pfalcioni's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.1
- Helpful Votes:449
- Reviews Submitted:24
- First Review:November 16, 2011
- Most Recent Review:September 8, 2019
- Featured reviews0
Status:
Unlock the mysteries shrouding the creatures of Oxbridge University!
Overall rating
2
/
5
2 of 3 found this review helpful
Aaaaargh!!!!!
PostedApril 23, 2015
pfalcioni
fromTerrebonne, OR
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
What a completely frustrating game.
Most of the time when I encounter a poorly built game I just shrug and delete, but this one is so frustrating because it had such potential to be different and fun.
I like dialogue, I don't mind reading it, and I love it when developers create a detailed storyline and fleshed-out characters. What I don't like is inane chatter with no voice-overs that I have to read when we've already set up the premise and started developing the characters and what they're saying doesn't move the story along at all.
I like games that don't have sparkles, pop-up suggestions, or other things that yank your mind out of the game world. This game does that very well, with the hint system in a small box at the bottom of the screen which doesn't interfere. Unfortunately, the hint system is decidedly un-hinty, and there's no option for more hand-holding if you need it.
Finally, the deal breaker for me on this game was the absolutely horrible mechanics. Teeny-tiny hotspots to move from one area to another (and you're going to be using these a lot because as far as I can tell there's no map), rotate-the-object minigames that require multiple clicks on the object to get it to rotate - which it finally does, s...l...o...w...l...y. Not an issue if I'm only rotating two or three items, but what about when I'm rotating dozens of pieces? It's click-tastic torture.
The absolute worst thing about these problems is that, from what I could see, this game is so close to being really good! What a disappointment.
I don't recommend this game.
The kingdom is under threat from pirates! Sail to the farthest islands to save your sister and become hero of the kingdom.
Overall rating
5
/
5
Wonderfully well-crafted game
PostedMarch 28, 2015
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
I am so burned out on Hidden-Object games that I'm thrilled whenever anything different shows up, only to usually be disappointed. But there's no disappointments here, just an incredibly detailed adventure that involves some thought and strategy to succeed at.
The storyline really stands out too, it's well written and extremely detailed, with lots of little side quests which also have their own stories.
My only complaint is that earning money in the game becomes a major click-fest since it doesn't allow you to click and hold to increase the amount of something you're selling or buying, you have to click for each one - this becomes very tedious when you're buying or selling 100's of items!
I recommend this game!
Toy Defense: Sci-Fi
Rally your army against the invading robots and experience the thrill of intergalactic warfare in this exciting new tower defense game!
Overall rating
1
/
5
16 of 17 found this review helpful
Horrible controls
PostedFebruary 12, 2015
pfalcioni
fromTerrebonne, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Large File, Strategy, Time Management
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
You'd think after releasing essentially the same game with different characters a bunch of times previous, the makers of the Toy Defense games would have things perfected. Sadly, that's not the case here. There's changes, but no improvements. In fact everything that is different about this title from previous Toy Defense games is annoying and detracts from fun gameplay.
My three main complaints are:
1. No instructions, and no real indication what each gun does in its base configuration. Also not enough information about what upgrades will give you.
1. No instructions, and no real indication what each gun does in its base configuration. Also not enough information about what upgrades will give you.
2. Slide-out menu for gun placement is awful, only works some of the time, other times I find myself frantically trying to drag it out to access a gun I desperately need, only to have it disappear again before I can grab a gun.
3. Tortoise-slow or turbo-fast are the only speed options. One is tedious, the other is impossible on the higher levels.
I usually enjoy the Toy Defense titles, and even though they are all very similar I end up buying them anyway because I like tower defense games and there's not many offered. Unfortunately because of the multiple flaws that affect gameplay and enjoyment, I'm passing on this one.
I don't recommend this game.
Every second counts in this breathtaking paranormal adventure!
Overall rating
3
/
5
8 of 12 found this review helpful
Incredibly short game
PostedNovember 16, 2014
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Although lacking any real brain-teasing puzzles, I enjoyed this game, but was astonished when I came to the end just a few short hours after beginning.
Not enough here to make it worth a full-price buy, but maybe as a freebie if you enjoy the trial.
I don't recommend this game.
Loot Hunter is a fun role-play game based in a world full of old ships, pirates and adventures.
Overall rating
4
/
5
38 of 40 found this review helpful
Better instructions needed, otherwise an excellent game!
PostedSeptember 8, 2014
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I'll be the first to admit, the instructions for this game are pathetic. It's a relatively complex hunt/fight/buy/sell type of game, and if you've never played anything like it before I can only imagine that what you're presented with here would just look like a big mess of confusion.
That said, if you have played games like this before (wish I could remember names, it's been years, but there's others in this genre), you should begin to feel right at home with this one pretty quickly.
Basically there's three parts to Loot Hunter, I'll describe them and review them in parts - hopefully this will help other players make better sense of the game.
* 1. Trading: You purchase goods from one place, and sell them elsewhere - hopefully for a profit. Unfortunately there's no way I can see to tell if you're making profit on sales or not unless you are ready to start keeping spreadsheets.
This is the weakest part of the game, in my opinion, because I really don't want to have to keep paper records while I'm playing a casual game.
* 2. Quests: You stop at an island and someone gives you a quest. Sometimes they'll also give you goods to complete the quest and all you have to do is take the goods from Point A to Point B, then return to Point A for payment. This is made easy because you're able to click on "Ship", then "Quests" and then click on the quest and it will draw a line on the map to the spot you need to go to complete the quest.
This is well-designed and a fun part of the game, if only they would tell you how to do it in a tutorial rather than having to flounder around figuring it out yourself.
* 3. Battle! Using a modified match-3 environment, you swap tiles to do damage to the other ship, give your ship better powers, or heal your ship. The trick here isn't speed, it's more of a chess game because if you're able to make matches of 4 or more, the other guy doesn't get a turn. With some luck and strategy, you can win against much larger opponents.
Again, this part of the game could have really benefited from a good tutorial, because it requires lots of strategy. The mechanics of making a match are even a little weird, you select one tile by clicking on it, then select where you want it to go by clicking on the new spot. It's a bit clunky but keeps mistakes from happening as easy as it can in a regular m-3 setup. Also, there are no added points from drop matches (tiles dropping into place and making more matches), the only match you get is the one you make.
----
Other things you need to know but won't be told:
Other things you need to know but won't be told:
Join a guild right away - Merchant seemed to make the most sense because then you can trade with anyone, that might not be the case though if I spent more time on the game and learned more strategy.
Ship upgrades - I found the island for ship upgrades early in my hour trial, but then promptly forgot where it was - it's on Gray Landing. Upgrade your ship as soon as possible so you can go up against larger ships and get better payoffs.
Fight only Pirate ships at first - fighting ships from other countries means you're at war with that country and can't trade at their ports. Not something you want to do early in the game.
You can run away from a fight without losing anything, but only if you choose not to fight to begin with. Once you've agreed to fight, the only way out is to finish. Losing doesn't mean you have to start over, but you do lose cargo and gold.
-------
To be honest, I'm thrilled to see a game that breaks the current mold of cookie-cutter Hidden-Object adventures and the occasional Time Management offering, so that probably has something to do with my positive review. That said, if you're able to use your hour to test this game and just play around to see if it could be something that interests you in spite of a lack of tutorial, then you might be happy you did. It's a definite buy for me, in spite of the lack of tutorial and other issues I mentioned.
I recommend this game!
As an ancient deity, can you maintain the respect of your follows and protect the heavens in this exciting strategy game?
Overall rating
1
/
5
10 of 10 found this review helpful
Rehashed tablet game from 2010
PostedSeptember 6, 2014
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I originally played this game on my iPad 4 years ago, but deleted it after a few minutes, then checked the reviews and found that it was universally panned.
I'd forgotten all about it when I downloaded it today, but it only took a few minutes of crummy gameplay and goofy graphics to remind me of this oldie-but-baddie.
I don't recommend this game.
Earth has been invaded by The Monsters and they have exploited the whole planet! Save the world and free Earth!
Overall rating
2
/
5
6 of 12 found this review helpful
Simplified Angry Birds
PostedAugust 6, 2014
pfalcioni
fromTerrebonne, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
2
/
5
This is basically Angry Birds without the pesky trajectory calculations than can be somewhat frustrating for younger kids.
The graphics, buttons and music are extremely similar to Angry Birds, but they don't have the polished look and feel of the Angry Birds titles.
Worth a try, especially if you have young kids who like this kind of game, but for most people, you'll be deleting it from your computer after a few minutes' play.
I don't recommend this game.
Guests keep disappearing from a gimmicky haunted hotel. Is there someone pulling the strings, or are these ghosts actually real?
Overall rating
3
/
5
25 of 27 found this review helpful
They're just cranking these out like parts on a assembly line.
PostedJune 27, 2014
pfalcioni
fromTerrebonne, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Hidden Object, Match 3, Strategy, Brain Teaser, Time Management, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Nothing new to see here, just another generic HOG with a few mediocre puzzles, nice drawings, decent atmosphere and music, and a storyline we've seen dozens of times before.
You can tell very little care went into this one, so many incorrectly identified items in the HOS - a brush is not a comb. A handkerchief is not a shawl.
Makes it hard to care enough to buy this stuff when the developers just seem to be phoning it in at this point.
I don't recommend this game.
Your opponents are cresting the horizon and time is running out! Build cannons, save money, stockpile secret weapons and brace for impact before the enemy closes in!
Overall rating
1
/
5
6 of 6 found this review helpful
Exactly the same game as Day D, with different graphics
PostedApril 28, 2014
pfalcioni
fromTerrebonne, OR
Skill Level:Intermediate
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Brain Teaser, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
I guess this company has hit on a formula they like, because this is an EXACT copy of the gamplay you'll see in Day D: Time Mayhem down to the level count, gun options, and power ups.
Of course this one was released very soon after Day D, since all they had to do was paint some pretty seafaring art to replace the dinosaurs.
Admittedly, it is a nice looking game, has a decent tutorial, and is fun to play...while it lasts, at 20 levels it's pathetically short.
I don't recommend this game.
Help your pizza restaurant become the most popular in town in this exciting Match-3 game with a twist!
Overall rating
2
/
5
5 of 8 found this review helpful
This isn't classic, it's just OLD
PostedJanuary 18, 2013
pfalcioni
fromTerrebonne, OR
Skill Level:Expert
Favorite Genre(s):Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
1
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
Storyline
1
/
5
After playing 5 minutes, I had to exit and double-check to see if maybe this had been originally released on a floppy disc back in the 1990's and for some strange reason was just being re-released online now.
The mechanics, graphics, and music are honestly something that could easily have been offered back in the 1990's. Even a high-school game development team could come up with something better!
If you like match 3 games that allow you to make food, there are plenty already available that do it much better than this game. I see no redeeming qualities in this one at all.
I don't recommend this game.