Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
I agree with what some other reviewers have said 1) nothing new except different pictures 2) it would be wonderful to see the finished puzzle without all the lines 3) in timed mode, the time allotted is ridiculous - there is no way to complete a puzzle in the time given unless you play it over and over again until you've memorized where every piece is located. I play the un-timed mode because I don't spend my money to race through a game and have it over and done with in the blink of an eye. I want some bang for my buck, so to speak. I have purchased a lot of the games like this one because I really love jigsaws and the irregular pieces are a fun change. But, I wouldn't pay full price for them. So, I would recommend this game with some of the caveats I mentioned. I did purchase it today because of the sale price.
I have enough clutter style games to last me until the end of time. They are one of my favorite types of games. The main reason I added this one to my collection is that I really like being able to move objects around the playing space while I'm looking for the desired items (flowers, drinks, etc). That's my favorite feature in this particular game. Finding objects cut into 4 pieces took some patience, but I don't play games in a timed manner. I'm all about relaxation and fun, so I go for the un-timed option whenever it's available.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
I have Cursed House 3,4,5,6 & 7. I keep coming back because the developers keep coming up with new twists and turns with each new game. I was immediately blown away by the new features in this 7th installment. Somebody was thinking in overdrive when they started to put #7 together. Other reviewers have gone into great detail about the game, so I won't repeat any of what has already been covered so completely. Suffice to say, this is a terrific game and very challenging. I had to read the instructions concerning the new features, even though I've been playing Cursed House games for a while now. Last week I sat at my computer and thought "Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a new Cursed House game?" but I had no hope of that happening until later in the year. I'm so glad someone somewhere read my mind and up popped a new Cursed House game a few days later.
I have many (or all?) of the previous Hiddenverse games and really like them. When a new one comes out, of course you always wonder what will be new. This one is quite different, IMHO. I will let others go into the huge amount of detail about the game play, as they are better at that than I am. They will have a lot to write about. This one involves reconstructing buildings after an earthquake by using stars that you have earned, the regular type of object matching games, a version of pipes, matching tiles, match 3, and maybe others. But, this is what's on my mind about this newest version of Hiddenverse. Way too much dialogue to read for the story line - it goes on and on and you have to read it, as there are no VOs. I don't normally skip the story line; but was tempted to with this game. As with recent previous versions of this game, the lack of instructions is noticeable. Instructions for matching items in the "piles" of stuff are given in picture form rather than written text or in a standard tutorial. As before, some of us who have played Hiddenverse (or Clutter) from the time when there were actually good written instructions, are concerned that the lack of clear detailed instructions will put off new players. There is a notebook with stars you have collected that you use for rebuilding - the notebook has about 3 different tabs and I found it to be a little confusing. There are typos, too - at least in the trial version. How does something like that get through to the final version of a game? I've never understood that; but it happens in other games, too. I have a coupon so I will get this game, but I don't look forward to reading copious amounts of dialogue for the story line.
Season One was so terrific that I have really been looking forward to Season Two. Buying it was a no-brainer when I saw it is the new game today. It's unique in so many ways and a total joy to play. I play the relaxed mode in games for a more stress-free fun experience. I still had to start one level over a couple of times because I didn't have enough gold. It finally dawned on me what I had to do to have enough to progress. I just hadn't remembered what was required even though the same situation had occurred in Season One. The only feature I do not like about these games is the way they have to be saved (Save Altar). I had saved the game and then decided to play a bit longer, but I had to very unexpectedly exit the game. When I started to play again a few hours later, I had to go back and re-play some of what I had already played. That's a one star feature for me, but it's not going to keep me from giving this fantastic game anything less that a five star rating since it's one of the absolute best TM games out there - worthy of all the awards it wins.
Just finished the entire game and am so glad I didn't pay full price for it because it's a short game. It ends with a cliffhanger which makes me think there will be follow-up game to tie up the loose ends - there are some big unanswered questions - unless I'm misinterpreting what happened when the game suddenly ended. It's a pretty regular HOG with some puzzles I thought were good and challenging. There are 11 achievements and 10 elephants to find during the game. I found 8 and there doesn't appear to be any way to back and find the other 2. The graphics aren't up to par with a lot of the really fantastic games that are out there, but the VOs are good. The jump map and hint feature are also good. I recommend the game with some reservations since I was disappointed by the short length and very frustrated by the unsatisfactory sudden ending. If I'd paid full price, I might not recommend it. I will leave it to others to go into the more detailed aspects of the game. I am extremely curious to see what other reviewers say about the length and ending of this game. If I misinterpreted the ending, I'll have to replay the game.
I've played several levels of this game and I haven't had any technical issues at all. It's been running w/o any problems and no glitches. The graphics are very colorful which I enjoy. They may not "pop" off the screen at you, but they're certainly not awful. This game doesn't measure up to The Viking Brothers/Sisters, Incredible Dracula or Jack of All Tribes; but those games are the absolute cream of the crop for me and few other TM games reach that level IMHO. That's why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. I think it's definitely worth a coupon or a good sale price like Big Fish recently had for SE games. Overall, I think this is a pretty good TM game and I enjoy playing it,
I love these types of games and buy them every time they are available. I bought this one after playing the demo for about 10 minutes. The puzzles get quite challenging after the first few puzzles. I do not play these as a race against the clock. I do them for pure enjoyment and relaxation. I have one major fuss about this version though. The strip along the right side where you select the puzzle pieces is a very drab olive green color. There are some puzzle pieces that you absolutely can NOT see against that color of background. My eye sight is great and I am not color blind. Other puzzle pieces are fine. I thought I had finished a puzzle, but the game was not showing it as complete. I finally found a very slender puzzle piece that was extremely difficult to see. Other than that, this is another winner for me.
I played the demo and got to about level 12 or 13 at the end of my time. It was a pretty mundane game. There is no Strategy Guide and no extras that would warrant it being a CE. I never was able to figure out why anyone would pay the extra money for this as a CE when there are multitudes of other TM games out there that are more CE worthy. I probably wouldn't purchase this game with a coupon either since there are so many other fantastic TM games available as CEs and SEs. This one was a major disappointment for me.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
3/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Playing the trial version was a great reminder of why I so strongly dislike limited move games. They are so full of frustration and aggravation and irritation that it's just not worth a purchase. I'm not real keen on playing a level a half a dozen times or more because I missed the limited moves allowed by just one or two moves. Just shoot me now. Other than that, this is a cute and fun game. I am a huge fan of M3 games and have purchased a whole bunch of them over the years, except for the ones that have the limited move requirement. I like bright colors and fun animation which this game has in abundance.