coffeyfan77's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.5
- Helpful Votes:672
- Reviews Submitted:141
- First Review:November 19, 2011
- Most Recent Review:March 27, 2018
- Featured reviews0
Status:
You've returned from school to visit your father at his famous Jazz Pepper Club during Mardi Gras, but everyone is hypnotized. Have they heard the wrong note?
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
A Spellbinding Mystery In The Big Easy
PostedNovember 7, 2014
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This game is a great example of what a very solid story and some great characters can do. You visit New Orleans to see your father, a jazz club owner, and immediately get sucked into a plot involving mass hypnosis, murder, and a creepy guy in a white suit. Hooked yet? I was too.
The music in this game is really excellent, period pieces (including singing) that helps set the mood, and I also enjoyed the use of the hidden object scenes to move the story along. Another nice touch was the sense of urgency involved in the game. Too many games have dire consequences looming while you take your time picking out random stuff. You really felt disaster approaching in this one in some creative ways.
The game is middle of the road in terms of difficulty. I especially enjoyed the twists on the standard games, particularly one where you move a slider along while the villain threatens you. The background you reveal along the way is interesting and different, and it's a satisfying conclusion. All in all, time well spent. You won't even remember how long you played. Maybe that's magic, too?
I recommend this game!
People have been disappearing in the town of Ridleton for the past 15 years... Can you weather the storm and solve the case?
Overall rating
3
/
5
31 of 35 found this review helpful
Devil's Bargain
PostedNovember 2, 2014
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Card & Board, Time Management
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
The latest Whispered Secrets installment is a classic example of an idea that is much larger than the game itself. The tale is a spin on the old Faust idea of giving your soul to the devil in exchange for something good. You play a detective investigating a string of disappearances in a town, and soon find those folks have disappeared due to a demon planning on harnessing their various artistic powers in order to be released into the world. Interesting setup.
There were little touches I enjoyed throughout the game, particularly the hand-drawn style animations which don't read like a regular hidden object search but cleverly are. The story itself is so-so, with the attempt made to insert two characters (one cute girl with crossbow, one animal helper, check and check) to aid you at various times. That's a good idea but ends up being obvious and infrequently used.
There's not too much to challenge you here if you've played these type of games before, especially dependent on your difficulty level setting. Even the hard setting won't take you more than a while. The challenges are mostly standard, and some of the item collecting seemed a bit lazy. When you find half the items you need for the puzzles you need them for in the same room, you're not exactly dealing with a huge map.
Artwork is okay. Voices are fine, though nothing wow. The animation sequences are decent and the sound is unobtrusive, though some of the effects are grating after a while, particularly the snoring of said animal companion. My other big issue here was the ending of the game, which featured an underwhelming confrontation with the demon after a lot of buildup.
Overall, there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours. The game does just about everything okay but seems like a rushed result to a bigger idea. I applaud the developers putting a new twist on a tired idea but think they made a devil's bargain themselves in that the result wasn't quite what it should have been. Solid, but nothing extraordinary here.
I recommend this game!
Uncover the mystery behind an artist’s deadly talent!
Overall rating
3
/
5
0 of 1 found this review helpful
Not A Masterpiece
PostedSeptember 24, 2013
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I can't say too many bad things about this game because my issue with it isn't that it was bad. It's more that it was just okay at just about everything without really standing out in any one area.
The game is fun. It's got a decent concept (you're a father looking for your art student daughter) and the pace is good, moving along without dragging and picking up excitement at the appropriate times.
The look of the game is decent, if not spectacular. There were nice touches like falling leaves, but not enough of them to really make an impact. Characters are well drawn. Hidden object scenes have the usual degree of difficulty, and you will repeat. Sometimes you have to use one object to get another, which breaks it up slightly, but not a lot of variety here.
Challenge is marginal. The minigames are the usual suspects. I did like the final one, which had some originality, but you end up doing it more than once. Seemed like a copout from coming up with something else. Also, I found the waiting time to be more than normal for your character to perform actions. As an example, when using a shovel on dirt, you wait 30 seconds for each bit of it to be removed. Not sure what required all that load time.
The story started strong and fizzled out at the end. One drawback of a couple of characters in a mystery is that it's generally pretty obvious where the twist will come in. Overall, I thought the game was worth playing but not memorable enough to warrant an endorsement.
I don't recommend this game.
The entire town has been put into a deep, dark sleep by a mysterious evil force. Now young Lillian must find allies and uncover the dark secrets of voodoo in order to save her master and free her friends before it is too late.
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Great Story, Poor Ending
PostedApril 13, 2013
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Time Management
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Voodoo Whisperer is a fun little game that will definitely allow you to get your fill of finding hidden objects. The story is that you play a girl with voodoo powers studying under Marie Laveau who is attempting to break the curse that has impacted both her own mother as well as New Orleans in general.
I really liked the idea of the game, but it's way too big in scope for a casual HO, and that's evident in the fact that there are only a few locations for your character to travel to. The process is exactly the same in each one: you will go through several scenes, collect helpful items, use those items to create a doll to break a curse, and then follow the trail of the evil behind said curse. It starts out strong with the first chapter, but unfortunately goes downhill from there.
The good news is the game looks great. The cutscenes are decent, the backgrounds are nice and realistic, but it especially comes through when playing the hidden object scenes. The items have tremendous detail, and the developers do a great job in giving you a list realistic to the time but by no means easy. Unfortunately, the sound is a bit of a downgrade. There is no voice acting, and the background music is marginal at best. Still, I appreciate the time it took to make those rendered scenes.
Challenge level is okay. Once you've completed the first chapter or two, you'll breeze through the next ones easily, until you reach the abrupt and unsatisfying ending. I'm all for cueing you up for the next game, but how about a bit of payoff for the time spent? Minigames are repetitive and a bit of a bore to be honest. How many matching games can you do before you tire of it? Not many.
Overall, this game is okay. I'd purchase it for the highly detailed hidden object scenes and if you really like HO hunts, but the story doesn't make the execution any better. The combination of a rushed, forced ending and the failure to make the voodoo recipes anything other than a rote "get this, mix that" formula make this one a curse.
I don't recommend this game.
Upon arriving in a strange city, you find the citizens ready to burn Menes at the stake in Ghost Towns: The Cats of Ulthar!
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Lovecraft Lite
PostedApril 9, 2013
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Time Management
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I will begin this review by saying I am an unabashed fan of H.P. Lovecraft and his works. The results of bringing his stories into casual games has been a decidedly mixed bag, and nowhere is this more evident than in this game.
The Cats of Ulthar is a short story, and one of Lovecraft's most well-known and celebrated. Knowing the story, however, will not impact your enjoyment of the game as you will find the plot substantially changed and not for the better. I'm not one to quote subject matter as canon, but the whole tone of this game is wrong due to what was changed. I'd encourage anyone playing it to read the story at some point and determine what you like better. The choice is obvious to me.
As to the game mechanics, it's a pretty rudimentary HO with some charms. There is no voice acting to be found, which I thought was rather weak. The graphics style is reminiscent of cartoon storyboards in the cutscenes, and I felt the hidden object scenes themselves (which are plentiful# suffered from poor design. You will revisit locations multiple times, and items #including ones you've already picked up in previous scenes# will remain, a definite flaw for the developers.
The music is innocuous but grating. You'll hear the same organ solo consistently, and repeated sounds like thunder and rain at a volume that is too high and not needed. Some variation would have been welcome. The puzzles are standard fare, and for me the game's one true highlight. I also liked the idea of collecting cats throughout the game #which ties into the main plot) and revealing additional inventory items through puzzles. The problem is that they become repetitive quickly. There are only so many jigsaws and matches you can do before you long for some variety.
The source material is strong, and there are a few twists along the way. Unfortunately I found the game rather pedestrian and think there are better options out there, both for Lovecraft and HO fans.
I don't recommend this game.
A terrible legend has become reality. The legend of a terrifying creature returned from hell.
Overall rating
4
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Uneven But Entertaining
PostedJanuary 8, 2013
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
There is quite a bit to like about this game, based on the very famous Sleepy Hollow story. As a fan of that (and Tim Burton's movie version#, I was very happy to see this game, which bears more than a passing resemblance to the plot and characters of that movie. As the game wore on, however, I felt like the developers might have called it a day midway through the script, and that's unfortunate. A bit more hashing out would have made this one perfect.
The game looks great. Locations are well done, and hidden object scenes in particular focus on looks rather than stuffing small items in every corner. Animations #mostly featuring the Horseman, of course# are a bit jarring against the backgrounds but nicely rendered nonetheless. Voice acting is pretty good, and characters you meet speak throughout the game which I quite like. Other than some of the in-game animations not having sound, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of it all.
Level of challenge is acceptable. Hidden object scenes, as mentioned, are pretty simple, and divide between standard and seeking pictured objects. You'll visit locations multiple times and there's some backtracking, but it's not too bad. The game does a good job of closing off areas you've dealt with to prevent too much of that. Minigames are usually activated upon using an inventory item, and they range from incredibly easy to slightly difficult. There's nothing here to prevent even a rookie gamer from plowing through.
The collector's edition includes unlockable achievements #always a nice touch, although you'll have most of them before you get to Chapter 2# and horseshoes that you can collect to purchase items for your office. I do like that the horseshoes are collected from the regular scenes as well as the HO scenes, but there's not really enough motivation to go back and find them all unless you're a true completist. The bonus chapter adds some game time #and it's a reasonably long game), but it was one of the weaker parts of the game for me. It felt tacked on and random, and some of the item combinations and applications stretched logic just a bit too far.
My only other complaint is in the storyline. It might be nitpicking, but if you're going to base your game on a movie you might want to pay attention to detail. Inspector Crane is a man of science who doesn't believe in the legend at first, that much is true, but this Crane espouses those same beliefs while speaking to dead ghosts from the earliest part of the game. That doesn't make much sense. Katrina isn't really utilized, either, and the "plot" is abandoned midway through in my view. Still, you'll have more than enough fun putting the Headless Horseman to rest permanently when you look past those details.
All in all, this game is enjoyable and entertaining and does make the effort to make it a true collector's edition. It suffers a few flaws and is a bit uneven, but the small touches and voice acting make it a winner at the end.
I recommend this game!
The Brothers Grimm have assigned the task of revealing the truth behind missing children in the town of Arbourshire; it is up to you to discover the secrets of the Fairy Tale Mystery, before it is too late.
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 7 found this review helpful
The Mystery Is Why It's So Short
PostedJanuary 5, 2013
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Let me start by saying this would be a much higher rating if the game was not so brief, even playing on the harder setting. I agree with other reviewers that it's never a good thing when you barely need a couple of hours to completely finish a game. That said, I do think it's more of a shame because I enjoyed the actual game so much. I agree that it's not nearly as challenging as most hidden object games, but there's a lot to like here as well.
For starters, the story is very well done. You are working for the Grimm Brothers in a detective agency investigating fairy tale characters. I think there is a lot of potential in this idea and love the magical telegrams they use to communicate. The game also looks and sounds great. There are video cutscenes and animations, and the village area is very detailed and extremely easy to get around in. Voice acting is well done and not over the top.
Hidden object scenes are pretty easy, and yes there are the infamous lists of stuff to collect. You have quite a few of them to get through, and will do them more than once, but it's a nice touch that the objects you've already collected disappear. I realize logic might not be the first thought in an HO game, but it is appreciated when it's encountered. I thought the villain was an interesting take on a familiar idea, even if he did strike me as vaguely Terry Gilliam-esque, particularly in the final scene. Minigames are the standard fare and below average in terms of difficulty.
This has its flaws, no doubt, but I liked the originality and found the story interesting enough that it was worth the purchase. I will be very interested to see where this series goes from here. Hopefully the next iteration will correct some of the length and difficulty issues. Lots of potential to make something great here.
I recommend this game!
After being summoned to a mysterious manor, you must unravel the story of an ancient evil and discover your destiny before it’s too late!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Well-Done Collector's Edition
PostedJanuary 2, 2013
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
One of the big challenges in casual games is making the collector's edition worth it. Curse at Twilight is one of those rare games that does. The developers do a great job at making you feel like you're getting a bigger game by not just adding content, but allowing you to unlock it through the regular game as you go. It's a really smart idea that I enjoyed tremendously. It really makes you feel like it was worth the additional cost, instead of just a tacked-on perfunctory bonus chapter.
As to the game itself, the setup is one you've seen before more than once: you are called to an abandoned mansion under mysterious circumstances and have to battle a great evil. I can't say the plot did much for me, as it's too common at this point, but I will say the game looks amazing. The graphics are very similar to the Drawn games and the house has some very odd but fantastic-looking settings within it. Voice acting is sparse but well done. Music was interesting enough and not annoying, which is also a tough thing to pull off.
A couple other things I liked about this game: you collect coins as you go so that you can fast travel, which is a nice way to again reward you for being diligent. I found an average amount of backtracking. Hidden object scenes are decently drawn and challenging, with the usual couple of items you must interact with before collecting. And, on a personal note, I beam with appreciation when the heroine keeps the matches throughout the game. I understand it's nitpicky, but it's kind of crazy when your main character gets an item at the beginning and tosses it only to need it five seconds later.
Small quibbles: every so often you'll collect an item only to find it scattered over the screen as fragments. I felt this was a lazy approach and rather ridiculous. It's right there and I click it, and now have to click every little piece? Other games do this better. Also the villian is not fleshed out, which I assume will be addressed in the inevitable sequel. Other than that it's well worth getting the CE. Really enjoyable few hours spent on this one!
I recommend this game!
Help Lillian discover Titanic’s mysteries and get closer to unveiling the truth behind the disaster that took her great- grandmother’s life 100 years ago.
Overall rating
2
/
5
It Sinks..and It Stinks
PostedDecember 30, 2012
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Clearly my taste for history overcame me when making this purchase. National Geographic plasters its name all over this game in egregious product placement fashion when it might have been better served pretending it never got involved. You play as the relative of a Titanic passenger who heads to a modern day floating Titanic museum (ironic) in order to find out more about what happened. The answer, as it turns out, is way less interesting than attempting to navigate through the game.
To anyone that would like to play this, I can only offer this word of advice: watch the cursor change color. That's about the only way you'll have any clue where to go or what to do in this game. Some may say that's liberating, but I think it's lazy and lousy game development. I don't need anyone to show me the solution, but don't make getting there so bloody difficult. If you like pixel hunting, you've found your nirvana.
I will say a couple positives: the amount of information on who was on the ship is fitting for a Nat Geo game, and you can Match-3 your way through the minigames if you prefer. Since a sample minigame is gluing numbers onto a pocketwatch, I can't say I blame you either way. The match game never gets harder and always offers you a ton of time to beat it, so you should breeze your way through.
By and large, the most irritating part about this game is collecting photographs. I like the idea of meeting spirits and getting to know them, but you don't. Instead you have a 2 second flash while walking into random rooms and then collect tiny tiny pieces of a photo. By the fifth time you play through that you'll wish you actually had been on board.
Hidden object scenes are decently illustrated, but the most challenging part of them is finding the right place to click on in order to collect an item. You also get the standard misspelled items and game errors, such as not being able to pick up a "book" from a list since it's not the one the game is looking for. In short, skip it. There are far better games involving the Titanic. Tedious and ill-conceived.
I don't recommend this game.
A powerful wizard has been sucked into a portal and is lost! Only you can save him from death in Allora and the Broken Portal!
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
First Half Solid, The Rest...Not So Much
PostedDecember 21, 2012
coffeyfan77
fromPhiladelphia, PA
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Word, Adventure, Hidden Object, Large File, Card & Board, Time Management
Current Favorite:
Reality Show: Fatal Shot Collector's Edition
(73)Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Add Allora and The Broken Portal to the list of hidden object games where you go in search of someone. In this case, it's a wizard, whose technology had a serious flaw and deposited him..somewhere. You play the part of a human who crosses over to this fantasy world to repair the portal and rescue him. You'll know you're a human since that's what everyone calls you for the entire game. I can just picture developers sitting around the table saying, "Not enough human references in that line." Were it a drinking game, you'd be cross-eyed by the middle.
In any case, you have two companions on your adventure: the aforementioned Allora #who gets top billing for being an elvin Lara Croft# and a mouse with glasses. Neither of them do anything, just boss you around to get you from location to location. There are no voices in the game, so not much to write home about there. Animations are decent, but unspectacular.
Where this game does shine is in the hidden object department. For those of us that really like those type of games, there are tons of HO scenes in this game. In fact, they come hot and heavy and never let up. You'll travel through a bunch of different scenes. In each of the three or four areas within said scene, you must collect a list of objects. For added challenge, you also have to find certain objects to use in the environment to collect the crystals you need to open that darn portal. The objects are hidden creatively, and even though the formula is repetitive, it manages to get quite a bit out of it before ennui sets in.
There is also one "test" per level, usually standard fare of assembling a jigsaw or flipping tiles. My major issue with this game, and the reason I didn't rate it higher, was that the second half of the game is just tacked on. Essentially you have to revisit every location you've already seen and find even more of the same junk. The final puzzle is very underwhelming, as is the resolution of the game. Ultimately, this game is a great way to spend a lot of time finding stuff, but those flaws prevent it from being any less broken than the portal itself.
I don't recommend this game.