gamineannie's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4
- Helpful Votes:41
- Reviews Submitted:4
- First Review:November 17, 2011
- Most Recent Review:November 21, 2012
- Featured reviews0
gamineannie's Review History
Mystery Case Files: Shadow Lake Collector's Edition
The residents of Bitterford, Maine have fallen prey to a terrible curse. It’s up to you to unravel the series of mysterious events that led to the town’s downfall and uncover the evil that was responsible.
Overall rating
3
/
5
9 of 12 found this review helpful
Guess Who's Coming for Dinner?
PostedNovember 21, 2012
gamineannie
fromDaytona Beach, FL
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy
Current Favorite:
Mystery of the Ancients: Curse of the Black Water Collector's Edition
(105)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Another Thanksgiving rolls around, and the entire family gathers again at my house - including my favorite Uncle Felix. Yes, it is once again time for the annual MCF marathon solve-a-thon!
As Uncle Felix once again tries to relive his all-time ultimate touchdown in Return to Ravenhearst, where the plot, puzzles and superior graphics won the day for the studio team, it is just like real life - the reenactment has lost some important element.
The puzzles have lost something every single year since RTR. The strategy guide is a cruel joke - pictures with marked circles may make it much easier for us all to curse at the lack of real assistance in our own language, but do nothing to add value to the game. The bonus chapter is once again inserted into the rest of the game, making it difficult to even recognize that one has stumbled upon it. The bonus action of morphing objects is literally locked up - I had to have the solution spelled out for me, because I would never have found it on my own - and even the useless SG told me I was 'on my own'. I had to wait for this 'thrill' until after the main game, as I did not find the solution until then, making it necessary to do a tedious re-visitation of all the previous scenes to 'gather' my bonus content.
The game starts out with some humorous elements, that unfortunately dissipate into the pervasive fog of the game. Graphics are mostly clear, although held to mostly gray tones, but some of the hidden objects are too small and the smaller they are, the more they seem to blend into the monotone of the background. If you don't like junkpiles, you will find plenty of those here, but some of the 'scenes' are more cleverly done.
Most of the 'puzzles' are not up to the RTR standards either, although there is one variation of the standard wiring puzzle that I quite enjoyed - heaven knows it took long enough to solve, as there was only trial and error to get me going to the eventual solution.
If you suffer from the slightest amount of motion sickness, I recommend avoiding the frequent "trips down Cassandra's synapses" mini-game. While technically a simple jigsaw-type puzzle, the use of moving bits of pictures, coupled with the erratic motion of the moving pieces and the difficulty of fusing any two pieces together, led me to having to skip them all after the first two. And an overlong wait for the skip button to fill here! I hadn't suffered motion sickness for years prior to this game!
A refreshing glimpse of Madame Fate was a welcome relief from the over-acting of the live actors - I really only enjoyed the performances of the TV host and the prisoner. Everyone else was so over the top, as to be less enjoyable. The plethora of cut-scenes made it very hard to maintain any sort of game play momentum. And the mouse controls would disappear for the entire scene, so that there was no 'skipping' them.
Would I recommend this game? Yes, but only the standard version. The bonus (unhelpful SG, locked morphing extras, confusing bonus chapter, greytone wallpapers, etc.) for twice the price is not worth it, in my opinion. In the old days, if you paid extra for bonus elements, you got them - you didn't have to work for them.
I recommend this game!
Dark Arcana: The Carnival
Find the woman who disappears in the Hall of Mirrors. Investigate two worlds: the Carnivals of Good and Evil!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
A Rare Gem!
PostedNovember 2, 2012
gamineannie
fromDaytona Beach, FL
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This little gem of a game offers a lot of bang for the buck! Although sold as a standard edition, there is a bonus chapter to play after the main game. A bonus chapter that left me feeling the best ever after finishing a game!
There is the usual mix of wandering here and there, diving into hidden object scenes, but the HOs are completely different to others I've done before. All the objects were newly drawn and are not the usual re-issue of the same old items to seek. The occasional typo or misnomer is easily forgiven as soon as you find another enchanting scene, like the one inside the ferris wheel car - so eerily romantic!
Spooky scenes abound and there is an Evil One to thwart. Your allies along the way are equally entertaining and oddly endearing.
I really enjoyed this one and recommend at least a trial. But this one is definitely worth its purchase price and then some, compared to some of the costlier games out there. Great job, developers! Thank you for one of my newest favorites!
There is the usual mix of wandering here and there, diving into hidden object scenes, but the HOs are completely different to others I've done before. All the objects were newly drawn and are not the usual re-issue of the same old items to seek. The occasional typo or misnomer is easily forgiven as soon as you find another enchanting scene, like the one inside the ferris wheel car - so eerily romantic!
Spooky scenes abound and there is an Evil One to thwart. Your allies along the way are equally entertaining and oddly endearing.
I really enjoyed this one and recommend at least a trial. But this one is definitely worth its purchase price and then some, compared to some of the costlier games out there. Great job, developers! Thank you for one of my newest favorites!
I recommend this game!
Mystery Case Files®: Escape from Ravenhearst™ Collector's Edition
Return once more to the haunted grounds of Ravenhearst Manor to uncover new details about this poignant saga. What you find could very well be the final chapter of this riveting story-if you escape.
Overall rating
3
/
5
9 of 10 found this review helpful
Escape from Ravenhearst in more ways than one
PostedNovember 29, 2011
gamineannie
fromDaytona Beach, FL
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Time Management, Hidden Object, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy
Current Favorite:
Ringlore
(4)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Apparently, this is the most graphically demanding game in the MCF library. Fortunately, my PC met the minimum requirements and the demo played well. So I bought the game, as I wanted to know how the Ravenhearst saga ends.
The options include volume controls for music, effects and environment, use of windowed mode, high definition, subtitles and your hardware cursor.
Some of the early scenes include well-known venues from the two prior Ravenhearst stories, but later scenes visit new places.
The substitution of morphing object scenes for hidden object scenes is, in my opinion, not a successful one. Gameplay comes to a standstill as you stare at the screen waiting for an item to morph. Some morphs are hard to see - I remember two that took place on a dark background - and had to use a hint to find them.
The strategy guide is another disappointment. It may constitute the actual bonus play, but as a helpful guide, it is mostly useless.
The puzzles demonstrated an added challenge, as they lacked any clue as to how to proceed to solve them, or even what the solution might be. And I still enjoyed them more than some of the game's action scenes.
I found the storyline was not true to the Ravenhearst tradition, in that some events/scenes were done in a disgustingly gross and tasteless manner. If this was an exploration of mental illness, it could have been handled better.
As to the intense psychological matter warnings. Bah! There was not very much suspense at all, and any humor was of the "bathroom" variety, which I find immature and tasteless.
If you want to try this game, be aware that it will get increasingly gross after the demo period. If you decide to buy, I recommend the SE, as the strategy guide is less than stellar.
Would I replay this? Not any time soon, if ever.
The options include volume controls for music, effects and environment, use of windowed mode, high definition, subtitles and your hardware cursor.
Some of the early scenes include well-known venues from the two prior Ravenhearst stories, but later scenes visit new places.
The substitution of morphing object scenes for hidden object scenes is, in my opinion, not a successful one. Gameplay comes to a standstill as you stare at the screen waiting for an item to morph. Some morphs are hard to see - I remember two that took place on a dark background - and had to use a hint to find them.
The strategy guide is another disappointment. It may constitute the actual bonus play, but as a helpful guide, it is mostly useless.
The puzzles demonstrated an added challenge, as they lacked any clue as to how to proceed to solve them, or even what the solution might be. And I still enjoyed them more than some of the game's action scenes.
I found the storyline was not true to the Ravenhearst tradition, in that some events/scenes were done in a disgustingly gross and tasteless manner. If this was an exploration of mental illness, it could have been handled better.
As to the intense psychological matter warnings. Bah! There was not very much suspense at all, and any humor was of the "bathroom" variety, which I find immature and tasteless.
If you want to try this game, be aware that it will get increasingly gross after the demo period. If you decide to buy, I recommend the SE, as the strategy guide is less than stellar.
Would I replay this? Not any time soon, if ever.
I don't recommend this game.
Ringlore
Lose yourself within an enchanted forests in a game that literally puts a new twist on classic Match 3 gameplay.
Overall rating
5
/
5
22 of 22 found this review helpful
Ringlore - an oldie but goodie
PostedNovember 17, 2011
gamineannie
fromDaytona Beach, FL
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Card & Board, Mahjong, Strategy
Current Favorite:
Ringlore
(4)Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
This is an older game. It is similar to a match 3 game, but different in that you make matches in a ring, either along the ring's circumference or down one sector of the ring. I have only played the relaxed mode, but a puzzle mode and an arcade mode are also available. It is a great game to while away an hour with. I find it only frustrating in that when no moves are available, it is game over! My goal now is to get beyond the 16th level - it may take a while! So if you're looking for a neat little game with replay value, consider this one!
I recommend this game!