Match 3 puzzlers are a favorite of mine. When a new one arrives, I look forward to possibly discovering a new favorite game.
Regrettably, this game offered very little. Aside from finishing a level, there was nothing to do except finish ANOTHER level and repeat. (At least In playing the first 45 minutes - maybe you get to do something else later).
You earn money, but there is little incentive to build up your bank because you aren't building anything, furnishing a home or garden, or making your aquarium nicer with the money you've earned.
The only thing you can spend the money on are power-ups to assist you to beat subsequent levels. I found the puzzles to be so easy that I never bought any. And I am nowhere close to being an expert player.
I completely agree with another reviewer's opinion concerning the clanging metal sound effect. Very annoying and unnecessary.
There is only one way to play this game - in the relaxed mode, it seems. No trying to beat the timer, and being rewarded big time when you do.
For people who wear glasses/contacts all day, the game is hard on the eyes, not just because the artwork is clunky and unappealing; it's too dark. Not very noticeable at first, but I found my eyes straining after playing a few levels. After 8 hours of staring at a PC all day at work, I prefer bright and colorful games with a good bit of movement, to give my eyes a break while relaxing.
This is a straight match 3 game with no other discernible point or aspect, nothing to work toward. It seems to have been thrown together with little imagination or effort involved.
This game joins the ranks of my all-time favorites. I'm don't understand the reviews where people wrote they were so bored. Maybe they must have only played the first couple of levels. Because after those first few levels I needed every brain cell left to pull together to get three stars. It's very addicting..."After this hand I am going to bed"....[15 minutes later], "THIS is REALLY the last hand and then I am going to bed." Believe me, it is far from boring. The best part about this game is that is gives my brain a serious workout and having great fun at the same time.
Knockball is one of the most pointless and incredibly boring games that I have played on BFG. When I was a kid, my friends and I played the ubiquitous, little game called marbles. Draw a circle in the dirt, then try to knock the other marbles outside of the ring with yours. That sums up what Knockball is. It was great fun when I was five. And mostly because I liked collecting marbles.
The description says there are 160 levels. I got through about eight or nine of them. The repetition, the tiresome execution and most of all, the sheer dullness of the game made me click the quit button, which I couldn't find fast enough.
Favorite Genre(s):Family, Word, Arcade & Action, Adventure, Match 3, Card & Board, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management
Current Favorite:
Jo's Dream: Organic Coffee
(143)
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
1/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
3/ 5
I played this for about 40 minutes.To start, I chose to own grocery stores. What is very odd is that each store only sells four products. The look of the game is very old, I thought. Even the dialogue boxes looked retro. Then, I thought maybe this was on purpose. That was, until I came across an item I could stock in my supermarket - a VHS tape recorder! VHS has been gone for so long! So that, along with the look of the game and the difficulty using it made me decide that this was not for me. The response problem was not occasional. I had to click arrows for drop-down menus over and over for them to respond. The same goes for some of the buttons. I hope they re-do this game using today's technology - it seemed like it could be fun.
To say this game is not aesthetically pleasing is kind. It is part art, and part (terribly) manipulated photography. The main character has zero personality, her face so plain that you barely notice it. The customers are poorly-rendered photo cut outs that are not animated. You can barely make out the faces, and one I swore was a man turned out to be a female.
You just drag them to the dressing room, where they stand motionless until they disappear after their purchases are complete. Again zero animation as far as the customers, and what little animation exists within the game is just poor quality.
The first 10 levels are mind-numbing, they are so easy. Also annoying, the fact that even if the expert score is reached, you are allotted a small amount to spend on upgrades.
By contrast, the second store goes from a bit of a challenge to next-to-impossible around level 15.
What really was the last straw was a warning about shoplifters - "be careful or you will LOOSE your money". Spelling mistakes that get by are just unforgivable.
However, I realized the poor spelling was on par with the game itself - unprofessional, uninspired and not aesthetically pleasing. The mechanics of the game are way off as well.
I don't like to write negative reviews, but this game proved to be so bad, I felt compelled.
you will love this game. The premise is solid, a lot of the gameplay is truly fun (especially snapping shots of hiding stars), but wow, the hidden object part is EXCRUCIATING. I admit that I as a rule have stayed away from HOG in the past. However there are newer games that infuse more than just 100% HOG (and this is one of them) that I enjoy thoroughly.
That being said, my eyesight is poor. I do wear corrective prescription eyeglasses, so this shouldn't be a problem. However, as someone else mentioned, the art style makes this game astonishingly difficult, and at times, seemingly impossible.
Here are some examples: 1.in some cases, the places where the hidden objects are located are too dark altogether. 2. some of the hidden objects would -truly- be impossible to find...i.e., a very small item at the bottom of a small full glass of a colored beverage. 3. the hint mechanics are fundamentally flawed...paying increasingly higher fees for hints $700, then $800 etc. When you run out of money, you run out of hints. Period. 4. When I paid for hints, and they were pointed out to me, I snapped the camera, and got the shot. But afterwards, I still couldn't see what I "found" in more than a few cases, and that was unsettling.
Other than that (and that's a big THAT), the game is hilarious, creative and fun. The developers have a wicked sense of humor. These celebrities you are chasing down, by their description are thinly-veiled. When you figure out who the real person is, some items in their room or yard are very funny.
One last thing, I found the music especially annoying (and I usually don't), but of course, the fix was easy for that. If you have great eyesight, and are really, really good at HOG games, I do recommend this game.
I too, wish the developers could tweak this game to make it playable for a wider audience.
1.Overwhelmingly annoying (and plentiful) freeze-ups at any given time. I have 24gbs of ram, nothing else running, plus never had this happen with any game on this computer. 2. You get thrown right in...nothing explained. How do you get the bonuses? How do you get the extra bonuses? What's the point? All you know is that your Dad left you the biz, and the person supposedly "guiding" you through it is vague, and that is an understatement.The comic strips between the levels are of no use whatsoever except to freeze for a bit. 3. No instructions or tips that I could find, of course, waiting for the game to "get itself together" for five-six minutes at a time, I wasn't clicking on very much. 4. The ABSOLUTE worst cursor known to man (the gas pump handle)...
All I could take was about 7 minutes of play, plus the 10 or so minutes staring at the screen...
I play games to de-stress, not to be annoyed. Ugh!!
Even though my daughter does not like hidden object games per se, she is in love with this game. She loves interacting with the fish - especially being able to choose "if they are a boy fish or a girl fish" and naming them herself. She spends most of the time cleaning and taking care of the fish. I've never seen (or heard) her enjoy a game so much. She adores that the the fish (and turtle) address her by name. Although she gets frustrated trying to find the hidden items, the hints renew quickly to help her through and she understands that is how to get more "stuff" for her friendly fish pals. Her older cousins visited today (12 & 14) and they were just as enthralled with the game as my daughter. I couldn't recommend this game more. This is wholesome fun for the whole family, anyone aged 5-105.
I have a large collection of casual games. In fact, I have so many that it is embarrassing. =) Without a doubt, in the dozen years or so I have been playing casual games, 7 Wonders: Ancient Alien Makeover is my favorite by a longshot. I love all of the different variables that are all in play at once while playing a level - keeping an eye on the time, power-ups, getting enough resources to build. Then there is the very different game to play to earn power-ups - it can be very challenging as well. Building the 7 Wonders is great - watching these elaborate architectural wonders come to life is amazing. The art is above-par. Match 3 games aren't even my favorite genre when it comes to casual games, either. So for one to become my favorite game of all is saying a lot.
I recommend this game!
-1point
0of1voted this as helpful.
Monopoly ®
Build your fortune as you buy, sell and trade the world’s most famous properties. It’s classic Monopolyfun!
This version of Monopoly is the best yet! To the people who say they don't like it because it is in a window, and not in full screen, check the settings! Full window is an option.
To the people that say that the motion makes them ill - I can certainly understand that. I guess because I am used to 3D games it doesn't bother me at all. Additionally, if you use the full screen option, the movement is more spread out, and not so intense, especially if your screen is on the larger size.
I love the animations. They are well-done and completely fluid. One of the best executed casual games I've seen, and I have been playing casual games a long time. I just finished playing the trial. I was the race car, and the computer was the little dog. When it was my turn, the car drove around the board making car sounds, and then breaking to a stop, even with a little smoke coming out of its muffler. The dog ran around the board, my 2-year-old daughter (watching from my lap) laughed every time the dog ran. Very nice touch.
Rolling the dice is awesome. You can actually *flick* the dice while they are in air to change the outcome. Another innovative touch.
You can make your own "house rules". I remember as a kid, fighting with my sisters and brothers over which house rules we were going to use and which ones we weren't. One that we always played was landing on GO doubled your pay, and so many more - they are all here.
This game is versatile, dynamic, eye-candy (unless it makes you nauseated, of course) and it is not sad playing against the computer because all of the tricks up this game's sleeve. You can actually play against 3 different computer players. I haven't tried that yet, and not sure I want to! =)
I love being able to make trades with other players. We didn't allow (or even aware of, I think) this when I played as a kid. It can really make the game a lot more strategic and gives you more options to control your destiny. Say, trading one of your properties for one that the computer offers so that you can get the monopoly and start building houses and hotels.
There are four different virtual rooms (maybe 5) that you can play the game, one was futuristic, one was from the 50s...they've really put a lot of thought, beautiful art and great coding into this game. It did not lag or freeze up even for a second.
If you've read all the negative reviews and decided to not even try it - I say give it a chance. I think you'll be happily surprised.