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:
A quest filled with more than 100 mosaic nonograms to find Arcanesium. Gather clues and crack codes to solve the mystery.
Overall rating
2
/
5
18 of 19 found this review helpful
Such a disappointment
PostedDecember 14, 2016
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
2
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Based on most of the demo.
I love nonogram games. One of my favorite types of games to play. When I saw the description of combining those puzzles with a story -- well, what could be better?
The unfortunate answer is "A lot of things." First, the VISUALS. Each puzzle has a choice of 3 colors to fill the grids. Completed rows and columns are autofilled (which is nice), but it is very difficult to distinguish between the vary dark filled square and the very dark unfilled square, leading to mistakes. There is no way to brighten the scene.
SOUND: Sound and music can only be "on" or "off." I usually turn off the music, but I like to be able to hear the clicks so that I know I've entered something. The sound for the clicks is an annoying ding that gets louder the more squares you fill in and an annoying scratch for the X's. I had to turn it off.
GAME PLAY: This is the worst thing in this game. In the nonogram puzzles, there are levels that cannot be solved by logic. You must either guess or use a clue. One of the great things about the Penguins is that you never have to guess. So this makes the game close to a no-go for me, without any of the other issues.
Then there's "search and find." This must have been meant as a joke. Once you get to a "search" screen, a symbol lights up and says "search here." When you click on it, you get a tool. When it's time to use the tool, there is a balloon on the screen that says: "Gee, you could probably use a screwdriver here" and you click on the screwdriver in inventory and it does something on the screen. Really no input by the player into any of these "search" activities.
STORY: The story is actually good, and I am sorry that I so can't stand the rest of the game that I won't find out what's next. Oh, the story only gets 4 stars because most of the objects discovered in the puzzles in so far as I went in the game have nothing to do with advancing the story. I mean, why was the cat there in the first (or last) place?
Sorry, no recommendation from me.
I don't recommend this game.
Help your little sister get a second chance this Christmas after she gets on the naughty list.
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Very sweet Christmas story
PostedDecember 7, 2016
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This game has a wonderful (if repetitive) Christmas feel good story. There are three distinct good deeds that the hero must perform in order to rescue his sister from the evil troll woman. Each of the stories is sweet and the ending is REALLY SWEET.
The HOS are generally easy, but nice to look at. The puzzles are OK - I had to skip some. There are more than one of the fill up the boxes puzzles that I just can't do, but I seem to be in the minority.
A good length game and enjoyable to play.
NOT, however, the Bonus Game. What a drag. A take on the Cinderella tale in the cat kingdom. What could be bad about that? Just about everything. One of the most annoying helper creatures ever, a fluttering fairy godmother cat who NEVER stops moving around. Same old, same old games and settings as the main game. Topped off with an endless unsolvable marble popper game.
So, wait for the standard edition and buy the game for that. Skip the ugly bonus game and enjoy the warm fuzzy feeling you get from a good Christmas story.
I recommend this game!
A dangerous journey into the ruins of an ancient city awaits our hero. Help him find the treasure in Gems of the Aztecs!
Overall rating
3
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Nope
PostedDecember 6, 2016
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
1
/
5
Based on the demo only. I managed to get through the first 25 levels in the demo before running out of time. During this hour absolutely nothing happened.
This is a relatively fun Match 3 that requires the use of some strategy to achieve 3 stars on each level. Accumulating coins to buy power-ups is based on the score on each level.
But, in 25 levels, the game never returned to the story that started the "quest" in the first place. If a game lacks a good story, I'm not interested.
I don't recommend this game.
Act as Adam Wolfe, an investigator of the paranormal. Discover an occult world hidden in modern San Francisco!
Overall rating
3
/
5
7 of 13 found this review helpful
Not sure this is for me
PostedNovember 29, 2016
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
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Based on the demo. Overall, I found the story good, and I loved the cartoon visuals. I never like voice overs, would just as soon read the dialog at my speed rather than waiting for the voice, but I could live with that with this game.
I noticed many other reviewers talking a lot about excessive hand holding. I found the game not intuitive at all with little hand holding. For example, the gun lights up and then there is a power band, but there is no help with figuring out how you have to use the gun to beat the bad guy. Many instances of just no help. Makes the game boring and less fun.
Even though I really like the story and the graphics, I'm not sure I'm going to keep this one - only as a freebie, if at all.
Halloween themed patchwork puzzle fun awaits in Halloween Patchworks: Trick or Treat!
Overall rating
3
/
5
6 of 7 found this review helpful
Too challenging for old hands
PostedOctober 21, 2016
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
1
/
5
This is another beautiful jigsaw puzzle game, perhaps the prettiest of them all. Gloriously patterned fabrics make up the appliqué patchwork patterns of the various Hallowe'en puzzles.
The problem is this. I have a more than fair amount of arthritis in my hands and fingers. The requirement to keep the mouse button depressed for the whole time I'm moving the pieces around coupled with the need to move the pieces quickly, makes this game a no go for me. There is no way to get a perfect score with the demands of the mouse. For younger folks, or people without hand and finger issues, this would be great.
I wish this were like some other puzzles, where you could double click the mouse, then move the piece around and click again where you want to place the piece.
I don't recommend this game.
Richard Stone finds traces of an unknown civilization when investigating disappearance of the chief engineer. The find will lead Richard to the most amazing adventure of his life.
Overall rating
1
/
5
0 of 5 found this review helpful
Just as bad as they said it was
PostedOctober 5, 2016
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
1
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This dreadful game drags on and on and on without ever achieving anything. I always tend to try out games that are subject of really bad reviews. This one was just awful. Giant game cursor fills half the screen, no custom settings, tells you what to do next at every step, except the steps where you can't figure out what to do next. I killed the game after 15 minutes or so, and so far had not figured out what the story was about.
I don't recommend this game.
Can you bring peace to the kingdoms in time?
Overall rating
4
/
5
4 of 4 found this review helpful
Lots of fun
PostedOctober 2, 2016
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
This is a beautiful game. I was happy just looking at the images for much of it. The main game story was a little clunky; the bonus was very good. I just can't figure out why those very loving characters aren't an item. . .
The HOS were reasonably challenging and things weren't particularly hidden in the scenes. It was sometimes hard to find the "hidden" objects or those needing an extra action. That might have been due to how I had the settings set.
The mini-games were mostly hard for me. Even in the easier modes, I skipped many. When I'be been trying to solve a game for 15 minutes, it's time to move on. But this isn't a negative, just a heads up for someone who has trouble with games involving spacial relations. On the other side there were a great many sliding bars games (a variety I love) all of which were way too easy and way too repetitive.
The collectibles were really hard to find, even at the end when I had the scenes to go back to. I never did figure out the "treasure hunt." I generally don't care about these extras, so I'm not sure why I buy so many CE's when the SE's are satisfactory. Except when you have a bonus like this one. The bonus game was far and away superior to the main game. Moved faster, more fun, better story.
Enjoy!
I recommend this game!
An arsonist is burning down the Mountain Kingdom's forests!
Overall rating
1
/
5
19 of 24 found this review helpful
No joy here
PostedOctober 2, 2016
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
1
/
5
I have loved most of the Dark Parables games. This one was a no go almost from the first moment. I spent the full 60 minutes of the trial trying to figure out what was going on. Using hint after hint after hint, just to find out what to do next. The story is not just awful, it's nonexistent. No rhyme or reason as to why the character is doing anything. But doing a lot of back and forth to get there. And it took too long to get the map so that I could stop the endless clicking to get from here to there and back again.
The HOS are murky, and hard to distinguish. There were times when I used a hint and still couldn't see the sought after object, so clicked aimlessly around the hint highlight until something happened. The games were easy conceptually, although I needed time to solve some because I lacked the missing pieces (which I couldn't find. . .).
Overall, a bad experience. I usually will end up buying a game that I have played through the whole demo, but as soon as my time ran out, I deleted this dog.
I don't recommend this game.
Do you have the courage to stop the inquisitor?
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
More pluses than anything else
PostedSeptember 26, 2016
bluesycat
fromAlbany, NY
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
This is an old style HO game. There is nothing particularly new and different about it. Easy list and silhouette HOS. Generally easy puzzles. Stick figure characters; slow progress; dull music.
A lot of the game play is unintuitive so the map is a must.
A lot of the game play is unintuitive so the map is a must.
But I loved the way the story was the charm here. Long bits of story telling came between the various game plays. And I really like story, so this was great. Each piece of the game play advanced the story in some way. The game is also pretty short for little slow old me (about 3 hours maybe), so experts may not care for this. But if you enjoy story and easy games, this is a great buy as a deal of the day.
I recommend this game!
A terrible darkness threatens the land. Travel through Egypt and collect the ancient pieces needed to defeat the malevolent force once and for all.
Overall rating
2
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Unsolvable
PostedSeptember 13, 2016
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
My comments rather mix some other reviews. There is no story line, mostly, and what there is is stupid. On the other hand, the puzzles are terrific. They require some thought and some creativity. The visuals are OK.
Here's the problem. I reached the pyramid on the boat in level 1 in about 30 minutes. Spent nearly 20 trying to solve it - the solution is obvious, but how to get there is not - before I went to the Guide, which shows a solution that is not possible. Really bummed out, because I was enjoying the game. So try the trial and if you can solve the boat, great, buy the game. I deleted it.
I don't recommend this game.