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:
Hidden Mysteries®: Gates of Graceland®
Explore the home of the King of Rock and Roll while searching for clues about a lost song!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Sweetly Nostalgic
PostedMay 16, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Not the perfect game, but very enjoyable play. Lots of repetitive HOS, but that turns out OK because of all the wonderful live Elvis movies that you get for finishing various parts of the game.
I grew up with Elvis, and although I was never a huge fan, playing this game reminded me very sweetly of that time in my life. So, if you grew up in the 50's and 60's enjoy this reflection.
Otherwise, it's very like every other Hidden Mysteries games. (I like most of them, too.)
I recommend this game!
After finding an artifact, you're whisked away to a dying world. Can you save it from the darkness?
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 9 found this review helpful
I really WANTED to like this game
PostedMarch 12, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This review is of the SE, which I just finished. I really wanted to like this game, but it fell way short of what it should have been.
The pluses:
-great sound effects
-beautiful settings
-good story
-great sound effects
-beautiful settings
-good story
I particularly enjoyed the different toned chimes that sound as you collect each HO item. I also liked that almost every scene (and there are A LOT of them) had slightly different music and background sounds. I could have listened to the birds for a long time without playing at all. I also really liked how the back story unfolds step by step as items are found and placed in the landscape. But not enough to save the game.
The negatives:
-too much aimless back and forth
-the puzzle instructions are often not helpful
-the puzzles are too easy
-the world is HUGE (this is also a good)
-too much aimless back and forth
-the puzzle instructions are often not helpful
-the puzzles are too easy
-the world is HUGE (this is also a good)
The world is HUGE, with endless scenes, none of which are completed on the first shot. So if you only play an hour a day, when you go back, you can't remember where the incompleted tasks are. The map is not interactive, so a great deal of time is spent in aimless noodling around looking for a scene with something to do in it. Did I say there are A LOT of them?
There are lots of easy HOS. I like 'em easy, but these are even a little too easy for me. So the very easy puzzles were a relief the few times they showed up to be played. The only puzzles that weren't too easy, had such obscure instructions that I couldn't figure out how to play them. One puzzle, I couldn't figure out, even after looking at the walkthrough! Some of the puzzles I probably wouldn't have figured out except that I had played them before - such as the sliding boxes one, which actually had incorrect instructions. I don't like skipping puzzles because I can't figure out the rules.
The ending is satisfactory. And it might be worth playing for how pretty it is, but I'm not recommending.
I don't recommend this game.
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
1
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
I gave up - too hard
PostedMarch 3, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I am a great fan of the Mystery Case Files games. This one just missed me. I read the reviews - not concerned with gore or extremely scary or disturbing scenes. How difficult could it be? Problem was/is, I never got to one of those scary scenes or puzzles. I spent 40 minutes solving the first morphing objects puzzle and wandering around trying to figure out what to do next. Beautiful graphics and it probably had a really good story, but I never got to it. The lack of hints in "casual" mode is disturbing. Won't be buying this one.
I don't recommend this game.
Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile
Hercule Poirot investigates a thrilling murder mystery and must find hidden clues, interrogate suspects, and much more.
Overall rating
3
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Won't be buying
PostedFebruary 11, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Attractive HO game. Really good music and graphics. But it's timed and has limited hints. I ran out of demo time and level time on the second of 12 levels. Reminds me why I don't like timed games. Loved the story and the interaction between the characters.
I don't recommend this game.
King Arthur
Follow Arthur’s rise from boy to king! Listen to Merlin’s story and meet an amazing cast of characters as you live a classic tale!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
This could have been a really good game. . .
PostedFebruary 10, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I only played the demo, but played the full hour, hoping things would improve.
There is a wonderful and lively succession of HOs, interspersed with some puzzles and a lot of story-telling by Merlin. Some of the puzzles are easy and fun, but many of the puzzles are too hard and not fun.
The majority of the HOs are too difficult. The hint system is useless, so you are left to find all the items in each HO, having used all the hints and not finding all the items. Often I spent many minutes looking for that last item, then closing down the game, going away and coming back to find that one item. My usual practice when playing HOs is to use a hint for the last item in a scene (unless there's a reward for not doing so).
So I won't be buying this one. If you're a player who can work with the hint system, this might be an OK game, but I couldn't, so I can't recommend it either.
I don't recommend this game.
The Dark Piper unleashes infested rodents into the town of Hamelin! Defeat him before he leaves a trail of destruction all across Europe!
Overall rating
3
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Somewhat of a disappointment
PostedJanuary 28, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The best things about this game are the great graphics and how long it takes to play. Many fun interactive HOS.
How long it takes to play is also one of the game's biggest deficits. It has a map, and a list of objectives but no guide. There are many, many locations, and many puzzles and solutions to discover. I hardly ever complete a game in one sitting and I found that I could not remember where incomplete items were. Because the map was not interactive, I spent way too much time migrating from scene to scene looking for the incomplete item or objective. The unhelpful hint only told me that there was "nothing to do here." I reached a point where I had to use the Walkthrough at almost every step in order to find things. This added a lot of time without any additional value.
The other downside of this game is that periodically things happened or objects appeared that made no logical sense in the context of the game. Almost as if the developers wanted to make the game longer, but without connecting the dots.
I can recommend the game, if you want to keep your own guide and write down the locations of things so you can find them later on. Otherwise, take a pass.
Find your missing fiancé in the deepest parts of the ocean. Discover the forgotten underwater city hiding many spine-chilling secrets.
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Yes!!
PostedJanuary 22, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I just want to join the other 5-star reviewers in praise of this terrific game! I can't think of anything about this game I didn't like. Excellent story; somewhat spooky and dark; real characters interacting with one another. The only teeny, tiny down was that I could not solve a couple of the puzzles. Thus the 4 rating for fun factor. But the hints are good and the map was very helpful. AND an equally good bonus chapter in a SE game. Now that's great. Enjoy this game everyone. It's a standout.
I recommend this game!
A classic Christmas tale tail, with a whole new twist! Help the Nutcracker rescue the princess from the evil Rat King!
Overall rating
5
/
5
4 of 5 found this review helpful
Unexpected good fun
PostedJanuary 20, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I bought this game because of the Christmas theme. Didn't get to it until after the holidays. I expected something sugary and silly. What I got was a very good game, with a story only loosely based on the Nutcracker story from the ballet. Lots of interesting puzzles. Plot twists that the ballet story never imagined. Nice graphics, good interactive map and characters, and just plain fun play. Because of the good map, I hardly needed hints except in the HOS. I played in the easiest mode and there were a few too many suggestions, but it didn't take away from the game. (I like my games to move along, so that they feel as if I'm reading a novel.)
The only quibble I have is that the developers could have incorporated more of Tchaikovsky's music into the game. The snippets of the ballet music were sparse and repetitive. It would have made a richer experience to use more. Overall, though this is a small issue.
I recommend this game!
Travel to Red Lake Falls to track down the latest Dark Dimension!
Overall rating
3
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Wish it were better
PostedJanuary 16, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I finally finished every tedious moment of this game. It started well enough with a creepy good story and nobody around but ghosts to tell it. Good artwork, clear HOS, interesting puzzles. At some point, all that fun stuff lost its momentum, and the game became a tedious, repetitive chore of running back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. I usually like going back and forth for things (unlike many other players), but this was too much! Contributing to the tedium is the lack of a map. There are a great many scenes in this game (which is GOOD) but trying to remember what they were, where they were in relation to where I was, and whether there was something left to do in a particular scene became not so much frustrating as boring. But I persevered, just so I could say I FINISHED IT!
Reunite Rick and Caitlin in Mystical Island, an incredible Hidden Object game! Get rick off of a tropical island and get him home!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Not the WORST game ever!
PostedJanuary 10, 2013
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
After reading the very negative reviews, I just had to try this game. I played the demo - not sure I'll buy, but here's what I thought. The graphics are exquisite. Beautiful settings with great detail and design. They just don't change very often. In all that beautiful design, I found the HOS generally pretty difficult. Lots of small objects some of which were very hard to find. In exchange you get a very rapidly renewing hint button and no misclick penalty. The puzzles were mostly easy, a relief from how difficult the HOS are. The music got on my nerves after the first 10 minutes. But overall, I had a good time, and was really wondering where the story would turn next when my time ran out.
I recommend this game!