EnvirEng's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:444
- Reviews Submitted:50
- First Review:December 14, 2011
- Most Recent Review:June 29, 2022
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Who is the mysterious ally supporting the Roman soldiers?
Overall rating
5
/
5
9 of 10 found this review helpful
Great except for one level
PostedJune 29, 2022
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I love this game. Love the graphics. You can click on various animals in the background and they howl or play dead or whatever is appropriate for that animal. I think it is very funny when the UFO flies in and takes an animal, only to bring it back later. Love the characters and the monsters, too.
I highly recommend this game, but there is one small problem.
Been playing on a PC and haven't been having problems like the MAC users have reported, but I can't win the seventh 'Extra' level.
Watched the walkthrough video that comes with the CE version, twice. That finished the level in 20 minutes for a win. I finish in the 18 to 19 minute range and that is not good enough to win.
Very frustrating.
I recommend this game!
A young artist must save the day in ancient Greece!
Overall rating
4
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Good Game
PostedMarch 12, 2021
EnvirEng
fromSharpsburg, MD
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Overall, a good game with lots of replay potential.
Comments:
To get three stars, some levels will require careful thought. This is especially true for levels with "1/2 boosts" that let you get things done (for a limited time) at 1/2 the cost.
Unlike the last game in this series, I managed to get three stars on most levels--sometimes on the first try, sometimes on the third. I hope I can get three stars on the rest. Previous games have been far too difficult for me. (There are so many levels in each group of levels. You need to get three stars on all levels in a group to access the bonus level in that group.)
Pro's:
I love the weird graphics and all the resources (bushes for food, factories to produce food, wood, gold).
I like trips down to the underground to perform tasks.
I like the various 'pills' that so many reviewer don't like. Their comments make no sense to me. Power boosts, extra resource boosts, time freeze, etc. are in just about every game.
This game has some interactive items between the game paths. If you click on bushes, the disappear. If you click on certain items, they shoot up. This comes with sound effects like explosions. Animals tend to leave three little dots behind (use your imagination) that can be clicked and they also disappear with a popping noise. On other levels, you can click on flowers and trash. I think it is funny.
(If you want to find the puzzle pieces, you will have to click-to-remove bushes, etc.)
Cons:
I have no real idea why Achilles is in here. You need him to kill off the guards on a few levels. He isn't really a problem but his character doesn't add anything to the game, IMHO.
Same with the girl. On some levels, you need to clear a path for her to get to her easel, so she can draw some needed item. Ok, but doesn't add much, IMHO.
Like other reviewers, it bothers me when there are two or three power boosts (pills) in a row blocking a path. You have no choice but to take the boost, even if you don't need it.
I recommend this game!
Explore a haunted amusement park in Weird Park: Broken Tune! Investigate a rash of “accidental” deaths and solve the case!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Great Game, Great Graphics, Creepy Story
PostedSeptember 23, 2013
EnvirEng
fromSharpsburg, MD
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Wonderful game set in an abandoned amusement park with a very troubled past.
You must find and rescue the missing reporter, while an ominous clown haunts your every move!
Graphics are great. HOS are pretty easy and I liked that. You will return to each a few times. HOS are well lit. Someone else commented that some items were mislabeled, but I only noticed one. A flat file was called a nail file.
Mini games are varied. Generally, not too hard, but fun. I did skip one (you can skip after so much time has elapsed.)
Hints work in the HOS and in the game play. Hints recharge quickly, IMHO.
There are some FROG scenes.
There is no map, which would have been nice, but wasn't necessary. There are lots of areas to explore and nice carnival additions. (the popcorn machine, the fortune teller, etc)
Just when I thought the game was over... You get transported to another dimension with significantly more game play.
Overall, this is a wonderful game. I highly recommend it!
I recommend this game!
Travel back in time and relive the building of the Statue of Liberty!
Overall rating
3
/
5
2 of 4 found this review helpful
Boring
PostedAugust 22, 2013
EnvirEng
fromSharpsburg, MD
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Well, I played about a third of the way through and then deleted the game. Sorry, the graphics are pretty bad and the game play was rather lame.
It was a good idea for a game, but it was poorly executed, IMHO. Feels like the game was created 10 or 15 years ago. Nothing fresh.
Bought it based on reviews and without trying it first. My mistake.
I do not recommend this game.
I don't recommend this game.
Investigate the disappearance of the chancellor's daughter and uncover the long lost kingdom of the exiled Frog Prince!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Phenomenal Graphics, Heavy on the Hogs
PostedAugust 22, 2013
EnvirEng
fromSharpsburg, MD
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I loved the game, but it did get a bit tedious at the end. The graphics are stupendous.
It is the typical story. Cursed prince captures innocent civilians. You must break the curse to save them. Yada, yada, yada.
There are lots of areas to explore. Nice map, but it isn’t interactive and, even when you know where you have to go, it is still hard to figure out how to get there.
There is a strategy guide, but I never used it, so I can’t comment on its usefulness. Within the game, on the Map page, there are instructions on what to do next. ‘Search somewhere for a hidden passage way.’ ‘Complete all the HO scenes.’ Etc.
You are going to need that help. Also on the Map page, there is a ‘hint’ for each mission. I used one for fun and it was somewhat helpful. I never tried to use a regular hint during regular game play, apparently, you can’t.
In general, I am not a fan of morphing objects, but this game did it perfectly. The more you find, the faster the hints recharge. I found 16 of 20 without trying too hard.
All of the HO scenes are FROGS. And all of the pieces come together to make three pieces of an elaborate item. The scenes themselves are all frilly and complex. (For example, a big bowl of flowers, cluttered treasure room.) It does make finding the pieces more challenging. Sometimes the pieces are very similar (in color and type) to the background. I did use hints often to find items in the HO scenes.
You will be revisiting each scene repeatedly. This game is loaded with HOS. That my biggest complaint about this game.
There are mini-games. None are particularly challenging or original.
IMHO, the bonus play wasn’t that great. I would not recommend buying the CE.
But, I would recommend this game. Beautiful with lots of FROGS (Fragmented Object Games) and frogs, like the prince.
I recommend this game!
Discover a small village of fairy creatures and embark on a fascinating adventure! Help the inhabitants to restore their world!
Overall rating
5
/
5
15 of 15 found this review helpful
Beautiful and Relaxing
PostedJuly 8, 2013
EnvirEng
fromSharpsburg, MD
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I think this is an absolutely delightful game. The graphics are a joy. Sounds pleasant but a bit other-worldly.
You need to direct the Little Fairies to learn new skills and complete tasks necessary to restore their world to its former glory. Mainly that means repairing things and keeping the Wistful Spirits at bay.
This isn't the kind of game you can play for uninterrupted hours on end. The game continues running even when you aren't playing and many tasks take a while to complete. So, it is best to assign tasks, shut the game down for a while, and come back to it.
Host banquets to attract more lost fairies, pick up runes and Ent roots for extra enchantment points. Just exploring the little world is fun.
You really can't do anything wrong. There is no timer, so take all the time you want to get everything done. Some have described this as a strategy game. Well, you have to make sure you have some fairies with the right skill levels to complete tasks and some tasks have to be done in a certain order. But, there really isn't much strategy. It is just a relaxing, lovely game.
The thing I liked most was the care and thought that went into the game's clever design. So much wonder packed into such a little space.
In the past, I haven't been a fan of these types of games. I hated the Villagers game. (My villagers kept dying.) The little folk get along just fine without you. So, no, they aren't going to starve to death because you went away for the weekend.
Highly recommend if you are looking for a fail proof, relaxing game.
I recommend this game!
Help Catherine save the Magic Academy from a fate worse than foreclosure in Magic Encyclopedia: Illusions, a new Hidden Object game!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Fragmented Object Game, You might like it.
PostedJune 21, 2013
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
You should give this game a try. It wasn't my favorite, but it has a lot to recommend it.
The Story: The Magic University has been attacked. The book of Illusions is gone. You have to save the world.
You, the young female student, must travel around the world to prevent all out war and stop the bad guy. Pretty typical.
The game is divided into five chapters, although the last on is a series of five 'spot the difference' puzzles. The other levels are well thought out with five areas to search. I was satisfied with the length.
On each level you have to find miscellaneous pieces of things to meet your goals. There are also areas of interest that require interaction. Note: There are A LOT of pieces. And sometimes you have to leave an area, complete some task, and then return before you can find the rest of the pieces.
The really cool thing about this game is that the appearance of an area is filled with illusions. You have to used several means (lastly, magic glasses) to see through the illusion to find everything.
Fortunately, the hints recharge quickly. I really needed the help. Not only is finding all the pieces challenging, to me it wasn't always clear when I had to leave an area and go somewhere else before finishing in that spot.
The graphics are good to very good (cartoon). The puzzles/mini games are easy IMHO, although I skipped the fishing one, because I could not figure out how to do it.
The music is repetitive and does get annoying. No voice overs and the text dialogue can be clicked through.
I finished playing it, but this wasn't my sort of game. I am recommending it anyway. Many people like FROGs (Fragmented Object Games) and this one really has some fun and compelling qualities.
Give it a try.
I 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
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Very enjoyable, not too hard
PostedMay 31, 2013
EnvirEng
fromSharpsburg, MD
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Enjoyable. The story is a bit out there, but if you rent a room in a spooky mansion for very little money, you have to expect some killer monkeys and severed heads. Right?
*I played the whole game. Don't remember how long it took, but I was satisfied with the length.
*Graphics are good (not the best)
*Sound fine (not annoying to me)
*Voice overs limited and good
*NO HO Scenes!
*Lots of easy puzzles. They take time to solve, but not much brain power. Would be a good game for teenagers, I think.
*Lots of areas to explore and things to pick up.
*There are some unexpected uses for those things.
*I played in the middle mode and the hints (and I needed a few due to lack of imagination on my part) recharged fairly quickly.
*Once a new area opens up, you can abandon the old area. So getting lost is not a problem. Still, areas are big enough to be challenging and there is a lot of back and forth.
*For some reason, there is a holographic cat that is useful in certain areas. Nice touch, but not integrated into the story, so I am not sure what the point was. Still, you do need to use it to finish the game.
*Graphics are good (not the best)
*Sound fine (not annoying to me)
*Voice overs limited and good
*NO HO Scenes!
*Lots of easy puzzles. They take time to solve, but not much brain power. Would be a good game for teenagers, I think.
*Lots of areas to explore and things to pick up.
*There are some unexpected uses for those things.
*I played in the middle mode and the hints (and I needed a few due to lack of imagination on my part) recharged fairly quickly.
*Once a new area opens up, you can abandon the old area. So getting lost is not a problem. Still, areas are big enough to be challenging and there is a lot of back and forth.
*For some reason, there is a holographic cat that is useful in certain areas. Nice touch, but not integrated into the story, so I am not sure what the point was. Still, you do need to use it to finish the game.
The only thing I can think to complain about is the ending. I feel terrible that I (the player) freed the girl, but didn't go back and help the severed heads! I am an awful person!
(You will have to play the game to understand that last comment.)
I recommend this game!
Guide Solar and his band of helpers as they set out to rescue the fair Lumina and stop the dark sorcerer Grogan from achieving eternal life!
Overall rating
4
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Not bad, not the best
PostedMay 7, 2013
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
For me, this was a fun game to play through once. I played the whole game in the un-timed mode. (There is a harder, timed mode, as well.)
It is an asset/resource management game. You need to help Prince Solar defeat the evil one, rescue the princess, etc. You do this by clearing roads, rebuilding buildings, defeating evil spirits, rescuing fairies and people.
Unlike normal TM games, most levels require some interaction with characters on that level. (Get the old man some honey, rebuild houses for the locals before they will tell you where the secret path is, etc). Also, on most levels you need to get to and open boxes that contain useful items, like a shovel or an ax.
This game is very order specific. By that I mean, first you need to open a box to get a shovel to fill in a hole to get to the gold to open a trunk to get... etc.
The good:
Cartoon graphics are great
Sound is great
Voice overs are good and can be clicked through
Game play is pretty typical
The characters you meet and who sometimes accompany your are well done. I love Yord, the troll.
The animations are well done.
I love that you only need to scroll over items to pick them up. No clicking required!
As far as I could see, you can't screw up so badly that you can't finish a level. You can exceed the time limit, but you can still finish the level.
If you scroll over something, the game will provide info, like what path to clear to get to it, what the box contains, etc. That is very useful, because the paths are not always easy to figure out.
Cartoon graphics are great
Sound is great
Voice overs are good and can be clicked through
Game play is pretty typical
The characters you meet and who sometimes accompany your are well done. I love Yord, the troll.
The animations are well done.
I love that you only need to scroll over items to pick them up. No clicking required!
As far as I could see, you can't screw up so badly that you can't finish a level. You can exceed the time limit, but you can still finish the level.
If you scroll over something, the game will provide info, like what path to clear to get to it, what the box contains, etc. That is very useful, because the paths are not always easy to figure out.
The Bad:
Most reviewer pointed out that each level is divided into sub-levels. If you miss getting the gold on sub-level 3, you have to start at the beginning again. You can't just replay sub-level 3. I didn't mind this so much, since I really wasn't playing to get the gold.
My biggest complaint is this. The game is confusing. For example, there are these weird plants on several levels. On one level, you have to water the plants before you can get what you need from them. On other levels, no watering and you get a root. On other levels you get the flower.
On some levels Treants are bad. On other levels you have to help them.
To complete some tasks, (visiting shrines, talking to people, breaking up rock piles) three circles appear (Solar, Yord and the magician) and you have to choose which one to send, even though the game tells you which one to send. (Yord to break up rock piles.) I intentional sent the magician to cut through a log, once. It worked and did not seem to take any longer. Don't know what the point is.
Also, there is a little phoenix (looks like chicken little) that will supply you with dynamite. On some levels, you have to catch a fish and give it to the phoenix, before he will give you the dynamite. On other levels, he just gives it to you.
There is a blacksmith that shows up on certain levels. If you provide him with the necessary parts, he will combine them to make something useful. Some combinations make sense. The top and bottom of a club to make a club, for example. On other levels, the combinations make no sense what so ever.
Since time is of the essence, being confused about how to proceed isn't good.
There are many other examples I could give, but I think you understand what I am saying.
Overall, I thought this game was enjoyable, but having played through once, I am done with it and will delete it.
There are some great ideas in it and if the programmers can make it a bit more... don't know what. Logical? I think they will have a winning format.
I recommend this game.
I recommend this game!
Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet
Join Sherlock Holmes and Watson as they investigate the murder of an artist in this Puzzle-Adventure game.
Overall rating
1
/
5
5 of 5 found this review helpful
Not my sort of game, at all
PostedApril 5, 2013
EnvirEng
fromSharpsburg, MD
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Time Management
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
I really tried to like this game. There is a murder and the body is found wrapped in a Persian Carpet. You (Sherlock Holmes) have to go to Scotland Yard to read interview statements, review suspects and read the case file. You travel to locations to look for clues and then take those items back to Baker street to examine under the microscope and analyze. There is also a deduction board where you can connect clues to suspects and locations. Pretty complicated, but that wasn't the problem.
I began playing in the hardest of three modes. Big mistake. Barely got through the first level. Restarted in the easiest mode, but it was still a disaster.
There a number of things I disliked about this game, but I will limit my comments to the two most egregious. First, the clues you need to find in the HO scenes are often microscopic or impossible to find for some other reason. You are given an outline of each item at the bottom of the screen and, if you move the cursor over the outline, the games give you the name of it (e.g. blue filter, ashes, footprint). This doesn't help. I blew through most of my hints trying to find stuff.
Second, at certain locations a puzzle piece and/or gears will appear at the bottom of the screen. This indicates that the scene contains a puzzle or that some action is needed. Here is the problem, it is not as obvious as you would think. You can move your cursor over the entire screen, but if you miss the tiny area where it needs to be, the cursor does not change to the gears, indicating click here.
I could not find the action locations and sometimes could not figure out what to drag on top of the puzzle piece to access the puzzle.
On the very first HO scene, I really thought my computer had frozen up and was about to ctrl-alt-del to get out. FYI, you need to click on the very small box of matches the Help Arrow is pointing to.
I played through the second level and deleted the game from my hard drive. Sorry, I like and want to encourage the development of games that are 'out of the box,' but this was IMHO horrible.
I don't recommend this game.