Tiger2010's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:4.5
- Helpful Votes:1,743
- Reviews Submitted:76
- First Review:March 9, 2012
- Most Recent Review:January 21, 2015
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Are you ready to take on a challenge that will change the destiny of the whole kingdom? Help Victoria bring back the rightful heir to the throne and restore justice.
Overall rating
5
/
5
59 of 71 found this review helpful
Review based on the completed game!
PostedJanuary 21, 2015
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The basics:
- A resource gathering time management game with a difference. You gather some items which you need to interact with to fashion them into products you'll need in that particular level.
- In addition to the usual bonuses such as 'run faster' etc, you also have boosters; collected throughout the whole game.
I'll start by saying that I first disliked this game, because the tutorial wasn't very clear on exactly how important the + 1 Stone or + 1 Wood were and many of us gamers ran out of resources and got confused.
Once I understood how this works, I began to 'get' how the developers wanted us to think and strategise and I couldn't put this game down. It has literally dominated 2 days and nights of my life.
The graphics look lovely, clear and bright with beautiful colours on my screen and it played flawlessly on my Windows 7, 64 bit computer.
It becomes very important to use those switch boosters wherever you can which, at first was tedious, but you soon get used to doing it. You'll collect many boosters right until the end, but those two are the only ones you switch a lot - the rest you simply put on the figure according to the level.
From level 37 onward it becomes very challenging and you really need to look at the screen closely before you begin to figure out the only path you can possibly take, because often from then onward there is only one right way, regardless of the stone and wood booster.
It's a nice story and the ending hints at a sequel. I really hope so.
Did I do this in 3 star time? No chance. I played on Multi-click and in the later stages the game throws so many curveballs. However, Multi-click will let you finish a level if you run out of time, which happens incredibly quickly. I'm interested to see the developer's video walkthrough to get 3 stars on every level when it's released. Some levels took me 30 minutes or more.
If you have a spare PCC and you like a good challenge (as well as this type of game), I think this is definitely worth it. It's worth a demo at least. I'm glad I didn't throw it in the trash, which, to be honest, was my first reaction.
Happy Gaming!
I recommend this game!
Without warning, a group of mysterious figures arrives and reduces your village to flames and rubble. What do they want... and who is controlling them?
Overall rating
5
/
5
5 of 6 found this review helpful
Completely Enchanting
PostedOctober 5, 2014
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Magical and totally unputdownable. That's what I thought of this game.
I have not enjoyed a HOPA so much since The Living Mountain. It grabbed me from the start and would not let go until I'd exhausted every single aspect and it will be one I'll keep and play again very soon. Other reviewers have already said everything so well, so I'll just keep it to bullet points of what I loved.
* Mad Head Games always gives us so much more in a CE, over and above the call, and now they've outdone themselves; way more to do even after you've done the bonus;
*Stunning animation, beautifully drawn 3D scenes with soaring buildings;
* A haunting, dramatic music score that fits the game perfectly;
* The usual wonderful lip sync voiceovers that follow English perfectly;
* Diverse and unique puzzles and HOPS, and collectibles sometimes very challenging to spot and morphs in HOPS;
* In this one, a very clever little strategic card game you can play for extra collectibles once you are done with the bonus.
I won't give away any more.
I love it so much it's a contender for Game of the Year for me (just my opinion).
If you liked Living Mountain, I think you'll also like this one.
I recommend this game!
Princess Selene's vivid dreams warn that her marriage foretells disaster – but only you can break the magical spell threatening both your lives!
Overall rating
5
/
5
25 of 27 found this review helpful
Don't write off this Dream as a Nightmare just yet
PostedSeptember 24, 2014
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Even though it wasn't the intention of the developers to make this such a challenge for everyone because the instructions in the pop-up windows are missing, I'm glad to see more positive reviews appearing now because this is a beautiful game.
The story is interesting and not the run of the mill, music is beautifully haunting and fitting, graphics are lovely and I got to fly on one of my favourite animals!
At first it was a little odd to see only gears, but then I realised how reliant I had become on the type of hints we usually roll our eyes at, such as "I need a key" or "I could melt something here". An expert or intermediate player shouldn't really have any problems getting through this. The game puts the "A" in a HOPA more firmly in the large file adventure genre, where there is no hand-holding. For someone new to a HOPA, however, it may be best to try another game first.
I won't elaborate as I know many are waiting for the fix and I don't want to spoil any of it. I'll only say, try it and give your brain a good workout if you feel like it, because it's a lovely game that I don't think should be written off as a dud because of the accidental challenge it throws down. And my other challenge with it is to see how much I will actually like the 'fixed' version.
I recommend this game!
PuppetShow: Lightning Strikes Collector's Edition
The women of Paris are being turned into puppets! Can you find out who's pulling the strings?
Overall rating
4
/
5
26 of 37 found this review helpful
Lightning Almost Struck Home Here. I Liked It A Lot!
PostedAugust 21, 2014
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
GAME AND BONUS
I can't really say much about the previous PuppetShow games, because I only tried one which I gave up on when dolls' heads ran amok on mechanical spider limbs when I was extremely arachnophobic and scared of 'Chucky' at the time.
I decided to be brave and bought this sight unseen and I'm not sorry I did. I really enjoyed it. I thought the graphics were great, the voiceovers always well done by ERS (even if there's no lip movement) and a fairly good story, well wound up in the main game.
ERS seem to have listened to most gamers who have fallen out of love with animal helpers, fairytales and cuteness and instead created somewhat of a Steampunk game.
The 30 achievements are divided into 3 groups of 10 each. The first page is self-explanatory, the second page you can guess at as you are playing the game and the third are secret achievements. I quite like that angle. HOS were either lists or silhouettes, both with interactions.
None of the HOS or puzzles were particularly difficult. The 42 piggy bank collectibles are easy to spot and both they and achievements carry over into the bonus which, as usual, is related but separate to a good main ending. The coins you earn from your piggies are used to restore two well known landmarks to their former glory, and you can have some extra fun with the second landmark!
Apart from the usual wallpapers etc, there's not much more than stated above to the CE. You can replay HOS or Puzzles, but there are no extra stars to gain and there is no alternative play to HOS scenes throughout.
This is not a terribly long game. I finished the main one in just over 4 hours and the bonus in less than 1 hour, but I found it a lot of fun along the way. And I'll leave gamers who've played the whole lot through to the very end to decide if there'll be another PuppetShow.
I recommend this game!
Help Angela and Jimmy save the town of Shipsburgh! Practice your poker face and beat the Grimaldi Syndicate to save your hometown!
Overall rating
5
/
5
41 of 44 found this review helpful
The Players Aren't Poker Faced - They Are Fun!!!
PostedAugust 12, 2014
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
If you've never played Poker, the tutorial, whilst basic, does explain quite well (and in simple to understand English) the very basics of how to play, so you are off the mark straightaway. If you forget the 10 winning Poker hands, they are set out (highest to lowest) in the middle (?) button at the top left of your in play screen and you can refer to them at any time. To the left of this is a button showing the basic instructions once again.
You can speed the game up at any time during a hand by pressing the fast forward buttons on the bottom right.
The idea is simple: join virtual players around the tables to try to win 1st, 2nd and 3rd place each time. If you are busted before then, you don't earn any prize money but joining a new game will cost you a heavy buy-in each time so you really do need to try to win those places or you'll soon find yourself out of cash.
With your winnings you buy back various buildings to restore that particular district of Shipsburgh, USA. Each bought building will give you a rental per gaming day. There are 10 districts to unlock and I expect the buy-ins and prize money will go up with each one, plus the difficulty level.
It is a delicate balance juggling your prize money, spending money on buildings and still having money for buy-ins.
Don't expect this to be a game you play in a day or so for that reason. It took me many weeks of playing on and off to finally beat the Governor in Governor of Poker 1. This game is made by the same devs as GOP (though it features characters from the Delicious Emily games).
I'm liking this a lot, because you can put it down and pick it back up again any time. Like all things Poker, though, it's going to take a while to get to the end so you should get plenty of value for money out of it.
I recommend this game!
Your investigative report on the Weeping Woman of San Cristobal turns personal after you witness a kidnapping. Is the legend true?
Overall rating
5
/
5
17 of 18 found this review helpful
Poor Maria goes to desperate lengths!
PostedJuly 28, 2014
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
REVIEW OF MAIN GAME AND BONUS
For someone like me who loves to learn about different countries' folklore, myths and legends it was a real pleasure to learn (albeit with some artistic licence by the devs) about the legends of La Llorona in the main game and El Sombreron in the bonus.
The colours are bright and vibrant throughout, voiceovers are plenty with lip synch and very realistically done. The Mexican accents are quite well done also without being over the top.
The 16 achievements are mostly performance related and not too difficult to achieve.
As collectibles you have 25 golden skulls that are hidden behind walls and other items and 25 morphing flowers which are quite easy to find. You can also collect all notes, letters and lore items throughout for another achievement.
There is a very nice teleport map, though this is no longer available in the bonus game.
All collectibles end with the main game. The Weeping Woman story ends satisfactorily and completely. The bonus story of El Sombreron stands on its own and has totally different characters to the main game.
This is not a very long game. I found only 15 HOS in the main game and 5 in the bonus. I counted 21 Puzzles in the main game and 6 in the bonus. All in, the whole experience lasted only just over 4 hours for me and I did not skip anything.
Puzzles and HOS were mainly easy, with a few puzzles that took a bit of thinking.
For a CE it's perhaps a little short, but it's a lot of fun with interesting stories and great animation.
I had a great time with this game and recommend it highly.
I recommend this game!
Destroy artifacts in the past to preserve the world’s future!
Overall rating
4
/
5
17 of 21 found this review helpful
A Visual Feast of Mythical Proportions
PostedApril 27, 2014
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Based on whole game and bonus - Be Warned, Spoilers Possible.
Everyone has already put the story into words so well, so I'll just concentrate on my likes and dislikes throughout my experience.
If you like your games packed to the hilt with things to do and find, and enjoy a fantasy world full of mythical creatures, kings and queens, legends of folklore, Greek Gods thrown in, and fantastical castles with terrific animation (but without the sickly sweet of the usual prince/princess fairytale story), then I think you'll like this.
The graphics on my screen are outstanding and attention to detail is astonishing (have a look at the intricate carvings in the Achievement Room and you'll see what I mean). It's not surprising, really. These devs are using the software made by Artifex Mundi.
Playing on Windows 7 I had no problems throughout at all. The teleport map was very fast with seamless transitions and no freezing problems anywhere from start to finish.
There is an awful lot going on here. You have the 3 sets of collectibles to find (36 altogether). They can be in main scenes or in secondary pop-up windows. Because of their distinctive colours, it's not difficult to pick them out. All collectibles end with the main game.
You receive a Golem's heart which requires crystals in order to charge to reanimate increasingly stronger objects and statues. You also have spheres that need to be charged along the way in the main game and you travel to other worlds when you have found tokens to take you there.
Then, there are the achievements which are a bit disappointing. There are 22 in all, but only really 4 are skill based (very simple to achieve), the rest (including the 5 in the bonus) are story based so you'll get them anyway. It disappointed me that the one time I achieve and collect everything there was no award for that.
This game is heavy on the puzzles - I counted 28 in the main game, 13 in the bonus as opposed to only 10 HOPs in main game and 4 in the bonus. I found the puzzles extremely easy - a few (found in the bonus) I'd even hesitate to call puzzles at all. HOPs were fairly uncluttered and items easy to spot.
The main game ends as dramatically as it began and it was a good ending. I thought, from what Sarah said right at the end, I knew where the bonus was leading me. I was wrong. It takes you on yet another trip with more mythical creatures so her hint was probably aimed at the next Secret Order. Recommended!
I recommend this game!
In the cutthroat restaurant business, it’s eat or be eaten! Do you have what it takes to be hotter than the competition?
Overall rating
1
/
5
3 of 4 found this review helpful
Not on my (restaurant) shift!
PostedApril 4, 2014
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I tried this game some while ago directly from the developer and thought it would actually get better so I bought it here with a PCC.
I was wrong. This should be called DireDiner. There is no 'Mania' about this at all, as in the other TMs that usually have Mania/Dash/Frenzy in the title. Everything happens very slowly.
It's a shame because this could have been so much better. It's the same premise as a lot of other cooking games - customers arrive, you seat them, take their order, get chef to cook the meals, serve, they eat, they pay and they leave.
The difference here is you have 'good' customers who do pay and you have 'bad' customers who eat but won't pay. These are apparently 'gangsters', except they are actually bikers.
You need your seats for your paying customers so you need to get rid of the bikers as soon as possible. You are supposed to do that by spoiling their food (adding pepper/chillies) when their mood is green or yellow. More often than not, this doesn't work. They ignore you and keep on eating.
Apart from that, your waitress can only carry one thing at a time, moves very slowly and clicking has to be very precise or no action follows.
There are the usual upgrades to different stoves, drinks, food etc but none of it makes up for the fact that this is just boring in the extreme.
Not recommended.
I don't recommend this game.
Ghostly warnings in the water are terrifying a grieving family. What's causing them, and what really happened to Julia White?
Overall rating
4
/
5
22 of 25 found this review helpful
Great game but needs a bug fix
PostedApril 4, 2014
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
WHOLE GAME AND BONUS
I love the Fear for Sale games, precisely because of the different take on collectibles, all of the beyond objects and the alternative jigsaw puzzles with their weird and wonderful shapes. Undoubtedly, I'd have loved this game even more if it wasn't full of technical problems. More on that later.
Others have already summarised the story and I'd only give it all away if I went further into it. Suffice to say, Julia (wife/mother) is missing, presumed dead and someone is determined to keep a lid on things. You, of course, are called to investigate. Not much new there.
The 'good' and nitty gritty, I guess:
- Water graphics are very well done and the animated characters are a good representation of their real life counterparts, whom we see acting in the cut scenes.
- 28 Puzzles with easy to medium difficulty which are nice variations on the usual.
- 30 HOPs which are all lists with some interaction. You can play some neat jigsaw puzzles as an alternative. Those still count toward your HOP achievement.
-35 collectibles of 5 each in 7 categories and 36 morphing 'beyond' objects which aren't too hard to spot, with 1 morph/1 collectible in almost every scene.
- 10 achievements based on performance and storyline.
- Achievements, collectibles and beyond objects carry over to the bonus play.
- You collect 'experience' points for successful completion of HOPs and Puzzles which move you up the detective ranking system to achieve the ultimate "Legendary" badge at the very end.
- Jump map that is fast and easy to follow.
The main story ends in part satisfactorily. A crime has been solved. That's what you were there for, after all. However, if you really want to know what Julia was doing and how it [b]ultimately[/b] ends, you will get that in the Bonus, which may divide players.
The Bad: I had to play this game again from the start FOUR times to work my way around a bug in one HOP (I recommend checking out the threads in the forum for this game for the solution), and this wasn't the only problem for many gamers.
I still recommend this game. The bonus played without a problem and I thought that alone was a good game, though it does revisit the exact same first 5 or 6 scenes present in the main game and in the same order to start.
With a fix to cure all the tech problems people are having, this isn't a bad CE. I'll give it 3 1/2 out of 5, which would have been higher if the first hour hadn't been such a groundhog day nightmare.
I recommend this game!
Escape the cold incarceration of Davy Jones' brig and discover the otherworldly origins of his galleon in this thrilling Hidden Object adventure.
Overall rating
5
/
5
28 of 31 found this review helpful
A Tale of Two Daughters
PostedMarch 28, 2014
Tiger2010
fromEssex, UK
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Card & Board, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
ENTIRE GAME AND BONUS
The final instalment of this Nightmares of the Deep Trilogy and, in my opinion, the best one yet.
This is a long main game and a very decent bonus also, as we have come to expect from this excellent developer. The graphics were very well done, the voiceovers plentiful and very well lip synched. I found the music fitting to the atmosphere.
Once again we are at the mercy of the sea devil and this is a bit of a tale of two daughters - your own, Corey and Davy Jones' daughter.
Achievements are plenty - around 28 of them. Some are performance based and a lot of others story based, meaning you'll achieve them anyway as to play. They are beautifully presented in three different areas of the huge galleon.
Collectibles fall into 3 categories - 10 pirate cards, 12 seahorses and 24 puzzle pieces. The SG groups them together nicely in thumbnails so you don't need to leaf through the types separately. They are hidden very well, but it's not impossible to find all of them. Collectibles are only in the main game.
The map is basic but teleport is smooth and fast. It is in two parts. Half is on the first page and the other half hidden behind this, which confused me at first. You can go back and visit any location to find collectibles you may have missed as you are not 'cut off' in a different world.
I counted some 22 HOPs and 21 Puzzles in the main game and 11 HOPs and 6 Puzzles in the bonus. As an alternative to HOPs you can play Mahjong. Pairs of golden tiles will knock off a HOP item, but the last two are locked so even if you are looking for that last elusive HOP object, you will still need to play an entire Mahjong board to get it.
Does the main story end satisfactorily? Yes, when it comes to Davy Jones - a quite touching and dramatic finish. No, if you want to know more about his daughter. In the bonus Jones' world is falling apart and you need to 'restore' his daughter.
Again, beautifully done and a very decent bonus.
Don't expect any 'over and above hooplas' from the Extras. Apart from replaying some HOPs, there's only the usual wallpapers etc.
This kept me busy for around 8 hours plus in total, but I wasn't hurrying or skipping. We each have our own pace.
It's the first CE I've really enjoyed in a while now so I'd highly recommend it, but always try it yourself.
I recommend this game!