Love these games, but enough with the 3-minute timer!
PostedJanuary 9, 2023
kenpokars
Skill Level:Intermediate
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
I look forward to the new installment of this series every year. After the most recent Park Ranger came out with only a 1-minute timer for the mini games (even in the CE edition,) I thought for sure the Christmas series would follow suit. Nope, back to 3 minutes. If I want to try a particular mini game, I'll play as long as I care to or until it's completed. But if I want to skip it altogether, this is way too long, especially when replaying the game. I do recommend this game, but keep your patience handy!
Love the way this series keeps improving! Especially liked that the mini-games timer was set to only one minute, even in the tough mode! If I really want to play a particular mini-game, I'll play as long as it takes. But to wait out longer for something I have no interest in is annoying. My personal wish list would be to add back in the paint-by-numbers, remove the single block sliders (never could get the hang of those,) and stop the zigsaw pieces from rotating when they're clicked. (A true pita when working with odd-shaped pieces.) Then again, I only have to wait one minute so ... :)
I love these sorts of games, especially where after collecting x number of whatever, you have the option of playing unlimited mode. Unfortunately, at this this time, the game still has bugs which need to be dealt with. The first, (as someone else mentioned,) was the "Tower Bridge" area. I think what happened was that I clicked through things too fast and the "crown" became stuck in never-never-land. After uninstalling, wiping the data files, then reinstalling, I was able to get past that. But now, I've collected 100 of 100 Crowns and 60 of 60 8-balls, yet neither the "unlimited" or "final puzzle" modes have unlocked. I tried going back into the game to figure out what I might have missed. I went back to the "Globe Theatre," played another level. It congratulated me on the completion of the level! Not sure why or how that happened. Other areas did not return the same outcome.
If the bugs were removed, then this has the potential to be a great game. But right now, I'm only confused and disappointed.