timothya's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.3
- Helpful Votes:1,143
- Reviews Submitted:192
- First Review:June 24, 2012
- Most Recent Review:December 27, 2024
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Rescue teenagers from the tragic fate of Romeo and Juliet!
Overall rating
4
/
5
Nice Ride, Weak Plot
PostedJanuary 30, 2013
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Lovely as ever from this developer - great graphics, lots of color, atmospheric art. Music nice but not always appropriate to the scene.
Pros: The art. Good game play, useful map, puzzles fairly conventional and not overly difficult.
Cons: Plot all over the place. Voice acting fair at best. No character development on any of the principal characters, and the villain remains a complete mystery. What was actually going on here? And why did the Prince of Denmark suddenly pop up in Verona?
Overall: Straight, unimaginative rescue story with no real emotional connection to anyone involved - weak writing gave it a mechanical quality that the art couldn't redeem. Still, a fun world to roam around in.
Long-forgotten memories bubble to the surface when the past invades the present in the Collector's Edition of Lake House: Children of Silence!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Quietly Excellent Game
PostedJanuary 11, 2013
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Lovely mystery game!
Pros: Wonderful atmosphere, beautiful graphics, smooth game play, gentle, moody music. Voice acting well done. Some fairly original puzzles.
Cons: A couple of pretty major plot holes due to a plot edit after Beta. Why would there be a ghost?
Extras: Great bonus play, worth the money. One particularly charming bit of "trivia" - the staff had no fewer than three marriages during development. Congratulations!
Overall: A winner despite a potentially disastrous change in POV from heroine to hero. Nice balance in the bonus.
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
1 of 3 found this review helpful
Absolutely Charming!
PostedDecember 5, 2012
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Best Christmas game ever! This one captures the splendor of Tchaikovsky's Russia and submerges the player in his unforgettable music with a clever, whimsical take on an old story.
Pros: you name it. Stunning colors, lovely art, superb voice acting that is not overdone, excellent script, tight plot. Great balance between puzzles and H0 scenes. Smooth game flow, no technical issues. Quite a bit of moving around but I didn't bother with the map because I wanted to soak up the atmosphere of the scenery. Perfect hint system. Very cute assistants. Outstanding animation. Magical to the very last scene.
Cons: None.
Summary: oh, man, this one was a treat! Thanks to the developers for a real Christmas present. This is how it ought to be done.
I recommend this game!
Find out who is behind the shocking zombie invasion.
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 2 found this review helpful
Wow! Lots of Great Play Here!
PostedNovember 27, 2012
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Bang for the buck, this might be the best game I've played all year. Some odd runtime error crashes prevented a perfect score but only got in the way a little.
Pros: Spooky theme, great villain, gorgeous art, very atmospheric music, excellent story line. Outstanding variety in mini-games and H0 scenes. Excellent cut scenes. Long, satisfying play. Just about everything in the game was a Pro.
Cons: A number of C++ runtime crashes interrupted game flow but cost very little progress. Distracting but not fatal.
Bonus: Simply the best. You get wallpaper, music, concept art, extra game play, and best of all you get to replay the H0 scenes AND the puzzles! Fantastic!
Overall: Chock full of everything you pay for. Wonderful effort!
I recommend this game!
When a young woman is found comatose by the side of the road with a bloody knife beside her, it's up to you to unravel her story!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Great Story Line
PostedNovember 14, 2012
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Every so often one game really stands out from the crowd, and this is one of those. Gorgeous graphics and a unique plot treatment that takes the player from "Who is Noise?" to "Why is Noise?" and ends in a thoroughly satisfying resolution. The atmosphere is surreal, which is to be expected since it's the interior of a young lady's mind. But it has an internal logic that is revealed as the player gets to know her. Wonderfully plotted!
More of this, please.
I recommend this game!
Save Brightfield from a shocking plot by a dastardly organization!
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 2 found this review helpful
Great Entertainment
PostedOctober 21, 2012
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Wonderful game play in this one with enough innovation to stand out from the crowd.
Pros: Good acting, excellent cut scenes and plenty of them. You have an adorable canine assistant, Elf, who isn't just a tool but at one point has to be rescued. Music is appropriate and unobtrusive. Graphics, sharp and well laid out. Puzzles largely rotational and some quite challenging without being too frustrating. Plot consistent and well-constructed.
Cons: Not much. Quite a bit of back-and-forth that does get a bit wearisome at moments.
CE bonuses - extra points for the gameplay and especially for the outtakes! It's pretty obvious everybody was having a great time making this one. More of this, please.
I recommend this game!
Discover the Red Riding Hood Sisters and defeat the nefarious Wolf Queen!
Overall rating
5
/
5
Not Your Grandma's Riding Hood
PostedSeptember 25, 2012
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
If you can suspend your disbelief long enough to picture Red Riding Hood as a crossbow-wielding kicker of wolf posterior, this one's for you. Not a bad plot - jealousy, betrayal, and enough mystery to overcome a somewhat saccharine ending.
Pros: great cut scenes, better than average voice acting, H0 scenes that yielded objects you actually needed. First-rate graphics. A surprise return of a past character was well-timed and had me cheering.
Cons: found a bug in one of the games. The map is not very useful most of the time and you can't use it to transport.
Overall: great effort, very entertaining. Can't wait for the next one.
I recommend this game!
Rescue your daughter, Hannah, from the clutches of an evil witch before it's too late in this chilling Hidden Object adventure game!
Overall rating
5
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Fine Puzzle Adventure Game
PostedSeptember 17, 2012
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Adventure, travel, beautiful scenery, and no H0Gs. That's more of an addition than a subtraction in this case.
Pros: Adequate storyline, excellent cut scenes, very good acting. Puzzle level moderate, and there are plenty for puzzle lovers. Music atmospheric and unobtrusive. Best of all this one's different levels really do offer different difficulties. Casual may be a little too easy for advanced players but medium is just about right for a nice, relaxing game.
Cons: map is not very well done and you'll soon ignore it. It has no ability to take the player from one scene to another (although on Casual level the characters will take care of that for you in some places). Location of major objectives is noted but not key unsolved puzzles. Certain laboratory puzzles' solutions are arbitrary and not very intuitive.
Overall, four and a half fins of five. A nice break from the same old H0G stuff. I'd love to see more like it.
I recommend this game!
When a young woman is found comatose by the side of the road with a bloody knife beside her, it’s up to you to unravel her story!
Overall rating
5
/
5
1 of 1 found this review helpful
Wonderful Game!
PostedAugust 15, 2012
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Entirely enjoyable. Stunning graphics, superb cut scenes, unobtrusive and atmospheric music, excellent acting. Some new and quite challenging puzzles. Best of all, first-rate writing with a couple of lovely plot twists. Events are paced properly, leaving the player without that artificial feeling too many games have offered of late.
There is a surreal quality to the scenery that is a presentation of a young woman's mind in the eyes of a psychic: lots of symbolism, occasionally quite poignant. This one is beautifully done. Five fins up of five.
I recommend this game!
Escape a cursed island of lost souls by helping three of the trapped spirits in Redemption Cemetery: Grave Testimony!
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 9 found this review helpful
Three Short Stories
PostedAugust 6, 2012
timothya
fromSandpoint, Idaho
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Puzzle
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Wonderful time, loved the game. Anyone who has read (or seen) Stephen King's "Catseye" will recognize the format - three short stories linked by a single theme. In this case it's lost souls, whose saving will earn you a boat ride off a very unpleasant island. The first of these is a Roaring Twenties gangster theme, somewhat underutilized in this genre, IMHO; the second, a rather quirky Old West scenario in which a young lady is to be burnt as a witch #no points for historical accuracy, full marks for fun#, and the third, a rather vivid pirate scenario.
Pros: great graphics, convincing #and not overdone# acting, atmospheric music, clear objectives and a plot that hangs together well despite its segmentation. Decent length of play, and due to the segmentation the player always knows where he or she is.
Cons: not much. Some may be bothered by the fact that the stories have nothing to do with one another; I found that rather refreshing.
Overall - a clear winner for me. I'd love to see more of this sort of treatment. Five fins of five.
I recommend this game!