Lots of HOS, not so many puzzles. The HOS are of the word-list type and are replaced by a succession of new words for a while, and interaction is required once or twice in each HOS. Unfortunately this is an older game and doesn’t fit my screen like more recent games, and I found some of the HOS difficult to see. There are two levels of difficulty, casual and expert and the hint button refills at 1 and 2 minutes respectively. However, in the HOS, the hint button is constantly available. The hint button gave sufficient information for me to guess what item it was I needed and I didn’t have to use the walkthrough.
I recommend this game!