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:
Olivia has been kidnapped by the mysterious Lonely Hearts Killer who murders those suffering from a shattered love. Save her!
Overall rating
2
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Just About the Worst Ever!
PostedJanuary 12, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I finished the "game" if you can really call it that. I probably spent 5 hours on this "game." Most of that time was spent listening to and reading dialog. Endless dialog. Did I say "endless dialog?" Let me say it again. And for all that endless dialog, there isn't much of a story. Somebody's running around killing people, and we don't know who. That's about it.
The visuals are nice, particularly the animation, but that also takes too long. The many, many cut scenes often begin with the detective s-l-o-w-ly walking into the scene and end with him even more s--l--o--w--l--y walking out of the scene. You can't take any action until he clears the scene. FRUSTRATION!
That parts that were actually a game were OK for me, generally pretty easy, and the games were fun - only one I couldn't solve, which is good for me. And there is some interaction in the HOS which is also fun, but there's not enough of anything game-like. Oh, yeah, and like the first game in this series, there is endless traipsing back and forth 7-8 clicks in each direction, repeatedly.
Sorry, but no recommendation here.
I don't recommend this game.
The mystical Silver Arrow has been stolen from you on the eve of your wedding. Without it, you can’t marry your beloved Prince Philip! Can you track down the arrow in time?
Overall rating
4
/
5
10 of 14 found this review helpful
Love It!
PostedJanuary 12, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I just had to write something after finishing the demo! Although the play is a little clunky and illogical, this game is so beautifully drawn, I have to get it. Just to look at it! Lovely details, beautiful colors, mysterious, fanciful designs.
THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GAME I HAVE PLAYED!
So beautiful I really don't care about the clunky play or the illogic. (The music is pretty good, too.)
I recommend this game!
Help Sam rescue his love Anna in Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome, an incredible Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Not quite lovable
PostedJanuary 7, 2014
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This review is based on completing the SE.
First, the good. Everything about the game is beautiful, from the glorious graphics and animation, to the creepy music, and the even creepier voice overs from the game's antagonist. The story is scary, creepy, delicious. There were many moments in the game that I felt like running away, I was so scared by what I thought might happen next. That's a good story.
I also enjoyed the HOS and the mini-games. I skipped a few mini-games because they were of a type I can never solve, but that really didn't detract from the game as whole.
Now, the things that made me give it only 3 stars, starting with the worse than useless journal. Yes, it provided information about the villain, but nothing was tied together or resolved, so the information was not helpful.
Much of the game play was not intuitive, so I relied a great deal on the walk-through, which cost me a lot of time switching back and forth between the game and website. Maybe the game wasn't so unintuitive as just plain confusing. The field of play is HUGE and the map is not interactive, so you have to backtrack and fore track and backtrack and fore track many, many steps. And if you can't remember where something was, the map won't help with that either (no pictures of the scenes), so more and more and more traipsing around trying to find where you wanted to be. At one point I had more than 20 items in my inventory, and no clue what to do next. Turned out when I looked at the walk through, I didn't even have the item I needed. I usually don't mind a lot of back and forth because it extends the play of the game, but this was just frustrating. A really big game needs an interactive map.
Finally, and this may be a SPOILER for some. There is no resolution of the story at the end of the game! You have to buy the CE to get the whole story. That is not a fair ending of a game. I have no intention of buying the CE even though I really want to find out what happened.
I am going to recommend the game, because I like good stories and that's the reason I play most games. So, if you want a really good CREEPY story, a memory exercise, and a lot of back and forth, go for it. But wait until there's a sale and buy the CE.
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
MIght be worth buying for the story
PostedJanuary 6, 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
4
/
5
Based on the demo.
I completed the demo, but I'm still not sure I'll purchase this game. Unlike several reviewers, I found the graphics good and solid, and the cut scenes interesting. The journal, while not all that helpful, does provide interesting information about witchcraft and magic that give meat to the story.
Reptitive HOS get easier each visit. There is no map, so you have to remember where you've been, but at least in the hour, I note that once you're done with a scene, you're done and you don't have to go back there. So that's good from a failing memory standpoint. Doesn't help if you don't remember that you're done there, or if you're not sure.
Biggest quibble - the inventory does not lock open, so you have to remember that you actually have something in it that might help, rather than glancing at the bottom of the screen. This is a personal preference, but I don't like games where you can't do this.
Finally, the story. The story is about someone stealing children's (and maybe other people's) souls and making puppets out of them. The monsters are grim as are the kids and most of the people in the story. But I found it gripping. The ONLY reason I might buy this game is to find out how the story ends. And that might be worth today's special price or a free credit.
Do I recommend this game? Don't know. . .
Join Zoe and Charleston Black as they unravel a powerful and ancient Arthurian legend in this gripping Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 3 found this review helpful
Stupid Little Game
PostedDecember 19, 2013
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 stupid little game. Bad story, bad graphics, bad game play, two bickering characters, too much leading, not much in the way of challenge. But SOMETHING about this game kept me coming back and coming back and coming back until I finished it, only to find it wasn't finished and that there's a non-existent sequel.
But I still enjoyed it! I have visited many of the places in the journey, and the scenes were true to the locales, although stretched a bit. Nice memories. But what a STUPID game. Not sure if I recommend it or not.
If you like straight, difficult, HOS, maybe you'll like it. If you don't, you probably won't like this game.
Banish the ghosts, uncover a mystery and live the adventure! In the haunted mansion, excitement is around every corner!
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 5 found this review helpful
My Two Cents
PostedDecember 8, 2013
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
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
Based on 15 minutes of the demo. First the good - and there isn't much: The jigsaw puzzle was FUN and had just enough challenge to make me happy.
The HO was horrible. No indication that the list of items extended beyond the visible screen and that is really unpleasant. I have this habit of using a hint for the last item in an HO. Did so with this and the item certainly didn't look like any kind of "bow" I'd ever seen. Imagine my surprise when the bow was still on the list. I scrolled around, but not apparently enough because the next time I couldn't find the bow, yet another unfamiliar item was removed and I still had to find the bow. Get the picture.
Not for me. But I gave it 2 stars for the jigsaw.
BTW, for those who complained about no back-story. I got the "lady of the house" on video at the very beginning. Several vids of her and the groundskeeper are entertaining, but don't save the game.
I don't recommend this game.
An evil villain is luring people to his beautiful mansion and preparing them for a terrible ritual. Can you keep your head on the shoulders?
Overall rating
5
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Just My Kind of Game
PostedDecember 1, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
This review is based on the demo. I loved this game and will use one of my freebies to buy it.
The game is VERY EASY. I played in casual mode, but I think it will still be easy in the most challenging mode. This game is NOT for you who like very challenging games. I like being able to move from one scene to the next without having to spend a lot of time trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do next. I like my game to be like reading a novel, not a legal brief, and this one is perfect at that.
The artwork and the music are great. Good creepy story, with consistent - so far - internal logic. All of the puzzles advance the story, but you might wonder why the narrator takes the various actions s/he does.
Overall, a nice hour that I hope will extend a lot longer!
I recommend this game!
Discover the fate of your exiled kingdom, save your people, and end the ancient evil that started it all!
Overall rating
2
/
5
3 of 3 found this review helpful
Ugh!
PostedNovember 16, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
I thought a long while before deciding I should submit my review of this game. The short version: 7 1/2 hours of total frustration.
Details: First, this game is VERY HARD. There are not good instructions for advancing the story and very little is logical or intuitive, and the hints and advice don't help. And because I play on a laptop, I had to exit out of the game every time I wanted to get help from the walk thru (which was almost ever scene).
I like puzzle games, but these puzzles were just too hard. Some required a kind of mouse dexterity I don't have. Others I just never figured out what I was supposed to do to solve them. I got the impressions that there was a class of puzzles that had no logic in the solutions, just keep doing random things until it solved or skip. And skip I did - almost every puzzle after the first chapter. I skipped a lot because I just could not figure out what the object was. I also skipped many that I simply could not solve after many minutes, attempts and resets.
I don't usually complain about this, but there was way too much aimless back and forth that did not add to the story. I also found the map really unhelpful, because you had to know the name of the location where you had to go in order to use it. The journal is pretty useless too, often updating after you've already figured out the information that should be there to help.
And the Johnny Depp pirate?? PLEASE, NO, take it back!
And the Johnny Depp pirate?? PLEASE, NO, take it back!
Overall, a very unpleasant experience, but since I had the walk thru, I had to finish it. Please make Sunhook Spire better.
Oh, yes, the graphics and sound are quite wonderful and beautiful, but they don't make up for the horrible play.
I don't recommend this game.
These nursery rhymes are cursed, and your sister’s been taken by the Crooked Man!
Overall rating
1
/
5
14 of 33 found this review helpful
Just Didn't Like It
PostedNovember 12, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
This is based on 20 minutes of the demo - really glad I tried the demo FIRST, because I just don't get the majority 5-star ratings for this game. I thought it lacked any internal logic. I apparently didn't play the game in the order the developers thought I should, so I got all kinds of information that didn't make sense - and a lot of it, too. I never found even one of the allegedly beautiful FROGs - in 20 minutes of play. The ambient sound is freaky and crazy making. The storyline - - - what storyline. There doesn't seem to be one. Finally (almost) the graphics are slushy and overcrowded and there's just too much useless junk everywhere. Truly finally - no journal. Not even waiting for the SE. Yuck!
I don't recommend this game.
Judge Dee is the newly appointed magistrate of Yiwang prefect. Help him uncover the truth behind a town's dark secret, its corrupt officials and the true cause of a mysterious illness!
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Tough game to review, but I liked it
PostedNovember 7, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Review is based on the demo, but since it was on sale, I bought it. This game is mixture of really good and really not so good. For those who couldn't figure out what to do, you really have to use the tutorial at the beginning. It's slow and clunky, but it explains what all the icons mean. For the most part these are not intuitive, so go back and use the tutorial and see if you don't like the game better.
The good are the drawings and the detail. The cut scenes are strikingly beautiful, replications of Chinese drawings on paper, so in the style of Chinese art - not however AD 600 or so, in which this game is set. Each scene and character is beautiful to look at, lovingly drawn and colored.
The story is OK, a Chinese myth about women and city gods and change. Nothing really new, but with something this pretty, I don't care all that much about the story.
On the OK side, I found some of the visual puzzles really hard, but not so hard that I couldn't figure how how to solve them. So I didn't skip any, but some took a long time.
The bad is the game play. To get all the information that is provided in the game, you need to click on objects several times. For example, to interact with a character, you first would click on the eye to see his biography, then you go back and click on the mouth to talk with them, then you go back and click on the dragon to advance the game play. Slow, tedious. Except in the cut scenes, all the dialog is written out with no voice over - and there is a LOT of dialog, some of which advances the story and some of which does not. So it take a long time to accomplish anything.
There is also not much of a sound track. It would be really nice if there were period Chines music playing in the background all the time, but most of the time it is just silent, the only sound being my mouse clicks.
But I'm recommending the game because I visited China recently and the settings feel genuine as well as the tone of the story, and I love the artwork. Just be warned that if you into speed and action, this game is not for you.
I recommend this game!