bluesycat's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:2.9
- Helpful Votes:1,094
- Reviews Submitted:151
- First Review:July 25, 2012
- Most Recent Review:August 2, 2020
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Ghost Whisperer™
Join Melinda Gordon in helping ghosts with unfinished business.
Overall rating
1
/
5
0 of 2 found this review helpful
Quit after 10 minutes
PostedApril 13, 2014
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Of the demo. Can't say if this is a good game story or not, but all the HO scenes and puzzles are very small, too small for my 13" screen. So if you have poor eyesight or a small monitor, this game will frustrate the heck out of you.
I don't recommend this game.
His mother escaped her murdering husband just before he was born. Now the son of Bluebeard must break his father's curse.
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Hard to classify
PostedApril 8, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
Based on the completed game.
Let me start with the worst: the story. The protagonist is the son of Bluebeard coming to his father's castle to destroy the black heart and break a curse, so he won't die young. That's in the intro, and -- Although the goal remains the same, the getting there makes absolutely no sense. None of the characters make sense, they seem to be dropped into the game at random, and they're not really helpful. So, no story, just a collection of disjointed vignettes. It also seemed to be two games robbed together because in mid-game, the graphics and the play changed.
The good (for me at least, although I see many reviewers disagree with me). The graphics in the second half of the game and some of the early cut scenes. Stunning cut paper scenes, like the best of the first Drawn. Dreamy and just wonderful to look at. I also like the music, which I actually turned up - complemented those cut paper scenes helping to create a fantasy world.
I agree with many other reviewers about the puzzles. Thankful for the skip button. Many I simply could not figure out how to solve, even with the help. So random click here and there, try this approach, then that. Wait for the skip to mature. There were also story scenes that had the same problem - no logic to figure out what to do next. I liked the help showing the scene where the next action was to be taken.
Finally, HOS were almost all revisited, and in several there was more than one of the item to find. One I remember was the number "4." I think I found 3 in that scene before I found the one they wanted.
I'll recommend the game because I was so taken by the second half, but you have to go through a whole lot of annoying stuff to get there.
I recommend this game!
Strange Cases: The Faces of Vengeance
Agent Claire Ellery must rescue her young ward, but this masked kidnapper has set deadly traps in the abandoned mall!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Just OK
PostedApril 7, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Based on the completed game. This is a strange one. The setting in the abandoned shopping mall is exquisitely creepy and weird. One of the great settings of any game I've played.
But the story doesn't make any sense. No one seems to have motives for what they do or who they are, and I hated the ending. 'Nuff said there.
But the story doesn't make any sense. No one seems to have motives for what they do or who they are, and I hated the ending. 'Nuff said there.
The music is a wonderful complement to the settings and I enjoyed being creeped out by it. The game play is easy for the most part. To initiate each HOS you must find a hidden card. I few of those were difficult and I had to skip a few games (but these were games of a type I can never figure out so that wasn't a bother). Some HOS are revisited, but that was generally OK, too. No journal, just an interactive map.
As much as I liked the settings, no recommendation here.
I don't recommend this game.
Enter an enchanting world of legends, mystery and magic, where your destiny was written in blood and the soft murmurs of true love...
Overall rating
4
/
5
5 of 7 found this review helpful
Compelling, Tragic Story
PostedApril 3, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game is not perfect, but the story is different and kept my interest even through some of the logical and other flaws of the game. It's a story of a curse gone awry, requited and unrequited loves and stunning vengeance. Really excellent story telling.
The graphics are merely OK, and the game play is often stilted and not particularly logical. I probably should have gotten the CE for the guide, as I was using the hint all the time after the first few minutes of the game. There is a good interactive map, but no journal, only a list of objectives. Not a huge amount of back and forth, but many HOs are visited more than once, with different objectives each time. Annoying, but it did advance the story. Puzzles are generally easy - I only had to skip one or two.
The characters are beautifully and sympathetically drawn.
If you want a game that is strongly story driven, with a good story, this is for you. If you want a flawless game, look elsewhere.
I recommend this game!
Mahjong Secrets
Help the princess find her twin sister and reveal the royal mysteries!
Overall rating
4
/
5
13 of 17 found this review helpful
Undecided
PostedApril 1, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This review is based on a half-hour of the demo. This is a combined mahjong, HO and "adventure" game. The mahjong boards are really easy, and all can be completed because you have an unlimited number of shuffles and "go backs." Those features take away much of the strategy aspect of the mahjong play.
The HO's are associations between items. The scenes in which the matches need to be made, while not junk piles, are cluttered and fuzzy. Some associations are very far afield, like a flute and a cattail (reed). Others are just silly, like a saw and a sawfish!
The adventure parts, except that they advance the story, are jokes. Take the items you've collected by playing a lot of mahjong boards and place them into a scene to accomplish something. The uses are pathetically obvious.
I haven't decided whether to buy this game. I would for sure as daily deal. It's worth that. But I'm not sure I'd spend a free game on it. But then I wonder if the adventure play might get a little more challenging. . .
I recommend the game for those who want a (nearly) relaxing repetitive game.
I recommend this game!
Become the Terror of the Caribbean as you tease your brain—and the tides—in this mind-blowing pirate puzzler!
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Believe the negative reviews
PostedMarch 6, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
I demoed this game because I LOVE these fill-in-the-blanks puzzles. Other reviewers had cited two negatives: No right click for blanks and puzzles not able to be solved logically. I doubted it could be that bad. I played about 40 minutes before I deleted the game. The right click was not an issue - it worked on my MacBookPro.
The lack of logic killed the game for me. When you have to make 20 random guesses and there are only 3 available, you can't solve the puzzle unless you are very lucky. I mean, if you have 120 possible spaces to put one of 7 or so X's, you need to be VERY LUCKY. That is not fun. I am not fond of working a puzzle over and over and over and over trying to guess the correct solution.
Not for me.
I don't recommend this game.
Escape from Shady Pines and save the other patients! Explore the mysterious hospital and stop the psychotic doctor!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Not too much fun
PostedFebruary 21, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I finished the game. A few points that may help you decide whether to buy it. Playing the demo will not help with most of these.
The setting is grim, gritty and dirty. Creepy. I found that enhanced the story, but sometimes it creeped me out too much and I had to quit the game for a while. The story is OK. I had the sound turned off. The HOS are all trash piles, but mostly solvable. I couldn't solve a lot of the mini-games, but that's me, not the games. I think they were mostly easy unless you're me.
There are NO HINTS for the game play itself and that is problem. Not much intuitive about what's next. The map has some (but not all) hints to what to do, but it's not interactive. I counted 19 clicks on one retrieval mission, and 14 EACH way to get one item on another. There are also 2 very slow elevators that get used a lot and cycle through their whole process on every use. UGH!
The game said I played 6:46 when I finished, but I bet at least a third of that was traipsing around to get stuff and riding on elevators. No recommendation here, even though the story is good.
I don't recommend this game.
After crashing his ship, Columbus sees a beautiful apparition. Now, he must explore a mysterious island and battle for survival!
Overall rating
2
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Not enough good stuff
PostedFebruary 17, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I must have bought this game a while ago based on the really good reviews, and am finally getting around to playing it. Well, I found myself bored to death, almost. The game play is one HOS after another after another, even HOSs inside of other HOSs. Many of the items are very small and hard to find on my 13" screen. Thankfully the hint recharges quickly, because I needed to use it A LOT.
The story is a pretty good, as are the visuals. I have the sound shut off, so can't comment on it. But even the interesting adventure story couldn't counteract the boredom of the endless HOSs. Another plus is that nothing is timed. If you like endless HOSs in a very long game, you might like this. In a rare choice for me, I refuse to finish it.
I don't recommend this game.
A massive flood has invaded Cindy’s magical world, and she needs your help to save the Flooded Kingdom! Clean up all the junk!
Overall rating
4
/
5
9 of 9 found this review helpful
Great Until the Last Level!
PostedFebruary 11, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This is a very easy and relaxing match 3 chain game. You solve the various levels by matching 3 or more symbols across 6-sided figures. The settings are kinda neat 3D animation and you look down on everything from above. It's best feature is really how sweet and different it is to look at.
The levels get progressively more difficult but there are lots of power ups, and it's not timed, so us slow fingered and poor eyed players can still complete the levels. UNTIL the last level. Not to give anything away, but I have played the last level at least 100 times and cannot figure out how to win the game.
But I'm recommending the game as generally easy, enjoyable and relaxing, and deciding that my inability to finish is an artifact of me and not the game. Enjoy!
I recommend this game!
Help Brunhilda explore a mystical world blooming with magic and humor in this fun and exciting Hidden Object Adventure game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Just Fun
PostedJanuary 20, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I'm not entirely sure why I so enjoyed this game. It has everything in it that I don't want in a game: endless back and forth, endless dialog and voice overs, really obnoxious helper critter, tiny hidden objects. The graphics weren't that good and the story was just OK. Even in adventure mode, everything was hand held and directed.
But I REALLY ENJOYED this game, played through to the very end and hope for the sequel that was set up. Oh, BTW, this game has the best pointer EVER. Very accurate magic wand with sparkles on the tip that can pick up the tiniest part of the tiny hidden objects. And when the dialog gets boring or long winded, you can drag trails in shapes all over the place.
If you want something very easy with a lot of wandering around (and some peculiarly interesting characters) give this game a try. Try to demo first - you'll know whether you want any more of what you get there.
I recommend this game!